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Having already brought in the likes of Phillipe Coutinho, Lucas Digne and Robin Olsen during the January transfer window, Aston Villa have not been shy when it comes to doing business in the market to help strengthen their squad.

With just over a week left until the window closes, it seems as though the Midlands club have their eye on making at least one more potential signing before the end of the month.

What’s the latest?

According to a recent post on The Athletic’s website by Brighton journalist Andy Naylor, Villa and “two other Premier League clubs are expressing an interest” in Seagulls midfielder Yves Bissouma.

Naylor then added that these clubs have been “sounding out Brighton’s conditions of a sale at this stage, rather than making any formal bids.”

With Villa manager Steven Gerrard recently revealing that there are currently a couple of potential transfers “bubbling” away at the Midlands club, and that he is keen to add to his squad this month, a possible move for Bissouma could be on the cards for Villa before the end of January.

Since joining Brighton in 2018 from Lille, Bissouma has gone on to make 111 appearances for Graham Potter’s side across all competitions, scoring four goals and providing two assists along the way, cementing himself as a crucial figure for the team.

Fans will be thrilled

After current Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba suffered a serious knee injury last month, securing an experienced Premier League midfielder such as Bissouma who can fill in for the Zimbabwean would surely delight Gerrard and many of the club’s fans.

In addition, the 25-year-old is listed as Brighton’s highest-rated player according to WhoScored, with an overall rating of 7.13/10 for his performances in the Premier League this season. That would also make him one of Villa’s highest-rated players, which suggests that he would not have too much of a problem fitting in with the rest of Gerrard’s squad.

Moving forward, as the end of the January transfer window draws closer, Villa will need to act quickly if they want to wrap up a deal for Bissouma this month, especially with Naylor claiming that two other Premier League clubs eyeing up a move for the Mali midfielder as well.

Nonetheless, the Villa Park faithful must be thrilled to hear that their club are in the mix for the in-demand African ace.

In other news: Gerrard eyeing swoop for £17k-p/w “goalscoring machine” who could be Villa’s next Tammy Abraham

Brighton and Hove Albion correspondent Aden-Jay Wood reckons that Dan Ashworth is likely to join Newcastle United as their new Director of Football (DoF). 

The lowdown

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported on Monday that the Seagulls had given Newcastle permission to speak to Ashworth about fulfilling the position.

Initial contact has been made, and formal talks are ‘likely to happen in due course’. It apparently isn’t the ‘style’ of the south coast club to deprive their employees of appealing opportunities when they arise.

Newcastle have previously been linked with former Chelsea and AS Monaco technical director Michael Emenalo. The Telegraph reported (via Sky Sports) that he had turned down The Magpies, although co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi insisted this was not the case.

The latest

Wood took to Twitter to provide the latest on Ashworth being linked with the DoF role at St James’ Park and is resigned to the 50-year-old departing Brighton.

He tweeted: “If Dan Ashworth goes (which I think he will), it will be a huge shame. Ashworth has almost singlehandedly changed Brighton’s approach both on and off the field and would be very, very difficult to replace.”

The verdict

Perhaps in an ideal world, Newcastle would have got their new DoF installed in time for the start of the January transfer window, but that appears very unlikely now.

They have at least managed to appoint Nick Hammond, the former Celtic and Reading director of football, in a temporary consultancy role. He may oversee signings designed to try and keep the Magpies in the Premier League, with Ashworth then taking the reins to guide them forward from thereon.

Ashworth did tell The Athletic in February 2020 that he hoped to be at the Amex Stadium for ‘many years to come’, but perhaps the Newcastle project would simply be too good to turn down given the sheer extent of wealth at their disposal.

In other news, Newcastle have offered this Brazilian beast a contract

Everton have already made their first signing of Ukrainian left-back, Vitaliy Mykolenko, on the opening day of the transfer window, and on the fourth day, it looks like they could be making their second on the opposite side of the defence line, as a new transfer update emerges.

