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Porto midfielder Otavio has reportedly made his decision to leave the Portuguese giants in the summer.

The Brazilian will be out of contract at the Estadio do Dragao at the end of the season, with CalcioMercato suggesting that he has decided not to sign a new deal.

Having apparently held an interest in the player before, now is the perfect time for Brendan Rodgers and Leicester City to make a move.

Otavio, capable of playing out wide or in the centre of midfield, is enjoying a profitable season in Portugal having hit five goals and notched eight assists in all competitions.

The two-time Portuguese champion would hugely improve on the numbers provided by the Foxes’ current wide options Cengiz Under, Marc Albrighton and of course Ayoze Perez, who holds a similar position. With the Spaniard having made just 16 Premier League appearances, scoring one goal, the arrival of the £18.9m-rated Otavio could see his position in the squad under real threat.

After all, Rodgers made clear of his ambitions to add to his attacking midfield options as recently as the January transfer window.

Should Otavio arrive in the East-Midlands, he would also supply plenty of European experience. With Leicester gunning for back-to-back European campaigns, this time in the UEFA Champions League, his 23 appearances in the competition would surely come in handy.

One huge benefit of the move would also be the price, or more specifically, the lack of one. With Otavio out of contract, a free transfer would allow funds to be spent elsewhere.

However, the Foxes reportedly face competition for his signature with AC Milan, AS Roma and Wolverhampton Wanderers all thought to be admirers of him too.

With Otavio now free to negotiate his next move, Rodgers should push for Leicester to organise his first signing of the summer or risk losing out on a long-term target.

AND in more news, another shrewd move could see in the Foxes bring in Celtic’s Jack Hendry…

AC Milan’s chief marketing officer Tania Moreno hailed USMNT stars Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah for the growth of the club's brand in the US.

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• AC Milan chief lauds USMNT stars
• Milan's brand saw substantial growth in the US
• Pulisic, Musah and Swaby joined Milan this summer

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Moreno suggested that while the decision to sign Pulisic and Musah this summer was purely on their merit, it is undeniable that the US men's national team stars' presence has helped AC Milan to grow their brand in the US market.

  She further revealed that 74% of Pulisic's Milan jerseys were sold in his home country while ticket sales and other revenues substantially grew since the arrival of the duo.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Former Chelsea star Pulisic has enjoyed a purple patch at Milan having contributed with four goals and two assists in 12 matches across all competitions. Musah, on the other hand, has provided one assist in 14 games thus far.

  US-born and raised Allyson Swaby, who currently represents the Jamaican women's national team, also joined the Serie A giants in the summer and has started in all eight matches for the club in the ongoing season.

• WHAT TANIA MORENO SAID

  Speaking at the 2023 Soccerex in Miami, Moreno said: "First of all, these players are at Milan because they are fantastic footballers. However, it is undeniable that having them in our team is helping us reach the public American in a more incisive way and has a strong impact on the commercial side. Just to give a few examples, in terms of ticket sales, this season we are seeing more sales of single tickets and hospitality tickets sold to Americans than in the past.

  "In terms of merchandise sales, 74% of all CP11 jerseys are currently sold in the United States. Even more impressive is the total number of units [all AC Milan merchandise] sold in the US, which is up 110% compared to last year – a huge year-over-year increase. Finally, as of July 2023, the percentage of jerseys sold in the United States amounts to 20% of the total."

  She added: "As for our digital platforms, we’ve seen a spike in views from the US on platforms like YouTube, where video views from the US are growing at impressive rates. Overall, 3 of the 10 most engaging videos of the season so far feature Pulisic. As for the app, it saw a +266% increase in new downloads from the US market compared to last year, and on the website, we achieved a +154% increase in the number of US users."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR AC MILAN

  The men's team, who are currently third in the league and are eight points behind leaders and rivals Inter, will next take on Fiorentina on November 25. On the same day, the women's will face Inter in a Milan derby.

Crystal Palace are closing in on former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo as they search for Roy Hodgson’s successor.

What’s the story?

