Mario Balotelli’s contract with Ligue 1 side Nice is up at the end of the season meaning that the 28-year-old will likely be available for a cut-price fee in January.

What’s the word?

Since joining the French outfit, Balotelli has returned to his best form and has even forced his way back into the Italian national side. Last season, the ever-entertaining striker scored a career-best 26 goals in 38 games in all competitions. 

Balotelli at his best is worthy of playing at a higher level than he is currently employed at and many Premier League clubs would be wise to offer the Italian one last chance to show his quality in the English top flight.

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At the front of the queue to roll the dice on the ex-Liverpool flop ought to be Everton, who are in desperate need of a proven goalscorer.

Not another Tosun

Whilst signing Balotelli does represent some risk, it is not as much of a gamble as it once was. In recent years he appears to have matured and focused on his football – which has paid dividends. 

Having spent £27 million on Cenk Tosun in January, the Toffees can’t afford another flop signing up front, and Balotelli has already shown that he has what it takes to make it in the Premier League. If the Toffees could attract the Nice man in January for less than his £21.6 million Transfermarkt valuation then that would be a bargain for the Merseyside club.

What do you think, Everton fans – would you love to see Marco Silva bring Balotelli to Goodison Park or don’t you consider the striker to be worth the risk considering his past behavioural issues?

Rangers were seemingly making positive progress prior to the weekend and their form was provoking plenty of discussion regarding a potential title challenge, but a 1-0 defeat away at Livingston has brought both Gerrard and the club back down to earth with a bang. 

Indeed, the Gers were showing plenty of promise in the SPFL with their ability to not only beat teams, but to beat them with commanding conviction. 4-0 and 5-1 victories preceded their trip to face Livingston so naturally expectations were high amongst the expectant fan base, so it was little surprise to see plenty of finger pointing in the aftermath of their 1-0 defeat.

Rangers’ failure to find the back of the net was certainly a testament to the brilliance of the newly-promoted hosts, but it also reminded Gerrard that his side have plenty of improving to do in the final-third.

Whilst every individual player was in some way responsible for the defeat, TT’s Jonny Gorrie discovered that the Rangers supporters on Twitter were particularly disgruntled with Ovie Ejaria’s performance.

And the fans had every right to express their disappointment as he has struggled to truly find his feet since moving to Ibrox.

He can be forgiven for a lack of consistency at just 20-years-old, but against a side of Livingston’s calibre he needs to be stepping up to the plate and showcasing his potential if he wants to make it at this level.

The supporters are well within their rights to expect plenty more from a player who comes from a prestigious footballing background at Liverpool, but it just goes to show that the step up to senior level is rarely a seamless transition for young players who are desperate to build a career at the highest level.

Rangers fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Mike Ashley is still yet to find a buyer for Newcastle United Football Club.

The Magpies owner has been villainised by the majority of Newcastle fans who are unhappy with the lack of investment into the club. Ashley has been trying to sell the club for a number of years but is yet to find an investor who can meet his asking price.

Whoever is in charge simply must back Rafael Benitez in the transfer market. The Spaniard has not been given the funds to strengthen his squad to his methods, and his current deal runs out at the end of the season. If Newcastle want to keep the ex-Liverpool boss on Tyneside – they need to back him financially.

Scoring goals has been a massive problem for the Magpies this season so Benitez should consider a move for Girona star – Cristhian Stuani. Valued at £6.75m by Transfermarkt, the Uruguayan enjoyed a sensational debut campaign with his side after leaving Middlesbrough, scoring 21 goals in La Liga. Stuani has already shown he is not a one-season wonder, finding the back of the net on five occasions already this season.

The 31-year-old has benefitted from playing centrally – a much more natural position that the wing where he was used frequently by ‘Boro. His intelligent movement makes him a nightmare for defenders to deal with and his arrival could help Salomon Rondon finally find his rhythm at St. James Park. Stuani is also a huge aerial threat, scoring a host of his goals from headers last year.

Benitez should be doing all he can to convince Stuani to return to England in January.

Newcastle fans, thoughts?