What’s the word?

Transfer insider, Fabrizio Romano, has taken to his Twitter account this morning to give fans an update on the current situation on potential Toffees signing, Nathan Patterson.

He updated his 1.3 million Twitter followers on the progress:

“Nathan Patterson now prepared to undergo his medical tests as new Everton player. Personal terms fully agreed, just waiting for contract signing. Here we go confirmed. #EFC.”

Adding further information on the deal, Romano reports:

“Rangers will receive £12m plus bonuses for Patterson. Paperworks now – then official statement.”

Fans will be buzzing

The 20 year old right back has been making waves in the Scottish Premiership for Rangers, and impressed back in November when he scored his first goal and assisted Che Adams’ second for the Scotland national side against Moldova in a World Cup Qualifier that landed the nation a play-off place to compete for a spot at the Qatar World Cup at the end of this year.

Everton have been in extremely poor form, finding themselves 15th in the Premier League with three defeats and only one win in their last five games, registering five wins in total and picking up just 19 points over the season so far.

The defensive line has been the topic of conversation over the last few months for the Toffees as manager, Rafa Benitez was rumoured to have a fall out with Lucas Digne, resulting in a new left back signing and speculation of a move for the Frenchman, who hasn’t been seen in the side since the Merseyside Derby.

Seamus Coleman, who has completed retiring as his contract ends in under 18 months.

It seems the Patterson signing could confirm the intentions to phase out the 33-year-old who has been part of the Everton team this season that have conceded 32 goals and managed only three clean sheets so far.

We expect fans will be buzzing to see a fresh pair of legs added into the team that has a number of ageing players, especially in the right back position, where the need for a Coleman replacement has become rather desperate this term.

In other news: Speculation over Lucas Digne’s future mounting

Aston Villa players are enjoying the new management of Steven Gerrard and his backroom team at Villa Park.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Rio Ferdinand, with the former England international revealing in recent comments cited by Birmingham Live that the Aston Villa squad have been highly impressed with the training sessions and structure Gerrard and his team have put into practice at Bodymoor Heath since their arrival at the club earlier this month.

Speaking about Gerrard’s influence at Villa, Ferdinand said: “I’m hearing some really good, good vibes that are coming out of Villa, the way that they’re training. They’re super impressed with his coaching staff.

“The clarity with which they’re training, they’ve got a clear idea what they’re going to do. [They’re] enjoying the sessions and getting the results right now, so there’s some positive stuff right now.”

Fans will be delighted

Considering that, prior to Gerrard’s arrival, Villa were on a run of five consecutive Premier League defeats, the fact that the 41-year-old has secured back to back wins in his first two league fixtures would indeed appear to suggest that the Aston Villa squad are buying into the former Liverpool captain’s methods.

Indeed, there is one of Gerrard’s backroom staff who followed him from Ibrox to Villa Park, Michael Beale, who has a particularly impressive reputation on the training ground, with the Villa manager himself stating during his time at Rangers: “It would take me 15-20 years to become as good as Michael Beale as an on-pitch coach, delivering sessions on a daily basis, so I let Mick be Mick because he’s the expert.”

Furthermore, Danny Mills claimed that Gary McAllister, Gerrard’s assistant manager at both Rangers and Villa, is also an excellent figure to have around the club, with the former Leeds United defender stating:

“Villa fans should be delighted his whole backroom team is coming. Gary McAllister – part of that as well – he’s been there, seen it and done it at big clubs in the Premier League. There’s great experience coming with Steven Gerrard.”

And, considering Villa’s results on the pitch under the leadership of the 41-year-old, it would indeed seem as if Gerrard and his team deserve the substantial amount of praise being lavished upon them, with things very much looking on the up at Villa Park at present – something that will undoubtedly delight fans of the club.

In other news: “I’m sure”: Journo drops Jan update on 24 G/A “phenomenon”, Villa fans will be buzzing

Wolves could have a great chance to sign Dele Alli in January, with the midfielder allowed to leave Tottenham next month.

