All the very latest football news and transfer gossip across Europe!

With just a month to go until Christmas and the January transfer window less than six weeks away, Clubs are drawing up both long and short term targets to either bolster or save their season! I am not just talking about the acquisition of players, but managers and backroom staff too!


Here is a round up of all the latest football news/gossip across Europe today, which includes the likes of: Real Madrid, Chelsea, Paris St-Germain, Arsenal, Barcelona, Everton, Liverpool, Wales, Tottenham, Manchester City, Manchester United, Rennes, Athletic Bilbao, Juventus, Crystal Palace, Watford, West Ham, Holstein Kiel, RB Leipzig, Changchun Yatai, Leicester, West Brom, Derby, Sunderland and Ross County to name but a few!


Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois could be on the move, with Juventus, Real Madrid, PSG and Atletico all interested - The Sun

Arsenal's German playmaker Mesut Ozil wants Barcelona to pay him 370,000 euros (£329,559) a week to join them in January. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is willing to let the 29-year-old leave, as long as he does not join Manchester United on a free transfer next summer - AS (Spanish daily sports newspaper) and Daily Mail

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has dismissed Arsenal's £40m bid for striker Karim Benzema as embarrassing - The Sun

West Brom caretaker manager Gary Megson insists his first game in charge, against Tottenham, is not going to be an audition for a permanent job - Daily Telegraph

West Brom are likely to fail with a bid to appoint Sam Allardyce as their next boss. The ex-England boss is keen to return to international management - Daily Mirror

Watford are confident manager Marco Silva does not want to join Everton as he is house-hunting in Hertfordshire - Daily Mirror

However Everton are considering appointing RB Leipzig sporting director Ralf Rangnick instead - Daily Express

Paris St-Germain have opened discussions with Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini. The 30-year-old Belgium international is out of contract in the summer - Le10Sport (French sports newspaper specialising in football) and Daily Mail

Swansea boss Paul Clement says he still has support from the club's board despite a disappointing start to the season - Guardian

Wayne Rooney has called on the Everton board to end the uncertainty and appoint a new manager following last night's humiliating 5-1 defeat to Atalanta at Goodison Park - Daily Express

Eden Hazard admits that he admires Real Madrid, but says that he has no interest in leaving Chelsea for the time being - Daily Mail

Liverpool have made contact with PSG over a January loan move for 24 year-old Germany midfielder Julian Draxler - L'Equipe (French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport)

Eliaquim Mangala admits he could leave Manchester City in search of regular football, despite the side's injury crisis at the heart of their defence - The Sun

Stoke, West Ham, Everton and Southampton are interested in former Watford striker Odion Ighalo. The 28-year-old moved to Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai in January - Tutto Udinese (Italian football news website)

Arsene Wenger wants Feynoord boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst to be his successor as Arsenal manager - Daily Star

Crystal Palace will rival West Ham for the signing Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter, 27, in January - Daily Mirror

Rennes are pursuing a loan deal for Leicester forward Islam Slimani, but face competition from Watford and Crystal Palace - Daily Mail

Chris Coleman has backed Craig Bellamy to succeed him as Wales manager, and says his lack of experience could be a positive - Daily Star

Former England defender Sol Campbell said he would be interested in becoming the United States' head coach - ESPN

Jack Wilshere admits he may have to leave Arsenal to get regular football as he is frustrated with his current game-time - Daily Mirror

Barcelona and Real Madrid are set to go head to head for the signature of highly-rated Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte - Daily Express

Spain midfielder Juan Mata, 29, wants to extend his stay at Manchester United and has not ruled out playing until he is 40 - ESPN

West Ham asked to be given an away fixture on Boxing Day because nearby Stratford station would not have been able to cope with the number of fans and post-Christmas sales shoppers - Daily Telegraph

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says he "does not care" that Danny Rose was upset by being left out of the north London derby - Guardian

Chelsea have made the most money from player sales since the Premier League began - Daily Star

Glenn Murray says he would get more credit for his performances with Brighton if he had a foreign name - Daily Telegraph

Derby County want Joe Ledley to sign a new deal at the club, but Sunderland are keen on the 30-year-old midfielder - Daily Mirror

Burnley are monitoring Kilmarnock's 23-year-old winger Jordan Jones ahead of the January transfer window - Daily Mail

Leeds United scouts watched Bundesliga Two top scorer Marvin Ducksch play for Holstein Kiel against Nuremberg last weekend.

Chris Eagles has joined Scottish Premiership club Ross County until the end of the season - skysports.com

Statistically, the ICT index score of the best performing players in the English Premier League so far this season!

The ICT Index (Influence, Creativity, Threat) was a new feature that began at the start of last season's Premier League campaign, and has continued to be used for the current one.

A football statistical index, it has been developed specifically to give a verdict on any player as a Football Premier League asset.

It condenses more than 40 match event statistics for three key areas – Influence, Creativity and Threat, to generate the data into a single score.

This score is what is known as an individual’s ICT Index score, and via this data is able to offer an accurate summary on player performance.


Season 2017/18 - Last update: 10/11/17 at 13.30 GMT


For those of you currently playing 'Fantasy Premier League Football' you may want to take note!


