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Carlton Palmer has told Football FanCast that Southampton would be an excellent move for Tom Davies.

Following three central midfielder additions made by Carlo Ancelotti last season, Davies was restricted to just 17 Premier League starts having found himself down the pecking order at Goodison Park.

Davies failed to score in any of his 25 league appearances, registering just one assist in the home defeat to Burnley in what proved a difficult campaign for the England Under-21s international.

Despite his struggles, Southampton, who failed in their attempts to sign him 12 months ago, are keen on revisiting their interest in Toffees midfielder this summer according to Football Insider.

Davies still has two years remaining on his contract, which would force the Saints to dig into their pockets, but with James Ward-Prowse strongly linked with Aston Villa, the 22-year-old could be an ideal replacement for the captain.

And Palmer exclusively told Football FanCast that a switch to St Mary’s would help the Everton Academy graduate get his career back on track:

“He’s a very fit lad, he gets up and down, and to go to a club like Southampton, it rejuvenates them in terms of their performances.

“I think that would be a great move for Tom to get him back playing regularly, and he is a very energetic player and I think he would fit into that mould.”

Football Insider pundit Danny Mills doesn’t believe that interim Celtic boss John Kennedy will land the manager’s role on a full-time basis.

The Lowdown: Kennedy in the dark

Reports last month hinted that Kennedy was still in the running to take over from Neil Lennon on a long-term basis. The 37-year-old has been in temporary charge following Lennon’s resignation back in February, however, a Celtic source has recently revealed that he is in the dark over his future in Glasgow.

Kennedy is unsure whether he’ll be at the club next season, with the Hoops hierarchy remaining tight-lipped when it comes to their managerial move.

The Latest: Mills makes manager claim

Talking to Football Insider regarding the development on Kennedy, Mills (43) said:

“That means Kennedy’s not getting the job.

“It depends on who comes in and what they want to do. Maybe if it’s a foreign manager they’ll want to keep him on to be that go-between.

“It might not be as a first-team coach but just keep him around to help integrate. We saw how much David Moyes struggled with that when he went to Manchester United even though he knew the league very, very well.

“A new manager may just say ‘I want all my own backroom staff, out you go.’

“It will all depend on who comes in and what they want to do and how much trust and faith that the hierarchy put in the new management team.”

The Verdict: Will the new boss have a say?

We feel that the new Celtic manager should have the final say on his backroom staff, but Mills’ fellow Football Insider pundit Gabby Agbonlahor recently declared that any new boss may have to keep Kennedy around.

The ex-Aston Villa striker has been informed that the club won’t give Lennon’s successor the choice on Kennedy’s future and won’t be able to change the entire coaching staff.

Should the new man in the Parkhead dugout turn out to be Eddie Howe, reports suggested last month that he would be happy to work with Kennedy and Gordon Strachan.

That could work for all parties involved, as long as Howe – who has reportedly agreed to become the club’s new manager – is also allowed to bring some members of staff from Bournemouth with him, as reports have suggested.

In other news: Celtic looking at two targets in possible big-money moves, find out more here. 

Graham Roberts believes that Mauricio Pochettino remains the best candidate for the Tottenham job.

The Argentine was sacked and replaced by Jose Mourinho in November 2019, but with Spurs now in need of a manager, reports believe that Pochettino is on Daniel Levy’s radar.

He recently secured his second major trophy with PSG following their Coupe de France final victory over Monaco, but his failure to win the Ligue 1 title has raised serious questions over his future.

Tottenham have been linked with several names following the departure of Mourinho last month ahead of the Carabao Cup final, but Levy is trying to convince Pochettino to make a sensational return just 18 months after he was sacked.

Pochettino was a favourite with the Spurs faithful having turned the club into top four regulars before guiding the north London outfit to their first Champions League final in his final full season.

Asked whether the Tottenham chairman’s ego could get in the way of him approaching Pochettino about a return to the club, Roberts exclusively told Football FanCast:

“Everybody knows he’s got it wrong, so he’s not owning up to anything.

“Why not just say, who is the best person for this football club? Pochettino is your answer.”

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who made 343 appearances for Newcastle United, has claimed that Jonjo Shelvey is in the team to do things other than run about the pitch.

During an episode of Zoom Army, a series on Newcastle’s YouTube channel, Shelvey was asked by a fan why he was so lazy which saw the stand-in captain claim his running stats said otherwise.

The £70,000-per-week midfielder is more known for his passing ability, something that often left Rafa Benitez awestruck during his time at the club.

Speaking on how Shelvey is not in the team to run about the pitch and what he really brings to the team, Lee exclusively told FFC:

“I think he probably runs but doesn’t sprint, but he probably covers a lot of ground. I’m not a believer in stats because Jonjo Shelvey is not in the team to run around and close people down.

“Jonjo Shelvey has great passing ability and on his day his passing is as good as anybody so I’d say he is probably one of the best passers in the league.”

Shelvey signed in January 2016, which was to be only months before Newcastle were relegated to the Championship. However, the former Liverpool midfielder stuck with the club and helped get them promoted at the first time of asking.

