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Erik ten Hag has a long list of potential skippers after stripping Harry Maguire of the armband

No one should have been surprised by the news that Harry Maguire is no longer the captain of Manchester United. The defender was only skipper in name after slipping all the way down the pecking order to fifth-choice centre-back last season, and it had long been reported that Erik ten Hag was going to officially strip him of the armband this summer.

Maguire had been an able if unremarkable captain during the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer years and was particularly important in United's run to second place and the Europa League final in the 2020-21 season. But after his form dramatically declined over the next two campaigns there were always going to be doubts about his position in the long term.

And it made no sense for a player who started only eight Premier League matches last season to have such a prestigious role. Indeed, Maguire was only brought on in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle so that he could lift the trophy. That was a nice touch from Ten Hag but it also served to highlight the fact Maguire was no longer a suitable captain due to his declining presence in the team.

Maguire didn't even get on the pitch in the FA Cup final against Manchester City and towards the end of the season, Ten Hag started to refer to Bruno Fernandes as captain even though the England defender was still officially skipper.

Fernandes is the No. 1 candidate to succeed Maguire permanently, but there are a number of other contenders for the role. GOAL runs through the choices…

Getty Images8Mason Mount

Mount probably saw himself spending most of his career at Chelsea. But the relationship soured as the club focused on making as many new signings as possible without looking after one of their own.

Mount was determined to move to United and seems utterly delighted to be there. It would be a bold choice to give the club's brand new signing the armband but it would also be a huge vote of confidence in the midfielder and give him responsibility early in his Old Trafford career.

AdvertisementGetty Images7Christian Eriksen

Eriksen's career was practically written off after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch at Euro 2020, with Inter ending his contract soon after.

But Brentford took a chance on him and a few months later the Dane earned the biggest move of his life by joining United. The midfielder took no time to settle into the team and formed a formidable axis in the middle of the park with Fernandes and Casemiro.

Few players in the squad can match his wealth of experience and it takes a hell of a lot of character to rebuild your career in the way he has. He is certainly captain material.

Getty Images6Luke Shaw

Shaw is United's longest-serving player now that David de Gea has departed. And that would be enough to make him captain at many of Europe's top sides.

The left-back is a leading voice for club and country, as well as being one of the team's most consistent performers. He is also fully committed to United after recently signing a new contract until 2027.

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Getty5Raphael Varane

You can't argue with the Frenchman's CV: four Champions Leagues, three La Liga titles and a World Cup winner's medal. Varane has seen it all, working with some of the best managers in football including Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane and Rafa Benitez.

He is not a tub-thumping leader but he has always done his talking on the pitch and led by example. He is also fluent in three languages, making him a suitable captain of a modern, international dressing room such as United's.

Chelsea attacker Kai Havertz is being eyed up by Real Madrid for a shock summer transfer, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed.

What's going on with Havertz?

The German international has had another disappointing season, scoring nine goals in 47 games across all competitions, and the 23-year-old could be sacrificed in order to bring another forward in.

The versatile attacker scored the winner as Chelsea won the Champions League two years ago, but has been underwhelming during his time at Stamford Bridge beyond that moment, and his three season spell could now come to an end as Carlo Ancelotti takes aim at the £150k-per-week star.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano confirmed that Los Blancos are interested in Havertz to add depth to their attack, with Marco Asensio set to depart.

"There have been many rumours about Kai Havertz in the last 24 hours, and I'm told that it's true, Real Madrid really appreciate him. He was one of the names they mentioned in their internal meeting they had with Carlo Ancelotti, and with people on the board who report to Florentino Perez," he stated.

"So it's true that they really appreciate Kai Havertz. They believe that Havertz is the kind of creative player with skills that Real Madrid don't have in the current team, let's remind that Marco Asensio will leave the club.