According to Sky Sports, the Eagles have held three days’ worth of talks with the 47-year-old, who is the favourite to fill the Selhurst Park vacancy.

The report claims that Espirito Santo is keen on an immediate return to management following his surprise Molineux departure, and he feels that he has a point to prove.

Fans will be buzzing

Several well-known names have been linked with replacing Hodgson in south London, including Frank Lampard, Eddie Howe and Patrick Vieira, but it seems as though the highly-rated ex-Wolves boss has jumped to the front of the queue.

Espirito Santo impressed throughout his four-year stay with the Midlands outfit, achieving promotion from the Championship, consecutive seventh-place Premier League finishes, a run to the quarter-finals of the Europa League and a place in the FA Cup semi-final.

His impressive work has earned him a healthy reputation in English football, and Palace chairman Steve Parish is evidently amongst the Portuguese manager’s admirers.

If Espirito Santo does take control of the capital club, then he’ll face a daunting first task of rebuilding large sections of the first-team squad.

Over a dozen players are approaching the end of their current contracts with the Eagles, while star man Wilfried Zaha has once again been linked with a move away from his boyhood club amid reported interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Everton.

Therefore, news that an experienced and well-respected figure has held extensive talks with the Palace hierarchy will surely have the club’s supporters buzzing.

Hodgson may have brought a sense of stability and calmness to Selhurst Park during his tenure, but the 73-year-old has hardly left the playing squad in a prosperous position.

Appointing a manager with Premier League experience, a defined playing style and a proven track record would certainly be an astute move by Parish, and the fanbase will be buzzing with this news and they will be urging the Palace chief to get this deal over the line.

And, in other news…Parish must sanction CPFC swoop for “unbelievable” £36m-rated gem who’s “Drogba-esque” 

Former West Brom midfielder Carlton Palmer has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that Conor Gallagher is better off staying at the Hawthorns than returning to Chelsea.

Gallagher has spent the season on loan at West Brom from Chelsea but looks set to return to the west London club in the summer.

According to The Sun, the 21-year-old midfielder plans to remain at Stamford Bridge for the 2021/22 campaign and compete for a place in Thomas Tuchel’s team.

Given the competition he faces at his parent club, though, Palmer believes the best choice for Gallagher would be to remain at West Brom or join another outfit on loan.

When asked by FFC would staying at the Baggies be a better option for the midfielder, the retired England international said:

“There’s no point going back to Chelsea, sitting on the bench or playing in the reserves. There’s no point; you need to play – that’s as simple as it is. I’ve always said that. My advice to any young player would be you’ve got to get out and play.

“Don’t let your career stagnate for a year or two years.”

Should Gallagher indeed return to Chelsea, he could very well find himself sitting on the bench.

The Blues are currently stacked in both the midfield and attacking midfield positions, with Tuchel already having the likes of Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante, Hakim Ziyech and Jorginho to call upon.

Crystal Palace have considered appointing former Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg as Roy Hodgson’s successor this summer.

The former England boss announced his upcoming exit from the south London outfit earlier in the week after enjoying a relatively successful four-year stint at Selhurst Park.

Hodgson has overseen a string of mid-table finishes throughout his tenure with Palace, but it’s set to be a frenzied few months for the Eagles following his departure.

Over a dozen first-team players are approaching the end of their current contracts with the capital club, with left-back Patrick van Aanholt expected to be the first to follow Hodgson out the exit door.

It’s going to be a summer of upheaval for Palace chairman Steve Parish, therefore, and the 55-year-old would be digging his own grave in appointing someone as inexperienced as Ljungberg to help him oversee this transitional period.

The Swedish boss only has a handful of senior games under his belt as a manager, all coming during an unsuccessful spell as Arsenal’s interim head coach following Unai Emery’s sacking.

Ljungberg oversaw six matches in the Gunners dugout, with a solitary win over West Ham United offsetting draws with Standard Liege, Norwich City and Everton, and defeats to Manchester City and Brighton.

Despite this poor record giving the 44-year-old a miserly 16.67% win rate as a Premier League boss, Sky Sports are reporting that Parish is potentially interested in hiring the former Arsenal youth coach as he searches for a boss who can bring a new progressive identity, attacking football and a history of developing young talent to Palace.

