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According to reports in The Mirror, Everton manager Sam Allardyce wants to offer Arsenal winger Theo Walcott an escape route of the Emirates Stadium during the January transfer window.

Despite scoring 19 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions last season, the 28-year-old has only featured for 46 minutes across three substitute appearances in the Premier League this term, with the majority of his outings coming in the Europa League and the EFL Cup.

The Mirror says that Allardyce believes the forward can add a goal threat and some pace to his Toffees side, but the potential arrival of the England international at Goodison Park would cast plenty of doubt over the future of Aaron Lennon.

Meanwhile, Leeds United have bounced back from a sticky patch of form to remain in the promotion race in the Championship, and the Whites currently lie one point outside of the play-off positions.

Manager Thomas Christiansen will already be thinking about additions he could make in the New Year to help them secure a top-six finish come what May, and bringing Lennon back to Elland Road 12-and-a-half years after he left for Tottenham could prove to be a shrewd move.

Here are three reasons Leeds should re-sign the 30-year-old if Everton buy Walcott…

They need more depth out wide

While summer addition Ezgjan Alioski has impressed and been a regular for Leeds this season – he has scored five goals and provided a further four assists in 20 Championship appearances this term – it’s also fair to say that he hasn’t exactly had lots of competition for his spot in the team.

The 25-year-old has played on both flanks during the current campaign, but with Pablo Hernandez injured in recent weeks and Kemar Roofe starting up top, Pawel Cibicki was given a rare start on the right against Norwich City last weekend despite usually playing as a striker.

It showed the lack of depth that the Yorkshire outfit have out wide, and if Thomas Christiansen could bring Lennon back to Elland Road then it would go some way to improving the issue.

He will want to play regularly

Lennon looked to be out of favour under former Everton manager Ronald Koeman, but the appointment of David Unsworth as caretaker boss and then Sam Allardyce permanently as seen the 30-year-old return to the first-team fold.

The winger has appeared in the Merseyside outfit’s last nine Premier League games – starting the majority of those – but that regular game time could become less and less if the Toffees sign Theo Walcott in January.

With fellow winger Yannick Bolasie edging closer to a return from injury and the club also being linked with another wide-man in PSV Eindhoven’s Hirving Lozano, Lennon may look to move on next month.

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Price tag

Lennon has just six months left on his Everton contract and with no signs yet that he will be offered a new one, he will either leave for a fee in January, or on a free next summer.

That is certainly a fact that will interest Leeds and Christiansen, who may relish the opportunity to bring the 30-year-old back to the club for a cut-price fee to boost their promotion push in the second-half of the campaign, as well as exciting the Elland Road faithful by bringing one of their own back home.

Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.

Ajax manager Frank de Boer believes Christian Eriksen will be a hit in the Premier League ahead of his proposed £10million move to Tottenham Hotspur, reports the Metro.

The 21-year-old Danish playmaker has agreed a five-year deal at White Hart Lane and is expected to complete his move by the end of the week.

And de Boer believes Eriksen will be a big success at Spurs, but admits he will leave a big whole in his Ajax side next season.

He told de Telegraaf: “Eriksen will go and he can be a success at Spurs.

“But this is a huge loss for us. He is very important to the squad.”

Eriksen’s arrival is thought to be as an alternative to former target Willian, who opted to sign for Chelsea despite already passing a medical with Spurs.

Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas has spent over almost £90million in improving his Spurs side this summer as he attempts to build a side capable of finishing in the top-four ahead of London rivals Arsenal, while it is expected that Gareth Bale will complete his world-record £85million move to Real Madrid by the end of the week.

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Meanwhile, Spurs have also been linked with Lazio’s Brazilian playmaker Hernanes, who is yet to sign a new contract at the Stadio Olimpico.

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Carlos Cuellar described him as one of the “best people in the world.” Nigel Reo-Coker said he was a “bundle of joy.” Ashley Young still refers to him as “The Skip.” Gareth Barry says he’s “perfect.”

Stiliyan Petrov may not have been able to attend the dinner hosted in his honour but the love for the club captain was there for all to see.

Aston Villa staff members Andy Smith and Alex Butler completed their epic Pedal for Petrov bike ride from Celtic Park and arrived at Villa Park on Sunday at 5pm. No sooner had they touched down in B6 than they were changing into their tuxedos to help celebrate Petrov’s remission news and further raise money for leukaemia and lymphoma research in the company of a star-studded cast list.

Heroes past and present – Gareth Barry, Ashley Young, Nigel Reo-Coker, Curtis Davies and Wilfred Bouma to name but some – were there to honour their good mate and hail the effort of Andy and Alex.

