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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Newcastle defender Steve Howey was shocked to see Steve Bruce’s defensive approach to the game against West Bromwich Albion.

Howey did try to look at the 0-0 draw in a positive way and acknowledged that the Magpies didn’t get beaten, which saw them keep their heads above the bottom three despite Fulham’s win at Anfield.

Despite being without his two top scorers in Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron, Bruce opted for going without a recognised striker. Instead, he opted to play Joe Willock as a false nine.

Newcastle had both Dwight Gayle and Andy Carroll on the bench, with the latter coming on for a cameo that lasted less than one minute when the team were locked at 0-0 with the 19th-placed Baggies.

Howey admits he was surprised by Bruce’s decision but was pleasantly proved wrong for the first 15 minutes when Newcastle had a number of chances via Ryan Fraser and Joelinton.

The former defender told FFC how he expected Bruce to set up differently against a bottom three side.

He said: “I was kind of surprised by the way the manager set up, but that’s his prerogative.

“In all fairness, it kind of semi worked for the first 15 minutes. I was covering the game for sky yesterday, and Newcastle had chances, they had chances.

“Obviously, you didn’t want to get beat but at the same time, I think they’ve only won three games and they’ve struggled to score goals.

“So, whilst on social media, I kind of put the positive spin that I can put on which was the fact that we didn’t get three points, but neither did they.”

It appeared to be a must-win game for Newcastle, however, Bruce’s pragmatic approach earned the Magpies a point which kept them out of the bottom three.

Newcastle now face Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break which could turn out to be a crucial period for both manager and club.

In a recent interview, former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, discussed Spurs’ interest in promising young right-back, Max Aarons.

According to The Sunday Mirror (via Football Insider), Tottenham’s head of recruitment, Steve Hitchen, attended Norwich City’s 2-0 victory against Bristol City last week, with Aarons, who is thought to be a long-term transfer target of Spurs, being suggested as a potential reason for Hitchin’s presence at Carrow Road.

However, in a recent interview given to Football Insider, Robinson stated that he was unsure as to whether the £18 million-rated 21-year-old would be keen on a move to north London, as minutes could be few and far between for the England U21 international at Spurs, suggesting a buy-and-loan-back deal.

He said: “Tottenham have always signed young players with great potential. Max Aarons is 21 but he is not going to want to come to Spurs and not play.

“He has been linked with a move to Spurs for a long time now but things have changed. I cannot see Aarons getting any game time. Where would he play? [Matt] Doherty and [Serge] Aurier would play ahead of him.

“He could be signed and loaned back out as a potential one for the future. Spurs have done that type of deal in the past and they are likely to again. Daniel [Levy] likes doing deals like that.”

Transfer Tavern Take

As Robinson points out, considering the fact that Spurs currently have both Aurier and Doherty in their first-team squad, Aarons could well struggle for game time in Jose Mourinho’s side.

However, a buy and loan type deal, which the former Spurs man also puts forward in his interview, could be a good way to navigate a lack of minutes for Aarons, while ensuring that Tottenham do not miss out on the right-back further down the line.

Indeed, having already made 110 first-team appearances for Norwich – over which he has scored four goals and provided 11 assists – at just 21 years of age, it would seem as if Aarons could well be a talent worth investing in sooner rather than later for Spurs.

In other Tottenham news, Spurs have been linked with this French striker, find out more here!

Celtic are currently linked with a number of names to potentially come in and replace the recently departed Neil Lennon. The Irishman left the club amid talks of his sacking after the Hoops have suffered a lacklustre season in both the Premiership and Europa League.

One name that has been heavily flirted with the idea of stepping in is Rafael Benitez. Before Lennon left the club, The Mirror reported that he was heavily in the picture to take over as head coach following his decision to leave his position in China. Whilst talks may have gone a little quiet since, bookmakers are still including him in the running to take the job.

