According to The Mail Online, Crystal Palace are interested in signing Everton’s James McCarthy on loan before the end of the transfer window. 

The article also explains that Palace manager Roy Hodgson is keen to add reinforcements in the midfield at Selhurst Park, and the Republic of Ireland international seems like a great option given how out of favour he is at Goodison Park this season under Marco Silva.

McCarthy is yet to play a game for The Toffees in the Premier League this season, and would surely be keen on a move away to help his career. Moreover, Crystal Palace would be the perfect place to do this.

The Eagles’ midfield currently comprises of Luka Milivojević, Cheikhou Kouyaté and James McArthur. While the Serbian’s place seems guaranteed under Hodgson, McCarthy has a great chance to fight for one of the other two spots.

Why this would be such a good move is that Crystal Palace are currently in a worse position than Everton, so are more likely to play than the 28-year-old, but are not playing that badly. The Eagles have already beaten Man City this season in the league, pushed Liverpool all the way and recently beat Tottenham in the FA Cup. He would not be joining a horror-show of a club, and could, therefore, impress his parent club. Their performance against Spurs also showed that they are defensively resolute, meaning McCarthy has a great platform to impress.

This is a move that must happen if McCarthy does not want to waste his career.

West Bromwich Albion took a big step forward in their quest for Premier League promotion, moving three points behind league leaders Norwich City in the Championship title race.

While it’s getting difficult to predict who will clinch the Championship trophy, West Brom’s bigger target is automatic promotion back to the top-flight.

The Baggies have played some lethal attacking football this season and continued their impressive run with a 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers. Despite going behind multiple times, Darren Moore’s side showed impressive spirit to come back and clinch three crucial points from Loftus Road.

What was even better is that new signings Jefferson Montero and Jacob Murphy both scored to contribute in the victory. It seems like West Brom’s fighting spirit has been quickly etched into their system. The Baggies now boast a dangerous attack, with the new signings complimenting Jay Rodriguez and Dwight Gayle, who’ve scored 18 and 16 goals respectively.

Moore is allowing his side freedom and has instilled a sense of urgency to win over the past few months. West Brom do not let up from a challenge and their ability to peg back from despair is admirable. They’ve been revitalized this season and are displaying admirable resiliency towards the end of the season.

If their comeback win against QPR proved anything, the Baggies have inherited a never-say-die attitude from Moore. The gaffer’s implemented an unrelenting fighting spirit, which can boost West Brom into finishing the season strongly and attaining automatic promotion.

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Despite largely struggling to displace Mark Hughes’ preferred central-midfield duo of Mario Lemina and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oriol Romeu has become a mainstay in the position under current Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The Spaniard once again started in the 2-0 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, and his performance perhaps wasn’t up to the standard that Saints fans have been used to from him previously.

The former Chelsea man is there to put pressure on the opposition and break up the play, as well as winning the ball back and generally protecting the backline – his role becomes even more important when the middle centre-back, Jack Stephens in recent weeks, brings the ball out of the defence.

Romeu certainly did his bit in terms of the former as he made two tackles and three interceptions, but his distribution from the 48 passes he had was a real negative – a success rate of less than 69% followed as the 27-year-old struggled when in possession.

Yes, the south coast outfit were largely under pressure against when of the better teams in the Premier League, but he should have been doing better.

Attentions turn to the huge clash against Fulham at St Mary’s on Wednesday when the hosts will be looking to pick up a crucial three points that could move them out of the relegation zone.

Hasenhuttl has preferred to stick with a five-at-the-back formation in recent times but the fact he switched to four at half-time against the Gunners proves that things may be changing, and sacrificing a centre-back could also lead to midfield changes.

The 51-year-old used the former system that some people would conceive as negative in the reverse against Cardiff City, using Romeu, James Ward-Prowse and Hojbjerg in the centre.

It wasn’t a tactic that worked and when you are trying to break down an opponent and a side that could come to St Mary’s for a draw, you don’t need those three players.

