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We all hated that kid on the playground who insisted on taking all the penalties, but when there’s three points, Premier League survival and countless millions on the line, it gets a little more serious than simply juveniles learning the virtues of sharing.

Since arriving at Crystal Palace last January, Luka Milivojevic has scored four penalties from four attempts. In fact, apart from the odd challenge and extra header here and there, spot kick conversions have undoubtedly been the Serbian international’s biggest contribution to the Eagles’ cause.

So you can understand why Roy Hodgson and his staff would make Milivojevic the club’s designated penalty taker, which makes Christian Benteke’s arbitrary act against Bournemouth last weekend all the more baffling.

Perhaps because he’s yet to score a goal this season, perhaps because he feared the goalkeeper could second-guess Milivojevic after already netting once from the spot, the Belgium international snatched the ball off his team-mate for a 92nd-minute penalty – but drilled his effort straight into the path of a diving Asmir Begovic.

Hodgson was very clear about his disappointment after the full-time whistle, as were the Eagles fans well aware of how significant a victory would be for their side. But the ultimate question is what happens next; would you drop Benteke, who Transfermarkt value at £25.2million, for tonight’s Premier League clash with Watford? Let us know by voting below…

Sorry folks this poll is now closed!

The Wolves fans gathered inside the Transfer Tavern are hoping that enough business is done so that not only can they stay in the league but also push the boundaries.

Having eased to promotion last campaign, Wolves showed their dominance and seem to be ready for the even bigger challenge that awaits. With the powerful financial backing the club have, many feel that Wolves could be the team to watch in the Premier League next season, especially, our punters feel, if they try and sign Juan Quintero, who is valued at £3.1 million on Transfermarkt.

The 25-year-old has been a bright spark in Colombia’s World Cup attack, so much so that he has scored one goal and created two assists for his team-mates. Quintero’s club form on the other hand though is a different story. Having been loaned out by parent club Porto to River Plate, playing time has been harder and his record in-front of goal is hardly amazing.

Despite this though, Quintero has shown on the biggest stage of them all what he is capable of, something Wolves should take into consideration. The recently-promoted side already have an array of midfield creativity but adding the 25-year-old as well would give the team an even greater chance at staying up and thriving in the Premier League.

Juan Quintero has already been involved with a number of clubs but a move to Wolves and the English top flight could bring out the very best of his ability.

Do you agree… Let us know!

Everton could transform their midfield for free with a double top six swoop this summer, and fans are voting in heavily in support of signing both Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jack Wilshere.

Everton have been heavily linked with moves for both Loftus-Cheek and Wilshere this summer, and both players would bring something slightly different to the Toffees’ midfield.

Loftus-Cheek would likely be a loan signing, and Wilshere is now a free agent, meaning Marco Silva could potentially upgrade two midfield positions without spending a penny on transfer fees.

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The Mirror claimed recently that Silva wants both players this summer, and signing the pair could go a long way to helping the Toffees infiltrate the top six.

Wilshere is of course extremely injury prone, but when fit the 26 year-old possesses superior skill and passing ability to any of the current midfielders at Goodison.

Loftus-Cheek is supremely talented, and the youngster’s power and creativity could help take some of the playmaking pressure of Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Fans want moves for not one but both of the budget midfielders, and you can find the full poll results down below…

Of the four teams left in the World Cup, England’s starting XI is perhaps the easiest to predict. France boast an incredible concoction of quality and depth, Roberto Martinez has often changed Belgium’s game-plan and Three Lions opponents Croatia have a wealth of riches in midfield. Gareth Southgate, meanwhile, has leant heavily on a starting XI that so naturally fits his idiosyncratic formation.

But to believe the 3-1-4-2 setup will leave every opponent equally perplexed would be naïve, especially after giving Wednesday night’s semi finalists five World Cup games to assess its strengths and weaknesses. Add in the fact Croatia represent a different kind of opposition to what England have faced so far at this World Cup through their ability to control possession, and this is arguably the obligatory moment for Southgate to alternate from his primary philosophy.

With that in mind, here’s three changes Football FanCast’s expert writers would make to ensure victory over Croatia and a subsequent place in the 2018 World Cup final…

Jack Newman – Danny Rose for Ashley Young

“Even though the Three Lions will see less of the ball for once, it would be a very risky move to change the set-up of the team at this stage. However, Danny Rose in place of Ashley Young would give more reassurance at the back and more balance to the team going forward as he wouldn’t be cutting inside to deliver crosses. We may lose Young’s set-piece deliveries from the left but surely Kieran Trippier could replicate what he does from the right corner flag.”