Benitez himself has since come out with a rather interesting statement about his next career move. Speaking to the Daily Record, the Spaniard admitted he has had “so many offers” since he became available again “from South America to the Emirates”, however he isn’t looking to pursue any of these options.

“I want to stay in Europe and I want to do so to be competitive at a high level,” Benitez continued. “I’m looking for a project that will allow me to be competitive and with time and space to grow.”

This is definitely something to prick up the ears of fans and professionals alike. Due to their disappointing 2020/21 season, Celtic are very much in need of a squad revamp and a new set of managerial tactics. Benitez found success with Liverpool and boasts a Champions League trophy and FA Cup. He also won the Europa League with Chelsea and the Club World Cup with Inter Milan, just to name a few of his accolades.

He managed to drive Newcastle to their promotion from the Championship back in 2016 too, showing he has what it takes to challenge in both league and cup competitions.

His pedigree speaks for itself and his desire to stay in Europa and take on a project that needs some TLC is very telling. Perhaps the Celtic job has been earmarked by the Spaniard as the season in Scotland rounds off.

In other news, Appointing Benitez could hugely improve Stephen Welsh at Celtic…

Carlo Ancelotti must unleash Anthony Gordon in Everton’s Boxing Day trip to Sheffield United with the Toffees potentially without Richarlison.

The Blues travel to Bramall Lane looking to match last season’s 1-0 win over Chris Wilder’s Blades but could be without game-winner Richarlison, after he was substituted off during Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat to Manchester United.

And according to The Guardian, the Goodison Park natives are awaiting the results of further tests to determine whether or not Richarlison can feature against Sheffield United as the club refuses to breach the Football Association’s concussion protocols.

Richarlison has claimed in a message shared on Twitter that “everything is fine” after receiving an accidental elbow to the head in a collision with Eric Bailly, which saw Everton’s club doctor instruct Ancelotti to withdraw the Brazilian from the game.

Everton are yet to win a top-flight fixture without Richarlison featuring at some stage since his £50m arrival from Watford in 2018, including all three Premier League fixtures this season whilst the 23-year-old was suspended after a red card in the Merseyside Derby.

Ancelotti will be eager to avoid a repeat string of results should Richarlison not be eligible to face Sheffield United, and therefore must turn to Gordon and hand the academy product his first league start of the campaign.

Gordon has played just 32 minutes of Premier League football this season, including a sole one-minute cameo since October, despite offering three assists in two Carabao Cup appearances during the early rounds in September.

The 19-year-old was clearly surprised by his limited opportunities to impress after catching Ancelotti’s attention last term, but looked positively on the situation having spoken with the Everton boss to discuss a route back into the Italian’s plans.

“I didn’t go and bang his door down, I went and asked politely: ‘What can I do better to get in the team?’,” Gordon told EvertonTV. “I always want to get better and improve as a player. I just wanted his views on that – he gave me his view and I am trying to work on that every day.”

Ancelotti had noted after a sublime display against Leicester City in July how he felt ready to invest “a lot of trust and confidence” in Gordon, believing the England U20 international is “physically good and has a lot of ability and technical skills”.

That confidence has clearly not returned the chances Gordon would have liked this season, but the potential loss of Richarlison perfectly re-opens the door for Ancelotti to usher the teenage prospect back into the fold.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands will have to ditch his favoured Everton approach to sign a sought-after £18m enforcer.

Cast your mind back to Leeds United’s summer of spending and you will likely recall seeing a wry smile on Victor Orta’s face. Who could blame him, either?

The Spaniard had just broken the club’s transfer record to sign Rodrigo from Valencia but things very nearly ended in tears when the window came to a close.

A deal to bring Michael Cuisance to the club fell through due to a failed medical, while a legal battle was ongoing with RB Leipzig over Jean-Kevin Augustin.

The failed transfer for Cuisance will have brought huge frustrations. The former Bayern Munich youngster was as good as through the door at Leeds but complications meant that he went back to Germany and ultimately signed for Marseille.