The Lowdown: Alli out of favour at Spurs

The 25-year-old has found himself on the periphery of things at Spurs this season, only managing six Premier League starts since August.

From being such a highly-rated young player with a seemingly huge future, Alli now finds himself at a point where his career could be deemed a failure if he doesn’t find a home where he can flourish.

It appears as though Antonio Conte sees no future for him at Spurs if a new report is to be believed, coming after Wolves were linked (Birmingham Mail) with the midfielder last week.

The Latest: Boost for buyers

According to The Telegraph, Alli is free to leave the north London club in the January transfer window, as he looks to ‘revive his career’ elsewhere.

Paul Merson has urged Wolves to make a move for him, and while Alli’s current Spurs deal doesn’t expire until 2024, the Lilywhites will not demand a huge fee for his services, given their intent to sell him.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375704”]

The Verdict: Don’t bother, Bruno

There was a time when the thought of Wolves signing Alli would have felt unfathomable, given his status as a future world-beater, having scored 18 Premier League goals back in 2016/17.

The situation is extremely different now, though, and the Englishman simply isn’t the player he was, with his hunger and influence diminishing hugely.

For that reason, Wolves would be wise to steer clear of a move, with Alli having the potential to be a flop, even though his natural ability is obvious.

It is a long time since he did anything of note, with just one league goal – ironically, it was a penalty against Wolves this season – coming his way since the end of the 2019/20 campaign.

In other news, Luke Hatfield has hinted at a Wolves deal happening. Read more here.

Everton saw out a 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in their latest Premier League game at Goodison Park at the weekend, placing them in 11th place in the league table with 15 points alongside Crystal Palace and Leicester City who also have 15 points on the board heading into the latest international break.

With a two week interval before the Toffees take on Manchester City away from home in their next league fixture, it seems as though Everton could be welcoming back one of their key players just in time to take on Pep Guardiola’s side, which we feel will leave a lot of fans buzzing.

What’s the news?

Speaking after the draw against Antonio Conte’s side, Everton manager Rafa Benitez revealed he is “optimistic” that defender Yerry Mina will be able to return to training in the next few days.

The Spaniard suggested that he is “very close” to a return to action after missing their last three Premier League matches because of a hamstring problem.

Not only will it be good to have Mina back available for selection against City, but it seems as though his return will be coming at the best time. Mason Holgate will be banned for the game against the Manchester club after he was red-carded in the late stages of the match against Tottenham so a replacement will evidently be required.

Since joining the Merseyside club from Barcelona back in the 2018 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £28.5m, the 27-year-old, who is currently valued at £18m according to Transfermarkt, has made 83 appearances for the Toffees across all competitions, chipping in with six goals in the process.

In the six Premier League games he’s played in for Everton so far this season, Mina has managed to rack up an average of four clearances per game, 1.5 interceptions per game and one tackle per game, highlighting just how much of a defensive unit he can be for the Toffees.

This also says to us that Mina could well be a vital figure for Everton when their match against City comes around. They have managed to score 22 goals so far this season in the league and have made more passes than any other top-flight team with 7095 made across 11 games.

With this in mind, if the defender does manage to get back to training in the next few days and use his time to fully recover and prepare himself for the City game, his presence will give Everton a great chance of securing a positive result against the reigning league champions. That’s something that will undoubtedly leave supporters delighted.

In other news: Forget Holgate: £90k-p/w Everton dud with fewer touches than Pickford let Rafa down – opinion

Taking into consideration how Liverpool wingers Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have contributed to 16 of the 31 Premier League goals Jurgen Klopp’s side have managed to score this season, it’s safe to say the duo have been critical for the team since the start of the campaign.

With this in mind, it’s also safe to assume that they will both be a big miss for the Reds when they take part in the upcoming AFCON tournament in January with their respective countries.

