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Manchester United have reportedly made an offer to out-of-contract midfielder Christian Eriksen this summer, and if he were to arrive at Old Trafford, he would arguably be an upgrade on the departing Paul Pogba.

After some impressive performances with Brentford in the second half of last season, the Denmark international isn’t short of offers from Premier League clubs ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, with United, Everton, West Ham, Newcastle and Tottenham amongst those reportedly interested in the 30-year-old.

Eriksen signed for the Bees in January after he was released by Inter due to Serie A restrictions on players with heart monitors, and the bold move certainly paid off as his excellent displays inspired Thomas Frank’s side to a strong end to the season, which helped them secure their Premier League status with comfort.

In 11 appearances for Brentford, the former Spurs playmaker contributed one goal and four assists, averaging a superb 7.37 rating from WhoScored for his performances, which certainly justified Frank’s claim of the player being “world-class” when he signed earlier this year.

It is easy to see why United are interested, and Erik ten Hag certainly needs some midfield reinforcements after the departures of Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic and Pogba.

The Frenchman was rarely able to demonstrate his immense ability in a United shirt and was far from consistent enough, with injuries and perceived attitude problems limiting him to just 20 appearances in the top flight last season.

Eriksen has been a consistent performer throughout his career for both club and country and has enjoyed spectacular seasons in the Premier League before, contributing eight goals and 12 assists in the 2016/17 campaign.

He was certainly a fan favourite during his time at Spurs, with former team-mate Dele Alli singing his praises in 2019 by saying: “He’s got unbelievable technique. He’s a maestro and he’s a magician on the ball.”

Eriksen averaged more key passes, more shots and fewer dispossessions per game than Pogba last season, so with a full pre-season under his belt, the 30-year-old could be the perfect man to replace the Juventus-bound midfielder in Ten Hag’s side next season.

In other news… Forget Antony: Glazers can land Ten Hag his own Robben in deal for £65m “phenomenon”

Everton journalist Christopher Beesley believes reported target Oleksandr Zinchenko could be a good fit for the Blues.

The lowdown

Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano reported at the weekend that Premier League champions Manchester City are ‘prepared’ to let Zinchenko leave.

That’s because they’re targeting Brighton’s Marc Cucurella, with an ‘official bid’ for the Spaniard thought to be in the works.

He’s on ‘the list as one of the main targets’ at Goodison Park this summer, though ‘other clubs [are] also keen’.

The latest

Beesley wrote on his Twitter account that, based on his displays for Manchester City, Zinchenko ‘could be ideal in a new role if he makes a summer transfer to Everton’.

In the attached story for The Liverpool Echo, he explains that the 25-year-old could thrive in the midfield ‘engine room’ at Goodison Park.

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The verdict

Frank Lampard wants to bolster his central midfield ranks this summer but Zinchenko would appear a surprising choice.

That’s because, of his 28 appearances for City last season, 26 came as a left-back.

But the £22.5million-rated man showed on Ukraine duty recently that he’s more than equipped to play in the middle of the park.

Operating as the LCM in a 4-1-4-1 formation in the World Cup playoff semifinal against Scotland, Zinchenko earned SofaScore’s man of the match award.

He recorded one assist, having created two big chances, won eight of the 13 duels he contested and completed 59 of his 68 passes (87%) and two of his three dribbles.

The Daily Mail’s Craig Hope called it a ‘superhuman’ display, and surely it only strengthened Lampard’s desire to bring him in.

In other news, Everton have made contact over another midfield option. 

An update has emerged regarding Sunderland and their interest in signing Robbie Brady in the summer transfer window…

What’s the talk?

According to TEAMtalk, the Black Cats are one of the clubs eyeing up a deal to sign the Republic of Ireland international on a free transfer.

Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman is joined by Middlesbrough and Bournemouth in his pursuit of the winger, who is set to be available after the end of his short-term contract with the Cherries as he helped Scott Parker’s side to finish second in the Championship last season.

Imagine him & Alex Pritchard

Sunderland would complete a trident of former Norwich attackers behind Stewart by signing the winger, as he would join Pritchard and Patrick Roberts in the frontline.

Alex Neil worked with (and signed) both Brady and Pritchard during his time at Carrow Road, and the pair played alongside each other in the 2016/17 campaign in Norfolk.

The Scottish coach previously lauded the Irishman as a “top quality” player, and the 30-year-old’s statistics whilst playing for the Canaries back that up.

In his Championship season under Neil, Brady averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.11 as he managed four goals and four assists in 23 appearances playing at left-back and on the left wing. This came after he played 36 matches under the Scot in the 2015/16 Premier League and averaged an impressive rating of 6.98 in the top flight.