"The situation on the Chelsea side, from what I'm told, Chelsea are open to negotiating for Kai Havertz. So Havertz is not an untouchable player at Chelsea, but some of the reports coming from Spain were mentioning maybe a loan with a buy option clause or these kind of things, no. Chelsea want important money for their important players."

Should Chelsea sell Havertz?

Depending on the size of the offer that comes in from Real Madrid, a sale of Havertz could solve a number of problems at Chelsea.

The club need to sell players in order to comply with financial fair play rules, and Havertz could be a player sacrificed given his underwhelming contributions on the pitch.

Havertz joined for an astonishing £75m in 2020, and whilst it seems highly unlikely that Chelsea will recover a lot of this, cutting their losses now whilst his value is high could help Mauricio Pochettino buy a new striker, and Havertz's departure would make space in the squad.

Victor Osimhen has been targeted, and if Havertz making way can generate space and funds to sign the Napoli striker, then it is a deal that Chelsea should look to complete.

On a day when India made questionable selections, one of the management’s moves in this series, the promotion of R Ashwin to No. 6, rescued them from 126 for 5

The Report by Sidharth Monga09-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
1:57

Manjrekar: Saha, Ashwin save Kohli the blushes

On a day when India made questionable selections, one of the management’s moves in this series, the promotion of R Ashwin to No. 6, rescued them from 126 for 5. In testing conditions India left out Cheteshwar Pujara and M Vijay in favour of Rohit Sharma, whose inclusion led to a rejigged batting order.While this apparent push for quick runs resulted in a batting failure, West Indies were not behind in making unusual moves. There was more purpose to their attack, after putting India in, than in the first two Tests. But when they should have looked to finish things off, they opted for the patience route, which cut down the runs thanks to a slow outfield. The wickets, though, came only through the batsmen’s impatience. KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane threw away starts with impatient shots, but Ashwin – dropped on 26 and caught off a no-ball on 35 – and Wriddhiman Saha soldiered on to keep India from imploding.Ashwin and Saha, 46 off 122, added an unbeaten 108 for the sixth wicket. Another lower-order contribution was a continuation of a trend for India: on tough pitches in the home season, they recovered from 139 for 6 in Delhi, 125 for 6 in Nagpur, and 102 for 5 in Mohali.The big comeback, though, was that of West Indies in the series. For the first eight days of the series they were pretty much outplayed. Moral victories and psychology can be terms abused in cricket, but the Jamaica draw might have caused damage in Indian heads that might have played a part in leaving them in tatters at tea in St Lucia. West Indies won the toss and utilised the conditions efficiently without being sensational, but India helped them out with their selections.Having survived the Jamaica Test, West Indies mounted a fresh challenge against this unsteady Indian batting line-up – a different top three in each Test – by taking wickets when the pitch was fresh and then choking India out with disciplined bowling. Rahul and Rahane, the only specialist batsmen to reach double figures, helped India recover from 19 for 2 but fell in soft manner just before the two session breaks, Rahane to a full toss to end his slowest Test innings of 10 or more.The second of the wickets was the highlight. Debutant Alzarri Joseph, who impressed with his pace and his bowling mechanics in only his ninth first-class match, nicked out Virat Kohli with the new ball, a promotion in the order because of the selection of Rohit. West Indies’ resistance and the resultant draw in Jamaica led to three changes for India, two of them expected, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in for Amit Mishra and Umesh Yadav.The batting selections were instructive. At the toss, Kohli, who would have batted if he had won the toss anyway, emphasised that Rohit can change a match in a session. Both Vijay, who was fit after missing the Jamaica Test, and Pujara are reputed to be slower scorers. Turns out India might have misread the pitch or underestimated the attack: the situation asked for the patience of Vijay and Pujara. Moreover, Kohli and Rahane had to give up their familiar batting positions.West Indies were more aggressive to begin with. They added Joseph to the attack, and peppered India with short deliveries. The moisture in the pitch gave them spongy