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An expert in football finance has dropped quite a big claim on Everton and Alisher Usmanov.

Speaking to Football Insider, Kieran Maguire thinks that it is not out of the question that the Russian billionaire may one day formalise his investment in the Goodison Park faithful:

“I think at present, he’s very happy with the relationship he has with Farhad Moshiri and the money being invested in the club.

“There’s no doubt at a future time, if Farhad Moshiri needed additional equity investment then Usmanov would be his first port of call.

“They have worked together, they know each other well, they understand each other.

“It’s a case of Moshiri being quite happy as majority owner to the extent that he is at the moment, but never say never in business.

“He could be the person to take them to the next level in due course.

“Moshiri is wealthy but we have high net worth individuals and then ultra-high net worth individuals. Usmanov is in the latter camp.”

Usmanov and Moshiri could be formidable for Everton

A full on partnership of Usmanov and Moshiri could be a very formidable one for the Merseyside club if it were ever to come into fruition.

With the plans to move into the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock going ahead, the two tycoons could take the Toffees into a brand new and potentially successful era.

If Carlo Ancelotti’s team want to truly compete at the top of the Premier League, then a lot of investment is likely to be needed, and Usmanov would help provide the finances for that.

It was reported back in March that the 67-year-old could invest in the Toffees after they were told that they could proceed with the plans to build their new ground, and the links between him and the Blues do not seem to be going away any time soon.

Nonetheless, there would be pretty exciting times ahead for EFC if he decided to partner with Moshiri and invest.

In other news, find out what transfer plans have left Toffees fuming here!

Everton have launched a scathing attack on the European Super League on Tuesday morning.

The Premier League’s ‘big six’ clubs announced on Sunday that they agreed in principle to become founding members of the new continental competition, for which they would automatically qualify. However, they have been threatened with a ban from the English top flight if they go through with it.

What did Everton’s Super League statement say?

Everton, who could move to within three points of the Champions League places if they win their game in hand, released a statement accusing the six clubs of ‘tarnishing the reputation of our league and game’.

“The self-proclaimed Super Six appear intent on disenfranchising supporters across the game – including their own – by putting the very structure that underpins the game we love under threat,” raged the statement from the Goodison Park club, which also called for the proposals to be ‘immediately withdrawn’.

Moshiri: Super League ‘against the very idea of British football’

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri then appeared on talkSPORT to denounce the plans. Asked if the club would ever consider joining the competition if given the opportunity, he said: “Never, never.”

The 65-year-old added: “Every fact of it is against the very idea of British football. Football clubs are community assets, they belong to the fans and to the communities. This takes much of the romance of football away. It is something which makes the game a money game, it’s not football anymore.”

Moshiri then went on to argue that the six clubs should be handed points deductions as punishment for their actions. Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville also led demands for such a penalty to be imposed during a televised tirade on Sunday.

Transfer Tavern verdict

It’s hard to disagree with Moshiri’s declaration that ‘it’s not football anymore’ given the anti-competitive principles of the Super League, but the points deduction call is more controversial. The reality is that the Premier League’s approach will have to be more conciliatory.

However, that can accompany a stern warning that any future plots will be met with severe reprisals. At least Everton have shown the initiative to put on the record their opposition to the concept.

In other news, a family member of an Everton player has made a prediction about his future.

David Sullivan should seal a summer swoop for West Ham United to sign rumoured Arsenal and Everton target Samuel Chukwueze from Villarreal.

What’s the word?

According to reports in Spain, the Irons are ready to spare no expense in efforts to add Chukwueze to David Moyes’ attacking weaponry if the Scottish coach can secure European football at the London Stadium.

West Ham host fourth-placed Chelsea on Saturday with the chance to move above Thomas Tuchel’s side in the Premier League table, after the Blues edged ahead on goal difference when held to a draw by Brighton & Hove Albion.

Chukwueze is expected to consider walking away from the Estadio de la Ceramica at the end of the season amid interest from the Premier League and La Liga, but is protected by a €80m (£69m) release clause.

Atletico Madrid have long held an interest in the 21-year-old, who Villarreal boss Unai Emery lauds for his “individual brilliance”, yet under no circumstances are they willing to active his exit clause.

Los Colchoneros’ position is seen as a positive for West Ham, Arsenal and Everton who are very interested in a deal for the Nigeria international, previously linked with Manchester United, Liverpool, Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

But the Premier League suitors may have to pay Chukwueze’s full termination clause, with Villarreal gradually raising the fee needed through a slew of new contracts as the Submarino Amarillo are aware of the scale of his talent and the interest in his services.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-west-ham-news%2c-views-and-gossip” title=”Latest West Ham news, views and gossip!”]