The winger has also shown that he still has what it takes to perform at this level. He averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.03 in six games for Bournemouth as he helped them to get their promotion to the top tier over the line.

In 2016/17, Pritchard produced an eye-catching six goals and seven assists in 19 Championship outings whilst playing alongside the £33k-per-week wizard for half of the campaign before Brady joined Burnley in January 2017.

Both players have therefore proven that they have the quality to make a big impact in the Championship, with both doing so under Neil’s management.

The ex-Norwich boss knows how to get the best out of the pair and will be able to play them alongside each other in attack once again if Speakman can seal a deal for Brady in the coming weeks.

Imagine both of them scoring and setting up goals in the second tier for Sunderland next season, harking back to their days doing just that for the Canaries.

AND in other news, “Only heard…”: Alan Nixon drops big Sunderland transfer claim that’ll deflate supporters…

Journalist Jacque Talbot has revealed that Newcastle United are now ‘pursuing’ a move for RB Salzburg midfielder Luka Sucic.

The Lowdown: One to watch

At just 19 years of age, and described as a ‘gem’ in the list of the 50 most exciting wonder-kids in world football back in February (FourFourTwo), Sucic is certainly one to watch.

Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch has previously claimed that he has ‘big potential’, and the six-foot-one powerhouse showed that on numerous occasions last season, scoring 11 goals and making a further five assists from midfield for Salzburg over all competitions (Transfermarkt).

The Latest: Newcastle pursuit

Taking to Twitter, Talbot has revealed that the St. James’ Park outfit are now ‘pursuing’ a move for Sucic this summer:

“Told Newcastle are pursuing RB Salzburg’s teenage midfielder Luka Sucic. Interest in the 19-year-old dates back to last year when the club met with intermediaries of then Freiburg defender Nico Schlotterbeck – same reps – regarding a possible move.”

Expanding in his piece for Football Transfers, the journalist also added that both clubs are ‘in talks’ over a potential switch, and that Sucic is set to cost around €20m (£17m).

The Verdict: Get it done

In the next step of this exciting rebuild of the Tyneside club, PIF look set to secure the permanent signing of loanee Matt Targett, with Pete Graves of Sky Sports revealing a medical is expected on Wednesday.

However, the new owners will surely be looking to invest in gems for the future not just stars for the here and now, in order to build a sustainable project, and Sucic would certainly fit that bill.

They have recently let fellow midfielder Isaac Hayden go out on an initial loan to Norwich City, with an obligation to buy if specific performance-related criteria are met. The 27-year-old looks to be on his way out for good, and so replacing him with the 19-year-old Sucic would help kickstart the long-term project of the new owners.

Sucic can play pretty much anywhere in midfield, per one chance created and 1.6 tackles per game in the Champions League this season, showing excellence on both sides of the ball at the elite level even at such a young age.

This is one to get excited about.

In other news, find out what big NUFC transfer claim Luke Edwards has now made here!

Manchester City are reportedly close to securing a transfer to sign Brighton & Hove Albion full-back Marc Cucurella ahead of the upcoming summer window.

What’s the news?

According to reports in Spain (via City Xtra), a deal that would see the Spaniard make a move to the Etihad Stadium could be confirmed as early as next week after it was revealed last month that the Manchester club were interested in signing the player.

After working his way through Barcelona’s youth ranks, the defender had spells with Eibar and Getafe before finally leaving Spain and joining Brighton back in the previous summer transfer window.

During his debut season with the Seagulls, the 23-year-old ended up playing more minutes in the league than any other outfield Brighton player.

This highlights just how important he quickly became for Graham Potter.

In those appearances, the left-back scored one goal, delivered one assist and earned himself an overall performance rating of 6.94/10 from WhoScored, making him the third-highest rated player in Potter’s squad.

Guardiola would be buzzing

To further highlight how impressive Cucurella was throughout the latest Premier League season, the full-back racked up the highest number of crosses (94), blocks (72) and combined number of tackles and interceptions (160) in Brighton’s ranks.

On that evidence, City would be securing a defensively solid player who is capable of dealing with the demanding nature of the top-flight.

But it’s arguably his attacking prowess where he really stands out with the defender ending the campaign with more shot-creating actions (78) under his belt than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo (76), Emi Buendia (74) and Gabriel Martinelli (70) among many others.

Taking this into account along with the pedigree that the Brighton star has having come from Barcelona’s youth ranks, having him in City’s squad would surely leave Pep Guardiola elated given his connection with the Spanish club.

With the Citizens having already secured deals for Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, it seems as though the club are keen on adding some defensive reinforcements to their ranks but with a player that is clearly capable of being an attacking threat as well from the wide areas.

Bearing in mind how City’s chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak recently revealed that the club are aiming to add two more signings to their squad this summer, it seems as though Cucurella could be the first one through the door.

In other news: MCFC can find their next David Silva by signing “fearsome” 21 y/o, Pep would love him

Liverpool are reportedly targeting their midfield as an area of improvement this summer, and now a previously linked transfer target has been identified as a potential interest to the club ahead of next season.

What’s the latest?

According to The Mirror, Liverpool are now prepared to rival Manchester City for the signing of Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips this summer after losing out on Aurelien Tchouameni to Real Madrid.

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As per the report, Jurgen Klopp is understood to be a huge admirer of the player and the West Yorkshire club are preparing themselves for an approach from both the Merseyside club and Man City.

Forget Tchouameni

It has been widely reported that Tchouameni prefers a move to Spain this summer and with that in mind, FSG need to move on fast to identify another midfielder that can offer dominance in the centre of the pitch, with Phillips clearly the alternative option for the Reds.

The £60m dynamo who was hailed “outstanding” by England manager Gareth Southgate has struggled with hamstring injury issues during the most recent Premier League campaign making only 20 appearances, despite that he has still shown glimpses of his talent and capabilities in the team.

According to SofaScore, the midfielder delivered one assist and created one big chance, making 2.7 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and won 4.8 duels on average per game and was successful in the majority of his dribbles (58%), proving that he can make an instant and consistent impact.

“For me, he is one of the best midfielders in the world right now,” once claimed his teammate Liam Cooper during Euro 2020 last summer.

Liverpool are looking for fresh perspectives in their midfield three and although the Kopites had one of their most successful seasons under Klopp winning the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson and James Milner are all well into their 30s.

Identifying younger players that can come through to succeed the current crop of midfielders can help Liverpool continue their reign of dominance and keep them fighting for trophies on all fronts for years to come preventing them from dropping off in key areas of the pitch.

With that being said, signing Phillips would be a major coup for the club and if they could complete the signing of the 26-year-old it would surely put to rest the worry that Liverpool weren’t able to secure a deal for Tchouameni.

AND in other news, Klopp could land his dream Mane heir with Liverpool bid for “unbelievable” £47m target…

Everton avoided relegation from the Premier League by the skin of their teeth following a stunning 3-2 comeback victory over Crystal Palace earlier this month.

Frank Lampard will be aiming for better things next season, if he is still in the job by then, and this may require a few new faces in his squad.

The likelihood is that there will be some outgoings as well, with Brazil forward Richarlison attracting interest from European heavyweights such as Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

It would be a blow to lose the 25-year-old, and with two years remaining on the player’s contract, Lampard doesn’t need to make an immediate decision on his future, although there could be an ideal replacement being lined up.

Chelsea forward Armando Broja is firmly in Lampard’s sights, and despite a price tag of £58m being placed on his head by Thomas Tuchel, it could be a wise piece of business to bring him to Goodison Park.

The 43-year-old gave Broja his senior debut whilst Chelsea manager and the Albania international has been in splendid form on loan at Southampton this season, scoring six Premier League goals.

Everton’s next Richarlison

Although a move for the 20-year-old would depend on receiving transfer funds from player sales, Lampard could unearth the new Richarlison with a move for Broja.

Both players are similar in their style of play, although the Everton star is slightly more versatile than the Chelsea forward.

Both men are nearly identical in their pass completion percentage (61.9% for Broja and 61.8% for Richarlison) whilst in terms of shooting, the Brazilian takes more shots per 90 (2.5) than the 20-year-old (2.19).

Richarlison (10) has scored more goals than the on-loan Southampton forward (six), but it seems beyond doubt that the young Albanian would net more frequently if he were in a team with higher-quality players providing him with better service.

The statistics show the two forwards are alike, and if the Brazil international does move on from Everton, then Broja – who has been described as “dangerous” by Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl – would appear to be the perfect replacement.

AND in other news, Everton plotting summer swoop for £17.5m “fabulous finisher”, Lampard will love him

Thiago is set to undergo a scan on the injury suffered in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Wolves on Sunday, according to reliable journalist James Pearce.

The Lowdown: Thiago injured in win

The Reds suffered Premier League heartbreak on Sunday afternoon, beating Wolves at Anfield but missing out on title glory to Manchester City in dramatic fashion, but all supporters really care about now is the issue with Thiago.

He left the field just before half-time and didn’t return for the second half, in what was a hugely concerning moment ahead of the Champions League final.

The 31-year-old now faces a race against time to be fit for the clash with Real Madrid on Saturday evening due to what was believed to be a right hamstring injury.

