All posts by z3u9t.icu

Given how the Premier League season has gone for Aston Villa, you would be forgiven for completely forgetting about Neil Taylor.

The 43-cap Wales international has barely been seen at Villa Park this campaign, with Dean Smith clearly favouring Matt Targett as his first-choice left-back.

The only first-team action that Taylor has seen thus far, has been three 90 minutes in the early stages of the Carabao Cup, and then a measly 15 minute outing in the Premier League clash against Manchester City back in mid-January.

Other than that, the Welshman has been forced to either sit on the bench as an unused substitute, or even just miss out on the match-day squad completely.

Taylor earns a reported £45k-a-week at Villa Park, which is still a decent chunk of money for a side who are only a year or so removed from coming up to the Premier League.

The left-back was a key part of Villa’s promotion from the Championship, playing 34 times in the competition, including playing all three games in the play-offs.

But given how things have panned out since then and how Targett is by far and away Smith’s first-choice in his position, Taylor just seems to be stealing a living at the moment.

Villa’s co-owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens will surely be fuming at the fact that a member of Smith’s first-team squad is picking up a sizeable wage packet for doing absolutely nothing so the club simply must wave goodbye to Taylor when his contract expires this summer.

Meanwhile, Villa should target this “fabulous” player who Lee Hendrie adores…

According to a report from The Sun, as relayed by City Xtra, Raheem Sterling will have to wait before putting the finishing touches on a new £320,000-per-week contract at the Etihad Stadium after holding initial talks – prompting plenty of Manchester City fans to discuss this development on Twitter.

Sterling, who was Man City’s top scorer in all competitions last season with 31 (Transfermarkt), hasn’t exactly shown that type of form over 2020/2021 despite still being their second highest goal-getter, bagging 13 by comparison so far this campaign (BBC).

Despite this drop-off, talks have been held over a bumper new deal which would take Sterling’s wages up to £320,000-per-week, but it appears that the club and Sterling have taken a back seat in discussions, according to The Sun.

Allegedly, negotiations are set to stall over this fresh contract, and Sterling will have to wait before putting pen to paper. Even though these talks have ceased for the time being, there is apparently no suggestion of a move away.

Flocking to this development, it’s safe to say that many City supporters have an opinion on the news, with there being no shortage of reactions on social media.

Read some of their verdicts down below.

These Man City fans flock to Sterling development

“Wow lol”

Credit: @Remysenpaii

“yessss”

Credit: @mcfcsamm

“YESSSS NEW CONTRACT”

Credit: @M7Zach

“No player should be paid this much for kicking the ball around including Messi and Ronaldo. This is madness.”

Credit: @faitcher82

“Should be sold”

Credit: @Noaokofficial

“Good. Sign the thing.”

Credit: @mcfcbyron

“Well deserved”

Credit: @YKMCFC

“320k Sterling is stealing a living”

Credit: @RyderMCFC

In other news: Some Man City fans begged for this ‘dream signing’, find out more here.

According to reports, Aston Villa are now interested in signing Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek this summer.

What’s the story?

The 25-year-old currently finds himself on loan at fellow Premier League side Fulham, and it now appears that he could be set for a permanent move away from Stamford Bridge.

TEAMtalk claim that Dean Smith’s side are among a number of clubs interested in signing him this summer, with Fulham and Crystal Palace also said to be in the hunt – this follows reports from John Percy last September about Villa’s interest in taking him on loan for the 2020/21 campaign.

The report from TEAMtalk added that, while Loftus-Cheek is keen to remain at Stamford Bridge, the Blues don’t see him as part of their long-term plans and “have already told interested parties that they would be open to a sale”.

Dean Smith could transform him

After bursting onto the scene as a highly-rated talent at Chelsea, it’s fair to say Loftus-Cheek hasn’t quite hit the heights expected of him, with injuries really stalling his career.

However, the Englishman still has the best years ahead of him at 25, and Smith may fancy his chances of rejuvenating the 6 foot 3 powerhouse and getting him to finally realise his potential.

After an impressive display against Everton earlier this year, Fulham manager Scott Parker was full of praise for the midfielder, saying: “I thought he was brilliant. Ruben came in and we’ve worked really hard together, in terms of the information I’m trying to give him and how he can have a big impact on the pitch.