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Sam Preston – Ruben Loftus-Cheek for Dele Alli

“By far the strongest area of Croatia’s team is their midfield, so Southgate may be tempted to take a slightly more cautious approach in the engine room to stifle Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric. Dele Alli opened his World Cup account against Sweden, again proving his penchant for the big occasion, but still doesn’t look fully fit and sharp, and would be most at risk if England do beef up midfield. Eric Dier would be the most conservative option but looked ponderous against Colombia. Fabian Delph offers energy and discipline but lacks the class and power of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who would be the ideal alternative to Alli.”

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Greg Potts – Marcus Rashford for Raheem Sterling

“The big question here is obviously who will start up front alongside Harry Kane. Despite the criticism, Raheem Sterling has been playing well up there but with his struggles in front of goal continuing against Sweden, it may be time to take him out of the spotlight. Croatia’s starting right-back Sime Vrsaljko is injured, so it looks like Domagoj Vida will move out there and it’ll be a dodgy-looking centre-back pairing of Dejan Lovren and 32-year-old Vedran Ćorluka. Usually I would have Jamie Vardy ahead of Marcus Rashford but as the Leicester man’s been injured, Southgate should trust the 20-year-old to run Croatia’s defence ragged and start him instead of Sterling.”

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The World Cup final is arguably the greatest sporting spectacle on earth, so every player involved inevitably feels obliged to rise to the occasion. But sometimes, try as they might, it’s just a bad day at the office – passes miss their targets, tackles fail to stop their man and the most well-intended of shots spoons wide of goal.

After France’s thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia on Sunday, we asked World Cup fans to give their verdict on the best and worst performers in the Moscow showpiece. Here’s a quick rundown of the three players (substitutes excluded) who most fall into the latter category, picking up the lowest average scores from our player ratings poll…

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N’Golo Kante – 5.4: It was a strangely disappointing day for the Chelsea star, who is usually revered for his incredible consistency. A 27th-minute booking for persistent fouling highlighted the problems Croatia caused him in midfield, and the Balkan nation scored from the subsequent free kick as Ivan Perisic took a cute touch beyond Kante before drilling home. Being subbed off with over half an hour left to play, only for France to score twice pretty much instantly afterwards, pretty much says it all about Kante’s World Cup final.

Olivier Giroud – 5.3: Another Chelsea man who just couldn’t impose himself on the game. Giroud will argue that much like a World Cup that has seen him fail to land a single shot on target, let alone score, the other aspects of his final performance were more important to France’s win, facilitating Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann by providing a key aerial outlet. Nonetheless, Football FanCast’s readers weren’t convinced by the Frenchman’s contribution.

Dejan Lovren – 5.1: Last week Lovren declared himself to be one of the best centre-halves in the world, but there wasn’t a great deal of evidence to support that on Sunday. The Liverpool defender made just one tackle, one clearance and no interceptions as France netted four times in the Moscow final, although there wasn’t a great deal he could have done about a quartet of goals that contained both pure quality and moments of huge fortune. But perhaps because he was hardly gracious in victory after England lost to Croatia in the semi-finals, our readers rated Lovren as Sunday’s worst performer.

View the results in full below…

The Daily Mail have reported that Tottenham could seal a deal for Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha in the coming week and the news has sent Spurs fans on Twitter wild with excitement.

Spurs are yet to add to their squad this summer and fans will be wary of Mauricio Pochettino’s call for chairman Daniel Levy to “be brave” in the transfer market before he signed his new contract. This seemed to suggest that the Argentinean committed his future to the North London club with the assurance that he would be able to strengthen his side.

Zaha showed his quality once again for Palace last weekend as he scored the equaliser in his club’s 3-1 friendly win over Oxford United. The Ivory Coast international looked sharp as he exploded down the right-hand side of the Oxford defence and lashed a shot into the roof of the net.

As Palace’s main man, Zaha recorded nine goals and five assists last season and it will take a huge bid from Spurs to lure him away from Selhurst Park. Although he is rated at £27m by Transfermarkt, the Eagles’ chairman Steve Parish will surely accept no less than £50m.

However, he could be the perfect big name signing to improve the Tottenham squad and would give them far more quality than Erik Lamela or Lucas Moura. With his ability to play upfront, he could also deputise for Kane when the Englishman needs to be rested.

Here’s how Spurs fans on Twitter reacted to their potential first summer transfer deal.

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Steve Bruce claims that Aston Villa’s new owners have assured him that none of the club’s players are for sale this summer, according to the Birmingham Mail.

What’s the story, then?

The Birmingham Mail report that Bruce has had assurances that the likes of James Chester, Jack Grealish and Jonathan Kodjia are no longer for sale as a result of Villa’s improved financial status.