Aston Villa relieved Steve Bruce of his managerial duties on Wednesday following a run of just one win in nine Championship games. But were the Midlands outfit right to sack the 57-year-old, or could they come to regret the decision? Football FanCast’s expert writers give their verdicts below…

Ben Goodwin

“While it’s difficult to see where the club go from here, Bruce’s time at Aston Villa simply had to end. They have just one win in their last nine matches, and of their summer signings only John McGinn has hit the ground running. With all due respect to Preston and Sheffield Wednesday, those two home fixtures should be an easy six points for a club of Villa’s stature, and the performances were even worse than the results. His team selection against Preston on Tuesday was absolutely absurd, and bringing Glenn Whelan on in search of a goal was a total disaster.”

Christy Malyan

“The style of football has never been great under Bruce and results this season have been far from perfect, but it feels like Villa have jumped the gun a little here. After all, Villa didn’t exactly start last season all guns blazing either but ended the regular campaign in fourth place and they’re still just three points away from a playoff spot. There are only three teams who have lost less games than the Midlands outfit so far this season, so Bruce must have been doing something right. And this is a manager with vast experience in not only the second tier but also in the Premier League. With that in mind, it seems unlikely Villa can draft in an obviously better, more proven replacement.” 

James Beavis

“It’s obvious that the owners have got it 100% right. Despite coming so close to promotion last season, Bruce has had long enough to turn Villa into real contenders in this division, and they arguably should have been comfortably in the top two last term anyway. While he was dealt a real blow early on during the summer with the financial issues, he ended up keeping the majority of his squad – including Jack Grealish – together when the ownership was sorted to leave him with few excuses. Despite that, he still didn’t get his team selection or tactics right given the array of talent – particularly in attacking areas – that he had available to him. For me, it is clear that Villa need a fresh start and a more expansive manager willing to take risks.”

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Will Jones

“I don’t think Steve Bruce actually did a huge amount wrong in his time at Villa Park but sometimes a situation simply becomes untenable. A cabbage being lobbed at your head is a sign, you know? Had they stuck with Bruce then Villa would likely have improved as the campaign went on and wound up with a play-off spot at least. However, the club have determined that a change was in order and before long you’d have to imagine Bruce himself will be inclined to agree that this decision was for the best all round. Note to the Villa board: Carlos Carvalhal is still out of a job.”

Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor achieved his 40th cap for Scotland on Thursday night, but the moment was not praised by everyone.

At the moment, plenty of Rangers supporters have an issue with the Scottish Football Association regarding a new story involving Paul Gascoigne.

According to the Daily Mail on Wednesday, members of the SFA board planned to boycott a dinner inducting Gascoigne into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame for his three-year spell at Rangers.

The publication claims that due to the England legend’s troubles off the pitch, which have included incidents of domestic violence, some SFA members turned down their invitations.

However, it has since been claimed by the Daily Mail that the nomination has been withdrawn.

On Twitter, Rangers praised McGregor for earning his 40th cap for Scotland in a United Nations clash against Israel, but the response was mixed.

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Some supporters praised the shot-stopper, others spoke of their frustration at the 2-1 defeat, while a handful expressed their distaste for the SFA.

After a lacklustre start to the season, Southampton currently find themselves 16th in the Premier League table and just two points above the relegation zone.

Prior to their recent 3-0 defeat at home to Chelsea, Southampton had dropped points against the likes of Wolves, Leicester City and Brighton.

And manager Mark Hughes has since sent his side a clear message: we need to be more clinical.

The Breakdown

“Clearly the end game is getting the ball in the back of the net and that’s what wins you games, it goes without saying,” Hughes told Sky Sports.

“It’s not as though we not getting shots off. I think if you look at the amount of shots we’ve had in the season to date it’s up there with everybody.

“It’s just our conversion rate we need to increase. If we do that and we convert more of the chances we create and the shots we take we will score more goals and win more games.”

Looking back at Southampton’s latest loss at the hands of Chelsea, Hughes certainly has a point.

Danny Ings, who in all fairness has looked promising since arriving at St. Mary’s during the summer, missed a very big chance versus Maurizio Sarri’s men and could have changed the whole complexion of the game had it found the back of the net.

But as well as up front, defensively, Southampton have not looked entirely convincing either.

