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Everton midfielder James Rodriguez was worrying wasteful in possession as Colombia held Chile to a 2-2 draw on Tuesday night.

The 29-year-old started the game at the Estadio Nacional de Chile as Colombia sought to build on their 3-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Venezuela, but goals from Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez ensured Carlos Queiroz’s men dropped to two points behind CONMEBOL group leaders Brazil and Argentina.

Jefferson Lerma had opened the scoring for Colombia with a header in the seventh minute following a cross from Stefan Medina, but they looked set to taste defeat until Radamel Falcao unleashed a right-footed effort into the back of the net in the first minute of second-half stoppage-time.

Rodriguez had little impact on proceedings at the top of the field during his 90 minutes against Chile, with SofaScore data showing the Toffees’ sensational summer signing as failing to record a single key pass and only directing one shot on target.

The former Galactico rarely entered the Chile penalty area, either, with a predominant number of his 69 touches coming just inside the host’s half and retreating into Colombia territory more often than he visited Brayan Cortes’ box.

When Rodriguez did push forward, he barely connected with his teammates, either, with the £31.5m-rated star only picking out a Colombia player with two of his eight attempted crosses, while losing five of his seven ground duels and losing possession 21 times.

No Colombia player who started lost possession more often than Rodriguez, with left-back Johan Mojica (21) and central midfielder Juan Cuadrado (19) the nearest players to have turned over the ball as much for the visitors.

Rodriguez further gifted possession to Chile with nine of his 43 attempted passes failing to fall to the correct player and losing his only attempted dribble of the night, though picked out a teammate with each of his four long balls.

Unfortunately, the top scorer from the 2014 World Cup rarely aided Colombia defensively against Chile, as well, with Rodriguez managing just one successful interception to the three fouls committed.

Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping that Rodriguez leaves his shaky performances in South America before flying back to England for this Saturday’s Merseyside Derby, having trusted the 29-year-old to start each of the Toffees’ four Premier League fixtures to date.

Ancelotti will also be hoping for good news on Yerry Mina, after the defender sat out Colombia’s draw with Chile as a precaution after feeling discomfort in his right thigh in training.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti can look to exploit an “incredible talent” when Everton host Liverpool this Saturday.

According to Topsport.bg, Glasgow Rangers target Kristiyan Malinov would cost the club €2m (£1.8m) if they were to sign him.

The ‘Gers are said to be interested in the midfielder, with a source close to the player saying that he would be “privileged” to play for the Ibrox outfit.

This latest report has claimed that Standard Liege, who are also in pursuit, were told that they could have Malinov for €2m (£1.8m).

This price tag should not really be an issue at all for Ross Wilson and Steven Gerrard, even if it is 25% higher than his £1.44m Transfermarkt value. The 26-year-old has 13 caps for Bulgaria and, at his age, he should be approaching the peak of his career. He has made 113 appearances for CSKA Sofia, one of the biggest clubs in the Balkan state, and also has experience of playing at Europa League level, so this would appear to be an acceptable sum.

Of course, there are other things that must be taken into consideration – for example, how much other targets will cost, as well as whether they actually need him given the strong competition Gerrard already has in the middle of the park. However, they at least appear to know where they stand, and Wilson can now weigh up the pros and cons in deciding whether Malinov is indeed worth that fee.

‘Gers fans, do you think £1.8m is a fair price to consider paying for Malinov? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

Rangers got their Scottish Premiership campaign off to the perfect start with a 1-0 win against Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon.

Ryan Kent’s strike just after the 20 minute mark proved to be the difference-maker, with Steven Gerrard’s side laying down an early marker at Pittodrie.

But whilst Kent was the match-winner, Joe Aribo had a barn-storming game in the middle of the park for the Gers. He had an incredible 97% pass accuracy, provided three key passes, completed four dribbles and even showed his defensive side of the game by making two tackles and one interception.

