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According to reports in Portugal, Everton are chasing Sporting CP winger Gelson Martins, but is he better than what they already have?

A report from A Bola this week claims William Carvalho is not the only Sporting CP player Everton are eying up this summer, as new director of football Marcel Brands is keen to tap into the Portuguese market.

A Bola claim Bas Dost and Martins are both on Brands’ shopping list, and a move for Martins seems particularly enticing.

The 23 year-old still has plenty of room to develop, but has had an incredible season for Sporting, grabbing eight goals and eight assists in 31 league games.

The young speedster’s balance and close control make him almost impossible to dispossess, and his lack of size and strength is offset by his wonderful low centre of gravity.

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However, Martins predominantly plays on the right hand side, and having just brought Theo Walcott in six months ago, he would be an extravagant signing to say the least.

Walcott struggled slightly after a hot start to his Everton career, but he is much more experienced than Martins, can match him for pace, and shouldn’t be punished for what he was or wasn’t able to do under the much maligned Sam Allardyce.

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Martins is an excellent young player, but Everton should be more focused on solidifying their paper thin midfield, and shouldn’t splash out on a player who may not even dislodge Walcott.

So, Everton fans, would you back a move for Martins? Or would you prefer Walcott on the right wing next season? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…

Nottingham Forest have prioritised a pursuit for Bournemouth forward Lewis Grabban, according to the Nottingham Post.

What’s the word?

Manager Aitor Karanka is believed to be keen to bolster his attacking options for the gruelling Championship season ahead.

The club failed to launch a serious promotion challenge last season, but it will be their main objective for the 2018-19 campaign.

The Nottingham Post reports that Nelson Oliveira and Patrick Bamford have attracted the Reds’ attention, but Grabban is the main target.

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The forward has been on Bournemouth’s books since 2016, but he has had loan spells at Reading, Aston Villa and Sunderland.

Last season, Grabban scored 20 goals in all competitions across spells at Sunderland and Villa, and it is likely that the Cherries will consider offloading given that he could not get into Eddie Howe’s recent team.

Is Grabban a good option?

Even though the calibre of opposition is of a higher quality in the Premier League compared to that in the Championship, the second tier is tough to wade through.

The fixtures come thick and fast, and if a team wants to earn their way into the top flight, they need players that can handle the demand.

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Grabban is well-versed in the Championship, and last season he proved that he can score in the competitive division.

Forest need a proven hitman that can be relied on for scoring goals, and Grabban can certainly be that man.

Belgium are on their way to the knock-out stages of the World Cup after a dominant win over Tunisia, but football fans were not impressed with the performance of Celtic’s Dedryck Boyata.

The 27-year-old defender has been labelled as his side’s weak link so far in the tournament, especially after the clash with the Africans on Saturday.

England fans in particular appear to think he is someone who should be targeted ahead of the clash between the countries this Thursday.

The Hoops man has started both Belgium’s matches so far, part of a back three that includes Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. Injuries to the likes of Vincent Kompany and Thomas Vermaelen have ensured his selection.

Boyata has generally performed strongly for Celtic over the last two seasons, although high profile errors have led to criticism from some sections of the support.

With just a year left on his contract, there’s also been recent reports he could be on the move this summer, with Lazio credited with an interest.

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Onlookers took to Twitter on Saturday to share their thoughts on his Belgium performance…

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The Genova International Academy (GISS) is an exclusive football academy that is out to challenge the conventional pathways of becoming a professional footballer.

GISS is a paid service that employs professional coaching staff to help develop aspiring young footballers and its chief coach has recently revealed what trait he thinks is the most important attribute to have as an aspiring footballer.

Dimitri Koltsov, academy coach at GISS – which specialise in providing developing players “a stepping stone to Europe” – revealed that without this trait in professional football, “you go nowhere.”

The academy is now in its tenth year and operations have expanded from one academy to over one hundred across America, Canada, Asia, Spain and Italy.

Over 82 players who have joined or passed through the GISS Residential Academy doors have signed to professional clubs in the past 6 years.

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Find out what attribute Koltsov deems the ‘most important quality’ by watching the video here:

Instagram: Giss_worldFacebook: Genova International School of Soccer.  website. www.issgenova.it

Everton are going through a rebuilding period following the turmoil from last season.

The Merseyside outfit went from having Ronald Koeman in charge to then appointing Sam Allardyce, who was later replaced with Marco Silva at the end of the season.

