Everton manager Sam Allardyce confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Thursday that Ramiro Funes Mori is available for selection for the Premier League clash against Brighton and Hove Albion at Goodison Park on Saturday after recovering from a long-term injury, and Toffees fans have urged him to start the centre-back, rated at €12m (£10.7m) by Transfermarkt.

The 27-year-old has been out for almost a year after picking up a serious knee injury while on international duty with Argentina, but he is finally ready to make his first-team return for the Merseyside outfit.

It comes at a good time for Allardyce too with his team struggling from a defensive point of view – only three top flight teams have conceded more than their total of 49 in 29 games – and with Ashley Williams suspended, which is something that the Goodison Park faithful won’t be too upset about given their continued criticism of the 33-year-old.

Everton supporters have been quick to have their say on Funes Mori via social media, and while one said “get him in alongside Holgate”, another said “he needs to start for me”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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It would have been understandable if a large number of Arsenal fans were dreading Thursday’s Europa League tie against AC Milan.

The club have had a difficult couple of weeks with some very unsavoury results.

Arsene Wenger’s men were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, and a few days later lost to Pep Guardiola’s side again by the same scoreline, but this time in the Premier League.

The team were unable to bounce back against Brighton last weekend as they suffered a 2-1 loss at the Amex Stadium.

After four defeats in a row in all competitions, Wenger’s job came under increasing pressure, with plenty of fans calling for the board to sack the Frenchman.

On Thursday, though, the Gunners put in a much-needed positive performance as they earned a 2-0 victory over AC Milan in the first leg of their last 16 Europa League tie.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey got on the scoresheet in the San Siro, while Mesut Ozil nabbed assists for both goals.

David Ospina also made a case for himself for the number one role as he managed to keep a clean sheet.

So far, Petr Cech has been in between the sticks for Premier League games and Ospina has been selected for cup matches.

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Some supporters want the latter to be the permanent number one.

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French football programme Telefoot claimed this weekend that Spurs have joined the race to sign Monaco’s Thomas Lemar.

What’s the story?

According to Telefoot, Spurs are the latest Premier League side to toss their hat in the ring for Lemar, who recently expressed his disappointment that he had not been allowed to leave Monaco in January.

“I am not going to hide it, I was a bit disappointed,” Lemar said. “But there is no point fixating on that.

“I have continued to work so that these clubs might come back for me in the following transfer window.”

Liverpool and Arsenal are also chasing Lemar, but Telefoot claims the 22 year-old is now a top summer target for Spurs.

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Should Spurs do a deal?

There’s no doubt about it, Thomas Lemar is ridiculous talented. The creative winger, valued at £57.1million by Transfermarkt, scored in France’s 3-2 defeat to Colombia on Friday, and it was his sublime pass that set up the other French goal.

The only question is how much he would cost, which is why Spurs should offer Moussa Sissoko as part of a player plus cash deal. Lemar would be an instant upgrade to the Spurs attack, and could certainly hold his own competing with the likes of Dele Alli and Heung-min Son for a starting role.

Not only could he compete with the attacking players for one of the three roles behind Harry Kane, he could even start alongside Mousa Dembele in midfield, especially against teams who defend deep. Despite primarily operating as a winger, the Frenchman can play as a deeper creative influence, similar to the role Philippe Coutinho played before he left Liverpool.

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This is why a swap deal for Sissoko makes sense. Not only could Sissoko excel in France given his somewhat surprising form for Spurs, there simply wouldn’t be room for both of them, and it would knock down the currently ridiculous asking price.

After an incredible season last year, Lemar’s output has slowed this season, but he has still managed two goals and seven assists in 20 league starts for Monaco. He would bring pace, flair and an absolute wand of a left foot to North London. It would also be a great chance for Spurs to prove they are outgrowing Arsenal, as the Gunners are also interested in a deal.

Spurs fans, would you back a summer swoop for Lemar? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…

Liverpool fans would have woken up with big smiles on their faces today following a memorable night at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp’s side took on the Premier League champions-elect and completely outplayed them in the first half.

Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane all scored for the Reds inside the opening half an hour on Merseyside.

Despite City’s attacking prowess, Pep Guardiola’s men failed to produce a single shot on target, which could in part be to do with the fact that the manager threw in an extra midfielder.

It was a worthy victory for Liverpool, with the entire team receiving praise, including captain Jordan Henderson, who will miss the second leg due to suspension.

Former City midfielder Joey Barton tweeted his thoughts on the game, and once the dust had settled, the radio pundit suggested that Liverpool fans were going overboard in their praise for the team.

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In fairness to the outspoken figure, the Reds have to come through another 90 minutes against City in order to reach the semi-finals, and they will not have the roar of the crowd to support them.