Chukwueze, who has scored four goals and offered seven assists in 36 games across all competitions this season, is under contract with Villarreal until the summer of 2023.

Should West Ham sign Villarreal’s Chukwueze?

Clearly, if West Ham want to sign Chukwueze at the end of the season, Sullivan will need to set a new club record to acquire the 18-cap forward and eclipse the £45m paid to Eintracht Frankfurt for Sebastien Haller in 2019.

Spending close to £70m on Chukwueze would be a sizable gamble for the Hammers to take, with the youngster only offering 16 goals and 16 assists in 115 career appearances for the Submarino Amarillo, but that should not stop Sullivan from exploring a deal.

Chukwueze has earned widespread interest over the years through the induvial brilliance that former Arsenal boss Emery has praised him for displaying this season, even if those moments of magic from the wing have not always resulted in an end product.

The £18m-rated Villarreal product’s lack of a prolific end result is the only predominant trait missing from his developing skill, with Emery claiming after Chukwueze – considered to be one of Europe’s most exciting talents – fired a brace in a 5-1 win over Levante last weekend:

“He’s a footballer with great quality. He has a lot of talent, but he needs to improve in front of goal. Today he put in a great performance and managed to score.”

Chukwueze’s questionable scoring record has also seemingly not caused West Ham to doubt his potential, given the claims that the London Stadium side are willing to spare no expense to secure a transfer.

And with Moyes expected to part with Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko this summer, signing a player with a proven X-factor could be a very exciting way for Sullivan to replenish the Hammers’ attacking options.

AND in other news, West Ham have been warned against signing a £10m talent who’s “downed tools” this season…

A number of Liverpool supporters believe Roberto Firmino has peaked as a footballer, following a hugely below-par season for the Reds.

Jurgen Klopp’s men have experienced a campaign to forget, having won the Premier League title in 2019/20.

A mixture of injuries, poor form, no supporters in grounds and baffling VAR decisions have all played a part in Liverpool’s woes, making for a season to forget.

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There have been a host of Reds players who have struggled throughout, but Firmino has arguably been the worst of the bunch. The Brazilian has only scored six goals in 31 league appearances and his all-round game has been a shadow of its former self, withtoo many poor performances thrown in.

Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has written about Firmino’s struggles in the Liverpool Echo, describing him as ‘a problem’ at the moment. The 62-year-old wrote: “Look at Firmino, he is a problem. He has lost his mojo completely and I have been one of his biggest fans, but it has been like this for a long time now.”

Aldridge added: “He’s lost his belief, totally, his confidence, everything in his game seems to have gone and he just can’t shake himself out of it.”

Liverpool fans believe Firmino has peaked

These Reds fans agreed with Aldridge, providing their thoughts on Twitter.

“Bobby is DONE. No coming back from that”

Credit: @fre_flow

“I don’t know why he has lost his way this season”

Credit: @Seyjith

“This is a bitter truth. I have noticed him so well. We need to sell him”

Credit: @Stature01

“Best days are behind him John, upgrade needed. Evolution happens and we need to move on. Forwards at the club need to be scoring goals and apart from Mo they have been well below what we need from them. And sadly Bobby has been like that for a long time now “

Credit: @MarkWells47

“Totally agree, we need an out an out striker”

Credit: @MarkPriddy9

“His good days are gone sadly though”

Credit: @Leeblinder

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been calling for one divisive Reds player to be sold this summer. Find out who it is here.

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has revealed that the club held discussions with Liverpool this week over Takumi Minamino’s loan.

Minamino was loaned to the Saints on the final day of the January transfer window.

According to The Athletic, he ‘expressed a desire’ to make the move in his talks with Hasenhuttl amid his struggles for gametime at Anfield.

Having scored a first Premier League goal in the 7-0 rout of Crystal Palace at the end of December, Minamino only played six top-flight minutes across the Reds’ next seven games.

Minamino falls out of favour after early Southampton success

The Japanese international made a flying start at St Mary’s, scoring two goals in his first three appearances.

But he’s now been an unused substitute in four of their last six matches.

“We had communications [with Liverpool] this week,” Hasenhuttl told Hampshire Live.

“We discussed his position, discussed his development, and they were absolutely not unhappy.”