Silva is mulling over his transfer options, and it seems that he is willing to offload one of his defenders.

On Friday, the Daily Mail mentioned that the Merseyside outfit consider offers for Mason Holgate.

The 21-year-old, who predominantly plays at centre-back but can also feature at right-back, joined the Toffees from Barnsley in 2015.

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Last season, he made 21 appearances in all competitions, including 15 in the Premier League.

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With the long-term futures of Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams uncertain, as well as the fact the Ramiro Funes Mori has departed, losing Holgate would be a strange move.

It seems that a large number of Everton fans share the same sentiment.

You’d think opponents of Financial Fair Play (FFP), like this writer, would be rejoicing that another case has been filed against those in charge of the game regarding competition law and the freedom of movement for people. But there’s a catch. FIFPro’s intention is to completely remove the transfer system as we know it. They aim for a Bosman-style revolution to remove restraints set upon players they say are no different today than those before the 1995 case.

Anti-FFP people have long since argued that in any other business a company can spend in order to catch its competitors. If Nokia decided it wanted to be the new Apple it would have to operate at a loss for many years while they went through an accelerated growth period. To have an exterior committee prevent this would ensure Apple and Microsoft would have an eternal monopoly over tech companies.

Those facing-off against FFP also argue the threat of removing or hindering teams’ entry into competitions, like the Champions League, removes that players ability to ply his trade and restricts his earnings. Bonuses are tied to performances in individual cups. If a player signs for Manchester City, expecting Champions League football, but they are subsequently banned, he has lost money. They are restricting his ability to ply his trade.

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This is where FIFPro’s case and the existing one crossover but it’s bad news for the clubs that have acquired their assets. FIFAPro argue that having a player tied to a contract, that can only be bought out by over-inflated market prices, makes him a prisoner. That running down a contract to activate a Bosman is still against laws that exist for everyone else in the EU.

In 2001 the EU did give FIFA and UEFA and informal deal making them exempt from competition law. When this has been challenged players have been made to pay their existing club a compensation fee, which in effect is no different from a transfer fee.

The latest proposal sounds fair from a player’s point of view and it has strong legal grounding, arguably more than the current FFP case against UEFA. It’s when FIFPro expand on their intentions and reasons for pursuing a case – a necessity because the European Commission doesn’t have to answer the case if they think it’s weak – holes begin to form.

Much like anti-FFP fights against football enduring a status quo, FIFPro argue the transfer system prevents money filtering to all areas of the game. They believe money is passed around at the top. Everything they have to say about player freedom falls down with this incorrect foundation. If transfer fees are removed the lower leagues or those operating with strict wage structures will suffer more than those at the top. Their best young talent will be harvested without compensation.

Without the economics of a transfer market a large portion of all revenue will remain at clubs like Manchester City. It will not open up a free-world but remove one area of open competition. The rich clubs will have bigger bartering tools when it comes to wages. At the same time the instability of free player movements will make clubs less inclined to invest long term. If their top talent can give a notice, like you or I, then a chairman will be less able to accommodate loan deals to lower leagues which provide a basis for many poorer squads.

There’s a proven link between big club success and small club survival. The worse a club does, the lower their revenue hence less spent on wages, reduction in quality, sporting imbalance and back to worsening results. The big club also hits an imbalance in sporting competition and requires its increased revenues to be offset with the purchase of fresh talent.

The Bosman case was revolutionary at the time but in hindsight it was just applying common sense. If a contract is up then a person should be free to walk. Using common sense it is highly unlikely The Commission will consider scrapping transfer fees. Removing the transfer system doesn’t open up the market and make all players available; it just ensures the big clubs have easier pickings.

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Manchester City are now one of the established Premier League big boys. They have a star-studded squad, a manager who has already secured one league title at their helm, and fabulously wealthy owners who can pick and choose from the best players world football has to offer. They are, in short, a coming force in European football.

I therefore find it extremely strange that the attitude of the fans towards the Champions League, and the performances of the team in it, are so off-colour, negative and unlike the domestic competitions. Despite regularly achieving near sell-outs for league games, there are regular European nights when vast, yawning gaps appear in the sea of fans, a sign perhaps that City fans have not really taken to the magic of Champions League matches yet. So why is that?

