Aston Villa: Fans buzz at Axel Tuanzebe enquiry

Aston Villa have enquired over a loan deal for Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe, according to Express & Star reporter Matt Maher.

A number of Villa supporters have been sharing their positive thoughts on the transfer update on social media.

According to Maher, Villa have registered their interest ahead of a possible third Midlands loan spell.

Tuanzebe has already made 35 appearances for Villa, two shy of his total at Old Trafford, however, concerns over playing time could reportedly be an obstacle when it comes to a potential Villa Park return.

The 23-year-old is set to depart United after the Red Devils signed Raphael Varane from Real Madrid.

Newcastle also want to sign the versatile defender, but it seems as if Villa have taken the first steps to secure  Tuanzebe’s services.

Villa fans react

@villareport shared Maher’s Tuanzebe enquiry claim on Twitter on Thursday evening.

These Villa fans all seemed to be for a move, with one believing a possible loan to buy deal would be ‘unreal’, should the club manage to negotiate one.

“Some good news today”Credit: @Reaganavfc”Here we go”Credit: @TattedBeardNerd”Loan to buy would be unreal as another option at CB”Credit: @GW_94″YEEEEEEES”Credit: @tom_avfc1″Finally some good news”Credit: @joeycanton”AXELLLLLLLL”Credit: @VillaVisionBen

In other news: ‘Noooooooo’, ‘Waste’ – Many AVFC fans react as ‘strange’ transfer news emerges.

Liverpool set to offer Salah a new deal

Liverpool could be set to witness the incredible skills of Mohamed Salah at Anfield for many years to come after an exciting update regarding his future was revealed.

What’s the story?

The Eygpt international has long been linked with a potential move away from Liverpool, but the Reds are now reportedly set to offer him an astronomical new contract to keep him at the club.

As per an exciting update from Liverpool ECHO reporter Paul Gorst, the Merseyside outfit are very keen to extend Salah’s current deal, which expires in the summer of 2023, following his several incredible seasons on English shores.

Gorst’s report states: “The club are eager to reward his 31-goal showing last term with an improved deal that will make him the highest-paid player in the club’s history.”

Fans will be absolutely buzzing

News that the Liverpool hierarchy are set to offer Salah lucrative fresh terms over the coming weeks will surely have the club’s supporters absolutely buzzing.

The 29-year-old has been one of the Reds’ standout performers since his arrival back in 2017, scoring an incredible 125 goals in 203 appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s charges.

Despite some accusations of him being selfish on occasion, Salah has also provided 47 assists for his teammates during his Liverpool career, playing a pivotal part in both their Champions League and Premier League triumphs in recent years.

However, he’s arguably never been as important to 19-time English champions as he is at this moment in time.

While the other members of Liverpool famed front three – Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino – suffered their own losses of form throughout 2020/21, Salah continued to put the ball in the back of the net with alarming regularity.

His 31 strikes in all competitions, 22 in the Premier League, helped to drag an underwhelming Liverpool side to third place in the top-flight standings last term, a finish which looked beyond them for large periods of the campaign.

It remains to be seen whether Salah puts pen to paper on a new contract or seeks pastures new, but the fanbase will be delighted by the club’s plans to reward their attacking talisman for his magnificent efforts.

They’ll now be hoping he agrees to stay at the club and hopefully, lead them to even more silverware in the future.

And, in other news…Imagine him and Salah: Edwards must sanction LFC move for “intelligent” £42.7m gem 

Gers make Osayi-Samuel bid

According to Turkish journalist Talha Arslan, Glasgow Rangers have made a formal bid for Fenerbahce winger Bright Osayi-Samuel.

The Lowdown: Poor season start for Gers

After a magnificent campaign that saw the Gers win the Premiership for the first time in ten years last time out, the Ibrox outfit have been brought back down to earth with a bang.

A 3-0 opening day victory against Livingston was followed by a 2-1 defeat to Malmo in the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round and a 1-0 loss to Dundee United in the Premiership.

Judging by the latest developments, Steven Gerrard, Ross Wilson and co are not resting on their laurels, perhaps spurred into transfer action by those setbacks.

