According to reports in the Daily Mail, Newcastle United have been boosted in their pursuit of out of favour Everton striker Sandro Ramirez after the 22-year-old demanded that he is sold this month.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Daily Mail reported on January 21 that Magpies manager Rafa Benitez is willing to sanction a £2m loan move for the Spanish forward as well as taking on all of Sandro’s £100,000-a-week wages.

The latest Daily Mail report suggests that the 22-year-old wants out of Goodison Park after failing to settling into life with the Merseyside outfit and with first-team opportunities limited, although it is understood that he would prefer a return to Spain just six months after his move from Malaga.

How has Sandro Ramirez done this season?

He has been disappointing.

The 22-year-old arrived at Everton during the summer in a £5.2m deal and was quickly labelled as one of the bargains of the summer having scored 16 goals in 31 matches for Malaga during the previous campaign.

However, the Spain U21 international has never got going, struggled physically and looks unable to play in the lone striker role in the Premier League, while he has scored one goal and provided a further assist in 15 appearances in all competitions.

He has failed to make the squad for the Toffees’ last five matches in all competitions, and it would be a huge shock if he doesn’t leave – either on loan or on a permanent basis – by the close of play on Wednesday.

Would he be a good signing for Newcastle?

He would certainly be a risky one and one that would worry the fans given they are just one point above the relegation zone.

While he scored goals for fun for Malaga last season, he just hasn’t appeared to be suited to Premier League football so far.

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Sandro certainly hasn’t been given a regular and consistent run in the Everton side however, and perhaps he could make more of an impact under a Spanish boss at St James’ Park – if he is handed plenty of game time.

The 22-year-old would likely work better alongside a target man like Joselu – or another Newcastle target in Nicolai Jorgensen – and it could bring out the best in him, but Magpies fans certainly wouldn’t be holding their breaths for that to happen.

We asked and you delivered. And it was, of course, a whitewash.

After Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday evening, we wanted to know who you thought was the Reds’ best player. And with two goals and a hand in pretty much anything good Liverpool did going forward, obviously there was only one winner, Mohamed Salah.

When he’s on form, he is by far and away Liverpool’s best player this season, and Sunday was one of those games. And although his side didn’t end up with three points, Salah’s contribution was so important that it leaves you wondering what happens if he gets injured or a suspension. Though it was the same with Sadio Mane last season, and the Senegalese international may well step up in such a case.

Still, there were plenty of other players, too. We asked you to give a rating out of ten for each of Liverpool’s players, and coming in second place was youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold. This is encouraging because most of Tottenham’s best play came down the flanks, where Ben Davies, Kieran Trippier and a roaming Christian Eriksen attempted to fizz crosses into dangerous areas for Harry Kane. The full-backs marshalled that well, though and Alexander-Arnold also tried to get forward and help on the break, too.

A draw was tough to take for Reds fans, but the performance was encouraging.

Here are the full results below:

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Everton are interested in bringing Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly in the summer as they look to build their defence for next season, according to reports made by African Football.

What’s the story?

The Toffees are rumoured to be considering to make a move for the highly-regarded Senegal international as they look to sure up their defence.

It is believed a fee of around £40million would be needed for Napoli to consider selling one of their top players, however, the Merseyside outfit are expected to have to compete with a number of clubs for his signature.

Koulibaly has been linked with the likes of Chelsea in the past, however, it is thought that Arsenal are keen to bring him to the Premier League and have been watching him for some time.

Should Everton consider the defender in the summer?

The Toffees went after the centre-back in the summer of 2016, however, Napoli were insisting that they wanted £60m for their star man.

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Koulibaly would certainly add stability to a leaky back line and would add even more experience to the side, however, it remains to be seen if the Italians will want to sell him at the end of the summer, especially if they are able to lift the Serie A trophy.

Chelsea forward Willian produced a man-of-the-match display and scored his side’s goal in the Blues’ 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against Barcelona at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, and Manchester United fans have urged their club to sign the Brazilian, rated at €32m (£28.3m) according to Transfermarkt.

The 29-year-old had already hit the woodwork with two brilliant efforts when he finally scored in the 62nd minute following an impressive finish to give Antonio Conte’s men the lead, but Lionel Messi netted his first ever goal against the west London outfit to snatch a draw for the La Liga leaders.

Willian hasn’t always been popular with the Stamford Bridge faithful this term following some inconsistent performances, and he hasn’t been a regular in the starting XI under Conte either, although that may change following his most recent display.

Man United supporters were quick to have their say on the Brazil international via social media, and while one said he “would thrive with Sanchez and Lukaku”, another said he’s “better than Hazard imo and one of the best players in the world”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Jamie Carragher suspects there is something going on behind the scenes at Everton after Idrissa Gueye confronted Jordan Pickford in the defeat at Burnley.