The England international has been handed the captain’s armband while Jamaal Lascelles is recovering from an injury that could keep him out for several weeks.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, David Norris, who made 118 appearances for Ipswich Town, has claimed that on-loan striker, Troy Parrott, won’t be able to make a career for himself at his parent club Tottenham Hotspur.

Parrott has high expectations at Spurs with current manager, Ryan Mason, claiming that the club still have confidence in the striker to fulfil his potential, despite a tough time during both his loan spells at Ipswich and Milwall respectively this season.

The 19-year old has only managed one goal in 29 games this campaign, which saw him also fail to score at all during the first half of the season when he played 11 times in the Championship with Millwall.

Speaking on how his loan spells haven’t worked out for him and how he doesn’t think the striker has enough to make it at Tottenham, Norris exclusively told FFC:

“It’s not worked out for him because one goal in 15 games is not great and it’s not what the club would have hoped for, and it’s certainly not what the lad would have wanted. 

“I think I’d probably say I’m not sure he’s going to cut it in the Premier League.”

Parrott has made just four appearances for Spurs but his record for their U18s side was phenomenal, which saw him score 17 goals in 15 games.

Spurs may feel he needs a season in their U23s to potentially regain some of his confidence after a poor season on the pitch for the Republic of Ireland international.

Many Leicester City fans have been left to blast the performance of Youri Tielemans in their 2-0 home loss to Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday.

Goals from Benjamin Mendy and Gabriel Jesus were more than enough for Pep Guardiola’s team to take all three points away from the King Power Stadium on the evening, as Tielemans was one of several Foxes to have struggled to cope with the league leaders throughout the game.

The former AS Monaco star lost out on six of his duels and also failed to make a single interception or cross, losing possession of the ball on 11 different occasions and recording fewer touches (46) than his own goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel with 53 (Sofascore), highlighting just how ineffective he was in the match.

Leicester fans on Tielemans display

These Leicester supporters slammed his performance on Twitter, with one fan even going as far as to claim that the central midfielder was ‘sluggish’:

“That was hard work lucky to be going in at HT all square. Yes Man City are a good side but we need to stop stroking their egos & get into them. Midfield is getting bossed, Ndidi and Tielemans both poor. Defence looks decent but need a outlet because it’s only a matter of time. #LCFC”

Credit: @Ashleypp1986

“Man City making Tielemans and Ndidi look poor, could do with KDB pulling a hamstring early second half #LEIMCI”

Credit: @Bodfeatures

“Tielemans looks proper sluggish”

Credit: @BenWasley1

“Tielemans just hasn’t turned up so far”

Credit: @jstcla_

“Tielemans has been awful”

Credit: @maiseylouie80

“This is a game where we need Tielemans on top form and he hasn’t turned up yet”

Credit: @lcfcleon

In other news, find out who else’s display was slammed by some Foxes fans.

Former Tottenham Hotspur star Graham Roberts has told Football FanCast that Jose Mourinho has to stop chopping and changing his defence and begin adding some consistency to his selections.

The club have really struggled this season and are currently seventh in the Premier League table.

The loss to Manchester United at the weekend has left the club six points behind fourth-placed West Ham United and clinging on to any hope of qualifying for the Champions League by their fingertips.

Against United, Eric Dier and Joe Rodon played at centre-back; versus Newcastle United, it was Rodon and Davinson Sanchez, as it was against Aston Villa, while against Arsenal, Mourinho picked Toby Alderweireld to partner Sanchez.

He has also rotated between Matt Doherty, Serge Aurier, and Japhet Tanganga at right-back, and Ben Davies and Sergio Reguilon at left-back, and Roberts believes that such uncertainty is leaving Spurs without a proper defensive understanding.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “The bottom line of it is that we have to get some consistency. We know the team gets changed every week. And you can’t have an understanding in a team, the goalkeeper doesn’t know who’s in front of him most weeks because it changes every week.

“So how’s he supposed to get an understanding with them? I think that’s been the let-down this year.

“We haven’t had a settled side that we could put out and play every week.”

Indeed, there are just two players that have played every minute of every Premier League game this season: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Everton have landed a huge boost in the race to sign Lucas Vazquez after the Real Madrid maestro reportedly named Goodison Park as his preferred destination.

What’s the word?

According to a report in Spain, Vazquez has decided that he will leave the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season and he has his heart set on a reunion with Carlo Ancelotti and James Rodriguez.

Vazquez is due to be out of contract when his £113,000-per-week terms expire in June and he has not seen the La Liga giants reopen negotiations after he rejected the terms of a new deal.

The Spain international is now set to leave Real, unless there’s an expectational change in circumstances, and he has a wealth of admirers in Everton, Leeds United, AC Milan and Real Betis, while Valencia, Sevilla and SSC Napoli have previously been linked.

Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid are also potential destinations, though Vazquez is now said to be considering a move to Merseyside as he knows what to expect if playing under Ancelotti.

Vazquez never made an appearance for Ancelotti during the Italian’s time in charge of Los Blancos, but the Everton boss apparently values how the £13.5m-rated winger has since developed and grown as a person.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-news-on-everton” title=”Check out the latest news on Everton!”]

