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Aston Villa could land a devastating one-two sucker punch on the rest of the Premier League this summer if emerging reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

As the club close in on the £28m signing of Ollie Watkins from Brentford, it appears Dean Smith is keen to also add Liverpool starlet Rhian Brewster to his ranks.

According to The Sun, Villa have inquired about the possibility of signing the 20-year-old in a £20m deal but they face stiff competition from the likes of Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Brighton and Burnley.

And now, Sky Sports claim that the Premier League champions could be willing to let him go on a permanent deal just as long as it includes a buy-back clause.

Imagine him and Watkins

Given Villa’s struggles with scoring goals, Smith would be a fool to not consider at least one extra signing on top of Watkins and a move for Brewster would be quite the coup.

Perhaps there’s a chance that the Bees talisman is played out wide, thus allowing skipper Jack Grealish to move back into the middle of the pitch with the young Englishman then preferred over Wesley and Mbwana Samatta.

The struggling striking duo combined for just six goals all season last term, so adding Watkins, who bagged 26 times and Brewster, who netted 11 goals, would certainly be one way to improve that major issue.

It’s quite the shame that Jurgen Klopp simply cannot fit Brewster into his Reds side as he’s a hugely talented youngster, but their loss has to be Villa’s gain.

During a loan spell with Swansea last season, teammate Andre Ayew claimed the 20-year-old starlet “has it all” whilst England U17 teammate Jadon Sancho believes he can cause defenders to have “nightmares”.

Also dubbed as “exceptional” by the man that scouted him, Brewster would continue to meet the home-grown priorities of Smith.

Just imagine him and Watkins tearing it up in attack, they’d quickly make you forget about Wesley and co in a heartbeat.

AND in other news, Smith set to table £16m bid for yet another striker…

Aston Villa could repeat a familiar mistake this summer if emerging reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to John Percy at the Telegraph, Dean Smith is considering a bid to sign Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley on loan before the October 5th transfer deadline.

He claims that the Villa boss is prioritising the ‘No.8’ position as one of the final stages of their summer recruitment and that the £120k-per-week outcast is top of his list.

The Blues are likely to demand that the Midlanders pay his wages in full if they take him on a temporary basis but it is thought that Villa are reluctant to do so.

Transfermarkt value Barkley at £19.35m after his £15m move in 2018.

Shades of Drinkwater

And apprehensive they should be. It’s a very expensive gamble to make even if it’s only on loan.

In 21 top-flight appearances last season, the England international only managed to contribute to five goals, averaging a poor 1.9 shots and 1.1 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

He’s no longer the player that drew high acclaim at Everton, being compared to the likes of Paul Gascoigne and Michael Ballack and Alan Shearer’s comments from last season echo his inconsistencies.

“He’s a magnificent runner with the ball. In terms of being able to run with the ball with pace and power, you could compare him to Paul Gascoigne. Gascoigne was a powerful player, powerful runner with the ball, once he set off and went by people they didn’t catch him. Ross Barkley is the same. He’s a player with excellent technique and can score goals, he interprets the role behind the front player very well.”

Roy Hodgson, ex-England boss.

Following a wonder-strike against Liverpool, the BBC pundit said: “We see glimpses of him doing things like this but with his ability, he should be doing it on a regular basis. Why isn’t he doing that week in week out? The ability is without a doubt there. We don’t see it often enough.”

Whilst Roy Keane was scathing in his comments of the 26-year-old, claiming that his best position was “on the bench.”

Villa signed Danny Drinkwater from Chelsea during the January transfer window but he could only make four appearances before Smith sent him back to Stamford Bridge after a training ground altercation.

And whilst Barkley isn’t likely to get into it with another teammate, he is on high wages and would be a massive risk to even consider.

Surely their recruitment team can come up with better considering they signed John McGinn for £2.75m.

AND in other news, Aston Villa remain interested in “talismanic” £40m machine…

According to Turkish journalist Ovunc Ozdem, Besiktas defender Domagoj Vida has turned down a move to West Brom in this summer transfer window.

What’s the word?

