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Aston Villa have been particularly busy when it comes to adding new players to their squad during the January transfer window, with Calum Chambers being the latest addition.

However, with the summer transfer window in mind, it seems as though the Midlands club could be in danger of losing one of their key players.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from The Sun, Villa right-back Matty Cash is in talks with Atletico Madrid over a potential permanent move this summer, with the Spanish champions’ manager Diego Simeone keen on finding a replacement for Kieran Trippier, who joined Newcastle United earlier this month.

The report also claims that the 24-year-old is among Atletico’s top targets and that they are willing to splash out a fee in the region of £30m-£40m during the summer transfer window for the full-back, who is apparently keen on the move.

Villa signed Cash in the summer of 2020 from Championship club Nottingham Forest in a deal worth an initial fee of £14m.

The defender has since become a crucial figure for Villa by making 51 appearances across all competitions, chipping in with one goal and three assists along the way.

Fans would be furious

Having played more Premier League minutes than anyone else for Villa this season, as well as earning an overall performance rating of 6.88/10, making him the fifth-highest rated player at the club according to WhoScored, it’s safe to say that Cash is an important player for Steven Gerrard’s side. Therefore, it would surely leave a lot of fans raging if they were to offload him any time soon.

Also, with the Poland international being the only player in Villa’s senior squad at the moment who predominantly plays in the right-back position, it would be a real howler from Johan Lange to let the 24-year-old leave without finding a suitable replacement first.

While it should be a certainty that Villa would not let Cash leave during the current transfer window, it would also be in the club’s best interests to decline any offer which may come their way from Atletico or anyone interested in signing the right-back during the summer.

In other news: Gerrard could unearth the next Michael Carrick at Villa with move for 20 y/o “diamond”

Wolves’ Premier League clash with Watford was likely called off because of new cases later during this week, according to The Athletic’s Tim Spiers.

The Lowdown: Wolves game postponed

There will be no Boxing Day game for Wanderers fans to look forward to this year, with their Premier League clash with Watford postponed.

That’s due to the Hornets’ squad having too many positive tests for Covid-19, meaning they cannot field a squad of 13 plus a goalkeeper, so the match will have to be rescheduled.

There isn’t a huge amount of transparency being provided by clubs currently, in terms of naming numbers of players affected, leading to plenty of frustration amongst fans, managers and clubs, with the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Sean Dyche calling for more openness from the Premier League.

The Latest: Spiers provides explanation

After one Wolves supporter correctly pointed out that new guidelines reducing the isolation period from ten to seven days means the eight-day gap from Watford’s last match should be sufficient, Spiers gave an 11-word answer regarding why the Boxing Day game still couldn’t go ahead:

“May have had more cases at the start of this week.”

The Verdict: Extra rest for Lage’s men

The Boxing Day game is one of the best fixtures of the season in English football, so it is a huge shame to see Wolves not in action.

That being said, the postponement could potentially keep legs fresh going into the trip to Arsenal next Tuesday lunchtime, giving them more chance of picking up a positive result at the Emirates.

Avoiding fatigue at a busy point in the season is rarely easy but Bruno Lage’s men may have been aided, in that respect – a blessing in disguise for the players, even despite the blow for the supporters.

In other news, some Wolves fans are fuming at a transfer update. Read more here.

Newcastle United are reportedly now ‘trying’ to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Out of favour

Ever since Aubameyang was stripped of the captaincy by Mikel Arteta last month, he has not featured at all for Arsenal in the Premier League.

In that time, the Gunners have picked up a few convincing wins and scored a lot of goals – 15 in five games to be exact (Transfermarkt) – suggesting that the Gabon international would not be missed all that much if he left and perhaps paving the way for an immediate exit.

He is now at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), although has recently tested positive for COVID-19, and it seems he may not be a Gooner on his return if the latest reports are anything to go by.

The Latest: In contact

As per Italian football journalist Rudy Galetti, the St. James’ Park faithful are now ‘trying’ to sign Aubameyang, and are already ‘in contact’ with the Emirates Stadium faithful about a potential loan move.

The striker ‘would like’ a switch to the North East, and so this is a saga to keep an eye on throughout the window.

The Verdict: Avoid

There is no doubt that ‘Auba’ has been a top player throughout his career, scoring over 300 goals at both club and international level combined.

However, he has Whoscored).

Coupled up with his mammoth £250,000-per-week wages and less than spotless injury record, he is a player that the Tyneside outfit should be avoiding, as they look to build the project for the future.

In other news, find out which 154-goal title-winner NUFC are now eyeing here!