Everton added yet another miserable result to their awful away run on Saturday as they completely capitulated in the second half, allowing Burnley several clear cut chances and eventually losing 2-1.

Ashley Williams was sent off for a ridiculous swinging elbow at Burnley’s Ashley Barnes and Sam Allardyce was given yet more stick from the Everton away support.

It’s clear all is not well at Goodison Park, and Jamie Carragher’s comments on Monday Night Football won’t have done much to make Everton fans feel better.

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As well as criticising the Everton performance, Carragher suggested there must be some sort of conflict between players on the training ground.

Ashley Barnes found Burnley’s equaliser after Jordan Pickford failed to come out and clear the long ball, and Idrissa Gueye’s angered reaction intrigued Carragher.

Carragher said:

“For him to run 20, 30 yards to remonstrate with the goalkeeper, that’s not a one off.

“There must be something going on behind the scenes between them. If someone did that to me I’d have them by the throat, Pickford just lets it happen.”

Carragher discussed England’s goalkeeper dilemma with Gary Neville on Monday Night Football, and both agreed the young stopper needs to work on his positioning and be more commanding.

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Time will tell if there is anything in the reaction from Gueye, but any sort of conflict between the players can surely only mean bad things for Sam Allardyce.

Everton fans, let us know your thoughts in the comments below…

Everton fans have once again been criticising Sam Allardyce after the Everton boss disputed the length of Sigurdsson’s injury in classic Big Sam fashion.

Everton have suffered their fair share of injuries this season, with key figures like Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman missing large parts of the season through injury.

Their latest hit to the squad might be the most significant one yet, as Gylfi Sigurdsson is set to be sidelined for up to eight weeks with a knee injury. The Icelandic international hurt his knee in the contest with Brighton, but continued playing despite the injury.

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The 28 year-old was then sent to see a specialist, with reports suggesting he could be out for six to eight weeks. In his press conference today, Sam Allardyce suggested otherwise.

Big Sam has certainly not endeared himself to Everton fans since taking over from Ronald Koeman, and fans have been disappointed by his uninspiring tactics and failure to grasp the values of the club.

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As the manager jokes whoever put the Sigurdsson statement out will be in trouble, Everton fans have used it as a chance to say his own job should be in trouble.

Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…

As reported by The Sun, the race to sign Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah this summer has started after the forward’s incredible form at Anfield this season.

What’s the story?

With 36 goals in all competitions for the Reds this term, it’s inevitable that he’ll be attracting interest from European giants this summer and it seems the headlines surrounding his potential departure have already begun.

The Sun report that Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona are all interested in signing the attacker, prepared to pay a world record fee of £200m to tempt Liverpool into selling.

More than the amount that took Neymar to Paris last summer, would £200m be an offer that the Reds couldn’t afford to turn down?

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Should they sell?

The last thing Liverpool want is another transfer saga like Philippe Coutinho’s, recognising that the pull from European football’s elite clubs is strong both in terms of status and cash.

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However, Salah feels like he’s barely arrived at the club and getting at least another season out of the Egyptian should be their big priority. If he can repeat anything close to this term’s goalscoring then his value will not have decreased by next summer.

There’s an argument to be made that clubs should always sell a player at his peak value, but Liverpool have trophy ambitions and letting go of Salah would be a major blow in that regard, even if the reported £200m would allow a major transfer signing spree.

One of the major question marks against Jose Mourinho’s name when he was appointed Manchester United manager was his reluctance to trust young players.

The debate essentially boils down to whether Marcus Rashford is a success at Old Trafford as many of the other hot prospects at the club have been sent out on loan to continue their development away from the club.

That might well be with a career away from the 20-time title winners in mind but with a squad overhaul on the cards this summer, Mourinho should be looking wherever he can for bodies who can help.

With that in mind, Football FanCast have taken a look at four of the players on United’s books who have spent the season or half a season away from the club, before asking whether they have what it takes to change Mourinho’s opinion and force their way into the first team next season.

Ranging from La Liga to the Championship, here’s a look at how Man United’s loan brigade have fared so far this season…

Fosu-Mensah is definitely one of the more highly-rated talents in Mourinho’s ranks. Capable of playing as a defensive midfielder, centre-half and right-back, his versatility as well as his physicality will surely appeal to Mourinho.

With Matteo Darmian reportedly moving ever closer to the Old Trafford exit door, there is a spot going as the understudy to Antonio Valencia next season and Fosu-Mensah will hope that he has done enough in his time at Selhurst Park to impress Mourinho.

Surely a large part of the reason the Dutch defender was loaned to Palace was the presence of his countryman Frank de Boer in South London, but his reign was incredibly short-lived.