The Latest: Gers make Osayi-Samuel bid

As per Arslan, a trusted reported in Turkey, the 55-time Scottish champions have made an offer for former Queens Park Rangers winger Osayi-Samuel.

It was not established exactly how much that offer was said to be, but the journalist revealed “Glasgow Rangers begin formal bid” two months after first reporting serious interest in the winger from both sides of Glasgow.

The Verdict: Interesting move

Previously called “outstanding” by Mark Warburton (kilburntimes.co.uk), £3.06m-valued Osayi-Samuel has not had the best of times in the Super Liga.

In 19 games in all competitions last time out, he managed just one goal and one assist (Transfermarkt), and 19-time Turkish champions Fener are believed to be open to selling him (Fanatik).

The 23-year-old impressed at QPR, though, scoring five and providing nine assists in the Championship during the 2019/20 campaign. Not only that, he would fill up an important hole for Steven Gerrard – the boss likes to play in a 4-3-3 formation but lacks a natural right winger. This could be an inspired move from Wilson.

In other news, Rangers receive an injury blow.

Ball: Pep Guardiola would bring Harry Kane’s game on

Former Manchester City player Michael Ball believes that manager Pep Guardiola could improve Harry Kane. 

The Tottenham striker has been linked with a summer move to the Etihad Stadium, with journalist Fabrizio Romano reporting that Spurs turned down a £100m bid earlier in the summer, insisting they want to keep Kane at the club.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola told the media [via Simon Stone] that: “He is a Tottenham player. If Tottenham don’t want to negotiate, it is finished. If they want to negotiate, many clubs would like to sign him, we are not an exception. We are very interested in him.”

Harry Kane published a statement on his own Twitter account on Friday, explaining that he will be returning to Tottenham on Saturday as planned and that he hasn’t refused to train, and never would.

But with the speculation linking him to Manchester City, Ball believes Pep Guardiola could improve the striker, exclusively telling the Transfer Tavern: “Harry Kane, you’d love to see him at Manchester City teaming up with De Bruyne and the other guys, I think Pep would bring Harry Kane’s game on as well, like he did with Aguero.”

Kane has been an unbelievable player for Tottenham, scoring three occasions, finishing with 25 goals in the 2015/2016 season, 29 goals in 2016/2017 and 23 goals last term.

The Cityzens have already strengthened their star-studded squad ahead of 2021/2022, completeing the signing of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £100m, but Pep Guardiola’s very public admission that he is indeed interested in Kane’s services suggests he may be prepared to cheque book out again before the transfer window closes.

Hatfield reveals how West Brom plan to spend Pereira cash

Midlands journalist Luke Hatfield insists that West Bromwich Albion are most likely to spend the money received from selling Matheus Pereira on a striker this summer.

The Baggies have seen the Brazilian move to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, although the fee has remained undisclosed.

Hatfield claims that the Championship club did want to receive £25m, although he doubts such a figure was met by Al Hilal.

Nevertheless, he expects the club to chase a new centre-forward before the end of the transfer window as the club plot an immediate return to the Premier League after their relegation last term.

West Brom currently have three options up front, in Callum Robinson, Kenneth Zohore, and Karlan Grant, and Hatfield has revealed that the Baggies have identified a new striker as a key potential acquisition.

He said: “I’m still unsure of the actual fee but I don’t think it’ll be at the level of the £25 million that they would have wanted for Pereira.

“Ultimately, if he’s making the noises that he is, rocking the boat a little bit, maybe Albion considered, ‘maybe we should get rid of him and get the money we can and then we can reinvest that in a striker’, which is a position they really want to fill.”

West Brom have already kicked off their Championship season, drawing 2-2 with AFC Bournemouth on Friday evening.

PSG prepare contract offer for Paul Pogba

A potentially worrying update has emerged regarding the future of Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.

What’s the story?

The France international has been heavily linked with a move to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain throughout the summer after entering the final year of his contract with United.

However, the shock arrival of six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi at the Parc des Princes meant that PSG were no longer able to finance a move for Pogba in the current transfer window.

Now, according to The Independent’s chief football writer Miguel Delaney, the Ligue 1 club are willing to pay Pogba a whopping €600,000 (£510,000) per week for the start of the 2022/23 season as they attempt to lure him away from his boyhood club. As it stands, the 28-year-old will be available on a free transfer at the end of the current season, and his preference is to leave Manchester.