The Baggies have endured a difficult start to the new Premier League season from a defensive standpoint, conceding 11 goals in their opening three games against Leicester, Everton and Chelsea.

It’s no surprise then that Slaven Bilic appears to want a new central defender before the close of play on Monday night, but Ozdem has delivered a major blow to their chances of landing Vida.

The journalist claims that the reason the Croatia international snubbed a move to the Hawthorns and even Serie A giants Roma, is that he could not get the same salary as he is on at Besiktas.

Worse than Kyle Bartley

With 81 caps to his name, and plenty of tournament experience with Croatia including in the World Cup, Vida certainly has the kind of international pedigree that makes him more of a recognisable face in European football.

But moving past that, the 31-year-old would simply have been a major disaster for Bilic. Earning around £70k-a-week at the moment at Besiktas, the centre-back would have become the joint highest-earner at the Hawthorns along with Charlie Austin – the man in second, Kieran Gibbs, earns £55k-a-week.

The financials wouldn’t have made any sense for a player at that age and inevitably set for a decline over these coming years, and his ability on the pitch is already beginning to show that. As per Whoscored, he averaged just one tackle, 1.4 interceptions and 2.5 clearances in the Turkish league last season, with the Baggies’ Kyle Bartley managing 1.3 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 4.5 clearances per match.

Then, you have to take into consideration his poor disciplinary record. Vida has picked up 82 yellow cards and four red cards over the course of his career, whilst he has also fallen in trouble with FIFA too.

Luke Dowling has avoided a major West Brom disaster.

Everton will be in heaven thanks to the form shown from James Rodriguez since his summer transfer from Real Madrid, after he shone once again as his side drew 2-2 with Liverpool in Saturday’s Merseyside Derby.

Rodriguez departed the Santiago Bernabeu to begin a new life in England and reunite with former head coach Carlo Ancelotti at Goodison Park, in a deal which his ex-side Banfield confirmed was a free transfer.

Reports had suggested Everton paid in the region of £12m to £20million to complete the 29-year-old’s move to Merseyside, however his former Argentine outfit soon noted that they would have been due a sell-on fee had cash changed hands this summer.

Real Madrid have also suffered with anxiety since sanctioning the deal, with reports by AS, via Sport Witness, claiming Los Blancos chiefs felt the Colombian would have still been ‘very useful’ to their efforts but was ‘discarded’ by manager Zinedine Zidane just like Gareth Bale, Sergio Reguilon and Dani Ceballos.

The Spanish giants are said to be ‘upset’ at how well Rodriguez has since taken to the Premier League, and will have felt that pain again this weekend when he recorded his third assist of the season as Michael Keane turned home his corner.

Rodriguez has also recorded three goals in the English top-flight and one assist in the Carabao Cup, whilst starting each of his six outings across all competitions and only missing 28 of a possible 540 minutes of game time through late substitutions.

Ancelotti and Director of Football Marcel Brands’ decision to bring Rodriguez to the Premier League, despite him making just eight appearances for Real Madrid in last season’s La Liga campaign, continued to look a wise move on Saturday, when the £31.5m-rated ace stood out against The Reds.

Rodriguez earned SofaScore’s best match rating at 8.1 out of 10 as the only player for either side to perform above Mohamed Salah’s 7.7/10 and Lucas Digne and Keane’s 7.6/10 performances.

The Colombian star did not gather possession as much as Ancelotti would have liked with just 65 touches compared with Thiago Alcantara’s game-high 99, Jordan Henderson’s 79, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 78, Andrew Robertson’s 72 or Fabinho’s 68. Yet, he used his time on the ball well to fashion the game’s joint-most key passes (3) while finding teammates with three of his six attempted crosses and six of his seven long balls.

Cucuta-born Rodriguez also won a combined 10 duels with nine successful ground battles from 16 contests and one from one aerial battle. He was further fouled four times, made two tackles, struck one of two shots on target and was successful with each of his three attempted dribbles.

Rodriguez’s efforts against Liverpool ensured he remained Everton’s most productive creator with five big chances forged in the Premier League this season, while ranking first for key balls (16), accurate final third passes (62) and second to Digne (12) for accurate crosses (8).

