Everton defender Brendan Galloway took to Twitter earlier this week to reveal his delight at being back at Goodison Park.

The 22-year-old joined Everton from MK Dons in 2014, and has made 21 first-team appearances for the Merseyside outfit in all competitions.

During the 2015-16 season, Galloway actually played 15 Premier League games for Everton, but the defender has since been on loan at Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion.

Galloway was in action for Everton’s Under-23 team against Leicester City Under-23s on Monday night, and took to social media after the match.

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As expected, the Everton fans filled the response section, with many claiming that Galloway could yet have a future under new head coach Marco Silva.

It is going to be tough for the former England Under-21 international due to the presence of Leighton Baines and Lucas Digne, but he has a number of Everton supporters on his side.

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A selection of the Twitter reaction from the club’s fans – who also loved the performance of Joe Williams for the Under-23s – can be seen below:

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According to TEAMtalk, Celtic are hoping to beat a host of Championship clubs to the signing of former Manchester United and current Wigan man Nick Powell.

What’s the story?

TEAMtalk report that Celtic, Middlesbrough, Stoke, West Brom and Leeds are all interested in Powell and the Latics are looking for a deal worth around £5m for the 24-year-old.

Powell joined Manchester United from Crewe Alexandra in a big money deal during the summer of 2012 while he was still just a teenager. Things didn’t work out for the forward at Old Trafford though and after a series of loan spells he left on a free transfer in 2016.

Wigan were the ones to pick up the Englishman on a free transfer, having been the destination of Powell’s first temporary move away from United. In just over two seasons back at the DW Stadium, Powell has scored 24 league goals and provided 11 assists playing in an attacking midfield role.

Step up to Celtic

So far this season Powell has been in red hot form, netting three goals and providing four assists in Wigan’s first four league games in the Championship, helping his side to 12th in the table.

It seems to be clear that he has now put the memories of United behind him and is ready to kick on again in his career. A move to Celtic under Brendan Rodgers could now be perfect for Powell and the chance to play European football in the Europa league could just persuade him to choose Parkhead over other clubs in the Championship.

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The former England U21 international is still young and would be a bargain buy for Rodgers as he looks to add to the double treble that the Bhoys secured last season.

Tottenham Hotspur failed to make a signing during the summer transfer window, but the capital outfit should move for Manchester United’s Juan Mata at the start of 2019.

What’s the word, then?

Mata joined United from Chelsea in January 2014, and the 41-time Spain international is closing on 200 appearances for the Red Devils in all competitions.

The versatile attacker started United’s first two matches of the 2018-19 Premier League season, but was left out of the squad for the fixtures with Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley.

The 30-year-old managed three goals and five assists in 28 Premier League appearances last term, and has proved a valuable player for the Red Devils in recent seasons.

Mata has largely been used in a right-sided attacking position, however, and has struggled for consistency in that area of the field.

The likeable forward will see his United deal expire at the end of this season, and Tottenham should test the waters with a move when the January transfer window opens for business.

Why should Tottenham move for Mata?

According to the Manchester Evening News, Mata was the subject of an enquiry from Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy during the summer window.

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United were not interested in doing business at that point, but the situation could change at the start of 2019 due to Mata’s contract situation.

Mata, in his personal blog, has already admitted that he was disappointed to be left out of the clash with Burnley on Sunday afternoon, and is keen to return to the Spain set-up under Luis Enrique.

That will require first-team action, however, and a change of scenery would do him good.

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Mata still has plenty to offer at the top level, and would boost a Tottenham squad that has won little despite its obvious talent.

A cut-price move for a player of Mata’s experience and talent is a no-brainer for Spurs, and Levy should open his cheque book in January.

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Leeds United managed to offload a number of their fringe players this summer as Marcelo Bielsa drastically changed his new side, however, they could have lost one of their key men as well.

According to a report by Fotbollskanalen, Pontus Jansson has revealed that he came very close to leaving the Elland Road outfit to join FC Krasnodar in Russia.

The Sweden international has stated that he had weighed up the possibilities of a move across Europe after being told that he would have had a huge contract to replace fellow countryman Andreas Granqvist.

However, he also admitted that he could not quit on Leeds and believed the new project under Bielsa, as well as becoming a father again, outweighed any chance of him leaving Yorkshire.

“It just did not feel right,” he told Fotbollskanalen.

“I’ll be a daddy in a month so I weighed it up. Clearly there was a lot of money and it would have secured my future, but the sporting project with Leeds and (Marcelo) Bielsa and this outweighed it. But it was not an easy decision. Krasnodar really wanted to replace Granqvist with me. It was really close, I thought about it, but I did not feel right.