The report says that Chester and Kodjia are very much expected to stay, and Grealish will also remain at Villa Park unless a bid of £25m comes in – Tottenham, Fulham and Crystal Palace are all named as interested parties – and the playmaker declares he wants to go.

Grealish and Kodjia could be as dangerous as anyone in the league

Bruce knows how to get a team out of the Championship and last season, his approach centred around keeping it tight at the back and looking to Grealish, Robert Snodgrass or Albert Adomah for inspiration.

Kodjia’s injury problems saw the Villans bereft of a reliable goalscorer but if he remains fit for the whole season and has Grealish behind him firing the bullets, there is no reason why he cannot bag between 20 and 25 goals.

He could well become the division’s top scorer, and Grealish is now on an upwards curve. If that improvement continues, between five and ten goals is a realistic target, not to mention the assists he could lay on for Kodjia and others.

Losing both of his main attacking threats on the back of Snodgrass returning to West Ham would have seen Bruce face an uphill battle for promotion before a ball was kicked but the new owners have given him hope of building a fruitful attacking duo who could power a second straight top six finish.

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Gylfi Sigurdsson signed for Everton from Swansea for £40m, but he just simply hasn’t lived up to the bill in Merseyside.

Just four Premier League goals last season for the set-piece specialist is below his previous tallies of 9 goals for Swansea City if the 2016/17 season, and 11 goals in the 2017/18 campaign. He lacked the same energy he had at Swansea City and his set-piece deliveries didn’t support the hype and fanfare he arrived at Goodison Park with.

Now valued by Tranfermarkt at £27m, Everton could still get a decent sum for the player, which could be spent on some real star quality. Sigurdsson has gone stale in Merseyside, and perhaps needs to move on for the good of his career. At 28 years of age, he should be at his peak. Instead, he is floundering at Everton.

The perfect player to come into the club would be highly rated Croatian Ivan Perisic. He has consistently been one of the best players in Serie A for Inter Milan and recently reached a World Cup final with Croatia.

He is valued at £40.5m by Transfermarkt. He would be a real coup for Everton.

Understandably with a player of his talent, he has been linked with a host of clubs this summer. Notably Manchester United, who have been in talks with the Croatian. It is still unknown whether he wants to leave Inter for pastures new.

He would add goals and creativity to the team. He can beat players and deliver a cross, Everton would be making a real statement of ambition by signing a player the calibre of Ivan Perisic. Everton could utilise him either as a winger or forward, he is versatile and will be dangerous wherever he is deployed.

He could add the star quality Everton thought they were getting with the Gylfi Sigurdsson purchase.

Loads of Newcastle fans have been reacting to the latest transfer news, as it looks like Rafael Benitez is finally going to get his new number nine.

Newcastle confirmed the signing of Yoshinori Muto last week, and it looks like they’re about to add even more attacking firepower with the capture of West Brom’s Rondon.

The powerful 6 ft 1 Venezuelan international was left out of the Baggies’ opening day squad on Saturday, and reports suggest a deal is close to swap him for Dwight Gayle.

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According to Sky Sports, a deal is “close to completion”, and Lee Ryder from The Chronicle has added to that by saying Rondon has already agreed personal terms with Newcastle.

The deal is expected to send Gayle the other way on a loan deal, but we will have to wait and see the full terms of the deal.

Either way, it will be a huge relief for Rafa to finally get the striker situation sorted, especially given his comments on their dealings in the last week.

Fans are praising the heavens that they finally have a goalscorer, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Everton have made just two major signings this summer with deadline day approaching.

Following last season’s dreadful summer business, new boss Marco Silva was forced to be shrewd with his purchases this summer. The Portuguese was desperate to add a new left winger to his squad and opted to spend £50m to reunite with Watford winger – Richarlison. Everton also completed a £18m deal for Barcelona left-back, Lucas Digne, to replace Leighton Baines.

With just three days left in the transfer window, Everton will continue to focus on offloading some of their fringe players to generate some last-minute transfer funds. One man they should consider signing is Arsenal forward – Lucas Perez. The Spaniard was targeted by the Toffees back in 2016, but the Gunners swooped in late to secure his services.

Valued at £6.75m by Transfermarkt, Perez’s stay in North London has been miserable. He made just two starts in the Premier League during his first season in England and was eventually loaned back to Deportivo. He scored eight goals and registered six assists in La Liga last season.

Arsenal are determined to sell the 29-year-old this summer for just £5m. Perez, who is thought to be of interest to West Ham too, has never been given a chance to show what he is capable of in England and Everton should give him the opportunity to prove his critics wrong. £5m is nothing in the current market and Perez would provide some much-needed competition for Cenk Tosun in the Everton attack.

This one should be a no-brainer for the Blues.

Everton fans, thoughts?