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Aston Villa are reportedly set to make a bid for a talented young forward…

What’s the talk?

According to TNT Sports, as transcribed by TeamTalk, Aston Villa are set to make an £8.5m (€10m) bid for River Plate winger Julian Alvarez. Dean Smith is said to want strength in depth at the top end of the pitch and has identified the Argentine as a player he would like at Villa Park.

The report claims that Alvarez’s agent is poised to fly to England to discuss terms with the Midlands club, showing how serious Villa are about a deal for the youngster.

Could strike gold

Sporting director Johan Lange could strike gold for Smith by completing a deal for Alvarez. He is already showing his intent by preparing to make a bid for the forward, which suggests that he believes a transfer is realistic ahead of next season.

Alvarez’s contract at River Plate expires next summer and the Argentine club could be tempted to cash in now before potentially losing him on a free transfer in a year’s time.

Transfermarkt values Alvarez at £13.5m so Villa could land a bargain if River Plate accept their £8.5m offer. His contract situation could allow the Villans to strike gold and land an exceptional value-for-money deal, which would leave Smith buzzing as it could save additional funds that he could use to improve other areas of the squad.

In the 2020/21 campaign, Alvarez was directly involved in 11 goals for River Plate. He managed four goals and seven assists from out wide, averaging a goal contribution every 121 minutes. Jack Grealish, meanwhile, was the only Villa player who managed more than six assists in the Premier League (10) last season, although new arrival Emi Buendia racked up 16 for Norwich in the Championship.

Alvarez could be a creative outlet for Villa that they have been lacking from their other wide options, with himself and Buendia increasing the creativity within the club’s attacking line up. Ollie Watkins would love that as it could provide him with the ammunition he needs to keep scoring goals.

At the age of 21, Alvarez also has the majority of his career left ahead of him. He still has plenty of room to develop and Smith could coach him into becoming a key player for the club. Therefore, Lange could be striking gold by securing a deal for the talented wide man this summer.

AND in other news, Villa must replace Grealish with £100k-p/w “freak of a talent”, Smith would love him…

Tottenham Hotspur should seal the signature of Adama Traore before this month’s transfer deadline…

What’s the word?

That’s according to the reliable Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Athletic after he delivered a fresh and exciting claim on this week’s episode of the ‘View from the Lane’ podcast.

“I think it’s more likely than not that they will end up signing Adama Traore,” he said.

“Traore I gather is still the likeliest target to come in. Tottenham are working on trying to get a deal done. Wolves do want to sell him. Tottenham are trying to find a way to do it.

“Some people talk about the possibility of a loan with an obligation, and I do think that if Matt Doherty were to go back to Wolves that would be slightly easier as that would be part of the deal but so far, I haven’t got any indication that is actually going to happen, even if Tottenham would like that to happen.

“I do think they will get it over the line.”

Just get it done

It’s thought that the Wolves star is available for just £20m this month but it seems as if the Lilywhites are dithering over a loan with an obligation to buy in the summer – really they ought to just stump up the cash now as manager Antonio Conte is in desperate need of additions.

As per the Telegraph, the tricky Spain international has been identified as a priority for the Italian, who sees him as a perfect fit for the right wing-back role over summer signing Emerson Royal.

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You’d imagine that Traore, who doesn’t have the best end product, would thrive in such a role and under a head coach like Conte.

Indeed, the 25-year-old powerhouse scored his first goal of the season at the weekend in the Old Gold’s win over Southampton, where he came off the bench in a 12-minute cameo – a sign he’s set to leave, perhaps?

But the 5 foot 10 dynamo, who has played for Aston Villa and Middlesbrough, has a nice mix of dribbling ability and brute physicality that would not only make him a lethal threat down the right flank but one that would have Spurs fans on the edge of their seats.

He’s built like a brick wall, as once alluded to by BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand, who dubbed him “a machine” who could be “a powerlifter or a cruiser-weight boxer” and Southampton forward Che Adams, who described him as a “monster” to the Premier League’s YouTube channel back in May.

Traore currently leads the top-flight for dribbles per game (4.3), which is more than the likes of Mo Salah (1.9), Wilfried Zaha (1.9) and Tottenham’s very own Lucas Moura (2.5), via WhoScored.

That combined with his average of 1.5 key passes per game last season suggests he’s a nuisance in the final third. He has previously played the wing-back role under Nuno Santo at Molineux, so he wouldn’t need much time in adapting and there’s no one better to learn from than Conte. Just look at Victor Moses’ time under him at Chelsea.