Newcastle United transfer target Ousmane Dembele has informed Xavi of his intention to leave FC Barcelona, according to El Chiringuito (via Sport Witness).

The lowdown

Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo reported last month that Newcastle are in ‘pole position’ to land France international Dembele.

He’s valued at £45million by Transfermarkt, but The Magpies could potentially bring him in on a free transfer because his contract is up at the end of the season.

That’s not to say it’d be a cheap deal. Dembele’s £287,000-per-week wages make him the second-highest earner at Barcelona, behind only Philippe Coutinho (£380,000).

The latest

El Chiringuito’s Jota Jordi revealed that Dembele is lining up his exit from the Camp Nou after a lucrative offer from the Premier League.

“Dembele has told Xavi not to count on him for next year,” he said. “He has an offer from England of a lot of money, with a transfer bonus because he would go free.”

The translation from Sport Witness mentions Newcastle United by name, although it is not clear from Jordi’s comments if they are the ones who have made that offer.

The verdict

This would be an exciting, if risky, signing for Newcastle. Dembele, a former Young Player of the Year in both Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, is one of the four most expensive players in football’s history.

The great Lionel Messi once dubbed him a ‘phenomenon’, backing him to break into the world’s elite, so there is no questions he is a player with immense natural talent.

But the big concern is his injury record. Since he joined Barcelona in that blockbuster deal in 2017, he’s missed a whopping 100 games through a relentless series of problems.

Ability counts for little without availability, especially if you’re shelling out massive wages for the player in question.

In other news, there’s been a key update on another NUFC target at Barcelona.

Pundit Paddy Kenny believes that Newcastle United could struggle to sign Lille defender Sven Botman due to a ‘problem caused by’ former owner Mike Ashley, as per Football Insider.  

The Lowdown: Botman links

The Magpies could be in for a busy first transfer window under new owners PIF, with Eddie Howe’s side three points off safety.

One man who the club are trying to bring to St James’ Park is Botman, with The Athletic sharing the news last week. Sources believe that an offer in the region of £40m could be enough for the Ligue 1 side to part ways with the centre-back in what could be a club-record move.

Botman has made 62 appearances for Lille after joining from Ajax in a deal worth £7.2m in July 2020.

The Latest: Kenny’s comments

Kenny was talking to Football Insider regarding a possible £40m move for Botman. The former Leeds goalkeeper feels that Newcastle could have trouble making any major winter additions due to their lowly position in the league, labelling the current squad as a ‘problem caused by Ashley’.

He outlined:

“They have the money to do it, no question.

“It’s about whether he will come. I don’t know much about the guy but if he’s worth that much at that age he’s clearly talented.

“Newcastle could be bottom of the league by January. Why would any decent player go and join them?

“I’ve got nothing against Newcastle, I just think you have to look at it like that.

“Clubs who are in better positions will be interested, I imagine.

“Even if Newcastle are the only club to bid. You would just stay where you are, wouldn’t you?

“I think that’s the problem Newcastle face. A problem caused by Ashley and the previous regime.

“That squad is nowhere near good enough.”

The Verdict: Why not?

Botman is still in the early stages of his career and isn’t yet a household name in world football, so who’s to say that he wouldn’t want to make the move to Tyneside in the New Year despite Newcastle’s current league position?

You could argue that he might actually jump at the chance to join one of the biggest leagues in the world, with Howe seemingly keen to bolster his defensive ranks after links to Burnley pair Ben Mee and James Tarkowski.

Regular game-time may have to be guaranteed to the 21-year-old, but you’d expect that wouldn’t be an issue, especially if the club are willing to spend £40m on the Dutch defender.

In other news: ‘In the next day or two’ – PIF now closing in on 1st major Newcastle signing; Howe gets his wish

The sense of optimism surrounding Crystal Palace appears to be growing week by week under the tutelage of new manager Patrick Vieira.

Back-to-back victories over reigning Premier League champions Manchester City and Wolves have finally rewarded the Eagles for their positive performances, and the best could still be to come.

Vieira oversaw a successful squad rebuild during the summer, with several young, exciting arrivals replacing many members of a previously ageing side.

However, the Frenchman’s job is far from complete, and it seems as though he already has his sights firmly set on his next transfer target.

According to The Sun, Vieira is plotting a move for Fulham midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa over the coming months as he continues to impress during his season-long loan spell at Napoli.

The 25-year-old has made 14 appearances for Luciano Spalletti’s charges in all competitions, catching the eye with some magnificent displays as the Azzurri have charged to the top of the Serie A table.