Looking ahead to January, it seems as though the club could have their eye on bringing in a new winger that could help the team continue their season without Mane and Salah for a period of time.

What’s the news?

It has recently been reported by 90min that Wolves are ready to sell Adama Traore in January with talks over a new deal at Molineux continuing to stall.

The report also claims that Liverpool and Barcelona are in the frame to make a swoop for the winger with the Merseyside club’s valuation of Traore being less than £30m, which Wolves don’t want to drop below.

Dream move for Klopp

Since joining Wolves back in the 2018 summer transfer window from Championship club Middlesbrough in a deal worth a reported fee of £18m, Traore has made a total of 143 appearances for the Midlands club across all competitions, scoring ten goals and providing 18 assists in the process.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-liverpool-news” title=”Check out the latest Liverpool news!”]

Despite only managing to score two goals and provide two assists in the Premier League last season, Traore, who is currently valued at £27m according to Transfermarkt, managed to end the campaign as Wolves’ joint-highest rated player with an overall season rating of 7.11/10 alongside Pedro Neto according to WhoScored, showing how capable he is of playing at a high level in the Premier League.

If Wolves are willing to sell their star winger, then FSG should be doing all they can to bring the Spaniard to Anfield. Klopp once described Traore as “undefendable” and thus, he could be his dream swoop, particularly with Mane and Salah set to spend some time away from the club over the winter.

Liverpool have already felt the benefits of raiding Wolves and they will have to hope Traore can have an instant attacking impact on the team in the same way his former teammate Diogo Jota did by scoring 13 goals in his first season at Liverpool.

In other news: FSG could land Klopp’s next Fabinho at LFC with move for “complete” £24.3m-rated beast – opinion

Graeme Jones’ first match in charge of Newcastle United ended in disappointment as their winless start to the Premier League season continued against Crystal Palace with a 1-1 draw.

Christian Benteke fired the hosts in front on 56 minutes before Callum Wilson rescued a draw shortly afterwards with a sensational overhead kick into the top corner. The Magpies remain 19th in the Premier League table and are three points off safety, whilst they are only two points ahead of bottom side Norwich.

One player in particular who let Jones down with his display against the Eagles was Allan Saint-Maximin.

The French winger, who is usually the bright spark for the Magpies, was disappointing throughout the game before being taken off for Joelinton in the second half. Saint-Maximin is used to being the star of the show with his tricky, brilliant performances and has so often been a game-changer for the club, but he was unable to showcase his best qualities in the first match after Steve Bruce’s dismissal.

In the eight games prior to today, he had produced two goals and three assists. This shows that he has the ability to provide quality in the final third, which is why he let Jones down this afternoon with his dreadful showing against Palace.

As per SofaScore, Saint-Maximin lost five of his nine duels, including five of his seven ground duels. He also failed to make a single tackle as he was dribbled past once, with zero clearances or blocks, whilst making just one interception for his team. This shows that he was a lightweight in his defensive duties, allowing Palace to get past him too easily.

On the ball, he was not his usual self either. As per SofaScore, he had a dribble success rate of 0% and only completed five of his 12 attempted passes (42%). The 24-year-old also failed to complete a single cross or long ball and lost possession a whopping 19 times from 31 touches.

Along with his lack of defensive nous, Saint-Maximin was unable to effectively use his dribbling skills to create chances for himself and others. Normally so lively in the final third, he was far from his best today and ended up letting Jones down at Selhurst Park.

AND in other news, Ba 2.0: PIF could land goalscoring sensation with NUFC swoop for “incredible” beast…

Leeds United star Kalvin Phillips is now attracting transfer interest from Liverpool as well as Manchester United.

What’s the story?

According to The Daily Star, United are keen on signing the England international after making a new holding midfielder a priority for next summer’s transfer window.

Despite the Red Devils’ interest, it’s also suggested that rivals Liverpool have entered the race too, with Jurgen Klopp’s side keeping tabs on his progress as they contemplate bolstering their own midfield options.