Barry told the official Aston Villa website:

“I’m delighted to be here, having worked with Andy and Alex during my time at Villa. To see how much they have done and how much they have raised, I have just thoroughly enjoyed it. You only have to see the pictures before and after of Andy and Alex – they’ve probably both lost two stone! That shows the hard work they have put in. Stan will be emotional when he sees the pictures from the event. He’s just one of the most perfect men in football.”

Young added:

“Everyone is here for the same reason – for Stan. I still call him ‘The Skip.’ He’s a massive personality. Wherever I was in the world – even if I’d been away with England – I’d have made sure I managed to make it to this event. I laughed down the phone when Alex and Andy first told me about the challenge. I thought ‘it’s not going to happen. But what a fantastic achievement! I am proud of them both.”

On 30th March 2012, Petrov was diagnosed with acute leukaemia. The condition was diagnosed following tests after Petrov developed a fever following Aston Villa’s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal. On the 10th of June Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert announced that Petrov would remain captain of Aston Villa for the 2012-13 season, and on 2nd August 2012, it was announced that Petrov’s leukaemia was in remission.

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According to reports, Leeds’ attempts to sign Kyle Bartley will be severely hindered if Swansea get relegated, and fans are not happy about it.

The absence of the departed Kyle Bartley and the injured Luke Ayling was devastating to Leeds’ defence this season, and fans were delighted this week when Ayling said he would convince the Swansea man to return to the club.

Bartley spent a year on loan at Elland Road, but returned to Swansea last summer where he has played just five times in the league this season.

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The 26 year-old was a popular figure at Leeds and has been strongly linked with a return, but the report from the Yorkshire Evening Post claims that return is less likely if the Swans go down.

Carlos Carvalhal’s side lost 1-0 to Southampton on Tuesday night, meaning they now need to win their final match and hope Huddersfield do not pick up another point.

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The Swans are likely to want to keep Bartley if they go down, and most fans are begging the club to show some intent and sign him anyway, while a few others are weighing up other options.

Either way, some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…

To celebrate 25 years of the Premier League each week in Football Fancast we’re going to be looking back at a memorable game that took place on the corresponding date. This time out we revisit a New Year’s Eve cracker that saw a relegation doomed side play the role of party poopers.

Nobody expected Blackburn Rovers to come away from Old Trafford on New Year’s Eve 2011 with all three points. Not the bookies who had them down at a mind-boggling 28-1 to achieve the feat. Not Sir Alex Ferguson who had one eye on Manchester United’s imminent away trip to Newcastle, a priority so pressing that he was content to omit a fit and firing Wayne Rooney from the squad despite the Reds being already depleted through injuries. And certainly not the general public who tuned in expecting a predictable drubbing dished out from a team one victory away from the top to a beleaguered side rock bottom of the Premier League.

Looking back though the clues were there that something memorable might just be on the cards. Each and every week the Rovers fans would sing for the dismissal of Steve Kean, a manager who was as unpopular among the Ewood Park faithful as he was ill-rated elsewhere. Yet the previous week, on Boxing Day, he had orchestrated a stellar 1-1 draw at Anfield and there were tentative signs that he was beginning to get some fight out of a side that included such obscure quiz answers as Mauro Formica, Ruben Rochina, and Radosav Petrovic. This trio accumulated 93 appearances for Blackburn during this miserable campaign. It’s fair to say this was not a vintage Rovers eleven.

Additionally United really were weakened by key absences, an injury list so severe that Ferguson had the straight choice in midfield of converting full-back Rafael Da Silva into a holding role for the day or turning to a promising academy player who was ripe for a debut. His name, if you haven’t already guessed, was Paul Pogba.

In the event, the gum-chewing veteran went with the Brazilian which reportedly peeved Pogba off no end, not that Fergie particularly cared for this game coincided with his 70th birthday and prior to kick-off the deserved acclaim flooded in. Now there was just the small matter of dispensing with a poor Blackburn side and taking the lead in a fiercely contested title race with City.

It didn’t take long for things to go awry. Dimitar Berbatov was probably not the ideal player to be marking the man-mountain Chris Samba at a corner and the Bulgarian displayed his defensive shortcomings by hauling the Rovers centre-back to the ground right in front of referee Mike Dean. Yakubu converted from the spot and it was very much game on.

Surprisingly United didn’t retaliate in the manner that we had all come accustomed to. There were dribs and drabs of attacking intent but Rovers had recently dealt with much worse at Anfield and were coping comfortably. For the remainder of the first half it was a rather insipid affair.