If Pitt-Brooke, who is one of the most reliable when it comes to Spurs news, believes the deal is likely to happen despite the situation dragging on and on, then many around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium must be absolutely buzzing.

It’s surely a matter of time before a deal is struck, especially as the Spaniard is entering the final 18 months of his current contract.

AND in other news, Spurs could land big Alli upgrade in “special” £18m-rated gem, he gave Dier nightmares…

Adam Jones has claimed that Everton must now make Burnley ‘regret’ their 2-0 loss at Norwich City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

The Lowdown: Great results for Everton

After the Merseyside club beat Manchester United 1-0 at Goodison Park in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off, other results at the bottom of the table also went their way over the weekend.

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Watford lost 3-0 at home to Leeds United on Saturday afternoon, while Burnley then went and lost to Norwich. It means that Frank Lampard’s team are now four points clear of the relegation zone with just eight matches left to play.

The Latest: Jones reacts to Premier League results

Taking to Twitter, Liverpool Echo journalist Jones has now given his reaction to the results, claiming that the Clarets dropping off after beating Everton 3-2 in midweek was a ‘real let off’ for Frank Lampard’s side.

He chimed: “Well that is quite the weekend of results for Everton. In some ways, it’s a real let off.

“Burnley really dropped the ball after what seemed like a defining victory in midweek. Everton need to make them absolutely regret that over their next few games, whatever it takes.”

The Verdict: Not over yet

The race to secure Premier League safety is certainly not over yet, but of course the weekend’s results provide a huge step in the right direction for the Toffees.

Some of their next few fixtures look particularly daunting, with a trip to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby followed by a home match against Chelsea to come.

There could be plenty of twists and turns along the way, but Lampard will be hoping that Everton’s win against the Red Devils can install some much-needed confidence in his team, ready for the rollercoaster ahead.

In other news, one Everton ace has been branded ‘disappointing’

Lots of Wolves fans have been left fuming as some news emerged involving their Under-21 team.

As shared by the official Twitter page of the Wolves Academy, the Under-21 side lost 3-0 away at Crewe Alexandra in the Papa John’s Trophy, meaning that they have now exited out of the competition.

The result left them in third place in their group, having picked up two losses in total and one draw, only managing to score one goal whilst conceding six in their three games (Sky Sports).

Considering that other Premier League side’s Under-21 teams have flourished in the group stages, such as West Ham United, Aston Villa and Chelsea (Sky Sports), the frustrations of the Molineux faithful are understandable, and questions may now have to be asked of coach James Collins as a result.

Finishing their Papa John’s Trophy campaign winless and bowing out with a lacklustre 3-0 defeat certainly won’t shed much favourable light on the Wolves academy boss with supporters already voicing their displeasure on social media.

Wolves fans on Under-21 result

Indeed, these WWFC supporters fumed as the update was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it was ‘abysmal’.

Find all of their verdicts on the news down below.

“Abysmal!”

Credit: @MrR1g4t

“#CollinsOut”

Credit: @Wolves_Ay_We_

“We need to look at the team”

Credit: @AndreNixon19

“Unfortunately until we become a top 6 side we’ll never be able to attract the top youngsters. Many of this side will have careers in the game but, it’ll be in the lower leagues not the Premier or Championship levels.”

Credit: @WWFC09

“It’s not just tonight’s result and performance, for some time the U23s have lacked any identity of purpose. Questions need to asked about the quality of coaching, especially as we are supposed to have signed some promising talent. #CollinsOut”

Credit: @HwlinWlf

“Complete rubbish, a disgrace. No tackling, go slow all game. Ruddy must have had the ball more than any of the other players because of the stupid back passing, truly a gutless performance. Collins needs to wise up this is not anywhere near good enough”

Credit: @kevinwwfc666

In other news, find out what Hwang Hee-chan news has Wanderers buzzing here!

West Bromwich Albion have only been able to score more than 50 league goals in just two of the nine Premier League campaigns they’ve been involved in since the start of the 2010/11 season.

Looking back down the years, one player the Baggies were linked with but didn’t end up signing that could have been a massive goalscoring threat for the team is Robert Lewandowski.

According to the Express & Star, former West Brom manager Tony Mowbray wanted to bring the then 20-year-old striker to the club in January 2009 when he was at Lech Poznan.

Having ended his time in Poznan with 41 goals in 82 appearances, it’s easy to see why the centre-forward was on West Brom’s radar.