Firstly, it should be pointed out that City just don’t have quite as many fans as more established Champions League clubs like Arsenal or Chelsea, or of course their red neighbours. This is not meant to be an insult to City’s standing, but it is a fact – having only been successful for a relatively short time recently, they have not yet built up a large enough fan base to be able to cater for a few thousand taking a night off.

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If the latter happens, there will inevitably be gaps, whereas if Man United or Arsenal had some regulars decide not to attend, there would be more than enough takers for these remaining seats.

Another factor is possibly the pre-occupation amongst the fans with the Premier League and domestic competitions. Unlike more established heavyweights of the Premier League such as United, Liverpool and Arsenal, City do not have a great deal of memories, history and magical moments in Europe in the last 40 or so years.

The new generation of City fans have no connection point to their team in Europe, there is no success there which will make them put the date in their calendars for the next year. Even the stadium itself has not had long enough to get used to hosting Champions League matches – City fans do not have the routine established every year of automatically heading to the Etihad for European nights in the autumn.

There would also appear to be, amongst the club’s hierarchy, a greater concern with domestic matters than at the English clubs who have managed to be successful in Europe. At Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson was fixated and entranced by European nights and the glamour of the Champions League, and made sure everyone else at the club was as well.

At Chelsea, that role was played by Roman Abramovich, who finally found the European success he craved above all else a few years ago after ruthlessly sifting through several managers in order to find the right one to lift Ol’ Big Ears. At Liverpool, the memories of the 70s and 80s are still strong with many fans, who send that devotion to the competition to the current generation and the team.

I do not mean to imply here that City’s fans and management do not care about the competition. The way they have celebrated goals and supported their team gives the lie to that opinion. However, I would suggest that neither the fans or those in high-up positions at the club have really ‘got’ the Champions League yet.

I believe there has been no defining and dramatic moment, either agony or ecstasy, which has really tied the fanbase to Europe and cemented their love for the competition.

Until that moment arrives, it is hard to see how the fans will warm to the red-hot football of the Champions League.

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Euro 2016 took a giant leap closer with last weekend’s draw for the group stages in Paris.

The home nations who qualified for the tournament all learned the identity of their first three opponents and almost inevitably two were drawn together.

England play Wales in Lens on June 16. The other two teams in the group however, will be hoping that the fixture represents a distraction from the task of reaching the last 16.

Russia and Slovakia will have high ambitions of progress. Here we take a look at the Russians’ main men who will be a danger to the home nations come the summer.

Alan Dzagoev

Dzagoev has often been picked out pre-tournament as a threat to Russia’s opponents but the reasons for doing so have altered over the course of his career so far.

Upon making his international debut at just 18, the Ossettian-born man was already someone identified as a major world star in the making.

A bright young attacking threat and the future of the game in his home country. Dzagoev though has never left Russia, perhaps seeing plenty of his predecessors try and fail at the big clubs of Europe.

He remains a key player though and has developed from a teenager offering sporadic moments of exceptional craft and brilliance, into a rounded professional puppet master of a midfielder.

The CSKA Moscow man has superb ability on the ball and is more than capable of dictating the game for his side.

He is only getting better with age and when the tournament starts will still be just 25 but will have the experience of over 50 caps to his name.

While he operates deeper these days, his attacking instinct still exists and he has nine international goals, three of which came at Euro 2012.

Artyom Dzyuba

On the international scene Dzyuba is the ultimate late bloomer, with his first goal for Russia only arriving last September.

That didn’t stop the big Zenit St Petersburg man becoming their top goalscorer during qualification as he finished the campaign with eight goals.

Having begun his career at Spartak Moscow, Dzyuba struggled to make an impact in the capital, but a series of successful loan spells eventually saw him find his way to Zenit where he has now formed an interesting partnership with Brazilian star Hulk.

At 6 ft 5 Dzyuba will represent an uncomfortable 90 minutes for the centre backs of England, Wales and Slovakia this summer.

His size however is far from his only weapon. The 27 year old boasts a great burst of pace that belies his large frame and his ability with the ball at his feet is also not to be underestimated.

The former Spartak forward is in the form of his career for both club and country. If he can produce the goods at the tournament, Dzyuba is an imposing threat to the other teams in the group.

Aleksandr Kokorin

Kokorin featured for Russia at both Euro 2012 and the World Cup in Brazil and has largely been a consistent performer for his country since making his debut back in 2011.

He now has 10 international goals which, along with solid club form in the Russian Premier League, have made him the subject of regular transfer rumours linking him with moves to England.