Solskjaer will be absolutely fuming

Pogba came through the ranks at United after arriving in Manchester from Le Havre in 2009 but only made a handful of substitute appearances before departing for Juventus in 2012. After winning four Serie A titles and two Italian Cups during a four-year stint in Turin, the 6 foot 2 maestro returned to English shores in a then world-record £89m deal in 2016.

The Frenchman was expected to propel the Red Devils back to their former glory and inspire them to multiple major trophies, but things haven’t quite gone as planned. In 207 appearances for the Old Trafford outfit, Pogba has bagged 38 goals and laid on a further 46 assists for his teammates, winning the Europa League and EFL Cup along the way.

He has often been criticised for a lack of consistency and an apparent poor work ethic when on the pitch, although in truth United have hardly provided him with an environment built for success.

The Jose Mourinho era was a tough spell for players and fans alike, and the subsequent transitional period under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was just about undoing the damage that the controversial Portuguese coach had caused.

However, there’s now a very different feel about the 20-time English champions. Under their Norwegian, they’ve recorded consecutive top-four finishes in the Premier League for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

The additions of Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane this summer could catapult United back into title contention for the first time since their legendary Scottish manager moved to the boardroom.

Pogba is also currently in the best form of his United career and has been produced top-class performances since last December. An incredible four assists on the opening day of the campaign against Leeds United over the weekend showcased his importance to the Red Devils.

Therefore, the possibility of losing him next summer will surely leave Solskjaer absolutely fuming. With the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea continuing to strengthen their squads, the Red Devils can’t afford to wave goodbye to one of their most influential and important stars.

In other news… “Still a chance”: Journo drops Man Utd transfer update that will leave fans excited 

Predicted Bolton XI to face Wigan

Ian Evatt has had a strong start to the campaign with Bolton as they currently sit unbeaten after five competitive matches.

The Trotters have won three and drawn two of their first five games, winning two in League One and progressing through in the Carabao Cup by beating Championship side Barnsley on penalties.

They now travel to fellow League One outfit Wigan in the second round of the Carabao Cup as they attempt to extend their unbeaten run and make their way into the next stage of the competition, which is where the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool enter the draw.

Will Evatt shake things up? Here is our predicted XI for the match tonight:

We are predicting that he will make four changes to the side from Saturday’s win over Oxford, with Matt Gilks, Harry Brockbank, Liam Gordon and Elias Kachunga all coming in.

Between the sticks, we are predicting that experienced veteran Gilks will be handed the gloves to give 27-year-old Joel Dixon a rest. The latter has started the last four matches in all competitions, so it could be time to give the 39-year-old a match in goal to prove that he still has it in him to perform at this level.

In defence, we are predicting the two full-backs to switch out. Young prospects Brockbank and Gordon should be given the opportunity to impress, allowing Evatt to omit Gethin Jones and £8.4k-per-week gem Declan John in order to give them a rest.

We believe that the spine of the team will remain the same, though. Ricardo Santos, George Johnston, Jordan Williams, Josh Sheehan and Antoni Sarcevic all registered SofaScore ratings of 6.6 or higher in the 2-1 win over Oxford last weekend, and keeping the core of the team could help to build momentum and confidence moving forward.

This is also why we think that Eoin Doyle and Oladipo Afolayan will keep their places in the team. They both scored in the win against Oxford and will be on a high after their respective performances, so it would be counterproductive to then place them on the bench for this game.

The final change we are predicting is Elias Kachunga coming in for Lloyd Isgrove. The former Southampton winger was given a disappointing SofaScore rating of 6.3 against Oxford, as he lost 10 of his 14 duels on the pitch and relinquished possession 14 times.

This is why we are predicting the Welshman to be dropped, and we have published an article explaining why Kachunga should come in, stating that he could provide quality end product given the impact he has made as a substitute in recent games.

AND in other news, Evatt must unleash “fantastic” £720k-rated Bolton gem vs Wigan, he’s a game-changer…

Rosser: Chelsea will be confident to sign Kounde

Evening Standard football writer Jack Rosser believes that with Kurt Zouma joining West Ham, Chelsea will be very confident of completing the signing of Jules Kounde. 