However, taking a punt on Ljungberg is a decision that the Palace chairman may come to regret. In an interview with Sky Sports, he admitted the club have a plan ahead of the upcoming window but that it’s an unpredictable market, given the impact of the ongoing pandemic.

“We have a plan, executing it is never and easy as we would like it to be. It’s going to be a difficult market this summer. As we move through the summer, there might be keener sellers, I’m expecting less movement,” he said.

“Some clubs can spend whatever happens, for most of us, that is not the case. What are the right wages, what is the right price? It will be difficult for people to find the level; there will be some confusion.”

By Parish’s own admission the coming months are set to be testing for the south London outfit, and appointing a manager with only half a dozen senior games under his belt in the dugout is a far from advisable strategy as in this of all years, it seems like having a more experienced manager in terms of acting in the transfer market would be much more beneficial.

And, in other news…Parish masterstroke: Palace must appoint history-making manager with 12 major honours

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a breakthrough over one of their mooted summer transfer targets…

What’s the word?

Earlier this month, the North London giants were linked with interest in Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma following another impressive season on the south coast.

The Times’ Duncan Castles now claims that the 24-year-old star has asked to leave the Amex Stadium at the end of the season, with the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City all inquiring about his availability.

It’s thought that the Seagulls are open to a sale as his contract is set to expire in two years time but only if their £30m evaluation is met.

Bissouma cost them only €18m (£16.5m) in the summer of 2018 but he has emerged as one of the most dynamic box-to-box midfielders in the English top-flight.

Levy’s licking his lips

If Spurs are truly interested in the Mali international, as was reported earlier in the month, then this latest development will surely have Lilywhites chairman Daniel Levy brimming with excitement.

There are some similarities to be had with this situation and that of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at Southampton, prior to his move to Spurs.

The former Saints captain was slapped with a £35m price tag amid interest from several Premier League sides around this time last year. It was thought at the time that the 25-year-old wanted to leave to play at a higher level.

Levy, being the tough negotiating hard bargain man he is, managed to wriggle down that price to just £15m.

It’s even more impressive that they managed to ship outcast defender Kyle Walker-Peters in the other direction for £12m, meaning the total cash outlay on their new first-choice midfielder was only £3m.

An absolute steal.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-spurs-manager-update-gossip-transfer-rumours-daniel-levy-enic-mason-mourinho-more” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, managerial gossip, transfer rumours and more!”]

Now that Bissouma is available, Levy will surely be licking his lips over the prospects of trying to clinch him on another cut-price deal.

And so he should, as he’s one of the best midfielders outside the top six right now.

Ex-Brighton boss Chris Hughton once hailed the 6-foot monster a “wonderful talent” whilst BT Sport presenter Gary Lineker took to Twitter to wax lyrical about his ability, calling him an “exceptional footballer,” via The Athletic.

Bissouma has been compared to Yaya Toure due to his natural playing style and whilst he has some way to go to match the Ivorian’s impressive numbers in England, you can see some similarities.

As per WhoScored, the Seagulls sensation is averaging 2.8 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 1.5 dribbles per game.

This is very much akin to Mousa Dembele. A brute force that could read the game perfectly, and one that liked to travel with the ball up the pitch. Bissouma even chips in with 1.2 shots per game, so perhaps he’s unlucky to not have added more than one goal to his tally this term.

Whether he’s the next Toure or the next Dembele, he’ll only have to be half the player of either to be a hit in N17. Now that he’s willing to force an exit, Levy should be ready to win this transfer tussle with his negotiating skills.

AND in other news, Spurs must put £26m-rated “calamity” out of his misery, he’s holding them back…

Given everything that has happened this season in Leeds’ return to the Premier League, you would be forgiven for completely forgetting that Kiko Casilla still remains at Elland Road.

The Spaniard has been on the fringes of things for Marcelo Bielsa’s side this season, and has hardly had a look in, with Illan Meslier now the club’s undisputed number one goalkeeper.