“He came on and made a real difference. He looked every bit of a top, top player. He got the ball, was brave, scored a goal, got in the box, and was dynamic in between the lines.

“He’s got a real ability and he’ll be big for us this year. He needs to keep working on it and keep listening to what we’re saying. No doubt he’ll keep improving like we’ve seen today.”

Cesar Azpilicueta, his teammate at parent club Chelsea, is a big fan, claiming [via chelseafc.com] that the Englishman has “unbelievable strength”, adding: “He can push past defenders, get in the box, score goals, and he defends. He is a complete player.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-aston-villa-transfer-rumours-and-news-copy-copy” title=”Latest Aston Villa transfer rumours and news”]

The £18m-rated ace just needs to steer clear of injury, which he appears to be doing at Craven Cottage, having now already played 27 times in the Premier League this term.

It’s a gamble well worth taking for Smith and Aston Villa this summer.

Meanwhile, Villa could wave goodbye to this liability by signing this Championship star…

According to a report by Calciomercato, as also shared and translated by Sport Witness, West Ham United and David Moyes have rekindled their interest in Sevilla powerhouse Youssef En-Nesyri – but Serie A giants Juventus have now entered the fray and could provide signing competition.

West Ham eyeing En-Nesyri

As well as the Old Lady, ‘several’ Premier League clubs are now keen on En-Nesyri according to the Italian news outlet, coming after manager Moyes confirmed a bid to sign him in January (Claret & Hugh).

Indeed, West Ham were very publicly chasing the 6 foot 3 powerhouse and journalist David Ornstein of the Athletic revealed exactly why a move fell through for En-Nesyri.

He explained that GSB’s formal offer of €25 million plus €5 million in add-ons (£21.4m plus £4.2m) was not enough to convince Sevilla over a sale, but Calciomercato provide the latest and reveal that Moyes and West Ham still hold an interest and could return in the summer.

Transfer Tavern take

However, as Juventus now harbour intrigue, as well as ‘several’ Premier League sides, West Ham may now face a battle to sign En-Nesyri as the club continue to eye potential replacements for Sebastien Haller.

Spanish journalist Guillem Balague has made no secret of the player’s quality, calling him ‘excellent’ in an interview with Premier Sports, and that theory is supported by his noteworthy 20 goals in all competitions over 2020/2021 (Transfermarkt).

Time will tell whether the Irons will be able to snap up En-Nesyri after failed attempts in January, but it will certainly be an interesting development to watch at the end of the season.

In other news: West Ham fans flocked to this club announcement, find out more here.

Celtic returned to form in midweek by reminding supporters of their credentials.

Neil Lennon’s side battered Kilmarnock 4-0 but there was one disappointing aspect.

On the chalkboard

Ryan Christie had a vibrant opening 15 minutes against Killie but beyond that, his impact on the game was minimal. As has been the case in his last seven matches, he failed to provide a goal or register a single assist.

It has been a torrid time for the winger who since being linked with the likes of Arsenal and Leeds, has desperately dropped off in terms of his performances.

He has netted just once in his previous 19 outings and even Lennon is beginning to grow tired of his abject displays.

He started on the bench against both Hamilton and St Mirren but returned to the starting line-up on Tuesday night.

Though, Christie was poor once more and was described as “non-existent” by Frank McAvennie in the following days.

It’s hard to argue with that point either. He completed just a solitary key pass which in a 4-0 rout, is pretty underwhelming. The Scotland international failed to attempt a single dribble and completed only 77% of his passes.

McAvennie added: “He is such an amazing player but if somebody touches him he falls down. Just take a tackle, stay on your feet. It is not going to damage you.”

If anything summed up Christie, it would be that assessment.

On his day, he has a wand of a left foot. His goal in the Scottish Cup final can testify for that. Though, when he’s poor, there is little helping him. Christie’s form has dropped off meteorically and when the Bhoys play Motherwell on Saturday, he must be back on the bench.

The man to prosper from the £8k-per-week winger’s omission could be Mo Elyounoussi. The Norwegian was among the subs in midweek but simply has to come back into the fray.

After all, he is Celtic’s second top scorer this term on 13 goals. Elyounoussi has fewer assists than Christie but the latter has only created one goal for his teammates in his last ten appearances.

