There must be something in the water at Crystal Palace. Roy Hodgson, 76, is looking sprightlier than ever as he leads the club forwards in the post-Zaha era and he would like others to experience the restorative effects of life at the Eagles. In fact, he’s keen for Eden Hazard to sample the club’s elixir of life and revive a football career that flatlined the moment he left London for Madrid in 2019. The Belgian is considering retirement after leaving the Bernabéu in the summer but could be tempted back into footballing relevance by the Selhurst Park smelling salts. He’s still only 32 and could help take some of the creative load off Eberechi Eze.
Another player who may make a surprising Premier League comeback is Jonny Evans. The centre-back, who has been training at Manchester United to keep fit while looking for a club, has finally found a suitor: Manchester United! It’s been no secret that he’s made a show of some of the other much more costly United defenders and it seems Erik ten Hag has given the green light for the 35-year-old to be handed a one-year contract at the club. Poor Harry Maguire. Will there now even be room for him in the dugout he calls home?
Ivan Toney is still in demand despite the Brentford striker’s betting ban meaning he can’t play again until mid-January. It says here that Tottenham and Arsenal will join the race to sign the striker this winter but the Bees will slap an £80m price tag on the player in the hope they will leave him be.
There will be a space in Arsenal’s squad should Toney end up at the Emirates with Kieran Tierney being shipped out on loan to Real Sociedad on a season-long loan and Folarin Balogun just a signature away from a move to Monaco after a £38m fee was agreed between the clubs.
Having splashed close to £350m this summer you’d think Chelsea’s spending might be done. Nope. Having got wind of Tottenham’s approach for Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson, Todd Boehly has instructed the club’s frazzled accountant to start crunching those numbers again – and the Blues are ready to slap down a £40m bid for the winger. The two clubs are on good terms, with the teenage midfielder Andrey Santos having just checked in at the City Ground on loan from Chelsea.
Eric Dier’s days of looking mournful in Tottenham’s backline appear to be over. Ange Postecoglou has left the 29-year-old out of his first two Premier League squads and this hasn’t gone unnoticed at Fulham, who are considering a bid for the defender. Marco Silva wants Atalanta’s forward Duvan Zapata to fill the Aleksandar Mitrovic-shaped hole in his attack, too.
There is hope for Liverpool in their pursuit of Sofyan Amrabat. The smooth-as-butter Morocco midfielder was left out of Fiorentina’s squad for their Europa Conference League match against Rapid Vienna, suggesting the Italian club might be willing to let him go after all. But what’s this? Manchester United are set to do battle for the 27-year-old’s signature – and the state of their midfield suggests they may go all in for him.
Everton’s desperation for someone, anyone, who can score some flipping goals has taken them to Italy, where they are in discussions with Udinese over a fee for the striker Beto. But the Serie A club’s demand that they match the player’s £30m release clause might leave the cash-strapped Toffees empty-handed.
And Barcelona will sign João Cancelo on a season-long loan from Manchester City in the next few days, while Sheffield United are close to doing a deal with Troyes to sign the speedy Guinea-Bissau winger Mama Baldé.
