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Aston Villa are interested in signing Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

Reports over the course of the summer suggested that Dean Smith’s side were very much interested in Nketiah’s teammate Emile Smith Rowe, with Villa even putting in a couple of bids for the young playmaker.

While a deal failed to materialise for Smith Rowe, it appears that Villa are going back to the Emirates Stadium for another talented English starlet, with journalist Ekrem Konur claiming that the Midlands club are among the clubs who are keen on landing Nketiah.

He claimed that Villa and fellow Premier League clubs Brentford and Leeds United are in the queue to sign the forward, with the 22-year-old keen to leave Arsenal to get first-team football.

Could complete Dean Smith’s attack

Having signed Danny Ings from Southampton in the summer transfer window, Villa bolstered Smith’s attacking options with one of the Premier League’s most proven strikers – the England international has bagged 57 goals in 146 games in the division.

However, having let Wesley go out on loan to get some football under his belt, and with Keinan Davis ruled out through injury, it’s Villa starlet Cameron Archer who has played the role Smith’s backup striker.

While Archer has done superbly well thus far, it’s an almighty ask of a teenager to play at this level on a consistent basis if Watkins or Ings were to get injured – especially with Villa’s new two-striker setup.

In Nketiah, Villa would be getting someone who is also young, but with plenty more first-team experience, and the kind of poaching instincts off the bench from which they could benefit greatly.

Noel Whelan has previously raved about Nketiah and his style of play, saying: “He reminds me of another Jermaine Defoe and look at how well he did at West Ham. He’s very much that similar sort of player. He plays off the shoulder, very dangerous in the box. He’s a player you can’t take your eyes off because his movement’s so good.”

Adding Nketiah to the mix along with Watkins, Ings and Archer would surely complete a dream attack for Smith.

Meanwhile, Gregg Evans has dropped an Aston Villa transfer update…

Crystal Palace could be set for a surprise injury boost over the coming weeks after star midfielder Eberechi Eze posted a video of himself back in training online.

What’s the word?

The 23-year-old playmaker joined the Eagles in a £20m move from Queens Park Rangers in the summer of 2020 and quickly established himself as a pivotal cog in the capital club’s setup.

However, he ruptured his Achilles tendon during training back in May and has spent the subsequent months on the treatment table recovering from the serious setback.

Eze’s injury was initially thought to rule him out of action until the turn of the year, and while new manager Patrick Vieira has not put a date on the youngster’s return to first-team action yet, this latest development is a positive sign.

On Tuesday evening, the former England U21 international posted a video of himself training with a ball at the club’s Copers Cope base in Bromley alongside a sand timer emoji.

Eze can be seen doing some light sprints between cones before making some passes with one of his coaches afterwards in the video, giving hope that a return to action is just around the corner.

Vieira will be delighted

The apparent progress that Eze is making on his road to recovery will undoubtedly have Vieira feeling delighted, given the importance of the creative talent to Palace.

Last season, no Eagles player bettered or matched his tally of six Premier League assists and he also produced the most key passes and dribbles, with average totals of 1.3 and 1.9 per league game respectively, as per WhoScored.

Unfortunately for Eze, his injury came just before England were due to announce their provisional squad for Euro 2020 in the summer. And to add to his pain, he later found out that his name was on Gareth Southgate’s provisional 33-man list for the tournament.

The attack-minded midfielder will be hoping to get back to full fitness as soon as possible now, though, and add even more excitement to Palace’s new era under Vieira.

They have started vibrantly under the Frenchman so they will surely become even better if they add one of their starts from 2020/21 to the side.

And, in other news…Vieira can solve CPFC issue by unleashing rarely-seen 19y/o with “remarkable maturity” 

With Dean Smith’s Aston Villa side heading into Saturday’s Premier League clash in a decent run of form, having picked up six points over their last four fixtures against challenging opposition, the 50-year-old would have been confident of another positive result in the West Midlands derby against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

However, after taking a 2-0 lead in the second half of the fixture, Villa subsequently collapsed in the final ten minutes, as three late goals saw Wolves leave Villa Park with a highly unlikely three points.

Although, despite the result, a number of Smith’s side actually turned in rather impressive displays in the match, none more so than John McGinn – whose performance did not deserve to come for the losing side in the clash.

Four key passes

Indeed, over his 90 minutes on the pitch, the central midfielder was incredibly influential for his team, ending the game with both a goal and an assist to his name.