bounce when they pitched short, and some seam movement when they pitched it up. Shikhar Dhawan wasted little time in falling to a short ball, tickling Shannon Gabriel down the leg side.Kohli walked in at No. 3, but the fresh pitch with the new seaming ball was not suited for his style of play: soon he shaped up to cut a Joseph delivery that was neither short nor wide, neither full nor close enough to him. Kohli was eventually done in by the extra bounce, but playing such deliveries you get away on pitches like the one in Antigua or against the old ball. A bit of a repeat of his England dismissals brought in India’s most reliable batsman, Rahane.It was Rahul who weathered most of the initial storm. After an ordinary start – missing five of the first 11 balls he played at – he punished every error in length. Every time West Indies overpitched, Rahul drove hard, even in the air. Short and wide deliveries were cut away. It didn’t matter that the good ones in between kept beating him. On a day that the rest of the team scored 169 runs, Rahul took 50 off only 65 balls. Having done the hard work, Rahul fell 18 minutes before lunch, trying to whip a shortish delivery from Roston Chase straight to the man who had just moved to short fine leg.West Indies came back attacking in the second session. Soon Rohit fell in typical manner, pushing defensively at a Joseph outswinger a set of stumps outside off. After that wicket, though, perhaps because the pitch had settled down, West Indies began to test India’s patience. It worked: minutes before tea, Rahane, seeing release in a Chase full toss, swept down the wrong line and was bowled for 35 off 133. That didn’t result in taking off the part-time spin of Kraigg Brathwaite.The middle session produced just 43 runs for two wickets, and instead of going for the wickets of the lesser batsmen West Indies began with Jason Holder and Chase in the final session. On another day, persisting with these tactics might have worked but West Indies made two crucial mistakes. When Ashwin left the crease in impatience, inside-edging Chase, Leon Johnson missed him at short leg. When West Indies looked to break the monotony, Gabriel bowled a short ball from round the wicket for a catch at point, it turned out he had cut the return crease with his back foot.Other than that, Ashwin and Saha showed remarkable patience. Because of the slow outfield West Indies could have a stacked field. Chase often bowled with a six-three leg-side field, leaving point open and bowling into the pads. Any scoring was now fraught with risk, and if he dropped the ball short the slow outfield cost him just the one run. India were in no state to take risks so the two batsmen put their head down, and kept picking whatever singles or twos were on offer.Between the fall of Rahul and the claiming of the second new ball, only 111 runs came in 61.3 overs. Against the new ball, having done the hard work, the two batsmen chanced their arms. An edge fell short here, another flew over slips there; a crisp drive was misfielded now, a bowler bowled a loose ball there, and India had 46 in the last nine overs to wrest the initiative a bit. India dropped solid batsmen for quick runs when they should have been weathering the new ball out, then they were forced to bat slowly when they should have been capitalising on the older ball and tired fielders, and finally the lesson of building long Test innings was delivered by the lower order whose first role in the team is not batting.

Manchester United have made an approach to the representatives of Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, Fabrizio Romano reports.

What’s the latest news on Man United and Mac Allister?

The Red Devils are on the hunt for a new midfielder and forward this summer, looking to build on a successful first season under Erik ten Hag.

Mac Allister has emerged as a real target in recent weeks, with journalist Steve Bates recently claiming that Ten Hag has held transfer talks with director of football John Murtough, technical director Darren Fletcher and chief executive Richard Arnold.

The Argentinian is thought to be on the manager’s radar, and it looks as if the Red Devils have made a first move for the World Cup winner.

Romano took to Twitter in the last 48 hours to share what he’s heard on Mac Allister. He said that the Red Devils, along with Premier League rivals Chelsea and Liverpool have all approached Mac Allister’s camp, with the player expected to depart the south coast over the coming months.

“Alexis Mac Allister, expected to leave early this summer — understand there are three clubs in the race: Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United.