When Carrick, Nani and co emerged from the tunnel a full few minutes before the visitors after the break we can only imagine the settings on Ferguson’s hairdryer and sure enough a more cohesive and adventurous United resumed proceedings. A comeback seemed inevitable until Yakubu scored again, this time against the run of play, with an accurate angled drive past a stranded De Gea. The stadium deflated. This was Blackburn. This was Ferguson’s birthday. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

But then, almost immediately, the fightback was on. Berbatov took full advantage of a stray shot to head home and soon after the laid-back prowler grabbed a second benefitting from splendid work by Valencia out wide. United had scored ten in their previous two games and perhaps it was this momentum that took them forward now, pressing and pushing for a decider.

With ten minutes to go the decider duly came only to the shock of everyone concerned it took place in the opposing goalmouth.  David de Gea had looked nervy throughout and his unorthodox attempt to punch away a corner only spooned the ball into the air on contact with the burly youngster Grant Hanley. The teen merely had to nod it into the unguarded net to complete a quite remarkable score-line.

“This is the sort of result that can really make a young lad’s career,” an ecstatic Kean said later, referring not only to his Scottish defender but a team tender in years. Sadly the same did not apply to the manager who lasted another nine months before the Ewood Park faithful finally got their wish.

What happened next?

United were pipped to the title in the most extraordinary of last-gasp circumstances. In the summer of introspection that followed it’s hard not to believe that this result stood out as the one that got away.

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Blackburn were ultimately relegated, a woeful late run-in revealing that the fight and spirit shown at Old Trafford was sadly an exception to the norm.

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After all the waiting and wondering, Steve Lomas has been confirmed as manager of Millwall after a press conference at The Den this week.

He may already be working against the tide after some fans condemned the club decision to choose Lomas, but there is method in the madness. A young up and coming manager who has done well on a budget.

Exactly what this club needs.

Because it’s not like he’ll have millions to spend here, we have one of the lowest budgets in the league. He got St.Johnstone into Europe, who knows what he can do in SE16.

He may just be paying lip service to the fans to try and appease some hostility, but he seems to be saying all the right things.

The main factors to come out of his press conference is that he will sign players who will give their all and are ready to fight, we were badly missing that in the second half of the season. And that he aims to make the Den a fortress again after a disastrous last year – most teams were able to stroll around for 90 minutes and leave with three points very easily.

Plus, we are already seeing differences between both Lomas and Kenny Jackett in management styles.

He said: “I’m passionate on the sideline. I don’t mind losing but you can lose in the right way, with passion and fight.”

I know most clubs want passion and desire, but at ‘Wall it comes above all else. We don’t care if you lose, just make sure you give your all for us.

Lomas is just as loud in the dugout as he was on the pitch. Whereas Kenny was the quiet and reserved type of manager. Like at Birmingham away last season, we had a goal given twice and disallowed three times, he just stood still like nothing was happening, he was cunning with his abuse, whereas I can imagine Lomas letting rip.

And whereas you wouldn’t know if Jackett was signing a player until he was at the Den being shown in the new kit. Lomas has already publicly talked about transfer targets, mainly free transfer striker Simeon Jackson, saying he is the type of player he would like in his team, but I’m guessing we would be at the back of the line in suitors for him.

And now it seems that a ex Lions legend is set to make a return to the Den, with Neil Harris set to return as a coach. It is unsure whether he will be a coach with the first team, or with the development squad, but this could prove to be a good decision either way.

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If Harris is with the development squad, imagine the experience gained by being coached by the all time leading goal scorer. And if with the first team, he could be a vital buffer between the fans and the squad, after all, he knows the club inside and out, he knows what is needed to be a success here.

Welcome to the Lomas era…

COYL

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New Real Madrid signing Luka Modric has stated that he is privileged and honoured to have signed for the Spanish champions from Tottenham.

After intense negotiations, Spurs revealed that they had agreed to sell the Croat playmaker to the Santiago Bernabeu side for a fee believed to be £33 million.

The diminutive midfielder has thanked the north London club but is now looking forward to a new chapter in his career.

“I have to work very hard to earn a spot in the starting eleven and I’m prepared to do it,” Modric told reporters, published in Sky Sports.

“I’ve come here to improve every day and to win titles with Real Madrid. These are my personal goals.

“I believe I have what it takes to play here. I’ve got everything I need and I want to enjoy football and to learn.

“I’m grateful to Tottenham, but I’m now opening a new page in my life,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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According to L’Equipe, Villarreal have launched a £14m offer for Angers forward Karl Toko Ekambi, who has recently been strongly linked with Newcastle United.

What’s the story?

Newcastle are one of three Premier League clubs believed to be interested in Ekambi, with Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion also said to be monitoring the striker.

Ekambi has scored 17 times in 35 Ligue 1 appearances for Angers during the 2017-18 campaign, and is being widely tipped to move on at the end of the season.

Newcastle were reportedly in a strong position, but according to L’Equipe, La Liga outfit Villarreal have made a £14m offer for the centre-forward as they look to steal a march.