Should Everton sign Vazquez?

Everton’s alleged intention to bring Vazquez to Merseyside in the off-season to benefit Rodriguez is not new, with Defensa Central claiming at the start of the month that Ancelotti had targeted the Real Madrid forward as part of his plans to keep the Colombian on side.

It was thought that Ancelotti was pushing Everton to sign Vazquez as his arrival would help convince Rodriguez to stay at Goodison Park, as the Colombian had reportedly grown disillusioned by life in the Premier League and was considering a return to Spain.

But the Toffees can benefit from having Vazquez on the pitch, as well, as the soon-to-be free agent can allow Ancelotti to play with either a four or five-man defence after impressing in a right-wing-back role for Real Madrid this season.

Ancelotti has often rotated between naming two and three centre-halves this season, with a 4-3-3 his most-used system for Premier League games with it used on nine occasions so far. He has utilised three centre-back formations five times and two centre-half systems 23 times, per WhoScored.

It was also in a five-at-the-back that Everton hosted Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday, with Seamus Coleman started at full-back over Mason Holgate.

Ancelotti has favoured Holgate in the role for 12 top-flight fixtures to Coleman on 10 occasions to date, in which they have contributed a respective 2.5 and 2.1 successful tackles, 1.6 and 0.5 interceptions, 0.3 accurate crosses from 1.6 and 1.4 attempts plus 0.3 and 0.5 key passes, per WhoScored.

Vazquez, meanwhile, has made 10 of his 22 La Liga outings this term as a wing-back, in which he has averaged three successful tackles, one interception, 1.4 accurate crosses from 5.8 attempts and 2.1 key passes.

That goes to show the Galacticos talent may not only create more goalscoring chances for the likes of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin to fire Everton up the Premier League table, but also take some of the defensive burden away from Ben Godfrey and co. in the centre next season.

So, not only could Vazquez give Rodriguez a morale boost, but he could also give Ancelotti a competent and productive wing-back option without Everton paying Real Madrid a penny.

AND in other news, Everton are monitoring a £17m ace dubbed the next Erling Haaland…

Motherwell defender Declan Gallagher has been linked with a move to Celtic Park in the summer.

TEAMtalk reported earlier this month that the Hoops were ready to make a move for the central defender, who has had his head turned by Celtic’s interest and will be available for free as he is out of contract this summer (Transfermarkt).

Fresh Gallagher link

Now, Give Me Sport are the latest to share news on Gallagher. They claim that the Scotland international is definitely of interest to the Hoops.

Rochdale’s Kwadwo Baah and Peterborough’s Siriki Dembele are two other players also being looked at by Celtic ahead of a summer potentially filled with cut-price moves.

All three could be available for next to nothing at the end of the current campaign when their respective contracts expire, allowing Dominic McKay to start his reign as the new Hoops chief with some bargain hunting.

Bye bye Duffy

Gallagher, a boyhood Celtic fan, is seemingly keen on a Parkhead switch, and would be a clever replacement for Shane Duffy as he has more experience in the league and would cost less.

Duffy is set to return to Brighton in the summer following his season-long loan in Glasgow, and financially, bringing in Gallagher to replace Duffy could be a shrewd move.

Gallagher is on just £1,400-a-week, whereas the Hoops have reportedly been paying £25,000 of Duffy’s £45,000-a-week wage.

The Motherwell man has over 100 Scottish Premiership appearances under his belt and could prove a solid addition to battle the likes of Kris Ajer, Christopher Jullien and Stephen Welsh.

In other news: One former Celtic man worried over Celtic’s possible move for Gallagher, find out more here. 

Ozan Kabak and Roberto Firmino should both be back in contention for Liverpool’s Champions League round of 16 second leg against RB Leipzig on Wednesday, according to The Athletic’s James Pearce.

The pair were missing on Sunday as Liverpool slumped to a sixth consecutive home defeat against Fulham. However, their injuries were understood to be minor, and Jurgen Klopp should have them available again as he plots a route into the last eight of the competition.

Liverpool’s domestic path to Champions League qualification is narrowing, and so they might have to win the competition to avoid the huge financial blow of missing out on it next season. They carry a 2-0 lead into the second leg, nominally their ‘home’ fixture.

Firmino and Kabak both started the first meeting in Budapest three weeks ago. The struggling Brazilian has yet to score in Europe this season, while Kabak is battling to win over some doubtful Reds fans, as well as his manager, as the club decide whether to exercise their option to buy the on-loan defender.

Liverpool fans take little encouragement from Firmino/Kabak return

“Is it compulsory for Kabak to play in that Liverpool squad…”

Credit: @mister_laolu

“We will still lose…”

Credit: @No4troublemaker

“Firmino? NO”

Credit: @lcfpxnj

“Start Nat and not Kabak, he’s been brilliant”

Credit: @harooncr171

“So you’re saying we’ll lose again”

Credit: @NewhouseT

“Firmino hasn’t been fit for over 2 years.”

Credit: @T_bird_6

“And what changes?? Trash”

Credit: @Manlikegidi

In other news, some Liverpool fans were critical of one midfielder during Fulham clash