“I wanted to finish with Leeds. I had a heavy season with the team last year and I did not want to finish my love like that.”

The Verdict:

Leeds will be delighted that Jansson had decided to turn down a big-money deal to Russia and remain with them for the Championship season.

The Swede has been crucial to their efforts over the past couple of years and is clearly a favourite with the fans at Elland Road.

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The sporting reason that Jansson cited with Leeds looks to have paid off for him with Bielsa already appearing to have an impact on the side and has already taken them to the top of the Championship table as they head into the international break.

Leeds fans – thoughts?

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Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa should look to sign free-agent Jan Kirchhoff to bolster his defensive options and provide cover should the Whites suffer any injuries.

Current Situation

Leeds are sitting at the top of the Championship table with 14 points from their first six league matches under their new boss Bielsa, who has successfully introduced his high-tempo and high-pressing style of play to the Elland Road side.

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Despite the strong start though there have been moments of worry for Leeds fans, including the 2-0 loss to Preston in the second round of the Carabao Cup and the recent knee injury sustained by new signing Patrick Bamford, who will be out for four months.

If a similar injury is suffered by a defender at the club though it could be a far bigger issue for Bielsa, with full-backs Gaetano Berardi and Luke Ayling both having had to fill in at centre-back already at times during this campaign.

Perfect cover

Bielsa then should look to bring in a free-agent to provide the cover that his squad is crying out for, and Kirchhoff would be the perfect signing. The German’s former clubs include Sunderland, Mainz, Schalke and Bayern Munich, and at 27 years of age he is considerably younger than a lot of the other free-agents out there currently.

Kirchhoff spent the second half of last season with Bolton, making just four appearances before leaving the club this summer. The 6ft 5in centre-back/defensive midfielder was also a youth international for Germany and played for the U18, U19 and U21 national sides.

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As the Whites look for promotion back to the Premier League, Kirchhoff could provide the necessary quality and versatility to cover both the midfield and defence should Bielsa suffer any more bad luck.

So, Leeds fans, would you like to see Bielsa sign Kirchhoff? Have your say by voting in our poll below.

Arsenal are one of the clubs on alert with the news that Eric Bailly is ready to quit Manchester United, The Mirror states.

What’s the word?

Unai Emery’s Arsenal side may have fought back to form by securing three consecutive victories but question marks continue to be raised surrounding the Gunners’ defensive performances, which leads to speculation of further changes on the horizon.

According to The Mirror, Arsenal are on alert following indications that Eric Bailly is ready to quit Manchester United after falling down Jose Mourinho’s pecking order – and a stern fight could occur with arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur for his services.

The 24-year-old Ivory Coast international was dropped for last month’s defeat to Spurs after a poor performance in the previous defeat to Brighton and has since been limited to opportunities off the bench in the games against Burnley and Watford.

Should Emery swoop?

With Arsenal yet to keep a clean sheet this season and lacking depth behind Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, with Laurent Koscielny still battling injury, Emery would be wise to swoop for Bailly.

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Rated at £31.5m by TransferMarkt, the defender boasts experience that young duo Rob Holding and Konstantinos Mavropanos do not and could be considered to be the long-term replacement for Koscielny, who is likely to leave North London in the coming years.

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Forging a partnership with Calum Chambers, currently on loan at Fulham, could be the solution to Arsenal’s defensive frailties in the coming years and signing Bailly would allow Emery to offload the shaky Mustafi.

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It has been a poor start to the season for Everton and, while it is still early into his tenure at Goodison Park, Marco Silva is already coming under criticism.

And one of his most vocal critics so far has been the father of Nikola Vlasic.

The Breakdown

Vlasic has been loaned out to Russian side CSKA Moscow for the season, and the Croatian’s father, Yoshko Vlasic, has since hit out at Silva for sanctioning the move.

“Marco Silva is under enormous pressure because he loaned Nikola out,” Vlasic told Novilist (via HITC).

“Many fans and pundits believe Everton have big problems in midfield and Nikola is the player they need. Vlasic told Silva before leaving he considered himself the best midfielder in the team. The manager made a big mistake.”

Capable of playing in midfield and attack, by no means has Vlasic been the worst signing Everton have made in recent seasons.

However, Silva and director of football Marcel Brands’ recruitment drive in the summer that saw the likes of Richarlison, Bernard and Andre Gomes arrive at Goodison Park has seen Vlasic’s role in the squad become redundant — and rightly so.

