Many Everton fans have revealed the one player that they regret leaving Goodison Park, with various names being thrown into the hat.

Italian boss Carlo Ancelotti will embark on his first summer transfer window in charge of the Toffees, and it is expected that the former AC Milan and Real Madrid man will look to allow numerous player exits in order to bring his own faces.

With the potential of a busy transfer window at the Merseyside club, many fans have looked back on players who have departed in previous seasons and in doing so, an abundance of household names have emerged.

Former striker Romelu Lukaku is one that pops up more often than not when Toffees fans think of players they wanted to stay, having seen the Belgian international spend a fruitful time at the club.

Wayne Rooney is another player who has gone on to play at the highest level after playing at Everton. The former England international is now turning out for Championship side Derby County, but his career saw him gain multiple successes at Manchester United.

Rooney did return to Everton prior to a stint in Major League Soccer with DC United, but many have been left asking ‘what if’ when looking back on his time at the club.

Other names that were thrown up in the debate were players such as Gary Speed, Steven Naismith, and Gary Lineker.

Reacting to the question on Twitter by fan account @thetoffees_com, fans gave a varied response, and below are some of those…

Everton fans, which player do you wish never left? Let us know in the comments below…

Aston Villa have seen numerous players work their way through the youth system at the Midlands club and become Premier League stars.

Figures such as Gareth Barry, Gary Cahill, Steven Davis and Marc Albrighton have all gone on to make a significant number of appearances in the Premier League after coming through Villa’s youth ranks.

One player that is currently in the Villa senior squad that was in the youth system not too long ago is midfielder Jacob Ramsey, who has now racked up a total of 58 first-team appearances for the Midlands club.

Looking ahead to the future, current Villa boss Steven Gerrard has the chance to unearth yet another youth prospect at the club that could go on to become a regular senior figure in his side.

18-year-old midfielder Tommi O’Reilly has racked up a total of 37 appearances across Villa’s U18 and U23 sides.

In those appearances, the teenager has scored eight goals and provided three assists along the way.

Labelled as a “little Phil Foden” by staff in the academy, O’Reilly has yet to make his senior debut for the Villans but has been involved in three matchday squads, showing how close he is to making his first appearance for the first team.

Back in March, the youngster signed his professional contract with the club, which shows just how much they value the player.

Described as a “lovely little footballer” by Villa journalist Ashley Preece, O’Reilly could well be the next youngster in line to follow in the footsteps of so many players that have made a name for themselves in England as a product of Villa’s impeccable youth system.

With just a handful of league games left to play before the end of the season, Gerrard could have the ideal period of time ahead of him now to give the teenage starlet his first taste of Premier League action.

Taking into account how Foden has managed to deliver a combined total of 107 goals and assists in 204 youth and senior appearances for the Manchester club, if O’Reilly can end up living up to his nickname in comparison with the City star, this would be a mouth-watering prospect for everyone at Villa.

In other news: Lange must seal £10m AVFC deal for “unplayable” £45k-p/w talent, Gerrard will love him

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Manuel Neuer was back between the sticks for Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga clash with Augsburg on Friday night, suggesting that he will be fit to face Liverpool in the Champions League next week.

Neuer had missed Bayern’s three matches in the lead-up to the Augsburg clash with a finger injury, and it had been claimed that he could be absent for his team’s last-16 Champions League first leg at Anfield.

However, the 32-year-old was back between the sticks on Friday night.

The Liverpool fans caught wind of the team news on social media, which led to a number commenting on Neuer, in addition to Bayern in general, ahead of what is promising to be a fascinating match next week.

Neuer’s powers are perhaps not what they once were, while Bayern have also had their issues this season, which has handed the Liverpool fans confidence.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Aston Villa boss Dean Smith has discussed the type of player that he wants to bring to the club, as quoted by The Birmingham Mail.

“The future of the football club has to be getting players who’ve got potential so that we can raise some market value in these players as well.

“We want players who want to develop, want to get better, and lower the age of the squad that we’ve got at the moment. That’s something we’ll try and recruit during this window and the next window.”

The Villa fans have since taken to social media to discuss Smith’s words, with many believing that their manager is speaking sense.