In fact, Ward-Prowse is showing the aggression in his game that is one of his Spanish teammate’s strengths, and he and Hojbjerg are good enough to do a job against Claudio Ranieri’s men alone, allowing Hasenhuttl to bring in another much-needed attacking player to the starting XI.

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West Ham United host Premier League leaders Liverpool at the London Stadium on Monday night, and will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing 3-0 defeat against newly-promoted Wolves last time out.

Manuel Pellegrini’s squad is currently seriously depleted due to injuries, leaving him little room for change when it comes to his team selection, but he will be hoping his side can show the same grit and character that earned them home wins against Manchester United and Arsenal earlier in the season.

In order to stand a chance of victory though, the Hammers must get their tactical approach to this game spot on.

On the chalkboard

Club captain and veteran midfielder Mark Noble is likely to start against the Reds, especially as Jack Wilshere and Carlos Sanchez are both unavailable due to injury. 

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

However, despite being a hero to many Irons fans, Jurgen Klopp may consider the long-serving 31-year-old to be a weak point in the opposition that his side can exploit.

If asked to anchor the midfield, only alongside teenager Declan Rice, Noble’s lack of pace and mobility could be ruthlessly exposed by Liverpool’s rapid forward players and quick turnovers from defence to attack. Pellegrini must make a tactical compromise in order to offset this risk.

A third man

The Hammers have played with two strikers in recent games, but for this encounter, Pellegrini ought to drop a striker and instead pack out the middle of the park. 

With a three-man midfield, Noble’s lack of mobility and speed would be less of an issue, and instead, the experienced midfielder would be free to orchestrate counter-attacks from deep, ensuring that the home side maintain a threat to Liverpool’s own defence.

حسم التعادل السلبي مباراة الأهلي ومصر والمقاصة، التي أقيمت بينهما مساء اليوم على ملعب استاد القاهرة الدولي.

اللقاء أقيم في اطار منافسات الجولة 28 من عمر بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

يذكر أن الأهلي توج بلقب الدوري قبل خوضه المباراة، للمرة الـ42 في تاريخه بعد خسارة منافسه الزمالك على يد أسوان مساء أمس.

بتلك النتيجة يرتفع رصيد الأهلي إلى 73 نقطة، كما يرتفع رصيد المقاصة إلى 37 نقطة محتلًا المركز الخامس في سلم ترتيب بطولة الدوري.

طالع أيضًا.. ترتيب الدوري المصري الممتاز بعد مباراة الاهلي ومصر المقاصة

طالع أيضًا.. صورة | سيد عبد الحفيظ يتابع مباراة الأهلي والمقاصة من المدرجات

وكانت المباراة التي أدارها الحكم الدولي محمد الحنفي، قد شهدت حالة طرد لمدافع فريق مصر المقاصة محمد دبش.

كما شهدت المباراة إلغاء هدفين للأهلي والمقاصة، كان الأول بداعي خطأ على أليو بادجي والأخير بداعي التسلل. ترتيب هدافي الدوري المصري بعد تعادل الأهلي ومصر المقاصة

1- عبد الله السعيد لاعب بيراميدز، 16 هدفًا.

2- محمد شريف لاعب إنبي، 11 هدفًا.

3- سيف الدين الجزيري لاعب المقاولون العرب، 9 أهداف.

4- مصطفى محمد لاعب الزمالك، 9 أهداف.

5- وليد سليمان لاعب الأهلي، 8 أهداف.

6- حسام حسن لاعب سموحة، 8 أهداف.

7- والتير بواليا، لاعب الجونة، 8 أهداف.

8- جون أنطوي، لاعب بيراميدز، 6 أهداف

9- مروان حمدي، لاعب وادي دجلة، 6 أهداف.

10-  فادي فريد، لاعب أسوان، 6 أهداف.

11- ناصر منسي لاعب طلائع الجيش، 6 أهداف.