Arsene Wenger is known to be a fan and it’s easy to see why given the 24 year old’s pace, movement and good goalscoring record.

Kokorin signed for Anzhi, who sold him back to Dynamo Moscow a couple of months later without him having played a single minute, in a move that could really only happen in Russian football.

It remains to be seen if the clever forward will move abroad but his contract expires in the summer so he could have found a new employer before the tournament begins.

Like Dzagoev and Dzyuba though, he has spent his entire career at home to date. Russia often produces a side greater than the sum of it’s parts, but Kokorin will regardless be a key man.

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With a move to the Olympic Stadium next season, the powers that be at West Ham were clearly keen to give their supporters something to shout about in 2015/16.

The London club’s final campaign at the Boleyn Ground has been an eventful one so far, but on the whole the Hammers fans will be looking at the club’s future with positivity. West Ham spent considerably in the summer, with new progressive manager Slaven Bilic put in place to get the best from a squad with ever-increasing quality.

The initial signs were good, with the Croatian leading the club to an opening day shock away win over cross-city rivals Arsenal; unexpected victories on the road against Liverpool and Manchester City also followed suit.

Much of the early-season buzz around Upton Park surrounding the injection of attacking intent from summer arrivals Manuel Lanzini and specifically Dimitri Payet.

However, in recent weeks the club’s results have not been as impressive, with the level of collective performance dropping from the early months of the campaign. A serious injury to Payet has robbed the club of their chief creative talent, while the side’s water-tight defence has started to look less than assured.

Although the Hammers still sit in a lofty Premier League position and are more than able of finishing in the top half this term, things have gone a bit flat in recent weeks.

As such, a new injection of quality and drive from the heart of the West Ham team could well be called for, with Alex Song seemingly ready to return to action.

The Cameroon international spent last season on loan at the club from Barcelona, winding back the years to remind the English footballing fraternity of the array of skills that were on show frequently during his time at Arsenal. However, despite the Hammers having secured Song’s services for another campaign, the African deep-lying playmaker has had injury concerns and is only now getting back to a position where he can contribute.

In his absence, the workmanlike Mark Noble has captained the side with passion and purpose, while Cheikhou Kouyate continues to grow in stature with mature performances displaying both physicality and poise on the ball.

That said, Bilic will be pleased to have Song back amongst his options, as the Barcelona star possesses a unique range of skills compared to the other players at his disposal.

The Cameroonian possesses an enviable range of passing that could well unleash West Ham’s attacking weapons, while his control over the tempo of his side’s play would surely make the Hammers more assured in possession.

With Payet’s guile evidently being missed in recent weeks, Song’s vision from deeper areas could well make up for the France international’s absence.

Noble and Kouyate are a daunting pairing for any opposing midfield, but having a team with Song in it presents a completely different proposition.

However, with West Ham looking to get back to winning ways, Bilic would be advised to shuffle either formation or personnel to accommodate the sublimely gifted Song.

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Every week presents a new test for Chelsea, but it seems like the bigger the test, the more likely they are to pass it. So when it comes to playing against a lower league side away in the FA Cup, this season at least, there’s always the chance of a Chelsea slip up.Yet a lot of that must come from a lack of motivation. If Chelsea’s players aren’t up for a league game in which they should start as favourites, it’s mostly because they know they aren’t going to have a good season in the league.But surely the Cup is a different beast for Chelsea. Surely the motivation should be there because the Cup still represents a chance to finish the season with some silverware and a place in Europe next season. The Champions League does too, but the FA Cup is considerably more winnable.With that in mind, perhaps we should be looking to this game as a litmus test for Chelsea. If they’re up for this game, then they could reasonably be seen as favourites for the trophy. They have a stellar squad that we must remember were champions last season, and if they’ve given up on the league then they won’t see the Cup games as a distraction like Manchester City and Arsenal, who feel they have bigger fish to fry.But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Given Chelsea’s difficulties getting motivated for football games this season, even under Guus Hiddink, this is the sort of game that is ripe and receptive to what we’ve come to call cupsets. A Premier League team that look like they struggle to get themselves out of bed on matchdays against a lower league side fighting for their lives in the Championship is a recipe for disaster from the bigger side’s point of view. It’s a recipe for a classic from the point of view of everyone else.Could the final FA Cup tie of the weekend round off the schedule in style with a classic giant killing? Here are the teams who will decide the answer:

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