The Polish side apparently wanted a fee of £2.6m for the striker, but Albion reportedly had no money to spend on him.Since then, the Poland international has shown with every season why the Baggies should have exhausted every financial possibility to be able to bring him to the Hawthorns when they had the chance.In the 2010 summer transfer window, the striker joined Borussia Dortmund for a fee of £3.7m where he then went on to score 103 goals and provide 42 assists in 187 appearances.The attacker then joined fellow Bundesliga side Bayern Munich in the summer of 2014 on a free transfer.During his time with the German giants, the 33-year-old has unbelievably found the back of the net 340 times in 369 appearances across all competitions.To highlight what an elite player he has become since moving to Germany, the veteran has won a combined total of 25 team titles and individual awards including nine Bundesliga trophies and one Champions League trophy.Labelled as a “breathtaking” player by Owen Hargreaves, Lewandowski has racked up a phenomenal total of 637 goals and assists throughout his illustrious club career.On the international stage, the former Poznan starlet has scored 75 goals in 129 appearances for Poland, showing just how much of an icon he is for his country.Taking all of this into account, it’s evident that had the Baggies been able to somehow finance a transfer deal for the striker, then they would have had a player in their side that could have been a vital figure for them.In other news: West Brom: Grady Diangana struggled in defeat to Stoke City…

Even though Liverpool currently have a hefty number of central-midfielders in their senior squad at the moment, some of them, such as Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson and James Milner have all hit or gone past the age of 30.

One player that the club currently have in their youth system that we feel could well go on to be a suitable replacement for one of those previously mentioned senior midfielders is 18-year-old Tyler Morton.

As a product of Liverpool’s youth academy, Morton, who is currently valued at £270k according to Transfermarkt, has made 23 appearances for Liverpool’s U18 side in which he has managed to score six goals and provide seven assists in the process.

Morton has also made 24 appearances for Liverpool’s U23 side, scoring five times and supplying four assists along the way, proving himself as a rather useful attacking option from midfield.

The midfielder made his senior debut for Liverpool during their 3-0 win over Norwich City in the Carabao Cup last month in which Reds manager Jurgen Klopp said Morton put in a “confident” performance in his first senior outing for the Merseyside club.

Opening up on the midfield general, the German boss explained: “Tyler, really, he gave us the opportunity to connect again, because he just played simple, passed the ball in the right spaces, defended the right spaces.”

In addition to this, Morton was given an overall match rating of 7/10 for his performance against Norwich from the Liverpool Echo who said that he “slotted into the defensive midfield role impressively” after replacing Naby Keita.

The teenager has managed to rack up an average of three key passes per game based on the two performances he’s put in for Liverpool’s U23 side in the Football League Trophy this season, which is considerably more than Henderson (1.1 key passes per game) has done in the Premier League so far this season.

We feel that if Morton continues to play well for the youth team and take any opportunity that comes his way to play in Klopp’s side, such as their upcoming Carabao Cup clash against Preston North End later this month, then he could well see himself as a possible regular first-team player in the next few years, in the same way Curtis Jones has done.

Looking ahead to the future further down the line, even though he signed a new deal over the summer, we could see Morton potentially being a long-term replacement for Henderson if he ends up leaving when his current deal expires given his age.

Like the skipper, he is defensively astute and capable of carrying the ball forward. He’s certainly one to watch.

In other news: Imagine him & Thiago: Klopp must secure LFC move for “incredible” £36m-rated machine – opinion

Crystal Palace shared a picture of Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise on Thursday afternoon, which led to a number of Palace fans going wild on social media.

Eze suffered a serious Achilles injury at the end of last season, whereas summer signing Olise has missed the beginning of the campaign with a back problem.

Olise, Patrick Vieira’s first addition as Palace boss, is hopeful of making his Selhurst Park debut next month, while Eze is way ahead of schedule in his recovery, with reports first suggesting he could be sidelined until 2022.

The Eagles shared a picture of Eze and Olise in the gym. The pair were all smiles, and you’d expect the two to be key for Vieira during the current campaign when they return.

Palace fans react

Palace posted the picture of the two attacking midfielders on their official Twitter page.

This is what these Eagles supporters had to say in reply, with one describing the post as ‘beautiful’.

“Oh my”Credit: @SWPalace”This is just wow”Credit: @robertmeilak”Oh yesssss”Credit: @BenM_CPFC”This is beautiful”Credit: @CpfcDan_”Omg it’s happening”Credit: @KB_EAGLES”Omggggg”Credit: @w_cpfc

In other news: ‘Things you just love to see’, ‘Get in’ – Many CPFC fans buzz as ‘baller’ signs a new deal. 