Leeds chose not to sign anyone else, but the January window has given them an opportunity to make amends. They could do so by signing versatile Chilean Erick Pulgar.

The Fiorentina midfielder has reportedly become an option for Leeds this month and if they did sign him, it would be a superb piece of business.

Pulgar is the definition of a pit bull in the middle of the park and would combine the best elements of both Kalvin Phillips and Mateusz Klich. That alone should have Leeds fans standing to attention.

The 26-year-old has failed to find the net this term but in 2019/20, he was an almighty lynchpin for La Viola in Serie A. He scored seven times and registered six assists in the process. While achieving those stats in the final third, Pulgar also offered a great deal defensively.

Making 66 tackles in the Italian top-flight, he produced two tackles per game. For context, that’s just 0.3 fewer challenges a match than Phillips. Klich, meanwhile, completed 1.9 tackles on average so the two players are incredibly alike.

Clearly, the 24-cap international has plenty to give, something typified by Cesare Prandelli. “He has good physical geometry, he is powerful,” the Italian commented.

Though, for a better opinion on the midfielder, you only need to read words from journalist Tim Vickery, someone who has previously assessed his suitability for Leeds. He once stated: “Erick Pulgar is a defensive midfielder, plays with Fiorentina in Italy, and in fact, in the last couple of years, he seems to have added goals to his game.”

He continued: “He’s been ghosting into the box, he’s tall, versatile, and if there is something in this, then I think he would be an asset, I think he would be a solid citizen to bring into Leeds’ central midfield.”

This would certainly be an intriguing addition, one Orta simply has to make to help his manager out.

Phillip and Klich are clearly important players for Leeds and given the amount of football Leeds will have to play between now and the end of the season, adding further bodies will no doubt help.

You only need to look at how Leeds lost 3-0 to League Two Crawley to understand there is a lack of quality throughout the entire squad.

Pulgar, therefore, could come into the Leeds side to replace Klich, which in turn could help Bielsa rotate without losing such a huge degree of quality as he did last weekend as Klich would be a more than capable rotational option.

AND in other news, Forget Dallas: Leeds must swoop for “reliable” 9-cap gem who always “gives everything”…

According to a report from Calciomercato, West Ham United are in the running to sign Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud in January and could well land him – coming after an inside claim from Claret & Hugh detailed the Frenchman as an option for David Moyes. 

Giroud, who has found game time difficult to come by at Stamford Bridge this season, making limited appearances, has still managed to impress when given the opportunity – scoring the winner for Frank Lampard’s side on Tuesday night as they edged out Rennes in the Champions League. 

Giroud on the move?

However, in a candid interview with French outlet Telefoot, via Sky Sports, Giroud hinted at a possible January exit given the postponed Euro 2020 championships linger next year – with West Ham emerging as candidates for his signature.

Calciomercato claim that both the Hammers and Spurs are two Premier League outfits eyeing a move for the ‘outstanding’ striker, with Inter Milan currently in pole position.

This comes after Claret & Hugh claimed that Giroud had emerged as a potential option for Moyes, with this Calciomercato update backing up that claim amid West Ham’s search for a striker.

GSB were interested in poaching Giroud last season, falling just short, with Moyes having only Sebastien Haller and the currently unfit Michail Antonio at his disposal.

Transfer Tavern take

News that West Ham are now in the running to sign him could come as music to many Hammers fans’ ears, especially given the lack of firepower up front without Antonio playing – fans absolutely fumed at Haller last weekend despite his winning goal, lambasting the Frenchman as lazy.

Whether or not they win the race ahead of many other suitors remains to be seen, but a swoop for the Chelsea man would have a massive impact on Antonio, allowing Moyes to rotate between forwards and not overwork the English star into more injuries.

In other news: West Ham fans have raved over this ‘beast’ tipped to fill the Antonio void, find out more here. 

Michael Keane stole the show as Everton beat Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday with the England international helping to form a brick wall in front of Jordan Pickford’s goal.

