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Aston Villa are in talks with Galatasaray over a potential exit for Trezeguet, according to Turkish outlet Fanatik (via Sport Witness).

The lowdown

The Super Lig outfit will be familiar with Trezeguet, who played for Kasimpasa before he joined Villa in a £9million deal in 2019.

Villa have already allowed one wide player to leave the club this month, with Anwar El-Ghazi joining Everton on loan. That agreement additionally includes an option to buy at the end of the season.

Egyptian international Trezeguet is currently representing his country at the Africa Cup of Nations, and it’s unclear if that might delay any transfer.

The latest

The report states that there are ‘hot developments’ coming out of the Istanbul-based club.

They’ve begun negotiations with Villa as they look to land 27-year-old Trezeguet.

But there’s a need to ‘raise funds’ before any deal can be completed.

The verdict

It’s hard to say how much Gerrard values Trezeguet because he only returned from a long-term knee injury last month.

Since then, he’s played just 10 Premier League minutes, but Villa may be managing his return to action very carefully.

Gerrard’s 4-3-2-1 system, described as a ‘Christmas tree’ formation, may not be the best-suited to traditional wingers because it involves a relatively narrow front three.

So from that point of view it may be wise to cash in on Trezeguet, who retains his £9million value after 14 direct goal involvements in 64 appearances.

In other news, could this be a potential CB signing for Villa?

West Ham United were not at their best away to Burnley yesterday afternoon as they were held to a stalemate, missing the opportunity to move further clear in fourth place. 

The Transfer Tavern have used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst Hammers players (to have featured for at least 45 minutes) were on the day. Despite having 60% of the possession, West Ham were rather wasteful when they did have the ball; these three lost possession a total of 36 times.

Michail Antonio (6.6)

Playing as the club’s lone striker, Antonio proved to be rather ineffective in the final third. The Jamaica international was unable to produce a shot on target during the 90 minutes, leading to a low 6.6 rating by SofaScore.

The forward lost possession 16 times and made just three dribble attempts, with only one proving successful. He surprisingly lost nine duels out of a possible 16, a disappointing return for a player of his stature.

Manuel Lanzini (6.6)

Starting in an attacking midfield role, Lanzini lacked a creative threat, receiving a 6.6 rating by SofaScore. Despite 94% of his 48 passes finding a team-mate, only two of these were considered key passes.

Having lost possession 13 times, the Argentine ace attempted seven crosses, all of which were inaccurate. He was also poor defensively and was consistently unable to win the ball back for his side, losing five out of his six duels.

Saïd Benrahma (6.6)

Benrahma produced the only shot on target out of the three Irons attackers, but still endured an underwhelming performance for the team with a 6.6 rating by SofaScore.

Losing the ball eight times, the Algeria winger also lost four out of his seven duels. Going forward, he was rendered ineffective, making just one successful dribble, a disappointing return for the technical attacker, whose performance came under fire from numerous West Ham supporters yesterday.

In other news: £21.3m beast on West Ham shortlist resisting new contract, he was ‘incredible’ v Lukaku

Having gone through October and November without a win in the Premier League and with only one win from four games in December, it’s safe to say that Everton have not been in the best shape in recent months.

Luckily for the Toffees, the January transfer window is close to opening and could therefore give the Merseyside club the opportunity to potentially strengthen their squad and put them in a good place to put their poor run of form behind them end the season on a high note.

Speaking to Football Insider on what business Everton could do in January, pundit Frank McAvennie had this to say on the matter.

He said: “If Everton are going to stick with Rafa then it needs to be shown. The easiest way to do that is in January, you can give Rafa the players he wants. It’s no good sacking [Marcel] Brands and backing the manager if the form doesn’t turn around and you sack the manager anyway.

“It sounds like Rafa will have the chance to build his own team and that’s what he needs. You can’t judge him, it’s not his team. Let him bring four or five quality players in this January then let’s see where they are. I can see that happening.”

The prospect of Everton signing four or five quality players must be an exciting one for a lot of Toffees fans who will undoubtedly be hoping that Benitez can get 2022 off to a winning start in the same way he started the season off with Everton.

However, as McAvennie mentioned, with Everton saying goodbye to their director of football Marcel Brands earlier this month, it will be interesting to see how the club goes about their business in January and if Brands’ absence will have an impact.