Furthermore, the Scotland international also made four key passes, created one big chance for his teammates, attempted seven crosses, six long balls and completed three dribbles.

The £27m-rated man also won eight of his 13 duels, made one interception, four tackles and took two shots at the Wolves goal, as well as winning one free-kick for his side.

These returns saw the 26-year-old who Gregg Evans dubbed a “brilliant” player earn a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 8.9, with no player from either side receiving a better score than McGinn on the day.

As such, despite the result, Smith will undoubtedly be hugely encouraged by the Scot’s performance against Wolves, who, unfortunately, was let down by his teammates on Saturday.

However, should the £25k-per-week midfielder be able to maintain this level of performance going forwards, more often than not, he will help to secure Villa a great many victories this season.

In other news: “Outstanding” Aston Villa gem who won just one duel failed Smith in derby collapse

The international break has come and gone, and the Champions League is coming back to our screens this week. The competition has already given us some amazing games, exceptional individual performances and plenty of shock results for us to enjoy, and matchday three promises to be no different. The slate for the third round of fixtures has got some mouth-watering ties to place a bet on, which you can find a new gambling offer on using GamblingDeals.com.

What’s happened so far?

The biggest talking point of the competition so far has to be Moldovan club FC Sheriff Tiraspol picking up two wins from their first two games. Their 2-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in matchday one was certainly surprising, but their matchday two 2-1 victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu will go down as one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history. Luxembourgish midfielder Sebastien Thill’s long-range screamer in the 89th minute to seal the victory is undoubtedly one of the greatest moments to ever happen in the Champions League, and fans of an underdog story will be hoping this miracle run can continue.

Barcelona’s shocking fall from grace has been talked about all across Europe for months. Not only do Ronald Koeman’s men find themselves in ninth place in La Liga, in over £1 billion of debt and without Lionel Messi, they are also in last place in their Champions League group. They were absolutely outclassed in the 3-0 loss in the opening fixture to Bayern Munich and then beaten by the same scoreline by Benfica in gameweek two. This is the first time Barcelona have lost their opening two fixtures of a UEFA European competition since the 1972-73 UEFA Cup – highlighting quite how far they’ve fallen this year.

Juventus’ struggles in Serie A this year have been well documented, as the Turin-based side find themselves in seventh place in the league. However, their European campaign has got off to a far better start. They backed up their matchday one 3-0 win over Malmo with a great 1-0 victory over last year’s champions of Europe, Chelsea. Juventus are still getting used to life without Cristiano Ronaldo, but if they can keep producing performances like the win against the Blues, they will be a tough team to beat this year.

What’s in store for matchday three?

The tie of the round is between Spanish champions Atletico Madrid and Liverpool. Liverpool came from 2-1 behind to beat Milan at Anfield thanks to captain Jordan Henderson’s winner in the 69th minute in the opening round of fixtures, and backed that up with a brilliant display at Porto, beating the Portuguese side 5-1 with braces from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane. Atleti started their campaign with a disappointing 0-0 draw with Porto, and scraped past 10 men Milan in matchday two, winning 2-1 thanks to an 84th minute goal by Antione Griezmann and a Luis Suarez penalty in the seventh minute of injury time. Atleti will likely be without both their starting central defenders Jose Maria Gimenez and Stefan Savic, which will make the task of shackling the free-scoring Liverpool attack even harder. Atletico fans will remember the last time they played Liverpool fondly, as they knocked Liverpool out of the 2019-20 Champions League with a famous 3-2 victory after extra time, where Marcos Llorente scored a famous double to defeat the reds. Both teams have got off to good starts domestically, and this promises to be a fascinating matchup.

Fans across the globe are still getting used to seeing Lionel Messi in a PSG shirt. It was just a matter of time until he made his mark on the Champions League for his new team, and did it in style with a textbook left-footed finish from the edge of the box to seal victory against Manchester City. The French side face RB Leipzig in matchday three and all eyes will be on the Argentine genius once again. These sides are fairly well acquainted with each other, as this game is a rematch of the 2019-20 semi-finals, which PSG won 3-0 and these sides faced each other in the group stage last year, where Leipzig won 2-1 at home, and Paris won 1-0 in the return fixture. Despite Leipzig’s strong European pedigree in recent years, they’ve struggled somewhat this year in the post Julian Nagelsmann era. They find themselves in eighth in the Bundesliga and are bottom of their champions league group after a 6-3 drubbing at the hands of Manchester City in their first game and a surprising 2-1 defeat to Club Brugge in matchday two. If they have any hope of qualifying, they will need a result in their third game.