But Anguissa’s form will have come as a surprise to some. He struggled to impose himself on a regular basis during his time with the Cottagers, although his former boss Scott Parker was particularly complimentary following a standout performance against Liverpool.

“I thought Frank was superb today,” said Parker back in 2019. “He’s had a difficult time, obviously, coming in on a big transfer fee. Probably getting up to speed with the league has been difficult at times.

“But you look at all the top teams, whether it’s Man United with Fred, or Liverpool with Fabinho early on in the season, they’re not playing too much because they’re trying to get up to the pace of the Premier League.

“Us as a football club need Frank straightaway really, but he just needed time to settle in, and certainly today, I thought he was first class. He did really well, and I’m really pleased for him,” Parker concluded.

However, unlike Fred and Fabinho, Anguissa was never able to show his true potential in west London, largely due to Fulham’s continuous battles at the bottom of the top-flight table.

Nevertheless, he did enough to impress Vieira, who reportedly tried to sign the Cameroon international in the previous window, only to be beaten to his signature by Napoli.

The Sun’s report states that Vieira has not given up hope of enticing the all-action dynamo to Selhurst Park, though, with Fulham believed to be holding out for a £20m fee next summer.

And his arrival at the capital club could spark the beginning of a formidable midfield duo.

Eberechi Eze is set to return from an Achilles injury after the international break after a fabulous maiden Premier League campaign, and the youngster’s guile and creativity alongside Anguissa’s power and tactical intelligence would be a mouth-watering prospect come 2022.

Palace’s new era under Vieira could hardly have gotten off to a better beginning, but Anguissa’s arrival would certainly have to potential to take the Eagles to new heights.

And, in other news…Nixon’s exciting claim on £13m-rated “game-changer” should leave Palace fans buzzing 

Taking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans weren’t impressed with the performance of defender Craig Dawson during their encounter with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.

All eyes were on the centre-half position and how David Moyes would line up without the injured Angelo Ogbonna, who underwent surgery on his ACL injury.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-developments-2/” title=”West Ham developments” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

West Ham have been tipped to target a new defender in January, including the likes of James Tarkowski and Niklas Stark, but for now Moyes will have to improvise with his current crop.

He elected to start Dawson next to Kurt Zouma after some impressive performances recently, yet many West Ham fans feel he didn’t have his best outing today.

The 31-year-old, as explained by West Ham correspondent Tom Clark, was often caught out by Wolves forward Raul Jimenez and struggled to cope with his diagonal runs in-behind at times.

He was also cynical in the challenge at points and among the lowest-rated West Ham players on SofaScore, leaving little wonder why supporters weren’t blown away.

West Ham fans slam Dawson…

Taking to social media with criticism, West Ham fans took aim at his passing in parts whilst he also played the likes of Jimenez onside fairly frequently.

Find all of their verdicts down below:

“One of Dawson traits. Caught so many times last season with players running in behind him”

Credit: @JThommo72

“Mate how bad has dawson been. Giving the ball away playing them onside. No pace to cover himself. Dont know why diops not playing he’s always solid”

Credit: @BillWHU1

“Dawson has been absolutely terrible so far, whole team not much better”

Credit: @BillyHull22

“Diop instead of Dawson against city please”

Credit: @rayo4591

“said it once and ill say it again. Craig Dawson is very poor at passing”

Credit: @WHULuds

“Dawson passing been horrendous”

Credit: @westhamonline5

“Dawson can’t continue starting. We are going to lose so many games because of him”

Credit: @TheHammers_

“Dawson has been awful”

Credit: @OD_SMITH

In other news: ‘Yesssss’, ‘Get in’, ‘What a day’…ExWHUemployee’s ‘great news’ has many West Ham fans buzzing, find out more here.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered his verdict on Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa and the side’s struggles this season in the Premier League.

What’s the story?

The Whites fell to yet another disappointing defeat in the top-flight at the weekend, this time slipping to a 1-0 loss against Southampton, and Hay has now commented on some of the key issues facing the club.

He said: “The bench is incredibly young. With the exception of Forshaw, one Premier League start between them. I can understand why, despite the past three years, that still worries people. You’re looking for proven options and there are very few.

“We’ve asked him about squad depth or written about it so many times. He always has the same answer which is to say that it’s how he wants it and it’s how it’s going to be. It’s worked for him up until now but looking at that bench today, you just couldn’t see where the impact was going to come from. Fully fit there are decent options but it has to be said that this squad is rarely fully fit.