In fact, he only has just the one Premier League outing to his name this campaign, with his appearance in a 1-0 defeat to Brighton back in mid-January being the only time Whites fans have seen him in action in the top-flight.

And given that his actual performances in between the sticks haven’t been up to scratch either, Casilla’s place in this Leeds squad is seriously up for debate, particularly when you think Bielsa has 19-year-old Elia Caprile waiting in the wings.

Speaking after Leeds’ FA Cup loss to Crawley Town earlier this season, journalist Daniel Storey, slammed: “I think Kiko Casilla was the other game-changer in a negative sense because I don’t think he should be playing for Leeds for non-football reasons, but he probably shouldn’t be playing for Leeds for football reasons after today.”

Leeds TV podcaster, Oscar Mario, meanwhile, simply labelled him a “complete liability”.

Given his off-the-pitch controversy, and Meslier’s emergence onto the scene as Leeds’ number one, Bielsa must surely look to offload the £40k-a-week earning Spaniard this summer.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay even claimed that “he’s one of the players we’ve been expecting Leeds to move on in the summer”, despite Bielsa’s insistence that Casilla retains his faith.

Speaking this year, the Whites boss said: “I fully trust in Kiko. I will do the utmost possible to help him. I think the treatment Kiko has suffered ignores the fact he’s a player who played 40 games for Real Madrid.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Leeds transfer rumours and news!”]

“Apart from whether his performances were good or bad, we forget all the thing he has done to get the team promoted. People also don’t consider how he’s being treated publicly given the situation that he had to go through.”

While Bielsa understandably has been quick to stand behind his player, quite frankly, Casilla has proven that he doesn’t deserve it either through his on-pitch performances or controversies.

The Spaniard simply has to go this summer.

Meanwhile, Leeds must unleash this star who’s “got it all”…

Brendan Rodgers is among Tottenham Hotspur’s top managerial targets, according to The Telegraph…

What’s the word?

On Tuesday, the north London outfit were dealt a devastating blow as Daniel Levy’s mooted first-choice option Julian Nagelsmann was confirmed as Bayern Munich’s next manager ahead of the summer.

Just two days ago, 90min revealed that Spurs were prepared to pay the Leicester City boss in excess of the £15m that Jose Mourinho took home each year while at the club.

Rodgers has downplayed reports linking him to the vacant role, claiming that Spurs is a “huge club”, but you’d imagine the money Levy could offer is a rather tempting figure.

According to Dean Windass, who spoke to Football FanCast exclusively this week, “he wouldn’t turn it down” either.

Is he the one?

Levy will undoubtedly be reeling from missing out on Nagelsmann, but he should move on quickly and prepare to launch all he has at the Foxes chief, as he could be the one to turn around their fortunes in N17.

Right now, you could consider Spurs a step down from Leicester. After all, the Midlands side are comfortable in third place, aiming for another crack at the Champions League, whilst the Lilywhites are battling for those places underneath them.

They’ve even won the Premier League more recently than Spurs have won a major trophy, but in this day and age, money plays a big factor and Levy is prepared to pay Rodgers £5m more per year than what he’s currently thought to be earning.

It would be a very wise investment, too.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-managerial-update-transfer-rumours-levy-mourinho-sacked-gossip” title= “Read the latest Spurs manager updates, transfer news, gossip and more!”]

Rodgers has completely transformed Leicester both on and off the pitch. Every single year they lose their best players to big fees, such as Riyad Mahrez to Manchester City (£60m), Harry Maguire to Manchester United (£80m) and Ben Chilwell to Chelsea (£50m).

Firstly, Spurs have not sold a player for more than £50m since the departure of Kyle Walker in 2017 and he’s the only one since Gareth Bale before that to garner such a huge profit.

Secondly, the Foxes have barely felt the loss of such key players, all thanks to the shrewd recruitment and subsequent coaching of the 48-year-old Northern Irishman. For example, Timothy Castagne cost just £18m and has replaced Chilwell, while Caglar Soyuncu cost only £20m and has replaced Maguire. Both have been seamless transitions.

