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Everton have opened talks with Championship side Bournemouth over the possible signing of Asmir Begovic, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Begovic actually still has a year remaining on his contract at the Vitality Stadium but could move to Merseyside on a free transfer.

The Bosnian would pen a two-year deal and provide cover and competition for Jordan Pickford.

Robin Olsen occupied that role in the squad last season but he’s now returned to AS Roma at the end of his loan spell.

The ‘final decision’ on the transfer will rest with new manager Rafael Benitez, Romano adds.

Begovic would be a vastly experienced deputy for Everton

Begovic, now 34, has played in excess of 250 Premier League games during his career, racking up 63 clean sheets in that time (via Transfermarkt).

Back in 2015, Chelsea paid £8million to sign him after he caught the eye at Stoke City.

Last season he helped Bournemouth reach the play-offs, where they were beaten by Brentford.

Fan feed The Toffee Blues shared Romano’s report, and here’s what supporters made of it.

These Everton fans unimpressed by Begovic news

“I would rather have Virginia as back up, he did ok against City in the cup”

Credit: @JayJco75

“Would rather have Sergio Romero”

Credit: @RDouble83

“Brands mustn’t have seen the championship playoff game, played like an angry teenager who had their xbox taken off them.”

Credit: @stockyblue1981

“From Olsen as back up to this, the new manager won’t see Halloween.”

Credit: @realkitters

“He’s well past his best”

Credit: @eddo2012

“Tragic”

Credit: @jayhow15

In other news, fans were much happier with this transfer update.

A number of Wolves supporters are concerned after centre-back Willy Boly was ruled out of the Africa Cup of Nations for health reasons.

Bruno Lage’s side are enjoying a good season in the Premier League, pushing for a European finish and recently picking up a memorable 1-0 win away to Manchester United.

Wolves have again operated with a back-three in 2021/22, with Max Kilman, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss performing impressively as a unit.

Boly has been on the periphery of things, however, having struggled to overcome COVID, making just one solitary Carabao Cup appearance this season.

It has now been confirmed by Talking Wolves on Twitter that Boly has pulled out of AFCON for health reasons, in what is a concerning update.

Wolves fans react to Boly latest

These Wolves fans have taken to Twitter to react to the news, wishing the defender all the best.

“Don’t know if we’ll ever see him play again. Need another CB ASAP”

Credit: @adamwwfc03

“Bit worried for Boly now. Medical reasons sound ominous. Hope he’s alright”

Credit: @parker_bradley

“Hope he’s alright man”

Credit: @SJwolvs

“Really feel for him”

Credit: @Wolvesjay90

“Something not good going on here, wish Wolves would tell us what’s happening”

Credit: @BVitler

“Feel so bad for him”

Credit: @AdamWWFC_

In other news, Wolves have been dealt a potential big transfer blow. Read more here.

West Ham United’s top-six hopes were dealt a big blow this afternoon as the Hammers were held to a 1-1 draw by relegation-threatened Burnley.

The managerless Clarets, who parted company with Sean Dyche on Friday after ten years in charge, took the lead through Wout Weghorst in the 33rd minute and could’ve had a two-goal lead at half-time when awarded a penalty. However, the spot-kick was missed by Maxwell Cornet.

Irons midfielder Tomas Soucek was able to equalise with 16 minutes to go for the hosts to ensure they took something from the match, although after Thursday’s 3-0 win in Lyon, the result will certainly be a disappointment.

Depsite the result, there were some shining lights for David Moyes’s side with attacking midfielder Manuel Lanzini particularly impressive.

According to SofaScore, the Argentinian was the Hammers’ joint-second best player, picking up a 7.4/10 rating alongside right-back Ben Johnson with goalscorer Soucek the highest-ranked with a score of 7.5.

The Czech Republic international’s goal was assisted by the 29-year-old, his fourth of the campaign, who also managed to impressively complete 93% of his passes whilst making 65 touches in a lively 79 minutes.

With three key passes and a 100% dribble success rate, the playmaker was a handful to deal with for Burnley. Moreover, Lanzini also won half of his duels.

Eyelids certainly wouldn’t have been batted outside the London Stadium when team news was announced if the Argentinian wasn’t starting having played from the off three days prior in Lyon.

Furthermore, the attacking midfielder was recently involved in a serious car crash that left him with a knock.

However, once again being deployed in the middle of an attacking midfield trio, the 29-year-old, who was labelled as a “special, special player” by captain Declan Rice earlier this season, impressed.

There’s plenty of competition for places in West Ham’s attacking midfield with the likes of Said Benrahma, Nikola Vlasic, Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen all able to play behind the striker.