Villa are still believed to be active in the January market, but they need a result at the moment having gone five games without a win in all competitions.

Indeed, Villa have drawn three of their last four in the Championship, with their last victory coming away to Swansea City on Boxing Day.

Smith’s team return to action at home to Ipswich Town on Saturday and they will be determined to put three important points on the board.

There is no question that Villa are a big pull at Championship level, however, and they have already managed to snap up Lovre Kalinic and Kortney Hause this month.

The Villa supporters have been on Twitter offering their views on Smith’s transfer plans and a selection of their reaction can be seen below:

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

كشفت شبكة “سكاي سبورتس” في إيطاليا عن اقترب نادي ليستر سيتي المنافس في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي من ضم خليفة محمد صلاح خلال الساعات القليلة المقبلة.

ووضع ليستر سيتي أنظاره منذ فترة على جناح الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي روما، جنكيز أوندير، والملقب بـ خليفة محمد صلاح في النادي الإيطالي بعد انضمامه لهم عقب رحيل المصري الدولي إلى ليفربول في 2017.

اقرأ أيضًا.. محمد صلاح ضمن تشكيل آلان شيرار لفريق الجولة بالدوري الإنجليزي

وبحسب الصحفي الشهير بالشبكة، فابريتسيو رومانو، فمن المتوقع أن يتوصل ليستر سيتي لاتفاق مع روما لاستعارة أوندير مع بند إلزامي للشراء في نهاية الموسم.

يأتي ذلك بعدما تقدم ليستر سيتي بعرض لصالح برشلونة لضم ترينكاو، لكن تم رفضه من جانب النادي الكتالوني، لذلك توجه إلى الخيار البديل بالتوقيع مع أوندير.

الجدير بالذكر أن ليستر سيتي قد بدأ الدوري الإنجليزي بقوة، بعدما حقق الفوز على حساب وست بروميتش ألبيون بنتيجة 3-0.

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Confidence and momentum are absolutely integral to the success of centre-forwards at any level of the game.

What’s the word?

Charlie Wyke’s dismal run of form in recent weeks is a typical example of how the life of a striker can be unforgiving and confidence-sapping.

The 26-year-old forward has scored just one goal for Sunderland this season, and his struggle to find the net continued on Saturday against Bristol Rovers.

Wyke was brought on as a second-half substitute and he had chances to add to his tally for the season, but he let three big chances go begging.

Jack Ross, though, did not seem overly concerned by his failure to find the net and he praised the goal-shy striker for his intelligent positioning, as per Sunderland Echo.

“I was really pleased with him when he came on.

“I know people will say that’s easy [to say] because we won the game.

“But I was. His all-round performance when he came on, he got himself into three really good positions, his movement was good.

“He’ll score and I’m desperate for him to score.”

Confidence-boosting goal could stimulate turnaround

As Ross has alluded to, the fact the Black Cats recorded a 2-0 victory made it easier for him to take such a patient stance with Wyke, but the striker’s ability to manufacture opportunities during a rough patch is a sign of promise for the future.

Ultimately, the run Wyke is on is bound to frustrate Sunderland supporters, but a single goal could be all that he needs to stimulate a major turnaround.

While the former Carlisle hitman continues to find himself in the right positions, both Ross and the supporters should keep believing that he will eventually rediscover his clinical instinct.

Sunderland left it to the very end of the January transfer window to finally land a replacement for the outgoing Josh Maja.

Right at the death, the Black Cats finally secured a deal to land Wigan striker Will Grigg, with the Northern Ireland striker signing for the Wearsiders for a fee in the region of £4m.

Grigg has been decent enough through his career, and is famed for his song created during the Euros by the boisterous Irish fans, but we here in the Tavern feel like Sunderland have been backed into a corner and could well have paid over the odds for the striker.

The 27-year-old, while bagging 19 goals in League One last term, has struggled somewhat in the Championship with the Latics and his form for his country has hardly set the world alight either.

It’s with that Championship form and lack of goals at the top level which causes something of a worry, and at £4m, you have to ask the question of if Sunderland might well have paid slightly too much for Grigg.

Of course, they simply had to replace Maja, and Grigg’s record last term for Wigan suggests he can do it in League One and fire in the goals to get the Black Cats back to the Championship.