In terms of which areas of the pitch the Toffees could look to strengthen in January, if they are aiming to sign a handful of quality players, they should definitely focus on signing at least one, if not more defensive players given how only Leeds United, Watford, Newcastle United and Norwich City have conceded more goals than they have so far this season.

Furthermore, they may have to replace the likes of Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne who have both been linked with an exit away. Consider Seamus Coleman’s age, too, and the idea of signing a few defenders certainly makes sense.

After all, the Merseyside outfit won’t start picking up more consistent point hauls until their defence gets better.

In other news: James 2.0: Moshiri could spark fury at Everton with swoop for “lazy” £380k-p/w flop – opinion

West Ham have been boosted by the news that Jesse Lingard’s contract talks with Manchester United have broken down and he looks set to leave the club.

The Lowdown: Lingard shines for West Ham

The 28-year-old was simply exceptional on loan for the Hammers last season, standing out as one of their best players despite only joining in January.

Lingard bagged nine goals and four assists in just 16 Premier League appearances, aiding West Ham’s challenge for European football – it almost feels a shame he hasn’t been around to participate in the Europa League group stages with the Irons.

The England international returned to Old Trafford in the summer but he has failed to force his way into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans regularly, not starting a single league game.

He has been strongly linked as a target for the Hammers in the upcoming winter transfer window.

The Latest: Key update emerges

On Thursday, reliable journalist Paul Hirst took to Twitter to confirm that contract talks between Lingard and his current club had ‘collapsed’.

‘Lingard wants to leave, possibly as early as January’, the journalist said, also detailing that several teams outside of the Premier League are interested.

The Verdict: Snap him up, Hammers

Lingard’s desire to leave Manchester is a huge boost for West Ham, should David Moyes shore up his interest in a permanent move for Lingard in the near future.

In truth, his performances last season show that should be the case, with the England starlet slotting in seamlessly at the London Stadium and providing guile and end product in the middle of the park.

If the Hammers managed to sign the Englishman in January, it could be the extra sprinkling of magic needed to secure them a top-four finish – Rio Ferdinand hailing him as ‘amazing’ in the past, and it’s hard to disagree with that judgement given his form in east London last term.

In other news, West Ham are believed to have made an approach for one player. Find out who it is here.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered a damning verdict on Leeds United star Tyler Roberts and suggested an exit from Elland Road could well be the best for him.

What’s the story?

He said: “To be completely honest, I feel like a move elsewhere would do him good. To repeat myself, the season so far isn’t down to him. He hasn’t made much impact and that’s why I think Leeds need better but he attracts a lot of criticism in a situation which is much bigger than him.

“A fair few players have struggled for form – the problem for Roberts is that he has no credit in the bank. He ran hard last night and made the effort but I’m not sure this period and the way he’s been used is doing him or the team a great deal of good. It is fascinating to see how much Bielsa trusts him though.”

He’s not been good enough for Leeds

While at 22, Roberts is hardly an ageing footballer in the declining years of his career, it remains to be seen just how better he can get given how disappointing he has been since the step-up to the Premier League in particular.

The Wales international has endured a nightmare start to the campaign thus far, scoring no goals and providing no assists, and has quite an unbelievable record of just eight goals in 99 games for the club.

Former Leeds striker Noel Whelan has previously insisted that the £12.6m-rated forward hasn’t shown enough in the Premier League to convince Bielsa that he’s cut out for this level – he managed just one goal in 27 top-flight appearances all of last season, and even that came in the penultimate game against Southampton.

Whelan added: “Is he good enough? In my opinion he isn’t. I would love him to go out there and prove me wrong because I want everyone to succeed. I need him to show me more. He needs to show more fight and desire. I just do not see that.”

Hay’s verdict that Roberts should look to leave is sure to intrigue fans about how the Welshman’s career can be turned around, whether it be at Elland Road or elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has dropped a major claim on Bielsa’s Leeds future…

Rangers travel to Fir Park on Sunday afternoon as they look to extend their lead at the top of the Premiership table.

The Gers went into the weekend two points clear at the summit, with seven wins, three draws and one defeat in 11 top-flight matches.

Steven Gerrard’s side came from 2-0 down to draw with Aberdeen earlier this week in their last Premiership match, with Alfredo Morelos and James Tavernier finding the net.

Imagine him & Morelos

One change that Gerrard must make to the XI is the introduction of Fashion Sakala in place of Romanian forward Ianis Hagi.