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti must regret starting a £21.6m-rated man vs Liverpool after his challenging performance.

Everton defender Callum Connolly may have found his perfect fit for 2021 already as he has sung the praises of Fleetwood Town after securing a second loan spell with the League One side.

What’s the word?

Connolly completed his temporary return to Fleetwood for the 2020/21 season during the final week of the domestic transfer window, after spending the second half of last term with Joey Barton’s outfit.

The 23-year-old was a regular for the third-tier side, making 13 straight outings in the starting line-up before the season was cut short due to the pandemic, while featuring in each of their Play-Off Semi-Final ties with eventual winners Wycombe Wanderers.

Barton awarded the defender his second debut against Accrington Stanley at the Wham Stadium on Tuesday evening, after which Connolly spoke of his joy at returning to Highbury and playing for the Cod Army.

“It’s great to be back,” he said, to Fleetwood’s official website. “I was here last year and it’s great to be back in a Fleetwood Town kit, it was a tough one to take tonight and hopefully it’s going to be a better season than last year and hopefully we can learn our lesson tonight where we can get going on push on.

“It’s a friendly squad, there’s a lot of scousers, it’s a great team where everyone is dead down to earth. The new lads that have come in are great and you can get along with everyone, you can see it on the pitch, and hopefully, when we keep on playing and training together it will one day click, and we can be a force.”

Connolly has just eight months remaining on his current Everton contract and he is expected to leave the Toffees once his Fleetwood loan expires.

Found his new home?

While Connolly is not thought to have a future at Goodison Park, the 23-year-old may have found his new home already in Fleetwood, given how much pride he takes from playing for the League One side and the admiration that he receives from those connected with the Highbury club.

Barton lauded Connolly last winter for being able to play not only in defence but also in midfield, with the Cod Army boss stating to the Blackpool Gazette: “We thought he would give us versatility but every position he’s gone into, he’s just played better.

“He’s played left centre-half and was superb, then he flipped over to right centre-half and he was superb. He went into centre-midfield and scored a goal against Peterborough last week. Then we pushed him into the number 10 role against Portsmouth to put pressure on Tom Naylor and give us a pressing platform, and he pops up with another.”

It can only be presumed that Barton and Connolly will look to sound out the potential of a deal to keep the £1.44m-rated man at Highbury beyond his full season on loan, given that Everton will not be due a transfer fee for the player who first joined the Toffees’ academy in 2006.

AND in other news, Everton will be in heaven over a 29-year-old who’s causing his former side to regret accepting a summer transfer.

Liverpool’s luck may have turned slightly as they head into their Saturday clash with Sheffield United in the Premier League. The tough news of Virgil van Dijk’s ACL injury has set the Reds back in their quest to hold onto their historic title. Whilst Fabinho put in a solid shift at centre-back against Ajax, there’s no telling whether his confidence will carry him through the rest of the season.

This would be a huge worry for Jurgen Klopp if he was forced to rely on Adrian in goal, but his troublesome reign in goal could be coming to an end. In his recent press conference, the German has refused to rule the Brazilian out of Saturday’s game, handing a huge boost to the fans.

“Look, in my situation, I don’t want to rule anybody out until someone tells me and so far, nobody told me,” Klopp said (via The Independent) “Maybe I should have listened better!”

A huge relief for Liverpool

Adrian stepped up the plate following Alisson’s injury news, his first Premier League performance of the season was nothing short of a disaster. The Spaniard shipped a humiliating seven goals at Villa Park, breaking Liverpool’s three-game win streak. The club’s huge 7-2 loss goes down in history – the Reds are now the first top flight title-holding side to concede seven since Arsenal in 1953 (via Goal.com).

Despite a narrow 1-0 win over Ajax on Wednesday, it was Fabinho who shut out the preying Dutchmen with a last-ditch clearance off the line after Adrian was left stranded.

Even Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against Everton will have come as a huge disappointment. The Toffees remain top of the table, three points ahead of their local rivals. Whilst the gap isn’t something to worry about at the moment, it’s easy for a team to pull away once they find their groove – something Liverpool themselves can vouch for after finishing 18 points clear last season.