The same report claims that Angers value Ekambi in the region of £22m, but the fact that Villarreal have made the first move could sway the Cameroon international.

What happens now?

Well, nothing at this precise moment with the transfer window not opening until next month. Clubs are already making moves, however, and Villarreal are seemingly not hanging around.

Ekambi, who is valued at £11m by transfermarkt.co.uk, still has two years left to run on his contract with Angers, but it would be a surprise if he did not move on this summer.

The Ligue 1 outfit are well within their rights to demand more than £20m for the in-form striker, and it remains to be seen whether Villarreal up their bid.

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Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez is still unsure what type of transfer budget he will have this summer, and that uncertainty could well cost the Premier League club.

One thing is for certain, the 25-year-old is an extremely talented striker, and there will be a number of teams sniffing around over the next couple of months.

The career of Andy Carroll is in the sort of gentle downwards spiral that looks comfortingly similar to so many we have seen before.

Kieron Dyer, Micah Richards and Joe Cole have all seen injuries ruin their careers but Carroll has yet to even get close to the heights that those three achieved, albeit briefly. Injuries have been Carroll’s downfall until now, but they can easily be used as an excuse for a player who has been a case of transfer misjudgement twice. Both Dalglish and Allardyce were lured into the idea of an ‘old fashioned English centre forward,’ but there is a reason that this type of player is seen as old fashioned and fortunately the English game has moved on for the better.

Carroll may see his future at West Ham, but Bilic, if he is to be as good as expected, must look to move on the ex-Newcastle man. The current West Ham squad has had a revamp worthy of a Sarah Beeny programme in the last couple of summers and Andy Carroll no longer fits the profile of a squad that should be looking at challenging for European football.

Yes, of course, squads need different options, but Carroll is an expensive plan C and his own development will be dramatically stunted if he is to spend another season or two on the fringes.

Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia and Dimitri Payet are the faces of a new West Ham side, who have a new image of pace, guile and flair that isn’t exactly associated with Andy Carroll’s clumsy ‘target man’ play. The system to be favoured at West Ham is nothing set in stone as of yet, but we can be sure that the style of play will not be an Allardyce-esque long ball towards a big centre forward and will instead focus on playing through the quality of their midfield. Bilic might want to keep Carroll as a second option, but the Geordie needs to do the best for his own career and at 26 it is time for Carroll to play a full season.

Carroll is a throwback for many and West Ham are not looking to build around their big money signing anymore. Persisting injuries meant he has never really made a name for himself at West Ham and it is hard to imagine many other players with such unjustified reputations like Carroll. The difference from Carroll to other back-to-goal stars is his simple technique. Capable of winning the ball aerially, he has no subtlety to his heading direction and does not seem to have the ability to control and bring others into play. Peter Crouch, for example, is an infinitely better footballer than the ex-Liverpool star and has rightly enjoyed a better career in the top flight to date.

The obscene amounts of money thrown at Carroll by both Liverpool and West Ham will make any future move difficult. West Ham are unlikely to get anywhere near the amount they paid out and other clubs are not going to stump up a considerable amount of money for someone who seems to always be blaming his fitness for indifferent form. Injuries are a curse, but Carroll, unlike many, has never looked a player capable of living up to his hype regardless of fitness.

Pressure is piled onto English players and they deserve a bit of sympathy for such scrutiny. Carroll, however, has actually faced a ludicrous amount of praise for his performances. Both Rickie Lambert and Charlie Austin have risen through the leagues to demonstrate their own games that are so largely more mature, complex and talent-filled than Carroll’s.

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Carroll needs a fresh start (again) for his own sake and West Ham need to move ‘Big Andy’ on to create space for a player far more adept at playing for a side aiming at the top half.

Is Andy Carroll the worst signing (for both West Ham and Liverpool) of the Premier League era? And, has any club ever pulled off a better sale than Newcastle?

Stoke chief Peter Coates says the Southampton game could be worth as much as £5million and is demanding a performance.

The Potters travel to the south coast safe in the knowledge they will be in the Premier League next season but Coates says no-one can afford to take their foot off the pedal and start thinking about the beach.

A win would guarantee Stoke a top-ten finish, something the club have yet to achieve, and it will also mean extra cash for boss Tony Pulis to spend in the summer.

“The money available nowadays is enormous and that makes this such an important game for the football club,” said Coates. “Every game is important, but this one shows just how important financially, and professional players should always turn up with the right attitude.”

Stoke have been left to count the cost in the last two seasons with both Bolton and Wigan getting results and Coates does not want a repeat at St Mary’s.

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“I can certainly remember the Wigan game,” added Coates. “That cost us about four places and a huge amount of money, about £2.5m I think. I certainly hope we don’t do the same on Sunday.”