The Austrian later added: “I’m sure that he will get a lot more minutes to play until the end of the season and then we will look at what we do.”

There is reportedly no option to buy in the loan agreement.

Transfer Tavern verdict

Whilst Hasenhuttl claims Liverpool aren’t unhappy with Minamino’s situation, the loan move couldn’t really be called a success at this point.

Their ambition was surely that he would play week-in, week-out and find form and confidence, but he’s failed to kick-on from that hugely promising start.

In fairness, he has joined a struggling side, with just three wins this calendar year, but as it stands, you wouldn’t expect particularly strong interest from Southampton in making the loan permanent.

If Liverpool are offered a healthy profit on their £7.2million investment from elsewhere, it’s hard to imagine them saying no.

In other news, fans are calling for another loanee to be retained.

Marcus Bent has exclusively told Football FanCast that he would welcome the signing of Ivan Toney at Everton.

With the likes of Josh King and Cenk Tosun expected to leave, Carlo Ancelotti would be left with just one senior recognised striker in Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Richarlison has previously played down the middle, but is predominantly a winger, meaning the Italian could need another centre-forward this summer, especially with the prospect of European football next term.

Reports in January suggested that Everton were keeping a close eye on the Brentford frontman, who’s caught the eye of several Premier League clubs this season, with the 25-year-old being looked at as a potential addition to the Toffees squad.

Toney has enjoyed a phenomenal first season at Championship level, scoring 30 goals and 10 assists in 44 appearances to help Brentford secure a top-six place.

And Bent told Football FanCast that he would back the decision to sign Toney:

“That’s quite a big one – he’s been quality in the Championship and showed that he’s got the talent.

“You don’t need to start in the Premier League to progress your career, so I think that’s a good one for Everton. Will he start? He’ll have to earn his place.

“But I think he could go up there, but him going to Everton he’s going to be away from his family again, but that’s football and I’m sure he can cope with that. “

West Brom can kickstart their rebuild in the Championship with a swoop for Gustavo Hamer this summer…

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic, the Coventry City midfielder is thought to be on a list of potential targets as the Baggies look to bolster a crucial part of their squad.

Albion’s relegation was confirmed on Sunday evening following a disappointing 3-1 defeat at Arsenal and with several key players likely to leave, new additions will be required at the Hawthorns.

The 23-year-old powerhouse has been linked with a move to Scottish champions Rangers in recent weeks. Hamer cost the Sky Blues around £1.5m last summer.

Shades of Yacob

West Brom are set to lose at least a pair of loanees in Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Conor Gallagher, and Celta Vigo’s impressive defensive midfielder Okay Yokuslu should undoubtedly attract interest from those in the big time.

Whilst Romaine Sawyers’ future remains unclear having fallen heavily out of favour and the same has to be said for club captain Jake Livermore, who hasn’t started a game since early February.

The likes of Sam Field and Rekeem Harper could return but given they barely featured in their promotion-winning campaign, it would be hard to envisage them featuring this time around either.

This is where Hamer comes in. After an impressive debut season in the second flight, he’s exactly the sort of player that Luke Dowling should be targeting, regardless of who is in charge at the Hawthorns.

The 5 foot 6 dynamo, who has been capped at U20 level for the Netherlands, would be a like-for-like replacement for Yokuslu but he is also versatile enough to play in an advanced midfield role and at right-back – which surely draws some comparisons to ex-Baggies star Claudio Yacob.

Although Hamer has the ability to usurp his quality, thanks to his exploits at either end of the pitch.

Despite playing in a deeper position, Hamer is Coventry’s third top scorer with five goals and he’s also provided three assists. That’s on top of an average of 1.4 interceptions and 1.3 tackles defensively, and a squad-high 1.5 key passes and 1.8 shots per game, via WhoScored.

It’s no wonder his manager, Mark Robins, waxed lyrical about his ability to the Sky Blues Extra podcast, where he dubbed him “unbelievable” (via the Coventry Telegraph), whilst pundit Ali Maxwell told the EFL on Quest highlights show that the Dutchman was the “class act” of this Coventry side.

At just 23, Hamer would be a quality addition to West Brom in the Championship and whilst it remains to be seen how much he would command, Dowling should absolutely push to sign what could be their next Yacob.

AND in other news, Big Sam must axe West Brom lightweight this summer following relegation…

Manchester City’s hopes of signing Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma this summer look to have been handed a boost after he confirmed he wants to leave the Seagulls, which presents Pep Guardiola with a golden opportunity to bring him to the Etihad.