Klopp’s hopeful comments could see Alisson return to the action and help make up for the loss of van Dijk in defence. If the Reds can seal a win against Sheffield United, it will lift morale and see the reigning champions return to their usual, dominant displays.

After a debut season in English football saw him initially fall afoul of injuries before establishing himself as a key part of Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph, Kieran Tierney has endured a rather disappointing start to this new campaign.

The Scotland international has played 11 games across all competitions, and is yet to score or get an assist, and his latest performance against Aston Villa in the Premier League was arguably one of his worst since moving south of the border from Celtic.

Whilst he may feel unlucky not to have seen a stunning cross being scored by Alexandre Lacazette, his overall display was rather disappointing.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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As per Sofascore, he lost possession a staggering 23 times over the course of the 90 minutes, by far the worst of any Arsenal player on the pitch. He made no tackles or interceptions whatsoever, and lost seven of his ten total duels too.

It was a far cry from the kind of monumental displays he put in both the FA Cup semi-final and final, with the former even seeing him pick out a lovely assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second goal.

There was no composure to his game on Sunday, and he looked increasingly awkward on the ball. The five-at-the-back formation that Arteta has employed has in general given the Gunners more stability defensively, but it has taken away some of the more dynamic movements that Tierney possesses.

Playing as the left-sided centre-half, and with Bukayo Saka playing as the wing-back, has restricted to his usual energetic game, and his display against Villa was very poor by his standards.

His attempt at a reverse rabona inside his own half and seeing it spectacularly fail to come off just typified both him and Arsenal on the night. No substance whatsoever.

Glasgow Rangers manager Steven Gerrard can’t keep Bongani Zungu contained any longer and must unleash the South African midfielder in the Scottish Premiership clash with Aberdeen at the weekend, at the expense of Steven Davis.

What’s the word?

According to The BBC, the Northern Ireland captain pulled out of Wednesday’s game against Romania for personal reasons earlier this week.

Davis has been an integral part of Gerrard’s side so far this season, having made eleven appearances in the Premiership at the time of writing. Whether or not he will be back in time for their first fixture after the international break, who knows, but this has surely presented Gerrard with the perfect opportunity to give Zungu the time to shine.

It’s since been revealed that the South African is a doubt for the weekend’s meeting at the Govan stadium as he sustained a minor knock whilst away on international duty. However, Gerrard is hopeful that the blow is not too serious and will wait for further assessment before deciding on his involvement ahead of Sunday’s clash against Aberdeen.

Time to unleash Zungu!

Zungu’s brief cameo in Rangers’ 8-0 thrashing of Hamilton Academical has rightly left the right impression on Gerrard, as Ross Wilson’s summer recruit has shown precisely why the Ibrox boss spent the majority of the summer chasing his signature.

The centre-midfielder, who can play in an attacking or defensive role, made a positive start to his life at Ibrox, as he delivered an “impressive” showing with his aggressive style of play and range of passing against the Accies before the international break, spraying passes left, right and centre with a workmanlike performance.

Per SofaScore, Gerrard handed the 28-year-old his first-team debut in the second half, where he made 35 out of 38 passes (92%), took 40 touches of the ball, and completed 3 out of 4 long balls as Rangers ran riot over Hamilton.

He followed this up with another fine performance with the Bafana-Bafana in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying round, scoring the second goal of the game against Sao Tome and Principe with a well-timed header from Keagan Dolly’s corner kick last week.

It wasn’t only his goal that caught the eye either as he pulled the strings from the midfield, which is precisely what Davis has done so far this season.

No doubt Gerrard will be keen to reward the £1.44m-rated colossus with his first start for the club against Aberdeen this weekend and it’s about time he unleashed the summer signing as he has only played 142′ minutes of football so far.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers manager Steven Gerrard must axe George Edmundson after Nikola Katic injury update…

Manchester United came from behind to secure a dramatic comeback victory over Southampton as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side stunned the Saints at St Mary’s.