Even so,  Liverpool supporters were not best pleased with Barton’s tweets.

Arsenal had to work hard for their win at home to relegation-threatened Stoke City on Sunday but eventually ran out 3-0 winners at the Emirates Stadium.

Paul Lambert’s side were always going to battle for every ball against the Gunners given their status towards the bottom of the English Premier League, but strong defensive work from the likes of Shkodran Mustafi ensured they wouldn’t open the deadlock before three late goals secured victory.

Arsenal gave the ball away plenty in the first half, inviting pressure on their defensive line but fans were impressed with Mustafi, with some suggesting he had his best game for quite a while.

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The 25-year-old has drawn criticism at points this season for poor performances but fans will be hoping he can carry Sunday’s form into UEFA Europa League action later this week.

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They took to Twitter after the match to share their thoughts on his display against Stoke…

Sheffield Wednesday got back to winning ways in the English Championship on Saturday with a 1-0 win away to Hull City.

After consecutive defeats against Fulham and Queens Park Rangers, the Owls were looking for improvement at the KCOM Stadium and delivered with a victory the moves them up to 16th in the table.

The three points were delivered by striker Jordan Rhodes, who headed home in the 18th minute after making his first start for the club in over a month.

Rhodes has had a frustrating season at Wednesday, scoring just four times in the league prior to Saturday’s goal but fans still have belief he can prove to be a success at the club after this performance.

They were delighted with his impact and are hoping it can help him find form in the closing stages of the season.

Can he prove he still has a future at Hillsborough?

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Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

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Nottingham Forest picked up a fine win in the English Championship on Tuesday night, beating Barnsley 3-0 at the City Ground.

With nothing left to play for before the end of the season, the remaining games are all about improvement for Aitor Karanka and his side and wins like Tuesday night certainly won’t hurt heading into the summer.

Lee Tomlin, Ben Brereton and Apostolos Vellios were all on the scoresheet as the Reds racked up one of their biggest wins of the season.

Fans were delighted with the performance and singled out youngster Brereton for particular praise after his classy finish from Tomlin’s defence splitting pass.

The 19-year-old has had his struggles this season but Karanka has continued to give him backing in the first team and with two goals and an assist in his last three games, that time on the pitch is now paying dividends.

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Can he develop further and become a consistent goalscorer for Forest next season?

Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his Tuesday display…

Laurent Koscielny suffered a devastating blow on Thursday during what was a disappointing night all round for Arsenal.

The defender seriously damaged his Achilles during the first half of the Gunners’ Europa League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid.

The France international, who has 51 caps for his country, winced in pain on the floor and was eventually stretchered off the pitch just 12 minutes into the game.

Replays showed that the aggravation to his Achilles did not come from a challenge as he was nowhere near another player nor the ball when it happened.

After the match, manager Arsene Wenger told reporters that the condition of Koscielny’s injury did “not look good”, and there have been widespread suggestions that the defender will miss the World Cup in Russia.

At the age of 32, the centre-back may face a struggle to force his way back into the team when fitness is regained.

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Plenty of Arsenal fans expressed sympathy and sent their well-wishes to Koscielny via social media, while others were less supportive and urged for the defender to be sold.

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Jose Mourinho rang the changes for Manchester United’s trip to West Ham and a rare beneficiary was Luke Shaw, who was fielded at left-wing-back against the Hammers.

On another tedious night for United, the man valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt was a bright spot, coming closest to scoring when his lashed shot was diverted onto the post by the foot of Adrian and remaining solid throughout.

The game looked set to peter out before Paul Pogba and Mark Noble squared up to each other and the fact it was Shaw who was the first on the scene to help out his outnumbered team-mates went down well with the Reds fans.

For a player who has been criticised by Mourinho at times this season, the former Southampton man showed impressive commitment and willingness to fight for the shirt and for his team-mates.

That kind of attitude will always impress the fans and we’ve taken a closer look at the most impassioned of the responses…

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Jurgen Klopp has rotated his squad to much better effect this season than he did last time around and that has helped ensure that Liverpool are now in the Champions League final, where they will face Real Madrid on 26 May looking to deny the Spanish giants their third straight European crown.

The flip side of the German’s attempts to keep his squad fresh for their endeavours deep into Europe’s elite competition have seen their Premier League form tail off to the extent that they need to get a draw from their final game of the season, against Brighton on Sunday, to be sure of their spot in the same tournament next season.

That provides Klopp with a conundrum he would rather not have faced; rest his stars for the final, but risk dropping out of the top four or go all out but take one final risk on the fitness of the key players in his already injury-ravaged squad?

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That’s why we’re asking you what you would do in the German’s position. There is risk either way, so let us know by voting in the poll below and keep your eyes peeled for the results ahead of kick-off at Anfield on Sunday…