Lennon certainly has his favourites at Parkhead and Christie is one of them. However, if he wants to stay in the job, he must get ruthless with his team selection.

AND in other news, Celtic could fix a big problem by hiring manager who left Rodgers “really impressed”…

Many West Bromwich Albion fans have lavished praise on Okay Yokuslu following his Man of the Match performance against Brighton on Saturday.

The Baggies picked up a vital three points against the Seagulls as Kyle Bartley scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory. It was not a clash without controversy – Brighton missed two penalties and had a perfectly valid goal ruled out following a mishap from Lee Mason and VAR.

However, Sam Allardyce and co will not lose too much sleep, and the boss will have been delighted with the performance of Yokuslu. He was a rock in the middle of the park as he won all five of his duels and made four tackles (SofaScore) – the Midlands outfit will need plenty more showings like that from the Turkey international if they are to stay in the Premier League.

Yokuslu won West Brom’s Man of the Match vote, and the club shared the news on their official Twitter account. These supporters then took to the social media platform to share their delight with the 26-year-old, who one Baggies fan hailed as “pure class”.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Yokuslu below

“Amazing what having a recognised CDM can do for a side likely to be struggling at the wrong end of the table. Shame Super Slav got carried away with signing the flair players like Krovi and Diangana in the summer #wba”

Credit: @ianmurphy89

“Gonna kill me when he won’t resign for the championship”

Credit: @azza_leva3

“The best to do it”

Credit: @LouisTopham9

“Pure class this man is”

Credit: @deakiiin

“We need to bust the bank to keep this guy. Been missing a player of this style for ages. Not only an enforcer, but quality and calmness on the ball. I just hope he enjoys his time here enough to give us a season in the Championship.”

Credit: @WayneBa63372096

“He’s been great no way he signs for us in the championship. Enjoy him while we can.”

Credit: @jimmyhillish

In other news, many West Brom fans slam one player’s display against Brighton.

Despite making his return from injury a few weeks ago, it’s fair to say that Aston Villa winger Trezeguet hasn’t quite hit the ground running.

The Egypt international missed the entirety of December and most of January through injury, and made his comeback in a 2-0 victory over Newcastle.

Since then, however, he has yet to score a goal or provide even a single assist, and it raises some real questions about Dean Smith’s decision to bring him into the starting line-up for the past couple of games in the Premier League.

With Anwar El Ghazi fully fit now, there’s no excuses for Smith to move Trezeguet out and bring the Dutchman back into the team.

The £9m-rated Trezeguet ranks as the second-worst Villa player in the entire squad out of those who have started at least ten games this season, and that’s a damning indictment on just how little he has impressed – even centre-back Kortney Hause has managed to find the back of the net more than him.

Speaking earlier this season to Football Insider, Agbonlahor said about the £9m-rated ace: “I said it after the Brighton game on Twitter and Villa fans weren’t happy with my comment about him not being able to finish his dinner. In the Premier League, you get punished for not taking easy chances like that. If that ball fell to anyone else but Trezeguet, they would have scored.

“I just feel his all game is a bit erratic, he works hard but his final ball at times was poor. He makes the wrong decision a lot. As much as working hard is important in football, there has to be some quality there because otherwise, it’s going to cost you.”

While Trezeguet’s work-rate and endeavour off the ball is all well and good, his lack of quality when in possession is something Villa just can’t keep glossing over.

Smith simply has to drop him from the starting line-up against Tottenham tonight.

Meanwhile, Villa are making a big mistake over signing this midfielder…

Speaking to Sky Sports Italia, as translated by sempreinter.com, journalist and reliable source Gianluca Di Marzio has dropped an enticing Spurs transfer claim – going on to say that ‘something is happening’ in England with Christian Eriksen and that Tottenham Hotspur ‘would be keen’ to re-sign him on loan.

Eriksen has been heavily linked with a return to north London over this past week, with reports emerging that the Dane would also be open to a Spurs reunion following his unceremonious exit last January (Sky Sports).

Di Marzio drops Eriksen claim

Various sources have tipped the Lilywhites to be in with a chance of bringing the 28-year-old back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, including Fabrizio Romano, who claims that Eriksen ‘hopes’ to make a Premier League return with manager Jose Mourinho interested (Twitter).