Imagine a front three of Morelos and Sakala with Kemar Roofe in support. It could strike fear into the Motherwell defenders, as the trio have contrasting styles and different threats which would allow Rangers to mix up how they play going forward.

Whilst the Zambia international has the pace and movement to make runs in behind and stretch the defence, Morelos can hold up the ball and then find space in the penalty box to poach goals.

Ross Wilson previously hailed the pace and power that Sakala is able to provide for Gerrard’s squad upon the 24-year-old’s arrival at Ibrox earlier in the summer. 

The Gers’ sporting director said: “Fashion has had an excellent season in Belgium and we believe he will develop further still working with all of our staff at the training ground. Fashion is a determined, humble and positive guy and we are sure he will fit the group here.

“We wanted to add more pace and power to the group across January and the summer and I am pleased that we have done that, firstly with Scott Wright and now with Fashion Sakala. I know Steven and the coaches are excited to work with Fashion and I am sure that he will further enhance his growing reputation here with Rangers.”

We published an article explaining why Hagi should be axed from the starting XI, and Sakala could be the ideal replacement to come in and form a partnership with Morelos. The Zambian’s aforementioned pace could suit the Colombian’s slower style to create variation in the Gers’ attack, whilst his one goal and one assist in two Premiership starts suggests that he has the potential to make an impact in the final third.

His dynamism could help to unlock the Motherwell defence and create space for Morelos and Roofe to do their damage in the final third. That is why Gerrard must unleash him on Sunday, not least as he has already scored against Graham Alexander’s side this season…

AND in other news, Wilson masterclass: “Determined” Rangers beast has seen value soar 233% in 1 year…

Celtic are interested in a deal to bring Jordan Larsson to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

According to reports from Sweden (via the Daily Record), Spartak Moscow are open to the possibility of parting with the 24-year-old in the winter market, with Celtic believed to be one of the club’s keeping an eye on the situation of the son of the club’s legendary striker, Henrik.

The report goes on to state that the Russian Premier Liga side have previously demanded a fee of £13m in order to part with the centre-forward, although it is believed that the club would now be willing to accept an offer much lower than this figure for the Sweden international.

Dream transfer

Putting aside the romance of Larsson’s potential move to Parkhead, the forward has also proven during his time at Spartak that, regardless of his status as Henrik’s son, he could be something of a dream signing for Michael Nicholson to get over the line in January.

Indeed, after joining the club in what was a £3.6m deal back in the summer of 2019, the £12.6m-rated man has gone on to score 26 goals and register nine assists over his 76 appearances for the Russian giants.

Perhaps the striker’s best returns for Spartak came over his 29 Premier Liga appearances last season, in which the 24-year-old scored 15 goals, registered five assists and created seven big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.8 shots and making two key passes per game.

These metrics saw the man who Marcus Allback dubbed a “strong” player earn a highly impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.32, ranking him as the joint seventh-best performer in the Russian top flight.

Furthermore, the Swede has also amassed impressive hauls at the likes of Helsingborgs IF, IFK Norrkoping and NEC Nijmegen, bagging 35 goals and 18 assists over 145 appearances for these three teams, taking his total career returns to 61 goals and 27 assists.

As such, not only would the centre-forward’s signing give Celtic fans another chance to watch a Larsson on the Parkhead pitch, the 24-year-old would also appear to make an extremely prolific addition to Ange Postecoglou’s attacking options.

In other news: Outrageous stat proves £1.8m-rated “menace” is closing in on 242-goal Celtic legend

Reliable Aston Villa reporter Ashley Preece has admitted that there is a Plan B for Louie Barry in January.

Barry was one of a number of academy players who were sent out on loan in the summer.

He joined League One side Ipswich Town, however, things haven’t exactly gone to plan for the centre-forward, who is awaiting his first goal under Paul Cook.

The 18-year-old has started just three games in all competitions and hasn’t featured in eight of the Tractor Boys’ 10 third-tier fixtures.

Preece was asked by one Villa fan in a Q&A for Birmingham Live on Wednesday about Barry and if the club were planning on recalling the forward in the winter window.

He revealed that Villa are monitoring Barry closely, with a possible plan to end his Ipswich stay before loaning him to a League Two side in the New Year where he would feature more regularly from the off.

Villa fans react

@villareport shared Preece’s claim regarding Barry on Twitter on Thursday afternoon. This is what these Villa supporters had to say in reply…

“It was an absolutely terrible loan move.”