City were linked with the Mali international recently, with the report from the Daily Star suggesting that City had grown frustrated with West Ham’s valuation of Declan Rice and will instead look to target Bissouma as they seek a replacement for Fernandinho this summer.

The 36-year-old Brazilian is yet to sign a new contract at the Etihad despite some superb recent displays, so looks set to leave City at the end of the season when his current deal expires.

Therefore, it seems likely that Guardiola will want to add to his options in defensive-midfield, as Rodri is unlikely to play every fixture next season, and Bissouma could definitely prove to be a viable option as he continues to impress with Brighton.

According to Duncan Castles in the Times, the midfielder has asked to leave Brighton ahead of the summer transfer window, with Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool all said to be interested.

Since joining from LOSC Lille, the £15.3m-rated youngster has gone on to make 93 appearances for the Seagulls, in which he has contributed four goals and one assist, so he can boast plenty of Premier League experience.

In 33 Premier League appearances for Graham Potter’s side this season, Bissouma has averaged a very impressive 6.98 rating from WhoScored, which would rank him as the 11th-best performer in Guardiola’s side this season, which suggests that he could be a very valuable addition ahead of next season.

With a Fernandinho replacement needed for next season, City’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain should definitely be trying to bring the “exceptional” Bissouma to the Etihad as soon as possible or he risks losing him to one of City’s potential title rivals.

And, in other news… Pep handed huge boost with “brilliant” EPL star, Txiki must deliver

Prior to Sheffield Wednesday’ relegation, Barry Bannan said there was no relegation release clause in his contract and Jon Newsome, who enjoyed two separate spells with the Owls, exclusively told The Transfer Tavern, that it will require a large offer to tempt the club to sell Bannan.

On the final day of the season, Sheffield Wednesday had to beat Derby County to have a chance of staying up and despite going 1-0 ahead, they ended up drawing 3-3 at Pride Park which saw them finish at the foot of the table.

Bannan has been at the club since 2015 and earlier in the season he admitted that he would like to honour his contract with Sheffield Wednesday no matter what league they are in.

The Owls will now be preparing for life in League One under Darren Moore and it would require a mammoth offer for them to sell Bannan. That is according to Newsome, who spoke exclusively to The Transfer Tavern:

“Barry Bannan signed a new contract last year and he’s said that there’s no relegation release clause, but if a big offer comes in for him the policy at the club could be to generate funds to help run the club because he will be on a big wage.

“I suppose it’s down to Darren Moore to decide who he sees fit and what players he wants at the club to help them make the leap straight out of League One.”

Sheffield Wednesday were slapped with a 12-point deduction before the season began which left them playing catch up from the first day of the season and despite it being reduced to six points, it always appeared to be an uphill battle.

League One is now home to several big clubs within English football as the likes of Sunderland, Portsmouth, Charlton Athletic and Wigan Athletic are all currently in that division.

Talks are underway between Leeds and Manchester City over the permanent signing of winger Jack Harrison.

That’s according to Jeremy Cross, the Daily Star’s Chief Sports Writer.

The lowdown

Harrison has spent the last three seasons on loan at Leeds, who contractually have the first option to buy.

The 24-year-old has made 35 appearances in their first season back in the top flight. With a game still to play, he’s on a commendable tally of eight goals and eight assists.

No English midfielder has been directly involved in more goals in the Premier League this season.

Harrison starred in the 4-0 win at Burnley last weekend, scoring Leeds’ second goal before teeing-up a late brace for substitute Rodrigo.

BT Sport pundit Peter Crouch said Harrison had had a ‘fantastic’ season and had ‘to be in with a shout’ of featuring in Gareth Southgate’s England squad, while Chris Coleman reckons he would be a ‘joy to play with’ if you were a full-back.

The latest

According to Cross, Bielsa is said to be ‘desperate’ to keep Harrison and Leeds are looking to tie him down.

Cross reports that a £15million fee has already been agreed between the two parties with talks now officially underway to secure Harrison’s future in Yorkshire.

The verdict

Rightly, this looks to be Leeds’ first priority: secure Harrison’s future and then focus on the areas that need upgrading.

The Englishman has gone from strength to strength this season and at only 24, could make a huge contribution going forward.

£15million could be regarded as a snip for a player ranked as the club’s sixth-best performer this term.

In other news, a pundit has weighed in on the future of Illan Meslier.