The Argentinian is easily the longest-serving of them all though and is certainly a fan favourite after seven seasons at the East London club.

Although, his time as a Hammer may soon come to an end with the maestro’s contract set to expire next summer with few signs suggesting an extension will be signed.

For now, though, Lanzini must continue performing well to maintain a starting spot in both the Premier League and Europa League as the Hammers look to push for European qualification for next season.

AND in other news: West Ham plot bid for £21.6m-rated “leader”, Moyes can now axe “shocking” £61k-p/w dud

Manchester United have received a potential injury blow ahead of their Premier League clash with Norwich City over the weekend after Aaron Wan-Bissaka picked up an issue against BSC Young Boys.

What’s the word?

In his post-match interview on Wednesday night, interim manager Ralf Rangnick confirmed that the 24-year-old is a doubt ahead of their trip to Carrow Road on Saturday.

The right-back took a heavy knock to his hand after falling awkwardly during the game before leaving the field of play on a stretcher after the final whistle had been blown after he collided with the advertising boards in the final seconds of the match.

“Aaron got two knocks again. One on the wrist another one on the knee, so we have to see how this will develop by Saturday,” revealed Rangnick. “It was an experiment but I did it on purpose as I wanted to save the players’ energy for Norwich.”

Ralf Rangnick will be gutted

News that Wan-Bissaka is potentially unavailable for the upcoming encounter with the Canaries will leave Rangnick feeling gutted as he’s dealt his first big obstacle and setback in the Old Trafford dugout.

Although the £90,000-per-week gem is no longer guaranteed a starting spot under the new regime and is facing increased competition from Diogo Dalot, he is still a valuable member of the first-team squad.

As per WhoScored, Wan-Bissaka has averaged 2.2 tackles per league game this season, placing him third amongst his teammates, while also producing 1.3 interceptions, more than any of his colleague’s bar Fred, who has matched his tally.

Therefore, Rangnick is likely to be hugely disappointed if Wan-Bissaka is unable to recover in time for the crucial fixture against Norwich, with United desperate to maintain their momentum as they go in search of a top-four finish.

How the German overcomes his first big dilemma in charge of the club will be fascinating.

And, in other news…Forget Greenwood: Man United beast who won 82% duels took his chance vs Young Boys

Celtic are still thought to be keen on signing Peterborough United forward Siriki Dembele, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Dembele links in 2021

Rumours first emerged regarding Celtic’s interest in Dembele, older brother of Hoops winger Karamoko, back in March.

The versatile forward was involved in 24 goals during the 2020/21 campaign and was reportedly favouring a move to Scotland over the summer, however, he remained with The Posh.

Dembele has gone on to score four times in his first taste of Championship football, and his name has once again popped up when it comes to players being linked with a move to Glasgow.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-16/” title=”Celtic updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: £4m price tag…

Football Insider shared a story regarding Dembele on Thursday morning.

Within their report, they suggested that Celtic, Rangers and Fulham have targeted the 25-year-old, who now has a £4m January transfer window price tag.

Dembele, who came through Nike’s Football Academy, similar to Tom Rogic, is out of contract at the end of the season at this moment in time, however, Peterborough don’t want to lose him in the New Year and want to scare any interested sides off with the asking price.

The Verdict: Avoid?

It seems as if Celtic will be getting a versatile forward through the door in Daizen Maeda, who like Dembele, can play out wide or centrally.

The Hoops brought in multiple attacking options over the summer as well, so as long as Maeda arrives in Scotland with the Hoops confident of pushing through a winter window transfer, then perhaps Celtic should look at bolstering other areas of the pitch.

Ange Postecoglou has relied heavily on the same three central midfield options, Callum McGregor, David Turnbull and Rogic, while right-back Josip Juranovic has had to fill in on the opposite side due to Greg Taylor’s absence, so those two areas may be worth adding to instead of two attacking options.

In other news: Injury woes continue for Ange as worries on ‘excellent’ Celtic beast emerge prior to semi-final. 

Interest in Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Adama Traore is growing ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Catalan publication El Nacional, who claim that newly-rich Newcastle United are the latest side to take an interest in the Wolves winger, with the Magpies believed to be keeping a very close eye on the situation of 25-year-old ahead of a potential swoop in the January transfer window.

Indeed, previous reports have claimed that Liverpool are also considering a move for the Spain international in the winter market, a switch that Traore is thought to be open to, while Tottenham Hotspur could also reignite their summer interest in the winger come January.

Shi must not sell

Considering just how important a part of the Wolves side Traore has been in recent seasons, should the club’s director of football, Jeff Shi, decide to cash in on the forward this January, it would undoubtedly be a decision that would leave the Molineux faithful livid.