Goalkeepers:

1. Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester) 28.7 ICT Index 
2. Jonas Lossl (Huddersfield) 28.3
3. Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea) 27.7
4. Asmir Begovic (Bournemouth) 27.4
5. Jordan Pickford (Everton) 27.1
6. Nick Pope (Burnley) 25.0 (pictured right)
7. Joe Hart (West Ham) 24.8
8. David de Gea (Man Utd) 23.3
9. Fraser Forster (Southampton) 22.3
10. Jack Butland (Stoke) 21.7 *Currently out injured


Defenders:

1. Ben Davies (Tottenham) 62.3 ICT Index
2. Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) 58.3
3. César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) 54.4
4. Sead Kolasinac (Arsenal) 53.6
5. Jose Holebas (Watford) 53.2
6. Ben Mee (Burnley) 52.8
7. Harry Maguire (Leicester) 51.2
8. Nacho Monreal (Arsenal) 50.4
9. Shane Duffy (Brighton) 49.6
10. Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal) 48.1

Midfielders:

1. Mo Salah (Liverpool) 120.2  ICT Index
2. Kevin De Bruyne (Man City) 115.2
3. David Silva (Man City) 109.6
4. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham) 101.3
5. Leroy Sané (Man City) 94.8 (pictured right)
6. Richarlison (Watford) 93.4
7. Raheem Sterling (Man City) 87.6 *Currently out injured
8. Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) 85.3
9. Cesc Fàbregas (Chelsea) 84.5
10. Dele Alli (Tottenham) 81.8 *Currently out injured


Forwards:

1. Harry Kane (Tottenham) 121.5 ICT Index
2. Romelu Lukaku (Man Utd) 108.2
3. Sergio Agüero (Man City) 97.4
4. Álvaro Morata (Chelsea) 93.3
5. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) 88.2
6. Gabriel Jesus (Man City) 86.2
7. Jamie Vardy (Leicester) 82.3
8. Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) 77.1
9. Marcus Rashford (Man Utd) 69.6 (pictured right)
10. Wayne Rooney (Everton) 69.2




1. Influence

Influence is the first measurement. This evaluates the degree to which that player has made an impact on a single match or throughout the season.

It takes into account events and actions that could directly or indirectly effect the outcome of the fixture.

At the top level these are decisive actions like goals and assists. But the Influence score also processes significant defensive actions to analyse the effectiveness of defenders and goalkeepers.

2. Creativity

Creativity assesses player performance in terms of producing goalscoring opportunities for others. It can be used as a guide to identify the players most likely to supply assists.

While this analyses frequency of passing and crossing, it also considers pitch location and quality of the final ball.

3. Threat

This is the third measure, producing a value that examines a player's threat on goal. It gauges individuals most likely to score goals.

While attempts are the key action, the Index looks at pitch location, giving greater weight to actions that are regarded as the best chances to score.

All three of these scores are combined to create an overall ICT Index score. That then offers a single figure that presents a view on that player as a Football Premier League asset.

Babe of the Month - Gorgeous Ellen Hoog, Dutch International Field Hockey Star and Olympian

Ellen Martijn Hoog was born on 26th March 1986 in Overveen, Netherlands (Overveen is a town in North Holland in the municipality of Bloemendaal). Ellen was a Dutch International field hockey player for over 12 years, earning 232 caps and scoring 60 goals.


She retired from international hockey a year ago, but she is still a playing member of the Amsterdamsche Hockey and Bandy Club. However she now dedicates more time to her interests outside of the sport, including fashion and healthy eating.

Ellen began playing field hockey at the age of seven and in 2002, aged 16 she was selected to play her first senior game the Stichtse Cricket en Hockey Club in Bilthoven.
Ellen made her debut for the Dutch National team in 2004, aged 17, during the Champions Trophy in Rosario, Argentina. The Dutch won gold that year beating Germany in the Final.

Ellen attended the University of Amsterdam and studied Media and Information Management. She studied Commercial Sports Economics at the Johan Cruyff University in Amsterdam.

She became the ambassador of the Hockey Calendar in 2005. She also became an ambassador of Holland Fit and BDO in 2006. Ellen also posed in a bikini with team-mate Eva de Goede for the American sports magazine 'Sports Illustrated' in the Swimsuit Edition in 2013 in Las Vegas.

Among Ellen's many sporting achievements are two Olympic golds (Beijing 2008 and London 2012), one Olympic silver (Rio 2016), two World Cups (2006 in Madrid and 2014 in Amsterdam), three European Championships (2005 in Dublin, 2009 in Amsterdam and 2011 in Mönchengladbach), and two Champions Trophies (2004 in Rosario and 2005 in Canberra).

She was voted the best player in the world for 2014.

In 2012, Hoog became the first player to decide a major championship match with a penalty shootout, taking the winning shot in the 2012 Summer Olympics semi-final against New Zealand.
She repeated this feat in 2016 when she took the winning shot in the 2016 Summer Olympics semi-final against Germany.


Ellen has two pre-game rituals: Firstly, before each match she first puts on my right shin guard and then her left and secondly, before the start of a big tournament and before each final, together with some of her teammates, they watch the movie 'The Notebook.'

Ellen uses almost all social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. She has a large number of national as well as international fans. She is loved by her fans because of her field hockey skills and her beautiful looks.

You can follow Ellen on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram