Everton manager Ronald Koeman has surprisingly admitted that Romelu Lukaku would probably leave the club since a player of his quality deserves to be playing in the best competitions.

Everton were able to play this figure after witnessing Lukaku’s impressive performances on loan at the club a year ago. A player of incredible talent, Lukaku has continued to remain as one of the top players in the Premier league even in the 2016-17 season.

The player came in with a transfer request in the summer which was turned on by the club. He has expressed his desire to play in the Champions League team for quite a while.Koeman expects this desire to be satisfied sooner rather than later, as he does not see a player like Lukaku staying at Everton for long.
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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has stated that Steven Gerrard will always be welcome at Anfield now and in the future. He said that a player of his reputation is an incredible asset for a team like Liverpool and that he will always be a hero in Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp said that there would be no problem if the midfielder wants to return to the club and he will think of a possible job to give him. He stated that he has a good relationship with Gerrard and that it will be a great thing for the club to have him back at Anfield. Continue Reading

The man in charge at Goodison Park, Ronald Koeman poured commendations on his team, Everton for the ‘incredible’ performance regardless of being left to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace on Friday.

Christian Benteke snatched two points from the leading Everton, despite his return return to Merseyside with an awesome header four minutes into the second half of the match. This came after RomeluLukaku had put Everton on the lead through his goal in the 35th minute of the match, but Koeman did not permit that to take the shine off what he emerged an incredible performance.

The 53-year old was raring to see an improvement on the performance of his men in the 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth last time out in the Premier League and was satisfied with how his side reacted positively.<!–more–>

“The team performance was outstanding,” he told Sky Sports. “Of course we would like to create more opportunities and chances, maybe we had the biggest one through Gana [IdrissaGueye] in the second half, but they [Crystal Palace] netted and thought it was 2-1 [when Damien Delaney had a goal disallowed for offside].

“Maybe it was offside or not, I don’t know. It was difficult to understand all the refereeing decisions and maybe in that he made a fault. It’s a good point in the end, of course everyone like to win at home, especially when 1-0 up. You can’t stop every cross, even long balls from midfield. We did good defending, but it is also the quality of the player that you have to understand.”

The Dutchman in addition believes his defense was intact and tough enough against such a difficult team. Crystal Palace took the advantage from a drill immediately they saw it, but Koeman insists it was not a bad result for his men.

As we approach the last 8 of this year’s European Championships, a number of players remain in with a chance of landing the Golden Boot. So who are the men most likely to finish as the tournament’s top goal scorer?

The outsiders

Arkadiusz Milik
A player that like his countryman Roberto Lewandowski, could be a household name post-Euro 2016. Milik opened up his account with the opening goal against Northern Ireland, and showcased why it will be him – and not Lewandowski – who will score the goals for his country. The Bayern Munich striker played more of a reduced role, creating space and offering up the running for Milik to centre stage. Milik showed his instincts in and around the area meanwhile, just like he did for Ajax this past season where he scored 24 goals in 42 games last term. His total for the Dutch side is now 47 in just 75 games both domestically and in European competition – an outstanding scoring rate for a player adept with both his feet and head. With games to come against a shaky German backline – who Milik already breached during qualifying – and a weak Ukraine there could be more goals to come from one of Europe’s most sought after strikers.

Graziano Pellè
The Southampton striker’s inclusion in the Italy squad was to the dismay of many back in his native country, but he could be set to play a key role for Antonio Conte’s team. Pellè is the man positioned to lead Italy’s attacking line, and with Conte’s men setup to counter and be clinical, it will be down to the 30-year-old to take those chances. He’s shown at Southampton he’s capable of it, just like he did prior in Holland. What’s more, if this is a low scoring tournament he could be someone to take advantage by scoring key, timely goals and sneaking above bigger names in the competition. His physicality, and tendency to get on the end of crosses, makes him a real threat. He also showed against Belgium he remains aware throughout the game, as he buried a chance that came his way with a superb volley at the death.

The obvious choices

Thomas Muller
When it comes to the big stage, few gobble it up more than Thomas Muller. With one Golden Boot from a World Cup to his name, and a Silver one for good measure, the German must now turn his attention to the smaller matter of the European Championship. It will surely be only a matter of time before the Bayern Munich man is off the mark, and as the true striker in the German squad opportunities will come his way to lead the line. More so, he is backed by an outstanding creative cast lead by none other than the assist king himself, Mesut Ozil. A haul of 20 goals in the Bundesliga this term shows he’s still fierce in attack, and it will be no surprise should he continue his incredible exploits for Germany.

Olivier Giroud
Like Thomas Muller, the French striker is backed by a brilliant supporting cast of creative players. If Antoine Griezmann or Paul Pogba doesn’t have a good day, Dimitri Payet will be waiting in the wings to supply the Arsenal man. Giroud’s capable of scoring in a variety of manners but he’s best when prowling in the area, looking to get on the end of a cross or ready to pounce on a loose ball in the box. He may not be entirely convincing as a striker but Giroud has an incredible knack of bagging goals as and when required. While Karim Benzema sits at home, it will be Giroud who leads the French line on home turf.

Cristiano Ronaldo
It’s time for Cristiano Ronaldo to finally deliver on the International stage, and backed by perhaps the best Portugal team he’s played with, there may be no better time. After his penalty heroics for Real Madrid in the Champions League final, Cristiano now turns his attention to Euro 2016. The hunger and drive in Cristiano is always there, but now he seems hell-bent more than ever on delivering success for Portugal. He will be leading the line given his formation into a striker of sorts, and also the lack of out and out forward players the Portuguese possess. Expect Cristiano to hunt chances down in the penalty area and look to latch onto crosses, and look for him to still pick up the ball in that trademark wide berth and drive infield.