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In this moment of time, the Croatia international is not of the same ability as the trio and he has not shown anything in an Everton shirt to suggest otherwise.

In contrast to what his father believes, the Toffees have made the correct call in loaning Vlasic to CSKA Moscow.

Newcastle are in desperate need of new signings in the January transfer window following a winless start to the Premier League season.

Owner Mike Ashley attended his first home game since May 2017 at the weekend – watching on as goals from Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire handed Leicester a 2-0 win. The result leaves Newcastle in the relegation zone with just two points to their name this season. Fans have been vocal of the criticism of the owner and are desperate to see Rafael Benitez backed in the transfer market.

Benitez added it was a positive to see Ashley attending games and hoped it would continue for the next few weeks as Newcastle look to end their slump. The Spaniard will be hoping to receive some much-needed funds to use in the January transfer window to strengthen his squad. One area he could look to improve is left-back.

To add to his defence, Benitez should be looking to raid his former club Liverpool for defender – Alberto Moreno. Valued at £9m by Transfermarkt, the Spaniard has never been in Jurgen Klopp’s first-team plans and looks destined for an exit with Andrew Robertson cementing his position as first-choice left-back. Moreno has less than one year remaining on his deal at Anfield meaning the Magpies could grab a bargain in the New Year.

While Moreno leaves a lot to be desired defensively, he remains a threat going forward due to his blistering pace. His speed across the park also helps bail him out of situations and is definitely his biggest asset. The former Sevilla defender’s experience of training alongside the likes of Virgil van Dijk could be of great value to the Newcastle squad.

Moving to St. James Park could be the perfect decision to get his career back on track.

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Newcastle fans, thoughts?

Suso spent five years at Liverpool, learning his craft in the youth ranks before making his first-team debut in 2012.

The attacking midfielder struggled to hold down a regular spot in the squad, which led to his exit in 2015.

The now-24-year-old signed for AC Milan and has gone on to become a crucial part of the Serie A outfit’s side.

In total, Suso has scored 17 goals and racked up 29 assists in 101 outings for the Italian club.

His rise in form has led to a hike in value as Transfermarkt rates the Spaniard at £31.5m.

Over the weekend, Suso made headlines for a stunning goal against Sassuolo, which gave Milan a 2-0 lead at the time.

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The attack-minded star netted another in what turned out to be a 4-1 triumph for the San Siro-based outfit.

On Reddit, some Liverpool fans posted their thoughts on the goal and whether Suso would be able to shine under manager Jurgen Klopp.

Comment from discussion Suso’s amazing goal in the Serie A last night.Comment from discussion Suso’s amazing goal in the Serie A last night.Comment from discussion Suso’s amazing goal in the Serie A last night.Comment from discussion Suso’s amazing goal in the Serie A last night.Comment from discussion Suso’s amazing goal in the Serie A last night.Comment from discussion Suso’s amazing goal in the Serie A last night.Comment from discussion Suso’s amazing goal in the Serie A last night.

Dejan Lovren faces a real battle to regain his place in the Liverpool starting eleven.

The Croatian defender was a key player for Jurgen Klopp during Liverpool’s journey to the Champions League final last season. Lovren also reached the World Cup final with Croatia and was expected to take his place next to Virgil van Dijk in the Liverpool defence. However, the emergence of Joe Gomez has plunged his future into doubt.

Gomez was given a chance to impress in pre-season and made the position his own when Lovren missed the start of the campaign through injury. The England international has looked assured at the back and has struck up a wonderful relationship with Virgil van Dijk. It seems for the foreseeable future that Lovren will have to settle for a backup role.

Should the former Southampton man decide to leave, Liverpool should make a move for Nice defender – Malang Sarr. Valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, the Frenchman joined his boyhood club at the age of six and quickly progressed through their youth ranks; making his senior debut at the age of 17. Sarr has reportedly been courted by Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea in the past.

Sarr is extremely comfortable with the ball at his feet, completing 90% of his passes in Ligue 1 last season (WhoScored). Naturally, the 19-year-old is still inexperienced but learning under Klopp as well as being tutored by the likes of van Dijk could do wonders for his development. The France youth international has displayed maturity beyond his years in the past and could be an important rotation option at Anfield.

Contracted until 2021, prising Sarr from his hometown club could prove to be costly. However, Liverpool would be landing one of the most promising youngsters in world football if they bring him to Merseyside.

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Liverpool fans, thoughts?