“These clubs have approached player’s camp to discuss the project. BHAFC will decide price tag soon.”

What would Mac Allister bring to Old Trafford?

We think Mac Allister could offer plenty to Ten Hag, with the 24-year-old turning out in defensive, central and attacking midfield roles during the current campaign.

He has contributed to an impressive 12 goals in 29 games, showing that he has ability in the final third as well as contributing defensively. As per WhoScored, Mac Allister ranks highly for tackles and shots per 90 in the Seagulls' squad and has recently been hailed as 'world class' by members of the media.

Having won the World Cup in the winter and had his best season in front of goal for Brighton this term, he appears to be at the peak of his powers so could come in and immediately make an impact alongside the likes of star midfielders Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes.

Ten Hag will be able to get a closer look at his summer target later this month in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, and who knows, he could be turning out under the Dutchman next season, should United pip two of their rivals to his signature over the coming months.

Worcestershire have been cleared of any wrongdoing in the build-up to their County Championship fixture against Kent earlier this month, which was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to a waterlogged outfield.The match, which had been due to take place at New Road between April 10 and 13, was called off by the umpires, Ian Gould and Richard Illingworth, after four consecutive blank days, following heavy rain on the eve of the contest that left the outfield like a “jelly-blancmange”, according to Tim Packwood, the head groundsman.The situation drew an angry response from Kent’s captain, Sam Northeast. “We turned up on the first day and knew pretty much straight away there would be no play over the four days,” he said. “It is unacceptable. This is not bad luck. I’d like to think there could have been something done.”We have had days of sun but not played any cricket. It’s not fair on the fans that travelled, sorted out hotels or taken time off work.”However, following an investigation by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC), the chairman Gerard Elias QC exonerated Worcestershire but invited the ECB to consider any actions or safeguards that might prevent a similar occurrence in the future.In particular, Elias found “no evidence that the pitch itself was unfit, or that Worcestershire CCC had, by the action or wilful inaction of its groundstaff, done anything which materially adversely impacted upon the possibility of play.”Despite recognising the “significant financial loss and inconvenience, as well as disappointment, experienced by both counties and their supporters”, Elias was satisfied that reasonable decisions and actions had been taken by the club in the period leading up to the match.Worcestershire’s players, he noted, had been able to practice on both the square and the outfit on the eve of the match and therefore could have reasonably believed that the ground would be fit for play the following day.Worcestershire have been plagued by floods and waterlogged conditions at New Road in recent years. In 2007, another Championship meeting with Kent was washed out without a ball being bowled, after which the club was unable to play at the venue for the final three months of the season.

A number of Liverpool supporters have been left fuming after a new update suggested the Reds are unlikely to sign Jude Bellingham this summer.

The Lowdown: Liverpool’s most wanted

The Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder is one of world football’s most highly-rated young players currently, becoming an influential figure for club and country.

It looks likely that Bellingham will end his stay at Dortmund this summer, however, ahead of what could be a high-profile auction for his signature.

Liverpool have emerged as arguably the front-runners to sign the 19-year-old in recent months, with Jurgen Klopp reportedly desperate to land him at the end of the season.

On Monday, however, it was claimed by The Athletic‘s Ornstein on Twitter that the Reds now look increasingly unlikely to snap up Bellingham this summer, with Real Madrid and Manchester City in a strong financial position to get the deal done:

“As things stand, Liverpool increasingly unlikely to sign Jude Bellingham this summer. Expected price & financial power of rivals puts #LFC hopes in doubt. Pursuit not off & no firm decisions but sense is #MCFC + #RMFC in stronger position.”

