Fantasy Football Rankings 2023 – PPR Defense (D/ST)

Everton want to keep Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku this summer, despite reported interest from Chelsea

According to, Everton will put a price tag of around £75million on striker Romelu Lukaku’s head this summer.

The Belgian’s former club Chelsea are reportedly showing interest in the striker.

It seems the Merseyside club are in no mood to negotiate over the forward.

The Blues will have to cough-up a massive fee for a striker they sold for £28million back in 2014.

Everton does not need to sell Lukaku

A combination of extra television revenue and the arrival of majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri have made the Toffees financially stable. Gone are the days where the Toffees could be financially bullied and lose all their top stars.

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Melbourne Victory star Marcos Flores is anticipating a heated reception from Adelaide United fans in his first appearance against his old side.

The Argentine attacking midfielder claimed the Johnny Warren Medal playing in an Adelaide shirt in the 2010-11 A-League season, scoring nine goals in the process.

Flores, 27, says he has a lot of respect for his former club and for however the fans react to him on Friday night at Hindmarsh Stadium.

I m expecting the people to express freedom, they can express what they want, Flores said on Wednesday.

I am sleeping very peacefully every day in my bed, every night, because I gave them (Adelaide) everything 110 percent I gave to them.

I am peaceful myself, my heart is with a lot of peace, but they can e…

Inter manager Walter Mazzarri is hoping the club can bring in a wide player before the start of the new season.

Mazzarri moved to San Siro in May, taking over from Andrea Stramaccioni after winning the 2011-12 Coppa Italia with Napoli and helping them to finish second in Serie A last season.

Inter have made a host of signings during the transfer window, with the likes of Mauro Icardi and Ishak Belfodil joining from Sampdoria and Parma respectively.

The duo will help to boost a forward line that scored 55 league goals and finished ninth under Stramaccioni last term.

However, Mazzarri believes his squad still needs width if Inter are to challenge at the top end of the table.

It would be better if one arrived, he told Corriere dello Sport.

Everybody know…

Barcelona boss Xavi maintains the club will not expect too much too soon from teenager Vitor Roque.

The 18-year-old Brazil forward has been training with his new team-mates after arriving in Catalonia to complete a 40million euro (£35m) move from Athletico Paranaense, but has yet to be officially registered with LaLiga.

Xavi, though, played down suggestions of any complications over Barcelona’s financial fair play restrictions and suggested Roque could be involved for Thursday’s match at Las Palmas.

Xavi: We don t want to burden Vitor Roque with too much responsibility. He is very young and he has to adapt. He is fine, but we will be cautious.

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)

Barcelona put a buy-out clause of 500million euros (£432m) in hi…

French media outlet Le 10 Sport has revealed that Real Madrid are weighing up a summer move on PSG star Marco Verratti.

It is no secret the Italian is one of Carlo Ancelotti s favourite players and it appears the los Blancos coach is ready to try and lure the talented midfielder to Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season.

However, while the player himself would probably consider a summer switch to Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain chiefs are unlikely to sanction a sale, considering they see Verratti as an indispensable member of the squad.

The 22-year-old quickly proved his worth at Parc des Princes having joined from Pescara in the summer of 2012 and he has so far featured in 67 Ligue 1 matches.

The Saints, who sit four points behind league leaders Marseil…

Sheffield United have retracted an offer for convicted rapist Ched Evans to train with the club.

The League One club opted not to retain the striker following his conviction in April 2012 and he was released from prison last month after serving half of a five-year sentence.

United subsequently published a statement on November 11 saying that the 25-year-old had been invited to train with the club at the request of the Professional Footballers Association.

That has proven highly controversial, though, with Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill stating she would want her name removed from United s Bramall Lane stadium if Evans were to be re-hired.

Four club patrons also resigned over the decision to allow Evans to train, and the team s two main kit…

Vissel Kobe midfielder Andres Iniesta has  no regrets over his departure from Barcelona after facing his former team in a friendly.

Iniesta has been at the J.League side since 2018, when he left boyhood club Barca after a trophy-laden 16 seasons at Camp Nou.

The 35-year-old played a half as Vissel Kobe suffered a 2-0 loss to Barca in a friendly on Saturday.

Iniesta said he had no complaints about his departure from Barca, whose win marked their first of pre-season.

No, no regrets. It s a very strong word to label it as that, he told reporters.

I ve always said it. If I had felt the desire or the strength to continue playing in Barcelona I would ve loved to come here a year later playing for Barca against Vissel, but my moment ended.

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Manchester United got back on track after their defeat against Liverpool as the League Cup holders moved into the quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Barnsley on Tuesday.

Sir Alex Ferguson s side suffered only their second loss of the season at Anfield on Sunday, but there was no hangover at Oakwell as goals from Danny Welbeck and Michael Owen saw off the Championship outfit.

United played the last 27 minutes with 10 men after United captain Gary Neville was shown a red card by referee Chris Foy for his lunge on Adam Hammill.

The Tykes are managed by Mark Robins, the former United striker whose winning goal in an FA Cup third round tie against Nottingham Forest in 1990 is widely held to have saved Ferguson from the sack.

But there was never any chance of …

Jose Mourinho saluted Paulo Dybala after his late equaliser paved the way for Roma s dramatic extra-time victory over Feyenoord in the Europa League quarter-finals.

The Giallorossi set up a semi-final showdown with Bayer Leverkusen after coming from behind to defeat Feyenoord 4-2 on aggregate at Stadio Olimpico.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Roma were on the brink of elimination after Igor Paixao s header cancelled out Leonardo Spinazzola s earlier strike.

But Dybala, who was introduced as a substitute after missing Sunday s victory over Udinese through injury, levelled the tie with a sharp turn and finish forcing extra time, in which further strikes from Stephan El Shaarawy and Lorenzo Pellegrini sealed the deal.

It was the former Juventus forward s 1…

Bayern Munich made German football history by winning the treble two seasons ago, and Franck Ribery is eyeing a repeat.

Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has set his sights on a repeat of their historic treble this season.

The Bavarians became the first German team to do the treble in 2012-13, as then-coach Jupp Heynckes guided them to success in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and UEFA Champions League.

Bayern were on course to repeat the feat last season before being demolished 5-0 over two legs by Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.

Pep Guardiola s men have once again dominated the German top flight again this term, leading the league by 11 points at the halfway stage, and are still very much in contention on all fronts.

A Champions …