Journalist Fabrizio Romano reported on his Twitter account that Sevilla President Castro said: “Kounde is our player, as of now. There’s nothing agreed or done at the moment. We always consider the offers. But the days are ending.” 

Romano also posted that Chelsea are still confident and a final bid is ready once Kurt Zouma to West Ham is completed.

Kounde has played twice for Sevilla this season in La Liga which has seen the La Liga outfit win both their opening matches against Rayo Vallecano and Getafe and also, they have kept two clean sheets in the process.

Rosser believes that Chelsea are confident of getting the Kounde deal completed with Zouma moving to West Ham, telling Transfer Tavern: “Yeah, I’ve not followed that one too closely but moving Zouma on that has been to bring Kounde in is why they’ve done it.

“So that would point to the fact that they’re very confident that they’ll get that one over the line and will only improve what’s already a very tight defence.”

If Kounde does join Chelsea, then he will become the clubs third signing of the summer window after Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Bettinelli both put pen to paper on deals at Stamford Bridge.

Crossley: If Johnson leaves, Forest will need two new strikers

Former Nottingham Forest shot-stopper Mark Crossley believes that the club will need to sign two strikers if Brennan Johnson leaves before the end of the summer transfer window.

There has reportedly been interest in Johnson’s services from Premier League newcomers Brentford FC and Sky Sports claim they are in talks with Forest over a deal for the attacking midfielder, but the Bees are not prepared to pay the £10m that Forest value the 20-year-old at.

Johnson was in fine form last season while on loan at Lincoln City, making 48 appearances for the Imps, scoring 13 goals and adding a further 14 assists, as Lincoln reached the League One play-off final at Wembley.

But Crossley believes that if Johnson does depart the City Ground this summer, then Forest need to add two strikers their squad: “Brennan Johnson is a target for a lot of clubs, so if he ends up going then you probably think it’s not one striker that’s needed, we probably need two, especially if you’re trying to get out of the division.

“It’s all about the strikers, although other players in the team have got to come up with goals but you need that 20 goal per season striker and another one that probably going to buy in with 15 or 16 goals,” Crossley exclusively told Transfer Tavern.

Bottom of the table Nottingham Forest travel to rivals Derby County on Saturday afternoon and are in search for their first Championship points of the campaign having lost their opening four league fixtures of 2021/2022.

Aston Villa: Fans react to Preece’s post on Grealish

Birmingham Live reporter Ashley Preece gave his thoughts to Jack Grealish’s recent comments on his Aston Villa exit on Friday.

And a number of Villa supporters have reacted to Preece’s story on social media.

Grealish, who completed a £100m move to Manchester City in the summer, started for England in their 4-0 win over Hungary on Thursday.

However, prior to the game, ITV shared an interview with the 25-year-old where he reacted to his £100m release clause in his Villa contract.

Preece gave his thoughts to the interview and referenced Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips, England’s Player of the Year, when Grealish admitted that he needed to be playing Champions League football to enhance his international career.

Preece labelled the interview as a shocker that lacked class, with the Birmingham Live reporter’s story available to view in full here.

Villa fans react

He posted a link to his story on Twitter on Friday morning, and although Grealish himself has disputed the piece, these Villa fans were all in agreement, with one describing the report as ‘fantastic’.

“Ashley Preece, take a bow son. Brilliant article! It’s 100% spot on. The reason why I and others have lost any respect and love we had for a player we all once idolised. ”

Credit: @B6_Dave

“This is so good to read, Grealish utterly killing his remaining Villa respect he had left. The bloke is either genuinely stupid or he really doesn’t care.”

Credit: @JordAVFCx

“this is a fantastic article and really outlines how villa fans feel about the move.”

Credit: @avbiIly

“Spot on here. Fame and adulation clearly going straight to the head. We move.”

Credit: @RickyPopat

“This is bang on. He’s unrecognisable already.”

Credit: @GlennMorris_

“Absolutely bang on, anyone who plans on not giving Grealish the hardest night of his life in November, read this.”

Credit: @OwXnJ

In other news: Preece name-checks ‘brilliant’ free agent as potential Villa signing in area Smith will address.

Game
Register
Service
Bonus