The Saints blew a 2-0 lead against Brighton last month and, in general, never look confident after going in front.

For Southampton, there is much work to be done in both halves of the pitch.

CSKA Moscow’s Nikola Vlasic, on loan from Everton, has made his predictions for the Champions League and his feelings about his parent club clear.

Speaking to Gazetta dello Sport, via Sport Witness, the Croatian said that he believes the Toffees’ Merseyside rivals Liverpool will be crowned the winners of the Champions League this season, but he wasn’t done there.

The 21-year-old, who scored the winner in Moscow’s Champions League group stage victory over holders Real Madrid, then went on to profess his admiration for Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, possibly sneaking in a sly dig at Everton as he did so.

“Only the top five or six teams, managed by foreigners like Klopp and Guardiola, play great football. The others only think about defending, […] that’s not how I want to play.”

The former Hajduk Split man was a bit part player at Goodison Park as the club chopped and changed managers and, following Marco Silva’s summer spending spree, has fallen down the pecking order.

However, by the sounds of it he doesn’t seem too bothered and it looks unlikely that there will be a warm welcome when his loan spell in Russia ends.

Here’s how Everton fans reacted to his comments on Twitter…

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According to The Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa are looking to sign 16-year-old Southend striker Charlie Kelman. 

This would be a brilliant move by The Villans, for a player that has already been called up to the United States under-18 squad, as well as bagging 61 goals for Southend last season.

This will mean that the future is very bright for The Lions, particularly with regards to their attack. They already have promising youngsters such as Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Tammy Abraham at the club, but with the latter likely to return to parent club Chelsea at the end of the season, Kelman would ensure that Villa keep a lot of young quality in their squad.

Furthermore, with Scott Hogan and Jonathan Kodjia, who are slightly more experienced, it means that the club will not be heavily reliant on their younger players next season.

Of course, for now, Aston Villa cannot overlook the importance of signing defenders in the next transfer window, as that is the department where they are the most alarmingly threadbare in, but this will still be a great signing to help elsewhere on the pitch. But the importance of this signing would be that it would not interfere with Financial Fair Play rulings because that does not apply to academy signings. This would give the club the chance to focus any allotted or permitted spending on defenders.

All in all, signing Kelman may well be the best option that Aston Villa have at this current climate, and should be one that they should keenly look to secure.

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Everton fans have been discussing potential transfer targets for 2019, and over three quarters of fans want to move for Red Star Salzburg star Amadou Haidara.

The Toffees have looked extremely dangerous in attack thanks to the influence of Marco Silva, but they are just missing something in the middle of the park.

Andre Gomes looks to be a smart signing, but the Portuguese international is only at the club on a temporary basis.

Haidara could be the perfect signing, as his all-actions displays in the Europa League have been nothing short of exceptional.

Across three European games this season, he has scored once, won two aerial duels per game, and completed 88 per cent of his passes.

His wiry strength, technique and vision make him a threat going forward, averaging over two shots and over one key pass per game.

He is a monster on the defensive end as well, averaging two tackles and nearly three interceptions per game.

The Toffees have been crying out for an elite box-to-box midfielder for a long time, and the 20 year-old Salzburg star could be the perfect man to play alongside Idrissa Gueye.

Haidara has been tipped to replace Liverpool’s Naby Keita at Leipzig, and he may even have a higher ceiling than the Reds’ big summer capture.

76 per cent of fans want to sign the Malian wonderkid in 2019, and you can view the full poll results down below…

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Loads of Leeds fans have been reacting to a huge club update, as the Whites have unveiled the return of an old favourite for their brand new third kit.

Leeds travel to West Brom on Saturday for what is sure to be one of the matches of the season and is too close to call according to the odds at www.bettingsites.ltd.

The Baggies have fallen away from the top of the table slightly, but a win would put them just two points behind Leeds.

Darren Moore’s side have scored 33 goals and conceded 24 already this season, and the match has all the makings of an absolute thriller.

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Leeds fans are now more confident than ever about the big clash, after the club revealed its all yellow strip.

There were concerns about a colour clash for Saturday’s showdown, and those fears have now been allayed in the best way possible.

The Whites will wear the strip for the first time this weekend, and fans are now confident of a big win.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…