Club Brugge have been a real surprise package in this year’s tournament, having drawn 1-1 with PSG in their first game before beating Leipzig. Expected by many to be the whipping boys of Group A, their four points from their opening two games has given them a real platform. It doesn’t get any easier for them in matchday three however, as they face English champions and last year’s runners up Manchester City. City will be hoping to bounce back from their loss to PSG last time around, but the Belgian side will be no pushovers.

Elsewhere, FC Sheriff Tiraspol will want to continue their miraculous run in the tournament so far as they face Inter Milan at San Siro. A win here would give them nine points from their opening three games and give them a real chance of qualifying for the knockouts – something no one expected before the tournament. Inter will need to play spoiler, as they are five points behind Sheriff in the group after losing to Real Madrid in week one and drawing 0-0 with Shakhtar Donetsk in the second game. Should they fail to get victory this week, the Italian champions could be in real trouble.

Matchday three is often where groups start to take shape, and we’ll start to have a better idea of who is best placed to qualify after this set of fixtures. As always, it promises to be an enthralling week of football, as the world’s best players take centre stage in Europe’s premier club competition.

After getting knocked out of the Carabao Cup in midweek against Chelsea, Southampton turn their attention back to the Premier League this weekend with an away clash against Watford on the horizon.

With just one win, five draws and three defeats under their belt with nine games played, Southampton are currently sat in 16th place in the Premier League table with eight points, whereas Watford are in 14th place with two more points than the Saints, setting things up for a big game at Vicarage Road on Saturday.

On the chalkboard

Looking ahead to the match, one Saints player that featured against Chelsea that we feel shouldn’t be in the starting XI to face Watford at the weekend is Kyle Walker-Peters.

Walker-Peters, who started and played the full 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge, managed to misplace seven of the 23 passes he attempted, made no key passes, failed to accurately complete any of the four crosses he attempted, failed to accurately complete any of the two long balls he attempted, won just seven out of the 17 duels he was involved in and failed to make even one tackle, ultimately earning himself a rather uninspiring overall match rating of 6.4/10, making him one of Southampton’s lowest-rated player on the day according to SofaScore.

This shows that he very much struggled to have any sort of impact in the game against Thomas Tuchel’s side, either from an attacking or defensive sense.

So far this season, Walker-Peters has made just seven appearances for the Saints across all competitions.

Southampton originally signed Walker-Peters on a loan deal back in the 2020 January transfer window from fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur before securing him on a permanent deal in the following summer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £12m.

Since then, the 24-year-old, who is currently valued at £16.2m according to Transfermarkt and has been described as “very professional” by Hasenhuttl, has gone on to make 52 appearances for the south-coast club across all competitions in which he has managed to score one goal and provide four assists in the process.

Moving forward, we feel that Walker-Peters should not be in the starting XI at the weekend to face Watford, whether it be in the left-back position where he’s played in the five Premier League appearances he’s made so far this season, or on the right-hand side where he featured against Chelsea.

In other news: 6 duels won, 3 interceptions: £23k-p/w Saints beast a shining light for Ralph vs CFC – opinion

Leeds United defender Robin Koch has provided a positive update on his injury recovery, confirming that his return will hopefully arrive ‘as soon as possible’.

The Lowdown: Koch missing for months

The 25-year-old has made just one appearance this season, having been injured in the opening Premier League game away to Manchester United in August.

It means Koch has now been absent for more than two months with a hip issue and he underwent surgery on the problem in Philadelphia last week.

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The Latest: Defender provides update

Taking to Twitter on Saturday night, following Leeds’ 1-1 draw at home to Wolves, the centre-back gave a promising update on his road back into the first team.

Kock tweeted: “Last week I underwent minor surgery in Philadelphia to correct problems with my hip. I have already started rehabilitation training here and I am giving everything every day to be able to get back on the pitch as soon as possible and help my teammates.”

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The Verdict: Big boost for Leeds

While Koch may not necessarily be a guaranteed starter for the Whites, having him back in the fold in the coming weeks will act as a big boost.

Marcelo Bielsa is without a number of important figures from last season and it is showing on the pitch in Leeds’ ailing results, with Koch very much one of those.