Indeed, while the winger is yet to score or register an assist over his nine Premier League appearances this term, the £27m-rated man has nevertheless impressed, creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.6 key passes, taking 1.8 shots and completing a whopping 6.1 dribbles per game.

These returns have seen the player who Jurgen Klopp claimed is “undefendable” against average a SofaScore match rating of 7.24, ranking him as Bruno Lage’s best performer in the top flight of English football.

As such, should Shi wish to give Wolves the best possible chance of securing a top ten finish in the league this season, he simply must avoid all temptation to sanction the £46k-per-week man’s sale come January.

Traore is undoubtedly a player who possesses the ability to fire his side towards the European places come the end of the current campaign.

In other news: Wolves set for negotiations over “spectacular” £7.2m-rated gem, Lage would love him

West Ham United return to Premier League action this afternoon as they head to the Midlands to face an out-of-form Aston Villa side hungry for a result.

David Moyes and his side will know that another victory would see them go level on points with defending champions Manchester City, who are currently in third place.

As such, the Scotsman has to make some big calls in regards to his starting lineup, especially after their midweek penalty shootout victory over the aforementioned Citizens in the Carabao Cup.

The Irons have won their last four in all competitions, having defeated local rivals Spurs and Everton by a 1-0 scoreline in recent weeks, as well as Genk in the Europa League.

This hectic fixture list has seen Michail Antonio rested rather often, as he was against City at the London Stadium on Wednesday. But for the trip to Villa Park, Moyes must ensure he’s back in the starting XI as he could really damage Dean Smith’s team.

After some serious investment over the summer, many would have expected the Midlands outfit to mount a serious challenge on the European spots but instead, they find themselves in 15th place, just three points outside of the relegation zone.

They have struggled defensively in recent weeks, conceding six goals in their last two outings – three to Arsenal and three to arch-rivals Wolves.

This is a prospect that should leave both the Hammers boss and Antonio rather excited ahead of kickoff as the 31-year-old talisman could feast if things go his way today.

Antonio sits third on the overall goalscoring charts behind Mo Salah and Jamie Vardy, having bagged six goals and provided three assists in only eight league appearances – 27% of his shots result in a goal, as per the BBC.

The £12.5m-rated forward also ranks as the Hammers’ best-performing player with an average WhoScored rating of 7.59. He leads the way for shots (4.1) and key passes (2.5) per game, proving that he really is Moyes’ main threat in the final third, whilst he isn’t far behind for dribbles per match (1.8) either.

Antonio has been described as the “complete number nine” and “unplayable” on his day by BBC Sport contributor Premier League Panel, whilst Daily Star journalist Paul Brown recently dubbed him a “complete monster” and “absolute revelation” to GIVEMESPORT.

West Ham could really punish Villa today by unleashing Antonio from the off. On current form, he could well destroy the home outfit and that will only bolster their top-four claims even more.

AND in other news, “They have…”: ExWHUemployee drops exciting West Ham claim that’ll leave fans buzzing…

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has provided an update on the fitness of Son Heung-Min and Steven Bergwijn.

The Lowdown: Growing list of absences

Having topped the Premier League table at the end of August after three straight 1-0 victories, Spurs were heavily defeated at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Eric Dier was forced off injured in the first half and Japhet Tanganga was sent off as Palace scored three times in the final 15 minutes to hand Nuno his first league defeat as Spurs manager.

Tottenham were without a bunch of first team players, with Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso, Davinson Sanchez, Ryan Sessegnon, Son and Bergwijn all missing the trip to Selhurst Park.

The Latest: Nuno hoping to have duo back for Chelsea clash

As per Charlie Eccleshare of The Athletic, the manager has at least hinted that the Korean and Dutch forwards could feature in next week’s clash at home to in-form Chelsea.

Nuno claimed that the duo will “hopefully improve and be available for the game next week” after the defeat at Palace, whilst Romero, Lo Celso and Sanchez are likely to miss the clash as they are only due to arrive in London on Saturday, just one day before the match.

The Spurs boss also said: “I believe that we have a good squad and enough quality and talent to overcome all the situations.”

The Verdict: Not the time to panic

Tottenham’s defeat at Palace has stopped them in their tracks, but remember that they won their first three league fixtures of the season and have bolstered their squad whilst keeping Harry Kane.

There are certainly areas for improvement for Spurs, but they have still made a good start to the season and having Son and Bergwijn back for the Chelsea game would provide a lift to the squad.