The Latest: Fans left fuming

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to reveal their frustration at the news, in what is an undoubted blow for the Reds:

“This would be a fairly humbling/humiliating outcome given how LFC have backed themselves into a corner over signing ‘the right’ midfielder”  – @Hari_Sethi

“Sit back on other potential targets to wait for our number 1 guy while we’re competing at the top of the game. Fall off a cliff because we didn’t sign anybody and still miss out on target number 1.”  – @LFCData

“Now if anyone is still backing FSG you need your head tested!!!! They do this all the time! Release information to journalists & we all just take it lying down!!! Think it’s time to sell up.”  – @JasonLFC1979

“I cannot emphasise this enough, this would be the most embarrassing thing for this football club in the past decade.”  – @donkopleone

“Imagine being at the top & then waiting 2 years for the supposed “right” player & then missing out on them too. All this while we sacrifice results & club position. The club’s pretty much broken from the top.”  – @rithwikrajendra

“Rinse-Repeat”  – @AnfieldIndex

The Verdict: Almighty blow for Reds

It is worth stressing that Liverpool are still far from out of the race to sign Bellingham but this is certainly a concerning update, given how big a transfer target he has been.

To many Reds fans, the club have always considered the one-goal England international to be a likely summer arrival, so to suddenly see him look more likely to head elsewhere is a bitter pill to swallow.

This is a generational footballer who has the ability to become one of the best players on the planet – he already has 20 goals and 24 assists for Dortmund and been hailed as a ‘superstar’ Roy Keane – so the hope is that there is a fresh twist before the end of the season.

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou guided his rampant side to victory over Hearts on Wednesday evening in what was the 57-year-old’s 100th game in charge of the Old Firm outfit, with the Hoops coming from behind to seal a 3-1 win at Parkhead.

That triumph – which was the Greek-Aussie’s 74th win of his tenure thus far – has ensured that the Glasgow giants remain nine points above bitter rivals Rangers at the summit, with the Scottish champions looking rather imperious in the pursuit of their league crown.

On that landmark night for the experienced coach, Postecoglou was largely left to thank prolific marksman Kyogo Furuhashi for powering the Bhoys to three points, with the Japan international having simply stolen the show once again in attack.

How did Kyogo perform against Hearts?

With the hosts having suffered an early setback as Josh Ginelly fired Robbie Neilson’s men ahead inside six minutes, up stepped Kyogo to drag his side back into the game, with the 28-year-old producing a stunning, driven cross to tee up compatriot Daizen Maeda at the back post, with the latter man duly prodding home for his tenth goal of the season in all competitions.

That crucial assist had seen the former Vissel Kobe ace showcase his relentless dynamism to latch onto Anthony Ralston’s threaded pass down the flanks, with that expert movement having again been evident as the £19k-per-week man then completed the turnaround on the hour mark.

The diminutive striker showed “ridiculous movement” – in the words of journalist John McGinley – to make space for himself inside the area, before powering his fierce effort past a helpless Zander Clark following a typically pin-point pass from playmaker, Aaron Mooy.

Those two moments of magic – which were followed by a late stunner from substitute Sead Haksabanovic – further rubberstamped the 5 foot 7 gem’s importance to Postecoglou’s side, having again proven himself a truly “clever player”, as per journalist Liam O’Hare.

It is also remarkable that the 16-cap speedster was able to make such an impact despite having largely been on the periphery of the game, as he made just a solitary pass and was restricted to just 14 touches in total in his 70-minute outing – fewer than teammate Joe Hart recorded in the sticks (39).

Even after that starring role – which saw Kyogo record the highest match rating on the night of 7.8, as per Sofascore – Postecoglou was clearly frustrated at the inability to get the in-form asset further involved in proceedings, having stated post-match:

“Kyogo makes fantastic runs and sometimes I get really frustrated that after 18-20 months we still don’t see them. Could he be doing even more damage? Absolutely.

“We didn’t use him well but the beauty of it is that he doesn’t get frustrated, he keeps making those runs.”

It is a credit to the ‘electric’ talent – as described by Glasgow Live’s Matthew Fulton – that he is still able to steal the limelight even with his opportunities restricted, although it is a mouthwatering prospect to think that a player who already boasts 20 Scottish Premiership goals this season could be ‘doing even more damage’.