His return will allow Bielsa to rotate the squad more and give the manager more options, both in defence and midfield, having been hailed as ‘magnificent’ by Noel Whelan in the past.

In other news, three Leeds players disappointed in the 1-1 draw with Wolves – find out who they are here.

Celtic reporter Kieran Devlin has shared who was behind the signings of Hoops trio Jota, Josip Juranovic and Kyogo Furuhashi over the summer.

The Lowdown: Successful starts…

Celtic made 12 signings over the summer, with some more successful than others so far.

The likes of Osaze Urhoghide and Liam Shaw are yet to feature and are reportedly fighting for their Parkhead futures, whereas the likes of Jota, Juranovic and Furuhashi have impressed.

Jota, who joined on deadline day, has contributed to eight goals in 12 appearances. Juranovic, who cost £2.7m, has shown his versatility by filling in for Greg Taylor at left-back, while Furuhashi has been the star acquisition with 12 goal contributions in 16 games.

And Devlin has now shared who specifically from Parkhead was behind each respective deal ahead of the club’s clash with Ferencvaros on Thursday.

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The Latest: Devlin’s claim

Devlin shared a story on The Athletic on Wednesday, looking at where the Hoops could add to in the January window.

One supporter replied, saying whoever was behind the deals for Furuhashi, Jota and Juranovic should be able to do what they want in the New Year.

This is what Devlin had to say in response, sharing details of who was behind each transfer.

“First one was obviously Postecoglou, second two were largely scouting department but Postecoglou really wanted Juranovic too in particular I’m led to believe.”

The Verdict: Ange to strike again?

It’s good to see that the scouting department weighed in with moves for Juranovic and Jota, even though the club still remains without a director of football or head of recruitment.

Furuhashi meanwhile has enjoyed a brilliant start to life in Scotland, and Postecoglou will surely be granted the chance in January to bring more J1 League talent to Celtic Park given how that signing has panned out.

The likes of Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate have been linked with winter window moves, and if the pair make the switch over the coming months and have half the impact Furuhashi has made in the second half of the season, then you’d expect they would be shrewd signings and would only help Celtic in their quest for Scottish Premiership glory.

In other news: ‘Postecoglou will be gutted’ – BBC Radio 5 Live man reacts to ‘disappointing’ Celtic injury news. 

Aston Villa have confirmed the arrivals of a number of Steve Gerrard’s new backroom staff at Villa Park.

What’s the latest?

In a short statement on their official website, the club confirmed the arrivals of Gary McAllister and Michael Beale as assistant head coaches, Tom Culshaw as technical coach, Scott Mason as lead analyst and Jordan Milsom as head of fitness and conditioning.

During a recent interview with Football Insider, Danny Mills stated his belief that, in anticipation of both McAllister and Beale making the move to Villa Park, the duo will be vital to Gerrard becoming a success with the Premier League club.

Speaking about the appointments, the former England right-back said: “I think it’s vitally important, and Villa fans should be delighted his whole backroom team is coming. Michael Beale is a fantastic coach with a great reputation. 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.”

Fans will be over the moon

Considering the impressive reputations that both McAllister and Beale bring with them to Villa Park, the news that the club have officially appointed the duo as Gerrard’s assistants is sure to have left fans over the moon with excitement.

Indeed, Beale is credited with being the former Liverpool captain’s main man on the training ground, putting the 41-year-old’s ideas into practice, as well as offering Gerrard tactical advice on a matchday by spending the first half of matches up in the stands – in order to gain a clearer picture of the way a game is panning out – before relaying his findings to the manager at half-time.

Furthermore, Beale has received high praise from many players he has coached in his career, perhaps none more so than from former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday, who stated his belief that the 41-year-old was “probably the best coach I’ve worked under.”

Meanwhile, McAllister’s appointment brings with it a considerable amount of experience in professional management, with the 56-year-old having taken charge of both Coventry City and Leeds United. Gerrard will undoubtedly seek to draw upon that experience during his time at Villa.

As such, the news that McAllister and Beale have indeed followed the 41-year-old from Ibrox is undoubtedly a big positive for Villa, whose new era under Gerrard & co begins with a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion next weekend.

In other news: Lange must seal Villa swoop for £20k-p/w gem who loves “breaking the rules”

Manchester United have finally sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, following an embarrassing defeat 4-1 to Watford on Saturday afternoon.