Ralph Hassenhuttl’s men went ahead with a bullet header from Jan Bendarek before James Ward-Prowse scored a stunning free kick to extend the lead.

But United bounced back after the break as Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani combined to halve the deficit. The Uruguayan striker was a constant thorn in Hasenhuttl’s side, teeing up Fernandes for the first goal and he followed this up with a well-timed header to tie the game.

The 33-year-old then scored in stoppage time to secure what could prove to be a vital three points as the Red Devils moved into the top half of the table, five points behind Premier League leaders Tottenham with a game in hand.

Cavani may have turned the tide and Fernandes certainly pulled the strings, but Nemanja Matic was the surprise standout as Solskjaer’s side staged a remarkable comeback to break the Saints’ hearts.

Solskjaer has often been criticised for playing two holding midfielders so far this season but Matic played a pivotal role in rescuing what looked like an unlikely three points for United.

Speaking after the game, Fernandes praised the performance of his teammate, as he said: “Donny played a really good game but Fred and Nema were really important to us. They worked and they worked and they were two players who calmed down the game and moved the ball. In the second half, that was crucial, they recovered a lot of balls and they ran a lot.”

Per SofaScore, Matic received a high rating of 7.3 out of ten for his efforts – the highest out of any United player in the starting line-up – as he made three tackles, five interceptions and won seven out of his nine duels overall (77%), whilst he completed two out of three successful dribble attempts, produced 61 out of 72 passes (85%), took 87 touches of the ball and was fouled once, which suggests that he was a useful attacking asset too.

Likewise, The Daily Express gave the colossus a similar score, claiming he ‘played an increasing role in giving United platform to attack without so much fear of a counter.’

Whilst Cavani is the centre of attention, the 32-year-old’s contributions cannot go unnoticed. He acted as an anchor to the defence and formed a part of the supply chain for the front three, and didn’t stray too far from his position either.

Paul Pogba was once again conspicuous by his absence from the squad which has cast fresh doubts over his future at Old Trafford but when Matic puts in a defensive shift like this, you do have to ask the question, is it any wonder?

AND in other news, Manchester United must cash in on Timothy Fosu-Mensah in January…

This is a tricky time for everyone at Sunderland.

They may be unbeaten in their last two league matches but they now won’t play until after Boxing Day following an outbreak of Coronavirus within the squad.

On the chalkboard

Sunderland players are dropping like flies at the moment and it must have been a relief to have some of their games postponed until a later date.

The Academy of Light has been closed until 27th December with four players testing positive for the pandemic but they also have injuries to contend with.

Denver Hume has joined Luke O’Nien on the sidelines. The former is recovering from a dislocated shoulder and now Josh Scowen is also on the treatment table with a fractured shin.

Once this period of postponements is out the way they will at least have Lynden Gooch back in the side.

The American has only managed one substitute appearance under Lee Johnson and has just recovered from a broken foot that had ruled him out for around three weeks.

Unleash him

It’s superb news that the winger is back quicker than first imagined and this extra period of rest should do his recovery time wonders ahead of when Sunderland take on Accrington on the 29th.

If he is fully fit then Johnson simply has to play him from the off. Gooch has been one of Sunderland’s stand out players so far this season and has two goals and four assists in 13 appearances.

The 24-year-old has been the biggest source of joy from a creative point of view and thus, could improve what Johnson wants to do tenfold. This is someone Chris Coleman claimed “ran his socks off” when he was at the club and it would be quite something if Gooch provided Sunderland with even more.

Johnson has already spoken about wanting players who can stretch the play and the man in question is one of them. Just imagine what Gooch and Jack Diamond could do as a wing pairing beside the club’s top scorer Charlie Wyke.

Diamond has got off to an exhilarating start under Johnson and has already scored with the new coaching team at the helm, performing a team-high 1.6 dribbles per game in the process. For context, Gooch has managed a haul of 1.2 per match.

This would be a fearsome duo capable of lifting the Mackems to greater heights.

AND in other news, Sunderland ace with “fantastic strength” is the biggest winner from Johnson’s arrival…