Carlo Ancelotti named an all-central defender backline for the visit of Frank Lampard’s Blues to Goodison Park following injuries to full-backs Lucas Digne and Seamus Coleman, while losing makeshift left-back Fabian Delph to a hamstring strain.

Losing the width in defence helped ensure Saturday’s affair was an exasperating afternoon for Everton, who were forced to work hard for a win sealed through a 22nd-minute penalty converted by Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Chelsea controlled much of the proceedings as the strived to find a way to move atop the Premier League table, but were consistently thwarted by an Everton unit who Alan Shearer felt worked well together in closing down any spaces the visitors sought to occupy.

“They defended as a team; they didn’t give up any space. Keane, I thought was magnificent, along with the other defenders,” Premier League icon Shearer said while speaking on BBC One’s Match of the Day as he enthused over Keane’s display.

“They just worked together, there was no space. They came up against a wall all afternoon. Everton, I thought, were brilliant.”

Keane stood out from his backline partners Yerry Mina, Mason Holgate and Ben Godfrey – who has now featured in each defensive position since moving from Norwich for £20m this summer – as he led the line in protecting Pickford’s goal.

Ancelotti had named Keane as his captain for the prior week’s draw at Burnley for he felt the ex-Burnley man is a “professional guy, dedicated, and really cares about this club”, and saw that enthusiasm remain despite Sigurdsson taking the honour at home to Chelsea.

No player for either side registered more clearances on Saturday than Keane, who dealt with danger on 10 occasions while intercepting the ball twice and winning five of his six aerial duels, per SofaScore.

He further lost possession just four times as Keane recorded 32 touches, found teammates with 15 of his 19 passes and saw the ball remain with Everton with two of five long balls.

Mina, meanwhile, made only five clearances, Godfrey two and Holgate eight, while each were less successful in the air than Keane with four, two and zero successful duels.

Keane may not have worn the armband against Chelsea, but the £65,000-per-week centre-half dealt with Chelsea with all the hallmarks of the defensive leader Everton need him to be.

And that was a major reason to why they not just kept a clean sheet, but also defeated the Blues at Goodison Park.

In other news, Marcel Brands has landed a huge break in his bid to final rid Everton of Steve Walsh’s £42m blunder.

Everton and Carlo Ancelotti can look to exploit one key weakness of Jack Butland should Liverpool sign the Stoke City goalkeeper ahead of this month’s Merseyside Derby.

Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League champions have been linked with a late move to sign the former England international during the final week of the EFL transfer window by the Mirror, having lost first-choice Alisson Becker for six weeks through injury and harbouring concerns of Adrian’s talents after shipping seven goals to Aston Villa.

Liverpool have held talks with the Potters over the potential of a deal to sign Butland before travelling to Goodison Park on October 17, and could call on the £35,000-per-week shot-stopper against Everton should a move occur.

Butland has fallen further from his glory days of being an England international Stoke valued at £30million following their relegation, with the ‘keeper no longer first-choice and said to be desperate to leave the bet365 Stadium to rekindle his career having not featured since a 5-0 thrashing at Leeds United in July.

The 27-year-old is also in the final year of his contract and is noted to be one of Stoke’s top-earners, making a late deal for Butland to join Liverpool one that suits all parties involved.

Stoke have previously been claimed to now value Butland between £8m and £10m per Sky Sports, having received enquires but no firm offers earlier this summer.

Should Liverpool land the ‘keeper, Everton should not fear Butland’s involvement in the Merseyside Derby in place of Adrian as Ancelotti can look to exploit one key weakness in his game.

Over Butland’s 35 appearances in last season’s Championship campaign, the nine-cap ‘keeper managed to keep nine clean sheets to the generous 56 goals he conceded.

Of those goals fired past Butland, SofaScore data shows 45 were netted from strikes taken inside the Stoke penalty area compared to 11 hit home from outside the box.