The Dutchman has previous in terms of scoring against elite opposition, memorably netting against Manchester City on his north London debut, while Son had the second-highest tally of goal contributions (27) at the club in 2020/21. Therefore, Nuno’s cautious optimism that the pair might be fine to feature against the Blues is quite pleasing to hear.

In other news, a BBC pundit has welcomed news of a new role for Daniel Levy. Find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur retain an interest in signing Nikola Milenkovic ahead of the January transfer window…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Italian outlet Calciomercato, who claim Spurs manager Antonio Conte is an admirer of the Fiorentina colossus, though they will face competition from the likes of West Ham United, Manchester United and Juventus.

Valued at £18m by CIES Football Observatory, the Serbia international is a target for the north Londoners this winter, with his current contract set to expire in 18 months time.

It remains to be seen how much a move for Milenkovic would cost.

Conte’s dream defender

The Viola colossus has all the attributes to be a perfect signing under Conte and if sporting director Fabio Paratici and chairman Daniel Levy can seal his signature, then they could well form a frightening duo in north London.

Spurs could well be in need of additional centre-backs, too, with Cristian Romero facing a pretty long stint on the sideline. There won’t be many better options out there this winter than Milenkovic, and he could well be an ideal option alongside the Argentine in the future, particularly under Conte.

Milenkovic ranks inside Fiorentina’s top six players and is arguably one of their best on the ball, averaging a passing accuracy of 90.8% – the second-best of any player to start ten or more league games.

This would suggest that he’s more than capable of being a reliable ball-playing option in defence for Conte. Furthermore, he offers a ruthless edge, also averaging 1.9 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game, via WhoScored.

Once likened to Premier League great Nemanja Vidic, the Serbian should have no trouble in adapting to the English top-flight, especially if he turns out to be half the player of the ex-United powerhouse.

“Milenkovic is better than Vidic with the ball at his feet, and he is much calmer on the field,” Mozzart journalist Dejan Stankovic told ESPN in 2018. “He is the most talented centre-back Serbia have had since Vidic, and they definitely have one thing in common – [they are] both are fearless.”

Meanwhile, he has also been dubbed a “beast” by former Partizan head coach Ivan Tomic.

On the above evidence, Conte would surely love to seal a move for Milenkovic. He had the best defence in Serie A with Inter Milan last season, on their way to the league title, and the Fiorentina star has all the skills to be a perfect fit in his Italian-based system over in N17.

Conte and Milenkovic would be a frightening prospect heading into the remainder of the campaign.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Skipp: Spurs eye “unbeatable” £27m-rated machine, Conte would love him…

Wayne Rooney has admitted that Derby County’s Lee Buchanan is unlikely to feature in their Championship clash this afternoon.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Derbyshire Live, the 35-year-old revealed that the defender, who missed both Derby’s 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town and the Carabao Cup victory over Salford City due to a thigh injury, could be set to sit out once again against Peterborough United this weekend.

Rooney claimed that despite the left-back having rejoined training with the first team on Thursday, it is clear he is not back to 100% fitness, and feels that playing the 22-year-old would be something of a risk.

The Rams manager said: “Lee has trained with us [on Thursday] morning, he has improved a bit more but these are the decisions now where I have to evaluate my squad and see if it is worth taking a risk.

“If I had a full squad of senior players then I maybe can play him but at the minute I can’t afford to lose a player through injury, I have to make sure they are fully fit before they can come back into the team.”

Big blow

Considering their struggles over the summer, Derby have nevertheless impressed in their opening two fixtures of the season, with Rooney’s side heading into Saturday’s clash as favourites against a Peterborough United team who were resolutely beaten by Luton Town 3-0 on the opening day of the new Championship campaign, as well as being trounced 4-0 at home in the Carabao Cup by League One side Plymouth Argyle earlier this week.

However, with the Salford game being a particularly hard-fought 3-3 draw – which the Rams eventually won on penalties – there is a real risk that Derby’s threadbare squad could start to show signs of fatigue at the Weston Homes Stadium this weekend, particularly at left-back, with Craig Forsyth having played the full 90 minutes in both of his team’s fixtures so far this season.

As such, that Buchanan does not seem to have recovered in time for the Peterborough clash is sure to come as a blow for Rooney, not only because his recovery would have allowed the manager to bring some fresh legs into his Derby defence but also because the 20-year-old is one of the most exciting talents in the Rams’ squad.

However, while Rooney may be gutted that the left-back has once again been ruled out, there is nothing more he can do but try his best to get a result with the players who are available for selection, and hope that Buchanan’s injury does not keep him out for much longer.

In other news: Morris heading for grave Derby error over “excellent” beast, Rooney would be fuming