Are you a massive Rangers fan? Know everything about the club? Well do you know your Gary Stevens from your Michael Ball? This quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…

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And after seeing his midfield masterclass, Rangers fans took to Twitter to hail the 24-year-old.

A couple of Rangers fans talked up his technical ability, with one supporter pointing to a moment in the game when Aberdeen simply couldn’t get him off the ball.

Having signed him from Charlton last summer, Aribo will no doubt be keen to kick on from a promising first season at Ibrox.

In 48 games across all competitions in the previous campaign, he managed an impressive nine goals and eight assists. And according Aberdeen on Saturday, he showed he could be a real force in the engine room for Gerrard’s side.

It may have just been the opening game, but Aribo showed signs of being a hugely important figure for the Gers.

After breaking through into the first-team last season, Sean Longstaff has become a permanent fixture in the Newcastle squad this year.

The 22-year-old has featured 21 times in the Premier League alone, and looks set to be a key part of the Magpies midfield over the coming seasons.

But having been given his first opportunity by Rafa Benitez, Longstaff may face the prospect of having to work under a third different Newcastle manager should Steve Bruce leave the club this summer.

Think you’re a big Magpies fan? Can you name these former players by looking at their careers? Go on, give it a go…

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Reports have suggested that with the club on the verge of takeover, Bruce could be one of the first to go as the new owners look to bring in a man of their own.

Despite that, Longstaff has leapt to his manager’s defence, and insisted that he deserves the chance to prove himself. Speaking on The Epic podcast (as quoted by The Chronicle), he said: “From the moment he came, in China, at the start of this season, he’s been brilliant.

“There have been times where for me personally I’ve wanted to play, he’s left me out and I’ve asked the question (why) and he’s been brutally honest with me. If you look at the team this year, we’ve been pretty successful I think – a lot of people wrote us off at the start, and I think it would be unfair if you didn’t give him the chance to carry on the work that he has started to put into place.”

And after hearing what Longstaff had to say, Newcastle fans flooded to Twitter to share their reactions.

A couple of Magpies supporters seemed unsurprised that Longstaff was “toeing the party line”, and suggested that Bruce is having a negative effect on him.

One Magpies fan raised the prospect of the players potentially knowing more information about the takeover and what that could mean, and wondered whether because he “sounds obviously confident”, he knows that Bruce may be staying on.

A couple of supporters just urged the club to get rid of Longstaff, with one fan claiming that his comments showed “he clearly has no ambition”.

It certainly seems a bit harsh for a few Magpies fans to call on the club to get rid of Longstaff, and his backing of Bruce is hardly surprising.

But under a manager like Mauricio Pochettino who helped develop the likes of Dele Alli at Tottenham, Newcastle supporters could be seeing the very best of Longstaff in the near future.

Lots of Everton fans have been buzzing at Richarlison’s latest comments ahead of the Merseyside derby clash against Liverpool on Sunday. 

As per Desimpedidos (via The Toffee Blues), the 23-year old seemed to be playing mind games ahead of the Reds’ visit to Goodison Park, as he claimed thet Virgil van Dijk is not the best defender in the world, adding that Marquinhos, Sergio Ramos and Thiago Silva are all better than the Dutch powerhouse.

Indeed, this will have raised a few eyebrows, especially since Van Dijk was the Ballon d’Or runner-up in December and the fact that they are likely to be battling it out against each other on the pitch.

However, one name that may have particularly stood out to several members of the Blues faithful was that of Silva, as Sky Sports reporter in Italy Gianluca Di Marzio (via The Gwladys Street) has revealed that Carlo Ancelotti’s team would be his preferred destination if he leaves Paris Saint Germain in the upcoming summer transfer window.

Comparing the 35-year old to VVD in their respective domestic leagues in the 2019/20 season so far, the Brazilian has actually averaged more tackles, interceptions and blocks per game, according to Whoscored.

Whether Richarlison’s claims are true are up for debate, but these EFC supporters buzzed upon reading them:

Evertonians, who is the best CB in the world? Comment below!