With just three wins, seven draws and five defeats under their belt, it’s safe to say that Southampton have had a rather mixed season in the Premier League so far.

One man who has played a big part in their campaign so far is Mohamed Elyounoussi, who has scored four goals and provided two assists in 13 appearances across all competitions.

After spending a couple of years on loan at Celtic, where he racked up 24 goals and 17 assists in 67 appearances, the winger has been a regular figure for Ralph Hasenhuttl this season.

Back in October, it was reported that fellow Premier League clubs Arsenal and Leicester City were interested in signing the Norwegian, who has been described in the past by Tom English as a “dangerous” player.

However, it seems as though the south coast club have been handed a boost regarding his future, which will surely have a lot of fans buzzing. Elyounoussi has revealed in recent days that he and his family are comfortable living in Southampton at the moment and that it’s where they “belong.”

This should be a big relief to the club and any Southampton fans who may have been concerned about a potential exit being on the cards for the 27-year-old, who is currently earning £59k-per-week according to Salary Sport.

Taking into account how Southampton have a track record of selling players to fellow Premier League clubs in recent years – such as Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool, Matt Targett and Danny Ings to Aston Villa and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to Tottenham Hotspur among others – it seems unlikely that fans would have been open to seeing their club flogging yet another one of their assets to a top-flight rival.

Moving forward, if Elyounoussi can add some more goals and assists to his tally for the season in the Premier League, he could finally prove himself to Hasenhuttl after spending such a long time in Scotland with Celtic.

If that is the case, however, there’s every possibility that other clubs could then have an interest in signing Elyounoussi and could make it difficult for Southampton to keep hold of him, especially if a club which can offer him European football and higher wages were to come in for him.

With that in mind and his current contract at St Mary’s set to expire in the summer of 2023, it could be worth the hierarchy at Southampton offering him a new deal before this one runs out.

In other news: Gao could replicate Adam Armstrong masterclass at Southampton with “elite” 16-goal ace

Newcastle United reportedly now have ‘the opportunity’ to sign AS Roma star Nicolo Zaniolo.

The Lowdown: Newcastle’s new Gascoigne?

Back in 2019, the player’s agent Claudio Vigorelli claimed that his client ‘resembles’ former Magpies midfielder Paul Gascoigne for his ‘physical qualities’ and can be ‘devastating’ like Gazza with his ‘technique and quality’ (The Daily Mail).

The former England international was a cult hero at St James’ Park, being their Player of the Year in the 1987/88 season, and scored 20 goals in 94 games in total for them across all competitions (Transfermarkt).

Zaniolo is still only 22 years of age, and given the comparisons to Gazza, he seems to have a big future ahead of him.

The Latest: Opportunity comes around

As per Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Newcastle now have ‘the opportunity’ to sign Zaniolo for ‘significant amounts’ of money, with Tottenham Hotspur also an option for the Italy international.

However, they will not be able to sign him in the January transfer window, but a deal may be possible next summer.

The Verdict: Makes sense

With the Magpies currently in a relegation battle, it would make a lot of sense for them to wait until the summer before they can assess whether they can sign Zaniolo.

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Currently rated at £36m by 16 goals and provided a further nine assists in 87 matches for Roma, showing that he has an eye for a goal and an assist.

At 22, he has so much potential, and if Newcastle can avoid relegation, he would certainly be an astute signing to target.

In other news, NUFC are in ‘advanced talks’ with this DoF candidate

Former Newcastle United star Steve Howey believes Joe Willock enjoyed a brilliant spell at the club last season as they close in on the permanent signing of the midfielder.

Newcastle took Willock on loan in January and he went from strength to strength under the management of Steve Bruce.

The 21-year-old made 14 appearances for the Magpies and scored eight goals in total, as he netted in all of his final seven outings for the club, including strikes against Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and Manchester City.

And now it appears that Newcastle are closing in on a permanent deal to bring Willock into the club on a permanent basis.

90min reports that the two clubs have agreed a deal worth £25m for his signature, but that the move now hinges on the midfielder’s go-ahead.

Arsenal are reported to have told Willock that he does not have a future at the Emirates and is free to leave the club in this transfer window.

And Howey believes he has earned the right to return to Bruce’s side.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “You cannot say that he didn’t do brilliantly because he did, he did absolutely exceptionally well.

“Of course, you can understand the fee that’s been touted about for him. It’s just whether Newcastle are prepared to pay top whack or can they negotiate with Arsenal?”