Credit: @DOUGLASLUlZ

“Knew this would be the case. Not worked out at Ipswich.”

Credit: @AVFCFaithful_

“Jedinak needs to send him to Swindon”

Credit: @MasonUTFV

“Hope so, he’s losing important development minutes on the pitch atm. I say bring him home and loan him to Walsall”

Credit: @MikeKnott10

“Would be sensible. Clearly working well for Kesler Hayden, and even the National League was clearly a good move for Archer last season. If Ipswich don’t want to play ball then there’ll be much better spots for him elsewhere.”

Credit: @rad_nauseam

“Get him to Swindon”

Credit: @ViIlaI_

In other news: ‘When is it gonna end?’ – Many Villa fans react as ‘ridiculous’ news confirmed.

Following on from their 1-1 draw against Cambridge United in their previous League One fixture in midweek, Sheffield Wednesday are back in action this weekend with a home clash against Lincoln City to see if the Owls can secure all three points after drawing their two previous league fixtures.

 On the chalkboard

One player who featured in midweek but we feel should not be in the starting XI to face Lincoln at the weekend is centre-forward Lee Gregory.

During the match against Cambridge, the 33-year-old had just one shot on target, won just one of his 10 duels, lost possession 16 times and racked up a rather disappointing passing accuracy percentage of 43% after he completed just nine out of his 21 passes. That ultimately earned him an uninspiring overall match rating of 6.4/10, making him the joint-lowest rated Wednesday player on the day according to SofaScore.

Taking this into account, we think it could be worth taking Gregory out of the starting XI at the weekend and perhaps give him a breather given how he has played 90 minutes in each of Wednesday’s three previous league fixtures, even though he’s scored three goals in the process.

Wednesday signed Gregory back in August from Stoke City for an undisclosed fee. Since then, the £450k-valued striker (according to Transfermarkt) has made 12 appearances for the Owls in League One scoring five goals and providing two assists along the way and proving himself to be a very useful figure for the team.

In terms of who could come in for Gregory at the weekend if Moore does decide to take him out of the starting XI, there’s every chance that the Owls boss could recall Saido Berahino or Florian Kamberi, who both have one league goal under their belts so far this season.

Either way, given his age, his shocking performance against Cambridge and the number of minutes he’s played in recent weeks, we feel that it’s probably a good time for Moore to give Gregory a rest to see if this could sharpen him up once again for upcoming fixtures.

In other news: Moore must unleash “dynamic” Sheff Weds beast at the weekend, he’d terrify Lincoln – opinion

Football Insider pundit Noel Whelan has been giving his thoughts on Everton’s reported January transfer plans.

The Lowdown: ‘Next van Dijk’ eyed

According to Football Insider, who were informed by an Everton source, Rafa Benitez wants the Toffees to sign the ‘next van Dijk’ in the New Year.

No specific names are mentioned in the report, but the Spaniard seemingly wants a top-class centre-back to lead his backline.

The Toffees have four senior centre-backs on the books at this moment in time, along with teenager Jarrad Branthwaite, but it appears as if another option is wanted in the winter window.

The Latest: Whelan reacts

Whelan was asked by Football Insider for his thoughts on Benitez’s plans. This is what the 46-year-old had to say in reply, believing that the right centre-back option “can win you matches”:

“Everton are sorted in some areas.

“There’s have a real good defensive midfield player there in Allan. They also have the striker position sorted with Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and Rondon coming in.

“They got the wingers in Gray and Townsend as well so those areas are sorted. Yes, they did buy some new defenders under Ancelotti.

“But when you look at it, you think that one centre half could be the missing jigsaw piece.

“Look at Liverpool with Van Dijk, Man United with Maguire, City with Dias.

“A player like that can really make the difference. That leadership and quality as a centre half can win you matches.

“That is definitely the right area to improve if you are Everton.”

The Verdict: The right move?

Everton kept 12 clean sheets during the 2020/21 campaign but have just one from their opening five league games this season, so bringing in a marquee defensive addition could make a huge difference in the long run as Whelan has suggested.

Liverpool and Manchester City have reaped the rewards in recent years by bringing in quality defenders in Virgil van Dijk and Ruben Dias, so Everton could follow suit.

That may not make them European challengers straight away, but it could be a solid base in the club’s aspirations to climb the table in years to come.

In other news: ‘Sack Marcel Brands’, ‘We’re going down’ – Lots of Everton fans fume as injury update emerges.