Therefore, the exposure to passing football he was supposed to get has not quite materialised, instead working under the more pragmatic Hodgson. That may please Mourinho further.

Mourinho was reportedly unhappy with Pereira’s decision to join the Spanish side on a temporary basis, so highly does he rate the Belgian-born playmaker.

However, it is already tough for him to accommodate all of United’s current attacking options, so it seemed as if the inexperienced but talented Pereira would benefit from a season elsewhere.

He clearly has ability but again, has been unable to show it in Spain and, if Mourinho is making his decision purely based on his performances with Valencia then it is unlikely he will be a big part of the plans at Old Trafford next time around.

Yet, with prices escalating across the transfer market, the opportunity to procure extra creativity at no cost might appeal to Mourinho.

Wilson looked set to burst into the United first team when he netted twice on his first team debut under Ryan Giggs at the end of the painful 2013/14 season, but it hasn’t materialised since then.

Louis van Gaal was a fan of Wilson’s pace – even starting him in a 3-0 win over Liverpool – but couldn’t find a regular place for him in his plans and that has stalled his development.

A January move to Bramall Lane hasn’t really taken off – Chris Wilder likes to rotate his large amount of forwards and that hasn’t helped – with just one goal from six games.

It would appear that his future lies away from Old Trafford. He is nowhere near physical enough for a Mourinho striker and he hasn’t been clinical enough at Sheffield United to impress.

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Johnstone has been arguably the most impressive of the loanees, as he has played every week at Aston Villa, where he has established himself as number one.

But, such is the form of David de Gea, the best he can hope for – unless Real Madrid come knocking again – is to become second choice at Old Trafford.

Even then, Sergio Romero looks like he has that locked down so Johnstone is surely likely to seek employment elsewhere this summer.

That might well be at Villa, as he has impressed former United man Steve Bruce, but West Ham are also rumoured to be interested in the summer.

Manchester City find themselves facing the good kind of problem ahead of Saturday’s Manchester derby. On the one hand, their Premier League title is a mere formality with seven games left to get themselves over the line; on the other, nothing would be sweeter than clinching it against the club whose shadow they’ve lived in for the vast majority of their modern history.

And thus, Pep Guardiola has a key decision to make over Sergio Aguero, who wasn’t part of the travelling squad that made the trip to Anfield on Wednesday night after suffering an injury. It’s not thought to be serious but it remains to be seen if he’ll be available for the weekend.

Even if he is though, Guardiola is still faced with a dilemma. While Gabriel Jesus’ peripheral display against Liverpool highlighted the significant chasm between City’s two strike options, the Etihad Stadium outfit don’t need to win this game.

So is it actually worth the risk of starting Aguero, especially bearing in mind how injury-prone the Argentine striker, who Transfermarkt value at £67.5million, has been throughout his Premier League career, and especially with the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Liverpool just around the corner?

Assuming he’s fit enough to be available for selection, would you risk starting Aguero against United this weekend? Let us know by voting below…

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They were brothers in attack last season, but Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri find themselves hoping to achieve the same aim with rival Premier League clubs this time around.

Indeed, Arnautovic’s West Ham are now six points clear of the drop zone but defeat to Shaqiri’s Stoke City on Monday night will reduce that buffer to just four, dragging them back into the relegation scrap and giving the Potters hope of escaping it at the final hour.

Both players have very much ascended to talismanic status within their respective teams this season. Arnautovic’s departure from the Bet365 Stadium last summer inadvertently created a chasm of quality that the Switzerland international has done his best to fill with his strongest Premier League season to date in scoring terms. His former team-mate, meanwhile, has increasingly embraced the role of becoming West Ham’s most enigmatic talent under the guidance of David Moyes.

Of course, those roles have translated slightly differently; Shaqiri has become Stoke’s resident No.10 after spending previous campaigns out wide, whereas Arnautovic has moved from the opposite flank in the Potters’ starting XI last season to the potent tip of West Ham’s attack this term.

That’s why Shaqiri has created more than twice as many chances per match this season as the 69-cap Austrian, whereas Arnautovic has completed more dribbles per match than the former Bayern Munich midfielder – who Transfermarkt value at £16.2million.

Both though, have emerged as the standard bearers, taking the game to the opposition almost singlehandedly at times by either scoring or assisting 13 goals apiece in the top flight. Shaqiri has played a hand in 43% of Stoke’s league goals this season – Arnautovic has been involved in 33% of West Ham’s.

Perhaps the resulting question, upon the backdrop of Monday night’s relegation clash at the London Stadium, is therefore obvious; which player would you prefer to have as your team’s talisman for the crunch relegation clash?

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Let us know by voting below…

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