“I don’t think they’re confused. I think people can just see that it hasn’t worked in the same way so far. And because Leeds are so drilled and have such a defined way of playing, when it doesn’t work it’s going to cause concern. Because you know Bielsa will stick to his plan.”

Worrying times for Leeds

Just as much as the result, the performance is what really would have caused Leeds fans to worry about their team going forward over these next few weeks in the Premier League.

The Whites could only muster three shots on goal in the entire game against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, while they also made significantly less tackles and won fewer duels too – an all-round abject display.

As Hay touched upon, strength in depth has been a glaring problem at Elland Road under Bielsa, with the Leeds boss preferring a tight-knit squad with little room for manoeuvre if things go wrong.

The big problem for him, is that anything that could go wrong, has gone wrong for him in these early weeks of the Premier League campaign.

Whether it be injuries, illnesses or the dreaded consequences of the international break, Leeds have been without a number of key first-team players for a good period of time, including the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Raphinha and Patrick Bamford.

By not really strengthening the squad of the summer, and instead choosing to stick to his guns, Bielsa decided to play with fire. And everything that has come since has hardly been surprising. It’s sure to worry Leeds fans.

Meanwhile, Leeds are eyeing this La Liga starlet…

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Carlo Laudisa, as relayed by Sport Witness, Tottenham Hotspur and Antonio Conte could make an ‘immediate attempt’ to sign Stefan de Vrij.

The Lowdown: Conte era begins…

Following the dismal reign of former Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who left the club after just four months in charge, it’s safe to say an exciting era has begun with the appointment of serial winner Conte.

The four-time Serie A champion and Premier League-winning boss comes with a glittering CV and glowing reputation of winning silverware where ever he is appointed.

Conte is also tipped to bring a high-intensity, high press philosophy of football back to N17 and instil a winning mentality, as claimed by Italian football experts after Spurs officially announced his appointment (football.london).

He has also been linked to signing a plethora of Serie A stars as news emerges on one of them in Inter defender de Vrij.

The Latest: Conte tipped for ‘immediate attempt’ to sign de Vrij…

As per La Gazzetta, as shared by Sport Witness, Conte has been tipped to make an ‘immediate attempt’ to sign the 29-year-old powerhouse.

This is largely due to his ‘exception’ when it comes to first assessing his new club before taking to the transfer market as he eyes strengthening one key area for Spurs already in central defence.

Indeed, as explained, Conte will apparently want to improve that particular Tottenham area quickly and that is where de Vrij comes in.

The Verdict: Get it done?

Valued at around £45 million by Transfermarkt, Conte’s old club could be forced to sell on the cheap next year if he doesn’t put pen to paper on a new deal – with his current contract expiring in 2023.

This may put Nerazzurri under some pressure in terms of negotiating and one other aspect may be his age.

It isn’t infeasible that the Serie A giants may want to cash in on the 29-year-old while they still can and sooner rather than later, potentially assisting Conte when it comes to possibly making his ‘immediate attempt’.

Lauded as a ‘monster’ by former Lazio teammate Mauricio, he has certainly kept that form up as a reliable defensive option.

He averaged a very impressive 93.8% pass accuracy out from the back for Conte’s title-winner last season, a far higher rate than any Spurs defender managed in that time (WhoScored), possibly indicating he could come as a composed figurehead next to Cristian Romero.

In other news: Journalist says star ‘will go to Tottenham’ as he drops live TV transfer claim, find out more here.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left buzzing as some news emerged on Glen Kamara.

As per the official website of the Ibrox faithful, the central midfield player has agreed on a new contract until 2025, amid a number of reports linking him with a move away in the summer transfer window.

It is so important that the Light Blues can keep Kamara at the club for as long as possible, as he has emerged as one of Steven Gerrard’s key players in his team over the past few campaigns.

The Finland international has already played in ten games in total over all competitions so far this season, making one assist (Transfermarkt), and thus tying him down to a new long-term deal is great business.

Rangers fans on Kamara deal

These Gers buzzed as the news was shared on Twitter, with one RFC supporter claiming that they are ‘over the moon’, while another even went as far as to label it as ‘incredible news’:

“Fantastic news for Glen, Rangers and the Rangers family.”

Credit: @BrowneyedBluen1

“Incredible news. Genuinely thought he would have been moved on. What a great talent he is.”

Credit: @becalmfollowon

“Be still my beating heart”

Credit: @cris_poole

“Fully made my day”

Credit: @KyleBunch9

“Over the moon with this”

Credit: @rosshendry15

“Well this has just made my year”

Credit: @deanobobs9

In other news, find out whose display against Livingston was slammed here!