The report added: “It is understood Phillips is concerned about the impact joining Leeds’ hated rivals United could have on his family, who all still live in the city and would favour a move to Anfield should he decide to change clubs.”

Leeds fans would be devastated

It was only recently that The Athletic’s Phil Hay admitted that while a new contract could well be signed by Phillips, it wouldn’t stop the inevitable transfer interest currently surrounding the midfielder.

He said: “This is very much the right question with regards to Phillips. On one hand, a new deal will elevate his salary to the level an England international should be at. On the other, it hikes up his value to the highest possible level and there’s a lot of realism at Elland Road about Phillips’ trajectory. At this rate, it feels like a matter of time before someone bids big for him and in those circumstances, it’s not as simple as the club rejecting an offer.

“The situation would depend on whether Phillips wants to stay, how much the bid is worth and whether actually, a sale at the right time could work for everyone if the club know how they will reinvest. Leeds don’t want to lose him but they respect him enough not to want to hold him back either. He’s rapidly becoming Champions League material. But expect a new contract to be agreed before long.”

Aside from what he means to the club and the fan-base as a whole, Phillips has become one of the best central midfielders in the Premier League – last season, his 2.6 tackles per game ranked him in the top 15 players among the entire division, while his 1.6 interceptions per match were also good enough to make the top 20.

It was that form that saw him break into Gareth Southgate’s starting line-up for England and emerge as a key part of the midfield duo alongside Declan Rice that took the Three Lions all the way to the finals of the EUROs.

Hailed as “unbelievable” by Danny Murphy following his performances at Euro 2020 over the summer, the £36m-rated Phillips is a vital presence who Leeds simply cannot afford to sell.

Were Andrea Radrizzani to cash in on the midfielder, then Whites fans would surely be devastated.

Meanwhile, Adam Pope has dropped a promising Leeds United update…

Flocking to Twitter, many Queen’s Park Rangers fans have voiced their discontent with the “poor” performance of goalkeeper Seny Dieng as their side narrowly came back to beat Preston North End 3-2 on Saturday.

Mark Warburton’s men are currently sitting among the Championship high-flyers in sixth place after a solid start to the campaign and can now regroup amid the international break.

The Rs now face a long wait for their next encounter with arch-rivals Fulham – a match made even more interesting by their similar starts to 2021/22.

QPR managed to nick all three points against their Lancashire visitors on Saturday but it was by no means a smooth ride, with Lyndon Dykes’ opening goal then cancelled out by PNE’s Joshua Earl and Emil Riis.

At 2-1 down with 20 minutes remaining, Warburton’s side orchestrated a dramatic comeback, with Jimmy Dunne and Illias Chair scoring in quick succession.

After a scrappy but entertaining win, however, many supporters were left unimpressed with the performance of Dieng,who was among the lowest-rated QPR players on SofaScore.

He conceded two goals on the day and it appears fans are growing tired with his recent performances, with memories of his howler against West Brom still all too fresh.

Check out some of the fans’ verdicts on the 26-year-old below.

QPR fans shred Dieng…

“Letting Kelly and Lumley go has left Dieng with ZERO competition, mistakes week after week this season with no pressure with competition”

Credit: @L1ttlejonboy

“I feel like Dieng needed to be more aggressive on that Preston goal”

Credit: @N_G1017

“Was that Dieng at his near post again”

Credit: @Dan15Jeffries

“Dieng is a shell of himself compared to last season tbh. Still think he’s good but he’s made too many mistakes so early in the season”

Credit: @ChairSZN

“Players that were vital to our success last season just seem like completely different players this season. Johansen, Austin, Dieng all been so poor this season and I can’t for the life of me work out why. It’s worrying when Ball has been one our best players all season.”

Credit: @QPR_Kian

“What has happened to Dieng this year”

Credit: @FlamingTowers

“It’s time to go Dieng.”

Credit: @jordthomasqpr