IDRISSA GANA GUEYE RETURNS: EVERTON BOOST BEFORE CHELSEA; BRANTHWAITE UPDATE
Everton gets a major boost as midfielders Idrissa Gana Gueye and Tim Iroegbunam return from suspension for the Chelsea match. Gueye will soon depart for AFCON duty.
Here's the latest from Everton as they prepare to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in their next Premier League game.
Manager David Moyes gave an update on Jarrad Branthwaite, saying the defender is recovering well from his hamstring injury.
Branthwaite, a key player in the centre-back position, hasn't played this season. He was hurt just before the season started and had surgery in October.
Michael Keane has been playing well in his place; Moyes is eager to have Branthwaite back at total strength. Although Branthwaite won’t be ready for Saturday’s game against Chelsea and still needs a few weeks to get back in shape, he is back training on the field. Merlin Rohl, who joined the team this summer, is also recovering well after hernia surgery last month.
Moyes mentioned in his press conference before the game, “Jarrad and Merlin are back outside, doing some drills. Merlin is further along in his recovery than Jarrad, but both are training on the field. We’re hoping to see them back soon.”
Everton is heading to Chelsea with a good record, winning four of their last five matches, including a solid 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest. They're currently seventh in the Premier League.
Good news for the Toffees, as midfielders Idrissa Gana Gueye and Tim Iroegbunam will be available again for the Chelsea game. Gueye was suspended for the last three games, and Iroegbunam was out against Forest due to suspension.
However, Gueye’s return will be short. He and Iliman Ndiaye will be joining the Senegal team.
Moyes added, We fully respect the Africa Cup of Nations. The players will be playing for their countries in the tournament, as they should. It's fantastic that they've been chosen to represent their country, and we hope they play well.
Of course, no manager wants to lose players to international duty, but we have them for this weekend, and then we'll wish them the best.
It seems Seamus Coleman (hamstring) will be the only player unavailable for Moyes against Chelsea.
MICHAEL OWEN DECLARES PREMIER LEAGUE "NEARLY WRAPPED UP" FOR LEADERS ARSENAL
Michael Owen tells talkSPORT that Arsenal have "wrapped up" the Premier League title, sitting six points clear with 14 games left.
Michael Owen says Arsenal has basically wrapped up the league.
Right now, Mikel Arteta’s team sits six points clear at the top of the Premier League. Fourteen games left, but they’re determined not to trip up like they did in the past. Three years in a row, they finished second—always just missing out on Manchester City or Liverpool. Remember that eight-point lead they blew to City in 2022/23? That one really stung, especially since City went on to win everything: the league, the Champions League, and the Carabao Cup.
On Wednesday morning, Owen—yeah, the former United and Liverpool striker—went on talkSPORT and talked about how easy Arsenal has it this season. “I don’t think anyone’s good enough to compete with them this year,” he said. “Even though I don’t think the points total will be that high.” He figured only Liverpool or City had a shot at the start of the season, but both have fallen off. So, in Owen’s mind, Arsenal has pretty much been handed the title. “Nobody’s put much pressure on them,” he said. “The league is nearly wrapped up.”
And Arsenal just beat Chelsea 1-0 at the Emirates in the Carabao Cup (4-2 on aggregate), so now they’re one win away from silverware—it would be their first trophy under Arteta since that FA Cup back in 2020.
Owen already thinks Arsenal will be champions this year, and he’s backing them for the League Cup too. “I think they could win the Carabao Cup, absolutely,” he said. “But the other two trophies are going to be tough.”
The Gunners are still chasing the quadruple. They topped their Champions League group, knocked Portsmouth out of the FA Cup, and haven’t lost in Europe—getting some big wins over Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, and Bayern Munich along the way.
Owen, who’s got a Ballon d’Or to his name, thinks Arsenal will face stiffer competition outside England. “Everyone else will be focusing on the FA Cup now, since the league’s pretty much over,” he said. “It’s the only thing that can save their season, so clubs will put out strong teams.” Then there’s the Champions League, which feels wide open this year.
Alan Brazil from talkSPORT asked Owen if Arsenal could actually win all four trophies. Owen shot that down. “No, I don’t think so,” he replied. “But they’re special, a really strong, efficient side.”
ASTON VILLA VALUE MORGAN ROGERS AT £100M+ AS LIVERPOOL AND CHELSEA CIRCLE
Aston Villa face a fight to keep £100m-rated Morgan Rogers as Liverpool and Chelsea circle the England star for a summer move.
Aston Villa really wants to hang on to Morgan Rogers, but that’s going to be tough this summer. There’s serious money on the table, and both Liverpool and Chelsea can’t seem to take their eyes off him. One journalist even called Rogers “a joy to watch.”
Rogers is only 23, but he’s come a long way fast. Villa picked him up from Middlesbrough just over two years ago for an initial £8 million, which doubled when you count the add-ons. At the time, not everyone was convinced—he came in without much fuss, just another Manchester City academy kid trying to make his mark. But look at him now: one of the best signings Villa’s made in years, his value through the roof, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a starting lineup without his name for either club or country.
Villa now rates him at more than £100 million, and the whole “big six” wants him. He even landed a new contract in November, tying him to Villa until June 2031. But even with that deal, Mark Carey from The Athletic thinks Villa will have their hands full trying to keep him. Rogers isn’t just playing well under Unai Emery—he’s on fire, and with the World Cup coming up, his profile’s only getting bigger.
Nine goals and seven assists from 34 games this season say it all. That’s why the top clubs keep circling. Liverpool and Chelsea are both sniffing around, and if Chelsea loses Cole Palmer, they’ll be even more desperate. Carey says teams in England and abroad won’t be scared off by Villa’s tough stance or Rogers’ long contract.
Carey’s pretty blunt: Villa’s resolve is about to face its biggest test yet. He says it’ll be interesting to see how the club reacts, especially if they miss out on the Champions League for 2026/27.
So why is Rogers worth more than £100 million now? Carey points to the long contract as a bit of a safety net for Villa, but Rogers’ progress is off the charts. He’s that good—“a joy to watch,” in Carey’s words—and honestly, there’s no ceiling to how far he can go.
You could see this coming even last September. Transfer insider Dean Jones already knew Villa rated Rogers highly and figured he could be the club’s next £100m man after Jack Grealish. Jones said people close to Villa believed Rogers would hit that price by the January window, but selling him mid-season wasn’t really on the table. If Rogers kept playing like this, Jones said, the £100m tag would stick by next summer—especially with that long contract.
Jones summed it up: Rogers has become one of the most exciting attackers in the Premier League, and Villa is determined to keep him. Last summer, insiders said Villa internally priced him at £80 million and made it clear he wasn’t for sale.
But if Mark Carey’s right and Villa’s resolve gets pushed this summer, they won't settle for less than what Man City paid for Grealish (£100 million). Honestly, with the way things are going, they might even demand the kind of money Liverpool shelled out for Florian Wirtz—around £116 million.