Northern Touch Soccer

Former Premier League star Danny Mills has criticised midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin following his sending off for Everton in the Premier League opener. The France international picked up two yellow cards leading to the send-off against Crystal Palace and that stemmed the Toffees pursuit of the winning goal at Selhurst Park.

Speaking to Football Insider, Mills acknowledged that Schneiderlin was unfortunate to receive a yellow card for the first incident but he should have shown more cautious thereafter, he said: “I think the first yellow card was a little bit harsh, I don’t think there was an awful lot in that. Having said that, once you’ve got one you can’t do anything, you’ve got to have the most perfect behaviour. It wasn’t dramatic what he did, it wasn’t disastrous but once Everton went down, it looked like it held them back a little bit.”

Former Everton manager Sam Allardyce has stated that the Toffees could make the top four of the Premier League next term with the signing of Diego Costa. The Spaniard is currently in the ranks of Atletico Madrid in the Spanish La Liga, but he has been touted to make a return to the Premier League with the Toffees.

Speaking on TalkSPORT, Allardyce said that the Toffees have the opportunity to compete for the final Champions League spot, given Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur will make the top three. He added that the signing of Costa could make the difference for the Toffees upfront, provided they can get him to provide the same level of performance from his Chelsea days.

Chelsea are reportedly prepared to delay the transfer decision for defender Kurt Zouma despite the concrete interest from Everton. The France international spent the previous campaign on loan with the Toffees and the move proved a huge success as he formed a brilliant partnership with Michael Keane at the heart of the defence.

As such, the Merseyside outfit are understood to hold a keen interest on signing him on a permanent basis, but their chances of doing so remain slim at the moment. According to The Mirror, the Blues are currently not thinking about the potential sale of Zouma, considering they are currently without a head coach.

Everton defender Lucas Digne has praised the club’s supporters after winning the Fans’ Player of the Season accolade. The Frenchman has been a revelation since making the move from Barcelona last summer and he ended his maiden Premier League campaign with four goals and four assists from the left-back spot while also impressing with his composure.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Digne gave a special mention to the club’s faithful after being voted as the Fans’ Player of the Season, he said: “It’s a big pleasure for me to win this award because the fans chose me. I have a very good feeling with the Evertonians. They welcomed me the best way I could imagine. From the beginning against Valencia, it was an amazing atmosphere in Goodison and it is always just amazing to play in front of them.”

Everton striker Cenk Tosun has indicated that he has no plans of parting ways with the Toffees when the transfer window reopens at the turn of the year. The Turkey international has been with the club for the past 15 months but he has not quite been able to cement a regular role from the starting lineup.

Due to this, there have been reports suggesting that Besiktas could seek to re-sign him at the end of the season but Tosun has dismissed the claims by stating that he is content at the Merseyside outfit, he said: “I’m not coming back to Turkey. I’m so happy at Everton. I want to be here for a long time. For my homeland, I want to make my flag proud here. Here, we represent Turkey. Not just me; Caglar Söyüncü, Cengiz Under, Hakan Calhanoglu, Zeki Celik, Merih Demiral, Okay Yokuslu are also the same … We represent not only our name but also the whole country.”

Everton manager Marco Silva has confirmed that he wants permanent deals for Kurt Zouma and Andre Gomes when the season comes to a close. Zouma and Gomes joined the Toffees on season-long loan deals from Chelsea and Barcelona respectively, and they have since been integral to the manager’s plans in the Premier League.

Speaking in a press conference, Silva indicated that he is pleased with the performances of the duo during the ongoing campaign and he would entertain the prospect of permanent deals for the pairing. However, he added that the ultimate decision would depend on the parent sides and the Toffees remain optimistic of sealing permanent moves for both Zouma and Gomes.

Everton forward Richarlison has credited manager Marco Silva for his goalscoring form during the course of the current campaign. The Brazil international had recently gone into a shell with a number of below-par performances but he has managed to revive his fortunes with goals in back-to-back games against Newcastle United and Chelsea.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Richarlison praised the work of Silva in his development and acknowledged the work put into training for the recent reward, he said: “I feel I have been developing more and more Marco Silva is always talking to me in training, he is always giving me guidance on positioning in the area.

Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye appears determined to part ways with the club during the summer after failing to do so during the winter transfer window. The Senegal international had been the subject of multiple transfer bids from Paris Saint-Germain last month but the Toffees made clear that the midfielder was not available at any price.

As such, Gueye was left extremely disappointed with the situation and he has now opened up regarding the same in an exclusive interview with L’Equipe. Speaking to the French publication, Gueye admitted that he has the dream of playing for an elite team in the Champions League and that was not fulfilled with Les Parisiens last month.

Nigerian footballer Henry Onyekuru has admitted that he would be open to the prospect of signing for Galatasaray on a permanent basis, should an opportunity arise. The striker joined Everton from KAS Eupen during the summer of 2017 after he enjoyed a fruitful season with 24 goals in all competitions.

However, he has since failed to make his Toffees bow due to work permit concerns and this has restricted him to loan spells – initially with Anderlecht and presently with Galatasaray. Speaking to Kralspor, Onyekuru has acknowledged that he is very pleased with his proceedings at the Turkish champions but he still envisages the dream of playing in the Premier League.

Everton manager Marco Silva has emphasised the need to return to winning ways in the Premier League in order to build up the confidence within the squad. The Merseyside outfit were within striking distance off the top six in November but they have since dropped off the pace with a difficult run of results during the festive period.

Speaking to Everton TV, Silva indicated that winning games is the best formula to build up confidence and he is hoping that the club can erase a two-match losing streak in the league this weekend, he said:“Winning matches is the best way to win confidence and to start playing again at our best level. We have already shown that this season.