The speculation around Solskjaer and his managerial position has been the hottest topic in football for months, and now the Glazers have pulled the plug on the Norwegian.

In a short and sweet statement, Manchester United tweeted;

“Manchester United can confirm that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has left his role as Manager.”

“Thank you for everything, Ole.”

The manager job at Manchester United has been talked about endlessly over the last few weeks, with several high profile names attached to the role at Old Trafford.

Brendan Rodgers, Erik Ten Hag, Luis Enrique and Zinedine Zidane are just a few of the names that have been dropped on social media and by journalists over the last month or so, but there is still no confirmation on who will take over to manage the team Solskjaer has assembled.

One manager that has gone under the radar for the job is Sevilla manager, Julen Lopetegui, another name touted with the vacancy.

The Spanish manager has an impressive CV so far, managing Porto, Spain, Real Madrid and now managing Sevilla.

Lopetegui is most famously remembered for being sacked as Spain manager on the eve of the World Cup in 2018, after accepting an offer to manage Real Madrid.

Since the controversy at Spain and a terrible run that led to his dismissal at Real Madrid, the 55-year-old manager has been rebuilding his reputation at Sevilla, finishing fourth in the Champions League in his first season and winning the Europa League in 2020.

An exciting review from Sevilla president Jose Castro explains why his smart thinking could be perfect for United:

“When we signed him, we were convinced he was the ideal coach for us. He has brought new ideas and theories, but above all, he is a very serious and hard-working guy. He is very methodical and studies very well for each game,” he said.

“Without a doubt, the players take strength from that. We hope to see that again in the ‘derbi’, such intensity in our team.”

The experienced coach has broken records at the club with a 62% win rate across his career, while his percentage at the Spanish club is the highest win percentage in the history of Sevilla FC, so he clearly has a winning mentality that he has instilled into his team and their performances.

Winning games is something Manchester United really need to start doing to stay in a conversation for the top four in the Premier League so he could be the man to dig the Glazers out of their managerial torment at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils currently have only five wins after twelve games, sitting seventh in the table and six points off fourth place West Ham. Thus, the sacking of Solskjaer has come at a time where Manchester United need to get a winning run of form going.

Manchester United will take on Villareal on Tuesday in the Champions League, with Darren Fletcher or Michael Carrick likely to lead the team out away from home, they will need to secure a win to qualify for the round of 16.

In other news: Harry Maguire was awful against Watford

Crystal Palace will be hoping to maintain their seven-game unbeaten run when they welcome Aston Villa to Selhurst Park for their Premier League encounter over the weekend.

Patrick Vieira’s charges have begun the season in fine form, losing just two of their opening 12 top-flight fixtures, while securing famous victories over Tottenham Hotspur and reigning champions Manchester City.

Another tough test awaits them on Saturday, though, with the Midlands outfit already looking revitalised following the arrival of Steven Gerrard.

There’s one player in particular of whom the Eagles will be extremely wary. Danny Ings has bagged a highly respectable five goals in his last 10 appearances against the south London outfit, proving to be a constant menace when he comes up against them.

The former England international is yet to face Palace for his new club and will be motivated to carry on his good form against them in the claret and blue of Villa.

After a stellar three years at former club Southampton, Ings joined the Midlands outfit over the summer, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal worth a reported £120,000-per-week.

His outstanding displays on the south coast caught the eye of talkSPORT pundit Clinton Morrison, who lauded the striker for his consistent performances, claiming he has the quality to play for a Champions League-level club.

He said: “Yes, I would say Danny Ings is top-four quality, most definitely. The season he’s had at Southampton, if you put him in one of the teams at the top four, he’d easily score goals like that.”

Morrison added that Ings reminded him of a star he used to play alongside and praised the intelligent forwards movement.

“I used to play with a striker who used to play like Danny Ings – Robbie Keane,” he revealed. “I look at the way Ings plays at the moment, his movement is first class and I used to say to Robbie Keane, how do you get in behind defenders when you’re not rapid? His movement was first class and Danny Ings is like that.”

After carrying his good form from St Mary’s to Villa Park, Ings will be full of confidence when he comes up against Palace once again, so Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi and co. will need to be on top of their game to keep him at bay.

In other news… Palace set for big boost on “phenomenal” £55k-p/w maestro, Palace fans will be elated