Dropping his latest update, Di Marzio has now added fuel to the fire – going on to state that ‘something is happening’ with Spurs apparently ‘keen’ on his return.

“Something is happening in England at the moment and his [Eriksen’s] agent is in discussions with various clubs to build interest,” Di Marzio explained to Sky via sempreinter.com.

“This hasn’t resulted in any formal offers yet, but Tottenham would be keen to bring him back on loan, even if they are required to complete a purchase later on.”

Transfer Tavern take

Di Marzio seems to hint that Eriksen making a return to Spurs is a possibility, and with the playmaker keen on a switch back to England, who better to make his dream a reality than his former club?

It’s a potential transfer that could split hairs among supporters, and if Mourinho is gifted the second coming of Eriksen, it will be interesting to see where he could fit in the Portuguese’ new look Tottenham team.

In other news: Tottenham have re-joined the race for this £20 million gem, find out more here.

Glasgow Rangers sealed their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League with a thrilling 3-1 win over Standard Liege at Ibrox on Thursday night.

Standard Liege took the lead twice but Steven Gerrard’s side bounced back on both occasions before Scott Arfield fired home to secure the victory.

Connor Goldson and James Tavernier got themselves on the scoresheet with the club captain scoring his 15th goal of the season from the penalty spot.

Despite the result, several first-team regular starters were out of sorts, none more so than star striker Alfredo Morelos, who had been linked with an exit in the summer. Rangers value their talisman in the £20m region.

SofaScore graded the 24-year-old as one of the worst players on the pitch with a lowly 6.4 rating as only Kemar Roofe and Allan McGregor received lower ratings – the misfiring ace lost possession 14 times, only won three ground duels from nine attempts, took just one shot on target and made a pathetic 64% of his 22 passes.

Morelos only took 34 touches of the ball, which was even fewer than Ryan Kent managed, and wasn’t able to do an awful lot with it, as his end product was once again nowhere to be seen.

He received a similar rating from GlasgowLive, who claimed ‘he worked hard and tried his best but struggled in the first half in particular’, whilst The Daily Record were equally scathing in their assessment, saying he ‘got next to nothing out of the Liege defence and wasn’t bringing his mates into play either.”

Morelos, who earns wages worth £33,000-per-week, which makes him one of the club’s top earners, even failed to register a single key pass, so it’s no wonder he was replaced by Joe Aribo with Roofe moving into a more central role.

Not only was he erratic, but he was largely anonymous as well with Kent and Roofe completing at least one successful dribble attempt themselves.

There’s no doubt he should be nervously looking over his shoulder with Roofe and wily veteran Jermain Defoe both being in red-hot form in recent weeks and he could find himself on the chopping block before the trip to Ross County at the weekend.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must get James Tavernier to sign new deal amid links abroad…

Leeds United are currently in a bit of a crisis as injuries continue to rock the boat. As it stands, Marcelo Bielsa will be without Robin Koch, Diego Llorente and Liam Cooper when his side hosts Burnley on Sunday.

This season has also seen the likes of Jamie Shackleton pick up an injury along with Adam Forshaw, who is yet to make a Premier League appearance with the Whites. Whilst fitness issues continue to damage the team, Bielsa will also be frustrated that he has so few options to rely on during this troublesome time.

For example, loan signing turned permanent Leeds ace Helder Costa has seriously declined since the Yorkshire outfit returned to England’s top flight.

The former Wolves man was a driving force in the Whites’ Championship-winning season. He featured in all but three league fixtures and contributed four goals and six assists, as per Transfermarkt. However, this time round, he has struggled to make the cut as the likes of Raphinha and even Ian Poveda have gotten into the team above him.

Speaking to Football Insider, Kevin Phillips said that he believes that Bielsa could choose to axe the winger in January if he continues to go under the radar. Costa has made just ten senior appearances since he signed for Leeds permanently on a £70,000 per week contract.

So not only does he have a hefty wage packet, but he is not proving his worth during such an important season in the club’s history. The Whites have been out of the Premier League for 16 years and now that they have finally returned, Bielsa cannot afford to lug along any deadweight players.

If Costa is not producing the results expected of him, he could find himself on the chopping block once the transfer window opens, which is not a situation many can say that they pre-empted.

In other news, Orta must move for “real talent” Michael Olise to replace Forshaw…