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The Latest: Pearce provides update

Taking to Twitter, The Athletic‘s Pearce shared a comment from Jurgen Klopp that the news is ‘not good’, before offering the update everyone’s been waiting on.

Thiago needs a scan to determine the severity of the issue, which certainly doesn’t bode well with less than a week until Paris:

“Thiago set to undergo a scan. Would be a massive blow if he misses the CL final.”

The Times’ Paul Joyce has added his own update at lunch-time, claiming it is actually an achilles problem and it will be a ‘battle’ to make it in time.

The Verdict: ‘Massive’ indeed…

Not having Thiago for the Champions League final could be a genuinely game-changing moment, given the Spaniard’s brilliance and importance in midfield this season – he started seven of the last nine Premier League games and played 120 minutes in the FA Cup final.

Liverpool would lose so much control without him around, and with Fabinho arguably coming back slightly undercooked, Madrid could suddenly have a big advantage.

It certainly feels as though Thiago is now more likely to miss out, considering the final is only five days away, and it would be a horrible blow for him and the Reds, especially after he missed the Carabao Cup final through injury, too.

In other news, Liverpool have been linked with a move for a midfielder. Read more here.

Everton will host Crystal Palace in their penultimate Premier League game and last home game at Goodison Park tonight and after a promising injury update has emerged, Frank Lampard has been given a huge boost ahead of the game.

Ben Godfrey has been confirmed as fit and available for selection in the final clash of the season on Merseyside against Patrick Vieira’s men, despite concern that he would not be returning this season following a serious thigh injury that has left him out of the side for weeks.

The Toffees boss gave the green light on the defender’s return in his pre-match press conference yesterday (via Liverpool Echo):

“Ben Godfrey will be in the squad. It’s a testament to him how he’s strived to get fit.”

With that being said, Lampard must unleash Godfrey back into the team against Crystal Palace to get the job done and secure not only three points but the opportunity to complete their great escape from Premier League relegation, which would be a huge achievement ahead of the last day of the campaign.

According to SofaScore, in the 6-foot centre-back’s 23 appearances in the league this season he has won the majority of both his ground and aerial duels (56%), has been successful in 75% of dribbles, making 2 tackles and 4 interceptions on average per game, proving he is one of the more solid defenders for Everton this season.

In fact, the £68k-per-week ace who was hailed “immense” and a “revelation” by professional boxer Tony Bellew, has played his part in eight of the 16 games that Everton have picked up points in this season, so he can be a real influence in securing his ninth positive result against Palace tonight.

The Toffees will travel to the Emirates on Sunday for the final game of the season against Arsenal, so should really take their chances in securing their safety at home this evening to take the pressure off the last game and keep their battle with relegation in their hands instead of having to rely on other results to save them.

AND in other news: Everton plotting swoop for 18y/o “shining light”, he can be the next Calvert-Lewin

Rangers fell at the final hurdle as they looked to secure the Europa League title by beating Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville last night.

After getting through extra time with a 1-1 scoreline, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side ultimately lost on penalties after midfielder Aaron Ramsey failed to covert his attempt.

As well as this major disappointment, the Ibrox side were also dealt another blow which not only impacted their penalty shootout on the day but could also impact their upcoming Scottish Cup final clash against Hearts on Saturday.

What’s the news?

Shortly before the end of extra time, Rangers left-back Borna Barisic went off with an injury. This not only forced Van Bronckhorst to bring Kemar Roofe on in the full-back’s place but it also made him rejig his order for penalty takers according to the Daily Record.

With 43 appearances under his belt across all competitions this season, the Croatian is definitely an important figure for his side and Van Bronckhorst, who will surely be worrying over his fitness now.

In their Europa League campaign, the 29-year-old had appeared in all but one of their 15 matches, showing that the Dutchman certainly trusted him to deliver on the big stage.

To further highlight how significant the defender has been for his side in the SPFL this season, he ended their recent campaign with the joint-highest average of tackles per game (2.1) out of players to start more than one league game.

He also racked up the second highest number of crosses (158) in Rangers’ squad behind James Tavernier (398), showing how useful he can be in defence and attack.

Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say that it would be a big blow for Rangers to potentially not have their left-back available to play at the weekend.

With Saturday’s clash being the club’s final attempt at being able to win some silverware this season, there’s no doubt that everyone connected with the Gers will want to see them win the trophy and put Wednesday’s disappointment in Seville behind them.

Moving forward, there will surely be many fingers crossed at Ibrox that Barisic will be able to be fit enough to play in Saturday’s final and that the team can end the season on a positive note with another trophy in their cabinet.

In other news: Fewer touches than McGregor: Rangers dud who won just 33% duels let GvB down yesterday