12- أحمد رفعت لاعب الاتحاد السكندري، 6 أهداف.

13- أحمد سيد زيزو لاعب الزمالك، 6 أهداف.

14-  أحمد عبد الباسط شرويدة لاعب حرس الحدود، 6 أهداف

15- محمود علاء لاعب الزمالك، 5 أهداف.

16- جونيور أجاي لاعب الأهلي، 5 أهداف.

17- حسين الشحات لاعب الأهلي، 5 أهداف.

18- رامي صبري لاعب إنبي، 5 أهداف.

19- محمد سمير لاعب المقاولون العرب، 5 أهداف.

20- محمد سالم لاعب المقاولون العرب، 5 أهداف.

21- أحمد ياسر ريان لاعب الجونة، 5 أهداف.

22- عمرو الحلواني لاعب حرس الحدود، 5 أهداف.

23- مصطفى سلطان لاعب نادي مصر، 5 أهداف

24- مروان محسن مهاجم الأهلي، 5 أهداف.

25- علي معلول، لاعب الأهلي، 5 أهداف.

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Loads of Liverpool fans have been reacting to a story on the club’s finances, as the Reds secured record-high profits in 2018.

According to Paul Joyce of The Times, Liverpool set a world-record profit of £125 million in the financial year ending May 2018.

The Reds were in deep financial trouble under previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, as reported by The Liverpool Echo, but the heavily-criticised Fenway Sports Group have got things back on track and so much more.

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The American owners were bashed tirelessly by supporters during their first few years at the club, as the Anfield faithful were just fed up of poor transfer business and trophy-less seasons.

While the latter of those things hasn’t changed (yet), the Reds are now kings of the transfer market, regularly hailed as one of the best operators in the business.

On top of that, Joyce reports that the club recorded £125m profit last year, a whopping £40m increase on the previous year.

This is even including the £190m Jurgen Klopp splashed out on the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Alisson Becker, and fans are heaping praise on the previously divisive FSG.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below..

Liverpool are looking to add Napoli marksman Lorenzo Insigne to their already frightening attack according to La Republica, but buying more forward men shouldn’t just be seen as a luxury.

Liverpool already have what is regarded as one of the deadliest forward lines in Europe, so many Reds fans will turn their nose up at the prospect of spending what will be a very large amount of money on another forward with four years left on his contract. Yes, they do still need to focus on improving in the centre of the park, but they must not stagnate up front.

The introduction of Xherdan Shaqiri and the return of injury-prone Daniel Sturridge have added some depth to Liverpool’s attack but they have been incredibly lucky, both this season and last, on the injury front. Besides that, the form of their existing three will not always be as prolific as they have been, and we’re seeing that now.

In the existing system he has Roberto Firmino, Mohammad Salah and Sadio Mane in a fluid three. They have the ability to drift across the front line to create space and counter-attack quickly, and this adaptability and speed is key in transition from winning the ball to attacking the opposition’s box.

Since his arrival Mohammad Salah has been so effective at finding his way between the full-back and the centre-half, making him a nightmare to mark down the right wing. Insigne has the same capabilities down the opposite flank and the two could be deadly as they cut in to link up with each other or their other attacking talents.

The right-footed 27-year-old is known for his wing play down the left and has the ability to play as a striker. As Liverpool saw in the Champions League group stage earlier this season, Insigne would be the perfect fit for Klopp’s attack.

Look across to Manchester and they have Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Bernando Silva, Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero all capable of playing right across the front three. Yes, they’re playing in all four competitions still, while Liverpool are focusing on the league and Champions League, but isn’t four trophies what Liverpool should be aiming for?

The Reds broke the bank to acquire Virgil Van Dijk last January and Allison in the summer, now they must keep improving their squad right up the pitch, even their front three.

Everton will be hoping for a strong end to the season after picking up an impressive win in midweek.

Their campaign on the whole has come under some scrutiny thanks to some below par performances and some big money spent in the last few windows, but Marco Silva does have the ability to get the best from his squad and finish with a flurry.