The rest of the division, beware…

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، عن دخول قائد منتخب مصر وفريق ليفربول، محمد صلاح، ضمن قائمة اللاعبين المطلوبين للانضمام إلى برشلونة في فترة الانتقالات الصيفية المقبلة.

وسينتهي عقد محمد صلاح مع ليفربول بنهاية الموسم الحالي، صيف 2025. ولا يزال مستقبل الدولي المصري مغموراً مع فريقه الإنجليزي على الرغم من إعلان رغبته بالبقاء داخل جدران أنفيلد.

ويحتل محمد صلاح، صدارة ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإنجليزي برصيد 15 هدفاً، متفوقاً على المهاجم النرويجي إيرلينج هالاند، صاحب الـ13 هدفاُ. 

اقرأ أيضاً.. سبورت: برشلونة يقترب من حسم أولى صفقات الموسم المقبل

ووفقاً لما جاء في صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو”، فإن نادي برشلونة قد وضع 6 لاعبين من القارة الأوروبية بهدف التعاقد معهم في الصيف المقبل، مع إقتراب نهاية عقدهم مع فرقهم.

وضمت قائمة اللاعبين المطلوبين في برشلونة كلًا من مهاجم ليفربول، محمد صلاح، والغاني توماس بارتي لاعب آرسنال بالإضافة إلى المهاجم الكندي جوناثان ديفيد مهاجم ليل الفرنسي.

وشهدت القائمة أيضاً تواجد ثنائي بايرن ميونخ، جوشوا كيميتش وألفونسو ديفيز، بالإضافة إلى جوناثان تاه مدافع باير ليفركوزن الألماني.

وبحسب ما جاء في الصحف الإسبانية فإن إدارة برشلونة تعمل على التعاقد مع اللاعبين الذين تنتهي عقودهم بنهاية الصيف المقبل، نظراً للظروف الإقتصادية التي يمر بها النادي الكتالوني.

ومع اقتراب نهاية عقد هؤلاء اللاعبين، يحق لهم التوقيع لأي نادي بداية من شهر يناير المقبل، ومن المقرر أن تشهد الفترة المقبلة تطورات جديدة حول إمكانية تعاقد برشلونة معهم.

Can Celtic get back to winning ways in Old Firm derbies?

Despite clinching the Premiership title last weekend at Tannadice, and being 17 points clear at the top, the Hoops have actually lost the last two Glasgow derbies, demolished 3-0 at Ibrox in January, before Rangers were last-gasp 3-2 victors at Parkhead in March.

So, even though the title race is done and dusted, the Celts will be determined to pick up three points in Govan on Sunday and, if they are to achieve this, Brendan Rodgers should unleash the player he himself has described as the club’s “best winger”.

Celtic injury latest ahead of Old Firm

In his pre-match press conference on Friday, Rodgers confirmed that Jota will be sidelined for up to nine months due to a knee injury suffered at Tannadice, which is a heartbreaking blow for the Portuguese winger, who’s only just returned to the club.

Meantime, Alistair Johnston “won’t be available” either, Rodgers confirmed, with the Canadian set to be protected over the coming weeks to make sure he is ready for the Scottish Cup Final later this month against Aberdeen.

This is certainly a blow because, as outlined by Scott Bradley of Breaking the Lines, Johnston has been ‘pivotal’ to Celtic’s success this season, but he does have an obvious deputy in Anthony Ralston, who will therefore get a run in the side.

In attack, however, Rodgers has a decision to make, so we believe he should start the club’s most decorated player.

Who Rodgers should start in Celtic's attack vs Rangers

Daizen Maeda has absolutely been on fire this season, scoring 33 goals across all competitions, requiring seven more from the remaining five fixtures to become only the second player since Henrik Larsson to reach 40 goals in a single campaign, matching the achievement of Leigh Griffiths.

However, especially since his compatriot Kyōgo Furuhashi was sold to Stade Rennais in January, Maeda has played much of his best football as a central striker, starting four of the last six Premiership matches in that position.

So, if Rodgers does not want to move Maeda, who are his wide options?

Nicolas Kühn

47

3,075

20

14

Yang Hyun-jun

30

1,126

5

6

James Forrest

28

982

Zero

6

Nicolas Kühn’s double against Dundee United will surely earn him a start at Ibrox, while, on the other side, with Yang Hyun-jun still nursing an elbow injury, could James Forrest be handed a rare start?

When he gets his hands on the Premiership trophy in a few weeks, Forrest will become Celtic’s most-decorated player of all time, with this set to be his 26th major honour, hoping to add an eighth Scottish Cup later this month.

Appearances

523

Minutes

32,578

Goals

109

Assists

109

Premiership titles

13

Scottish Cups

7

League Cups

6

Forrest’s Celtic career is truly incredible, running out of time if he is to score in a 16th successive Premiership season, so what better time to do it than at Ibrox, having never previously scored away to Rangers in ten previous attempts?

Rodgers described Forrest as Celtic’s “best winger”, adding that he “injects quality” whenever he is called upon, so it could be time for the Scotland international to start and make a big impact on Sunday.

Not just Jota: Second Celtic star ruled out for multiple weeks with injury

The Bhoys have injury problems to contend with…

BySean Markus Clifford May 3, 2025

Everton have now made a move for Tottenham Hotspur defender Japhet Tanganga, but they will have to do battle for his signature with another Premier League club, a new report has revealed.

What's the latest Everton transfer news?

As reported by journalist Rudy Galetti, the Toffees are now focusing on bringing in a new "offensive player", so a new defender may not be considered a priority for Sean Dyche, but the manager does have a couple of centre-back targets in mind.

The Toffees have shown an interest in signing Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, amid his uncertain future at Old Trafford, although Galetti believes the chances of him remaining with the Red Devils are growing every day.

As there is "nothing concrete" with Everton and Maguire, they may choose to move on to other targets, having previously been named as potential suitors for Red Bull Salzburg's Oumar Solet, who has expressed his desire to play in the Premier League.

According to reports from Italy (via Sport Witness), Dyche may have a new target in mind, having joined the race for Tottenham defender Tanganga, who is also a target for last season's Champions League finalists, Inter Milan.

The Toffees have already "moved" to sign the Spurs ace, indicating they could hijack Premier League rivals Luton Town, who are currently thought to be leading the race for his signature, currently pushing for a loan with an option to buy.

More news is "expected soon", with the 24-year-old likely to stay in England, and Sport Witness speculate Everton could make a more convincing offer if they try to buy him outright, considering he has not been in Ange Postecoglou's plans so far this season.

Read The Latest Everton Transfer News HERE

How good is Japhet Tanganga?

The London-born defender has found game time very hard to come by in north London for a number of years now, having been given minutes on the pitch very sparsely in the 2022-23 campaign, making a total of just seven appearances in all competitions.

It is fair to say the centre-back's Tottenham career has not panned out the way he would have liked so far, but that does not mean he wouldn't be a good addition for Everton, and a move to Goodison Park could be exactly what he needs to reignite his previous form.

Former Aston Villa man Gabby Agbonlahor has previously lauded the £25k-per-week defender, while also suggesting he could take major strides if he is given more game time, saying:

“I’ve watched him a few times and sometimes he can be outstanding but sometimes he can be done in behind and make silly fouls.

“Someone like him, at his age, needs to be playing regularly. You don’t want to be a squad player when you are young.

With Tanganga yet to get a look in at Spurs this season, it seems likely the north Londoners would be willing to let him leave for a relatively low fee, and he could be a decent signing for Everton, although it would be a risk, given his lack of game time across a number of years.