According to a report in The Sun, Tottenham Hotspur could rekindle their interest in Bournemouth attacker David Brooks, as long as he can prove his fitness.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Sun are reporting that there could be a shake-up at the Vitality Stadium during the next transfer window, where the likes of Callum Wilson and Joshua King could be sold as they could bring in cash.

The report adds that David Brooks would have been in that bracket of being wanted had he not missed the whole season with an ankle injury, although it says that Manchester United and Tottenham could rekindle their interest in him if he regains fitness.

The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?

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The Wales international scored seven goals and provided a further five assists in 30 Premier League outings last term, before his injury troubles that have kept him sidelined ever since.

Still interested

The report in The Sun suggests the north London outfit are still keen on the 22-year-old, even though Jose Mourinho has replaced Mauricio Pochettino – the Argentine was in charge last time they were reported to want Brooks.

Indeed, The Sun said in May 2019 that the former Southampton boss wanted both the Welshman and Wilson at Tottenham in an £80m double swoop, although it never came to fruition last summer – presumably one of the factors was the attacker’s injury.

From Spurs’ point of view the interesting thing about Brooks is clearly his versatility, given he played on both the right wing and as a No.10 for the Cherries during the 2018/19 campaign, as per Transfermarkt, suggesting he would be ideal for Jose Mourinho’s preferred 4-2-3-1 system.

Given what he showed then for the south coast outfit in terms of goals and assists, if he can get back to that level it would be no surprise if Tottenham went in for him again.

In other Tottenham news, a journalist has made a fresh Spurs transfer transfer claim that suggests one Pochettino favourite could leave club this summer…

As Jose Mourinho looks forward to his first summer in charge at Tottenham, he will know that the north London side may require a lot of wheeling and dealing to get the squad in his own image.

The Lilywhites have endured a difficult campaign this season filled with injuries and off-the-pitch turbulence, and it’s no surprise that before football was postponed, they found themselves lying in eight place in the Premier League and seven points off the all-important top four.

With finances set to be tight due to the current climate, Mourinho will certainly be wary of potentially not getting all the signings he needs.

The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?

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But according to 90min, Spurs are the latest club to be interested in West Ham midfielder Declan Rice. And to even sweeten a potential deal to bring him across London, the Lilywhites are willing to offer Eric Dier as some sort of a part- exchange deal to convince the Hammers to sell one of their prized assets.

If Spurs can bring Rice to the club by offering smaller amount of money and giving back Dier, then it would go down as a masterstroke from Daniel Levy.

Dier hasn’t enjoyed the greatest seasons either on-the-pitch or off it, featuring only 14 times in the Premier League and of course getting into an altercation with a section of the Spurs support after the FA Cup defeat to Norwich earlier this year.

Both he and Rice are in a similar mould in terms of their playing styles, with the duo equally capable of playing the holding midfield role as they are at filling in at centre-back. But to put it bluntly, the latter is quite simply a much better upgrade on what Spurs currently have to offer.

As per Whoscored, Rice averages an impressive three tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game, and has a pass accuracy of 86.2% in the Premier League this season. Compare that to Dier, who averages just 1.4 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per game, and has a pass accuracy of 77.7%.

The Hammers man comfortably betters his Spurs counterpart in the key categories for their position, and it’s why Levy could kill two birds with one stone this summer. By getting rid of Dier, they would be cutting their losses on a player who just isn’t good enough at the level the Lilywhites need to be at.

And in the same deal, they would be getting someone in return who is markedly better and would improve Mourinho’s team straight off the bat.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans elated by this transfer report.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter Milan are looking into the possibility of incorporating Tottenham Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen into their squad come next summer. If true, that could put the Nerazzurri right back on track.

What’s the word, then?

The Italian sources claim Eriksen is a big dream of Antonio Conte’s team.

Of course, seeing how it would be rather difficult actually getting the Danish playmaker to sign for them, with the likes of Manchester United prowling around, he is currently not the priority heading into the transfer window.