Butland also only managed to record 43 saves from shots taken inside the Potters’ penalty area, showing he allowed more goals against him than he managed to prevent when opponents were able to get within the box.

That was not the same occurrence with shots taken outside of the penalty area, as Butland was able to turn away 31 of the 42 efforts struck from range in the second-tier last term.

Ancelotti and Everton, therefore, should not fret Butland’s potential involvement in the Merseyside Derby as they can look to work the ball into the box knowing their chance of scoring will drastically improve even if Klopp sees the 27-year-old as a better option to Adrian.

Everton have been able to fashion plenty of efforts on goal in the Premier League this season, with Ancelotti’s men boasting all but one of their joint-division-high 12 goals from efforts recorded inside the penalty area to date.

AND in other news, Everton were shown what they missed this summer as a £10m former target thrived on the international stage.

Glasgow Rangers ace Joe Aribo marked his return from injury with his second goal of the 2020-21 season to help secure three points at Ibrox.

Aribo, 24, was ruled out for a couple of months after he suffered an injury against St. Johnstone in August. But the 4-cap Nigeria international made an appearance as a substitute as he replaced Scott Arfield against Celtic in the closing stages of the first Old Firm derby of the season, before he came off the bench in the 2-0 win over Standard Liege in the Europa League.

Steven Gerrard rewarded him for his efforts with his first start in over two months on Sunday afternoon. And Aribo returned the favour as he opened the scoring against Livingston, with the win meaning Rangers have moved six points clear of their arch-rivals Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table. Jermain Defoe’s initial shot was blocked but Aribo remained unmarked and he slotted home the opener from six yards outside the goal.

Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister praised the “very talented” player for his performance and physical condition, as quoted by the Glasgow Times.

He said: “We are all big fans of Joe Aribo here, I think he has been missed. Visually, he looks in a good place as far as where his body shape is.”

“He is in great nick. He has probably put a wee bit of muscle on his upper body.

“We expect big things from Joe. He’s a very talented player. And he can play in two or three different positions. We are pleased to get him back on the pitch.”

SofaScore gave Aribo a high grade of 7.1 – he completed 29 out of 33 passes in total at a pass accuracy rating of 88%, whilst he won four out of nine ground duels, took one shot on target, and completed two out of three dribble attempts, as well as made one tackle and three clearances, which shows that he put in a defensive shift as well.

Similarly, GlasgowLive gave him a grade of 7/10, claiming he “announced his return to the starting XI with a goal and showed plenty of energy throughout. Not quite at full speed yet but a strong performance given his injury lay-off.”

If this performance is anything, Aribo, who currently earns wages worth £8k-per-week, could be giving Gerrard a big headache, as Scott Arfield has also impressed in recent weeks, whilst Bongani Zungu still has not made his first-team debut despite the fact he arrived at the Ibrox outfit on transfer deadline day.

Surely there is no better way to show the boss what you can do than by scoring upon your return to the starting line-up. Full marks from us.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers ace Ianis Hagi sends Gerrard timely reminder with masterclass vs Livingston…

Plenty of Everton fans have been lauding a transfer link to Thomas Lemar as AS have reported that the Atletico Madrid ace is holding out for a move to the Premier League in the summer transfer window.

However, according to the outlet, Carlo Ancelotti’s team may face competition from Wolves to get his signature over the dotted line after he already rejected Portuguese side FC Porto.

The publication also states that he could cost between 25 and 30 million euros, which is the equivalent of between around £22.3 million and £26.7 million.

Indeed, the 24-year old was a key part of the AS Monaco team that beat French giants PSG to the Ligue 1 title in the 2016/17 term, scoring a relatively impressive nine goals and making a further 12 assists in 34 games, as per Transfermarkt.

The winger was also part of the France squad that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup, beating Croatia 4-2 in the final (per the website).

These members of the Goodison Park faithful lauded the news on Twitter:

Evertonians, would Lemar be a good signing? Comment below!