Sunderlansd fans will no doubt have their own reservations, but on the one hand if Grigg does fire them into the second tier, then £4m will look money well spent.

The jury is still out from us here in the Tavern though, and we feel that Grigg has a lot to prove in the next three months if he is to justify his price tag.

Sunderland fans, what do you think? Have you overpaid? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

According to Sky Sports football reporter Keith Downie on Twitter, Sunderland are planning on buying striker duo Tom Eaves and John Marquis before the end of the month. 

Eaves is currently with Gillingham in League One, while Marquis is with Doncaster in the same league, and are both being eyed as replacements to Josh Maja at the Stadium of Light.

This would be a wonderful move for Eaves, who is floundering at the bottom of the league with Gillingham. Currently sitting in 19th place, The Gills are embroiled in a relegation battle this season. With 15 goals and four assists this season, Eaves has, in truth, carried his club. So much so that the next best scorer has nine fewer goals. He will want to test himself at a better club, and promotion-chasing Sunderland are certainly that team, who can offer him the prospect of Championship football. It may spell the end for Gillingham, but it will be very promising for The Black Cats.

Meanwhile, Marquis will be another huge signing for Sunderland. When a club lose the league’s joint-second top scorer in Maja, the only thing they can do to improve that is sign the top scorer, which The Black Cats are proceeding to do. Marquis has 16 goals in the league this season, and with the added quality of Sunderland around him, he will only improve and could possibly make The Black Cats favourites to secure promotion.

Maja’s loss will be huge, but by recruiting two players like this, Sunderland will be taking massive steps forward rather than backwards.

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Nottingham Forest announced the signing of Leo Bonatini on loan from Wolves until the end of the season in a deal that has slipped under the radar somewhat, but there is no doubt that the frontman can use his memorable experience of the Championship to full effect. (via the BBC)

What can he offer Martin O’Neill upfront?

The Brazilian striker has only ever had a short taste of England’s second tier, having joined Wolves on a season-long loan deal from Al Hilal in the summer of 2017, before swapping the Championship for the Premier League following promotion.

However, in just a single season, the 24-year-old proved that he can be a deadly Championship marksman. Bonatini scored 12 goals in 29 starts under Nuno Espirito Santo as Wolves won the league, and Forest will certainly be hoping that he can replicate those numbers in the second half of the season.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

Bonatini is an excellent frontman with a clever striker’s brain, always knowing where he needs to be in the penalty box and always able to finish with aplomb. His game is similar to that of a Glenn Murray type, in which he lacks pace and athleticism, but his movement and intelligence allows him to be a yard ahead of the game.

Whose place will he take?

Well, 14-goal Lewis Grabban hasn’t scored since the beginning of December, so whilst he had an amazing start to the campaign, he looks to have tailed off. He started on the bench in the recent 3-1 win over Wigan, whilst Daryl Murphy started up front in his place – however, the Irishman only has three league goals this season.

In that respect, Bonatini should and could go straight into the starting lineup, and will hopefully provide the kick up the backside that Grabban needs to rekindle his impressive form from the early months of the campaign.

[ad_pod ]Loads of Crystal Palace fans have been running the rule over their rather comfortable win against Fulham, and they’re full of praise for the colossal Mamadou Sakho.Saturday was just about the perfect day as far as Roy Hodgson is concerned, as the boss watched his side comfortably dispatch of Fulham while several of the teams around the Eagles dropped points.It was a really professional performance from the hosts at Selhurst Park, as for all Fulham’s defensive deficiencies they are more than capable of producing chances that Aleksandar Mitrovic will bury.Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!The visitors hardly got a sniff though, and that was mainly down to the excellent work of Sakho.The 29-cap French international is fast becoming a cult hero in South London, and it’s not hard to see why he was handed the captain’s armband at PSG aged just 17, as his commanding presence has transformed the Eagles’ back line.The 28 year-old won three aerial duels, made two interceptions, eight clearances and also completed a remarkable 98 per cent of his passes, per Whoscored.It is this unique mixture of technical quality and physical dominance that makes Sakho such a superb defender, and the Twitter reactions down below are falling further in love with the former Liverpool ace…