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But they will definitely study this option as Eriksen’s relationship with Spurs is also deteriorating, as per Gazzetta’s claims, and separation with the out-of-favour star is pretty likely in the near future.

Even though he hasn’t been at his brilliant best, the midfielder could complete Inter Milan’s jigsaw if the transfer were really to go through.

Wind in their sails

After a rather resurgent start to the 2019/20 campaign, the Nerazzurri have slowed down in recent times.

Of course, they managed to remain unbeaten in their first seven games of the season but couldn’t sustain it all the way. Now, they are in danger of not making it out of their Champions League group and they have to fend off the advances of Juventus over in Serie A.

But Conte’s men certainly look rather formidable as it is and maybe they just need one small boost to actually complete their jigsaw.

And by all means, Eriksen could definitely be that missing link to finally get the Nerazzurri going as they used to in the good old days.

Despite his limited game time this season – he has failed to start three of the north London outfit’s previous five fixtures in all competitions – the Danish playmaker has managed to bag one goal and one assist in the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, while also tallying 1.5 shots and 1.4 key passes per game.

Of course, Inter have a great playmaker in the form of Sensi but maybe pairing him up with current Tottenham Hotspur star could take the team to another level.

After all, last season when both Spurs and Eriksen were firing on all cylinders, the great Dane bagged eight goals and got 12 assists under his belt, which is something Conte could definitely use in his squad.

But as the original report made clear, Inter are not sure whether they can actually secure his signature, although they will definitely pounce on it if the opportunity arises.

Who knows, maybe Serie A would be a welcoming change for the struggling star.

Newcastle United suffered their sixth Premier League defeat of the 2019/20 campaign on Monday night as they went down 2-0 away to Aston Villa.

As expected, there were a lot of frustrated supporters on social media after the match.

However, it seems that Allan Saint-Maximin has been given a free pass by the fans despite failing to inspire his team to a positive result on Monday evening.

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According to WhoScored, the attacker completed seven dribbles and also boasted a pass success rate of 88% during his time on the field.

To put that into context, Jonjo Shelvey – operating in the middle of the park – only had a pass success rate of 78%.

Saint-Maximin is yet to find the back of the net for the Magpies since arriving during the summer transfer window.

However, it seems that the 22-year-old has the full support of the fans due to his willingness to continue plugging away even when things are going against Steve Bruce’s side.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

It is certainly not the first time that the Newcastle fans have shown their love for Saint-Maximin since his arrival.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Leeds United are finally almost back to full strength.

It’s been a tough period for the Whites as they’ve been without a number of key players, but after Marcelo Bielsa confirmed that Liam Cooper and Jamie Shackleton are available for Saturday’s match against Sheffield Wednesday, United are just that much better off.

Of course, the return of these two players gives Marcelo Bielsa something to think about in his team selections, and there is one player whose spot should be under pressure.

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On the chalkboard

With Shackleton back available for selection, Leeds could now stop playing Stuart Dallas out of position as a central midfielder, particularly as he came into the side when Adam Forshaw was first sidelined.

However, Dallas may be best off playing in that position this weekend, but going forward the youngster should return to the lineup.

This leaves Bielsa with another dilemma as he has to look at whether or not he wants the Northern Irishman to replace Luke Ayling at right-back.

With Dallas looking likely to retain his spot in the midfield this weekend, this may be Ayling’s last chance to prove that he should be starting at right-back over his teammate.

Remember the ‘golden goal’ rule? Find out why some fans want it back in the video below…

The full-back was panned after his performance against Preston North End, and another showing like that could see him lose his spot in the team.

Dallas didn’t really put a foot wrong during his stint at right-back during Ayling’s absence, earning copious amounts of praise in comparison to Ayling.

However, due to injuries in the midfield, Bielsa hasn’t had to choose between the pair since the former Bristol City man’s return.

With Shackleton now back, it’s only a matter of time before the manager has to make a choice at right-back, and unless the Englishman performs against the Owls his decision may be an easy one.