Among all this adversity, he looks set to guide the Foxes to back-to-back European campaigns and has also managed to keep a win rate of 55.2%, which is hugely impressive.

Furthermore, Rodgers’ development of Kelechi Iheanacho has been game-changing – Windass even called it “unbelievable” when speaking to FFC – not to mention Mourinho’s glowing endorsement of the former Liverpool boss.

“He’s very talented, he was and probably still is a guy who likes to study, learn and improve,” the Portuguese told reporters (via The Argus). “He’s creative, he knows what he wants.”

Iheanacho had looked like a player not ready to fulfil his undoubted potential until this season; now he’s bagged 17 goals in all competitions – a whopping 46% of his career total for the Midlands outfit since joining in the summer of 2017.

When you consider the regression of the likes of Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn, and the huge potential of youngsters such as Oliver Skipp and Dennis Cirkin, on top of his phenomenal record in the transfer market, then surely Rodgers is a match made in heaven for Levy and Spurs.

He’s the one who can rejuvenate this faltering club.

AND in other news, Levy could hammer another nail in Spurs coffin by hiring 47 y/o with a 30.5% win rate…

According to Football Insider, Southampton are keeping tabs on midfielder Harry Winks ahead of the summer transfer window.

Southampton eye Winks

Winks, who currently plays for Tottenham, has made just 10 Premier League appearances so far this campaign (Transfermarkt), and therefore appears to no longer be a part of Jose Mourinho’s plans.

As such, the Saints are said to interested in taking him to the south coast, with Ralph Hasenhuttl seemingly on the hunt for reinforcements in the middle of the park considering they are also said to be eyeing Yangel Herrera.

Top target

Hasenhuttl and co should make Winks one of their top targets for the summer. While he has not played too much this campaign, he has managed 167 appearances for Spurs throughout his career, has considerable Champions League and Europa League experience, and also has 10 caps for England to his name.

Former Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino is a huge fan of the 25-year-old, previously comparing him to Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez (Goal.com), while former Spurs coach Russell Small said he plays like Zinedine Zidane – high praise indeed. Those comparisons may be over-the-top, but they illustrate the talent Winks possesses.

At Southampton, under the tutelage of Hasenhuttl and with a bigger role in the team, the central midfielder could go some way to fulfilling his potential. For the potential fee of between £15m and £20m, which is what Tottenham are said to be looking for, it could be an absolute bargain (The Daily Mirror).

In other news, Rangers fans are livid at this journalist’s comments.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Leicester City winger Keith Gillespie believes that Kelechi Iheanacho’s recent goalscoring form has potentially saved his Foxes career.

Prior to his recent resurgence, the former Manchester City frontman had been mainly restricted to starts in the Europa League, and had to wait until early-February for his first Premier League goal of the season, which came against Fulham.

Since netting at Craven Cottage, Iheanacho has started seven games in all competitions, scoring eight times, including his first Premier League hat-trick against Sheffield United earlier this month, before firing the Foxes into their first FA Cup semi-finals for 39 years against Manchester United last Sunday.

And Gillespie has been impressed with Iheanacho’s revival in the absence of James Maddison, and admitted that Brendan Rodgers has a selection headache on his hands once the England midfielder returns from his recent his injury.

He told Football FanCast:

“He’s one that’s been lost a little bit. Big-money transfer to Leicester, but hasn’t really provided the performances. But he’s stepped up when they’ve really needed him to. 

“He’s had to stand up and produce performances, he scored a hat-trick against Sheffield United and is in a really rich vein of form, but he’s still very young.

“With him having this chance with Maddison out, I feel like if he didn’t produce those performances, Leicester were probably thinking about cutting-ties and bringing someone else in, because he’s been there a few seasons.

“But he has given Brendan a headache. When Maddison gets fit again, he’s got a headache because who does he play? It would be unfortunate for Iheanacho to be left out after the performances he’s put in.”

Iheanacho’s return to form has really come at an ideal time for Leicester. Their Premier League form was just starting to dip, but three victories on the bounce in all competitions means they look good value for a top-four place, and have every chance of adding the FA Cup to their trophy cabinet.