The Toffees, who have plenty of talent already, will no doubt be keen on moving once more during the summer to ensure they bring in even more players of quality, and one man we here in the Tavern feel would be a superb signing is Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik.

The 15-goal striker has once again been showing his worth this term with some impressive displays in Italy, and with the failures of the likes of Cenk Tosun at Goodison Park, Milik could well prove to be the answer.

The Polish striker has all the tools needed to be a success in the Premier League and he’d be ideal at Everton as a focal point ahead of their talented attacking midfield players.

It’s the missing piece to the Everton jigsaw really, finding a man who can hit the back of the net regularly, but Milik is equipped to be that player.

If Everton can get in their early and stump up the cash to capture Milik, then there is no reason why the Premier League can’t be graced with what will be yet another superb striking talent.

Toffees fans, what do you think? Would Milik be a good signing? Let us know in the comments!

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Son Heung-Min has returned to Tottenham Hotspur in sensational form after his miserable exit from the Asian Cup, with two goals in two games evoking discussion over his candidacy for the player of the year award.

What’s the word?

Newcastle United proved to be typically stubborn opponents on Saturday lunchtime. Tottenham’s attacking endeavours were made in vain throughout proceedings, but the introduction of Fernando Llorente proved to be a decisive turning point in the game.

Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to unleash the Spaniard created a new dynamic in the final third and the Spaniard’s presence ultimately paved the way for Son to fire home a ferocious winner.

Llorente provided Son with the opportunity to strike from distance after knocking down a long ball into the South Korea international’s path, proving that the art of old-fashioned centre-forward play still has a place in Premier League football.

It was a timely reminder of the distinctive quality he can offer in attack, and Son was eager to pay tribute to his provider on Sunday, per ESPN.

“Fernando’s doing very well and everyone is ready because we work hard and believe in every single player. It doesn’t matter who plays.”

Llorente’s career in north London looked dead and buried when the transfer window opened for business in January, but events which have unfolded in 2019 have resurrected his career.

However, at 33 years of age, the Spaniard is going to have to do something special to convince Pochettino and Levy to offer him a new deal at the end of the season.

Dortmund could be key to his future at Spurs

Tottenham are well in the hunt for the title but the dominance of Man City and Liverpool suggest their best chance of claiming silverware may lie in Europe.

Next up for Spurs is a massive clash against Borussia Dortmund and, with the first leg set to take place at Wembley in less than ten days’ time, Llorente will be firmly in contention for a starting berth.

In a fixture of this magnitude the 33-year-old could have a dream opportunity to catapult his popularity amongst the supporters and simultaneously convince the club’s hierarchy to keep him in the summer.

According to a recent report from talkSPORT, Tottenham’s back-up centre-forward wants to extent his current deal with the club, which expires this summer.

A talismanic performance at the spearhead of the attack against Dortmund could represent the moment in which he convinces Pochettino to consider offering him a new deal – an agreement which would represent the culmination of a complete turnaround in his career.

Llorente has made significant steps towards completing a u-turn from probable departure to contract extension in the past two fixtures, and now he must finish the job by using his experience to stun Dortmund this month.

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Toby Alderweireld’s future is an interesting one.

The centre-back is now very much back in favour at Tottenham Hotspur, having played 34 times in all competitions for the club this season.

Alderweireld’s current contract with Tottenham will expire at the end of the 2019-2020 campaign, though.

What’s more, teams will be able to sign the Belgian for £25m this summer due to a clause in his current deal.

At that price, Alderweireld – a 2015 arrival from Atletico Madrid – will not be short of suitors.

There is still obviously a chance that the defender could pen a fresh deal with Tottenham, however, which would remove the release clause.

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And that is exactly what the Spurs supporters want to happen.

Alderweireld is one of the best central defenders in European football and losing the 29-year-old in this summer’s transfer window really would be a big blow.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Tottenham fans can be seen below: