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Manchester United will face Aston Villa for the second time this week after beating them at Old Trafford in the FA Cup last Monday.

This evening they travel to Villa Park in the Premier League, and Red Devils interim manager Ralf Rangnick has taken to his pre-match press conference to reveal a huge injury boost ahead of kick-off, with four regular starters returning to the squad after injury problems.

The German confirmed the availability of Jadon Sancho, Harry Maguire, Cristiano Ronaldo and Phil Jones after they all missed the FA Cup game on Monday night.

He revealed on Friday: “I think they will be available, they only trained yesterday for the first time, Cristiano yesterday, Harry the day before yesterday. We have to wait for the final session this afternoon but as it seems right now, they should be available for tomorrow.”

Fans will be buzzing

It’s no secret that Ronaldo in particular is a fan favourite, so his presence back in the starting line-up will surely leave supporters buzzing after the manager’s admission on Friday. He is also their leading scorer this season by some distance, so his return could be decisive.

Jones had an impressive game against Wolves 12 days ago, while Maguire’s 2.6 headers won per match makes him the squad’s biggest aerial threat. While Sancho’s output has been minimal in terms of goals and assists, his return nonetheless offers United another option in attack.

Rangnick has only lost one game since he was appointed as interim manager in late November, but with their last Premier League match ending in a 1-0 defeat to Wolves at Old Trafford, the 63-year-old will surely be hoping to continue the winning momentum after Monday night’s cup win over Steven Gerrard’s side.

United are chasing down a top four spot but are currently seventh in the Premier League after an inconsistent start to the season which has seen them pick up only nine wins, four draws and six losses so far. However, being away from home doesn’t seem to faze them, as four of their nine top-flight victories have been earned on the road.

Their chances of making that five out of 10 would appear to have been greatly boosted by the availability of Maguire, Jones, Sancho and especially Ronaldo, and Rangnick will no doubt be delighted to have such an abundance of options to call upon at either end of the pitch this evening.

In other news: Rangnick could make huge first transfer window coup with this midfield beast

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard will be without one of his standout performers since the 41-year-old’s arrival last month on Sunday as they host Midlands rivals Leicester City.

What’s the latest? 

Speaking in his press conference, Gerrard confirmed that left-back Matt Targett will face a late fitness test before the Villa boss makes a decision on whether or not to include the 26-year-old against Leicester.

The 41-year-old said: “Matty Targett will probably struggle for this game, but we’ll make a late decision on him.”

The defender was taken off in the 67th minute during the Midlanders’ clash with Manchester City on Wednesday night due to a head injury and therefore faces a race against time to be available to face the Foxes.

Leon Bailey is a confirmed absentee for the game, with Gerrard also sweating on the fitness of Danny Ings (Birmingham Live) as Villa face the prospect of being without several valuable players this weekend.

Gerrard will be gutted

Villa have been excellent during Gerrard’s short time at the helm, winning twice and losing narrowly to Manchester City. One of the key factors to the former Liverpool captain’s instant success has been the performances of Targett at left-back, who has been a standout performer in the last couple of games.

The 26-year-old was rated 8.1 by SofaScore in Gerrard’s first game, a 2-0 win over Brighton, and then scored the opener in their 2-1 triumph at Crystal Palace last week.

This is a stark contrast to his start to the campaign under former manager Dean Smith, where the defender’s performances were under par, particularly against Watford on the opening day as he was withdrawn at half-time after a tricky test against Ismalia Sarr.

Villa do have a natural replacement in Ashley Young, but the 36-year-old has started just one Premier League game at left-back this term, also being deployed as a winger and central midfielder on occasion.

However, the £900k-rated veteran has also vastly improved under Gerrard, recording his two assists to date this season against Brighton and Crystal Palace.

It appears that Targett won’t beat the race against time to be fit for the Leicester clash, which is a significant blow to Gerrard, who will be gutted if he has to do without the 26-year-old. Villa fans shouldn’t panic though, as in Young they have a vastly experienced replacement to fill in at left-back.

In other news – Forget McGinn: Gerrard must stick with £52k-p/w Villa beast dubbed “better than Pogba”

Celtic are interested in a deal to bring Johnny Kenny to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Scotland, who claim that both Ange Postecoglou’s side and Hibernian are keeping a very close eye on the situation of the Sligo Rovers centre-forward ahead of a potential swoop this winter.

However, the report goes on to state that the 18-year-old was in attendance at Hibs’ 1-0 win over Dundee on Tuesday evening, something that would appear to suggest that the Edinburgh side are currently in the driving seat in the race for the youngster’s signature.

Imagine him & Moffat

Considering just how much potential Kenny quite clearly possesses, it is not difficult to see why Postecoglou is reported to be interested in a move for the forward this winter.

Indeed, over his 32 Premier Division appearances for Sligo Rovers this season, the £68k-rated man scored 11 goals and provided his teammates with two assists, returns which have earned the teenager a considerable amount of praise.

Speaking about the Ireland U19 international’s potential, Brendan Tuohy – the player’s former coach – said: “He knew what he wanted, he wanted to be the best that he could be. He worked very hard. Even when we weren’t training you would know well that Johnny was doing more on his own. He was living for it… he had that hunger, dedication. He was very committed, and he didn’t like losing. He had that hunger for success.”

As such, it would appear as if Kenny is a player who perfectly fits the characteristics Postecoglou likes in a signing, and, when taking into account the fact he is still just 18 years of age, the youngster is also a player who the 56-year-old manager could very much mould into a top-level talent.

And, with Celtic already possessing a number of extremely exciting youth prospects at present, none more so than Owen Moffat, the signing of Kenny this winter would only appear to make the future of the club brighter – leading us to believe that the Bhoys must do all they can to land the Sligo Rovers star in January.

In other news: Forget Abada: Celtic gem who won 67% duels proved he’s now someone “Ange can’t ignore”

Aston Villa have had a great start to their new era under Steven Gerrard, with an important win against Brighton this weekend, their first in five.

The former Rangers boss is no stranger to coming into teams and developing sides to suit his style of play and vision for success to build a winning mentality, which is something he proved he could do with Rangers.

Gerrard led his Rangers side to their first title in ten years, in an invincible season where they played 38 games, won 32, drew 6 and lost none.

We are already seeing glimpses of the Gerrard philosophy of play integrated into his new Aston Villa side, with Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins adopting the very same attacking tactics that the 41-year-old manager used with Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe.

Playing Watkins on the left and Ings through the middle, the pair interchanged and swapped positions throughout the clash with Brighton to confuse markers and gain more opportunity and space in front of goal, which is exactly how Gerrard set up his two goal scorers in his Rangers side too.

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding Gerrard and his former Rangers team, with Ryan Kent and now, Alfredo Morelos linked with moves to the Premier League club, with both players thriving in the system that their former manager adopted in his time at the Scottish club.

Gerrard spoke out about Alfredo Morelos when he was at Rangers, discussing the chances of the striker being picked up by another club;

“For me, we like working with him, we like the player, he scores goals. I still think he can get at a better level in a personal point of view and the goals will come, but in terms of decisions and where he will be in the long term it will be down to him and his representation rather than us because we’ve always shown that we want to keep the player, so all the noise around Alfredo comes from him and his people rather than us.”

His footballing abilities have been said to be “like a jungle cat” with AD San Carlos manager, Restrepo, saying;

“He was like a jungle cat who hadn’t been trained. He would use his speed and power to get into space and open up an opportunity but because he was moving so fast and so powerfully he couldn’t finish.”

Aston Villa could make the £10.8m-rated bully their first signing in January as they seek to secure points and stay away from the relegation zone in the second half of the season.

There is no doubt that Morelos could add an attacking threat and goals to the side, with his experience playing under Gerrard and in a winning system for the Liverpudlian manager.

Should he join and continue to score at the rate he has in Glasgow with 101 goals to his name, he would be an awe-inspiring signing, one that could ensure they remain in the top-flight of English football.

In other news: Jacob Ramsey could be Steven Gerrard’s Grealish

Dele Alli is among three players who could leave Tottenham Hotspur in January, according to Alasdair Gold for Football London. 

The lowdown

Spurs generated just £29.43m from sales during the summer against their £60.21m spend (via Transfermarkt), so in theory, offloading more players in January could generate funds for new manager Antonio Conte to put his stamp on the squad through recruitment.

Dele started Spurs’ first six matches of the new season under Nuno Espirito Santo but hasn’t been named in a Premier League XI since.

The latest

In a Football London Q&A on Monday, Gold namechecked £27m-rated midfielder Dele as he identified players who could be transferred out in the New Year. Harry Winks (valued at £18m by Transfermarkt) and Joe Rodon (£9m) were also tipped for potential mid-season exits, although Gold added that the Wales defender could leave on loan rathe than permanently.

In response to a question on potential January outgoings, the journalist replied: “It depends what the situation is in a month’s time for certain players.

“For instance, if the current situation does not change and there are no injuries in the centre of the park, I’d be surprised if Harry Winks does not want to leave for regular football. The same goes for Joe Rodon, who is not getting the minutes at centre-back in the Premier League.

“There is also the Dele Alli situation and whether Conte sees him as part of his plans going forward and exactly where he fits. He was seven minutes away from making it a hat-trick of half-time substitutions under the past three Spurs head coaches.”

The verdict

Spurs have to beat Group G leaders Rennes in the final round of fixtures to guarantee progression in the Europa Conference League. If they go out of that competition, then there’ll be fewer opportunities, and a reduced need, for the players mentioned by Gold.

Conte is said to have some pretty ambitious plans for January, with one report even mooting a double swoop for Matthijs de Ligt and Stefan de Vrij, and Spurs may need to be ruthless with their squad players for his vision to be realised.

In other news, Spurs are in the frame for this Premier League defender

Flocking to Twitter, many Liverpool fans have erupted over an official club message regarding midfield enforcer Fabinho.

Jurgen Klopp’s side continued their fine start to the 2021/2022 campaign with another Champions League victory as they saw off La Liga giants Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

Indeed, a late penalty dispatched by superstar forward Mohamed Salah earned Liverpool all three points in an entertaining 3-2 win at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

The Reds now top Group B with three wins out of three, scoring 11 goals in the process, yet a club message draws attention to the second half performance of defensive midfielder Fabinho against Atletico.

Liverpool’s international came on for Naby Keita and put in an assured display, winning the majority of his ground duels and completing 95% of his passes (SofaScore).

In a tribute to his outing, Liverpool’s official club account have heaped praise on Fabinho, simply stating he ‘bossed it’ against Diego Simeone’s men.

In response, many Reds have flocked in full agreement whilst lauding the Brazilian themselves – find all of their best verdicts down below.

Liverpool fans flock to Fabinho post…

“Best Cdm in the league right now”

Credit: @Andyjm0509

“Best DM itw”

Credit: @Jesusfreak2005

“Baller, Liverpool second best player after Salah these past two seasons”

Credit: @tebogo_twice

“Class and brilliance”

Credit: @kinanee_samson

“Boss man”

Credit: @GargantuanReds

“Yeees the boss of bosses”

Credit: @mugemastephen

“An absolute game changer”

Credit: @Asuu16572372

“Legendary”

Credit: @LFCFrancis

In other news: ‘Pls pls pls’, ‘Outrageous’, ‘I beg you’…Fabrizio Romano’s ‘behind the scenes’ transfer news has many Liverpool fans excited, find out more here.

Queens Park Rangers moved into the Championship play-off places on Friday night despite Jack Colback’s injury time strike securing a point for Nottingham Forest.

The hosts took the lead on the stroke of half-time after superb work from winger Albert Adomah saw the 33-year-old set up Lyndon Dykes for a simple header at the back post following a perfectly weighted cross.

Dykes had a couple of chances to put the result beyond all doubt in the second half, but Forest goalkeeper Brice Samba raced off his line to deny the Scotland international one-on-one before Djed Spence produced a brilliant last-ditch tackle as the striker lined up a shot.

It didn’t seem as though those missed opportunities would matter as the game neared the final whistle, although Steve Cooper’s charges had other ideas.

The visitors were chasing a fifth straight victory on the road and managed to rescue a draw late on when Jack Colback’s effort took a deflection and nestled in the back of the net, securing his first goal since March 2019.

Despite the last-minute setback for QPR, the west Londoners will take plenty of positives from an entertaining, closely-fought encounter at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.

Most of their promising play came through ex-Forest attacker Adomah, who appeared to have a point to prove against his former employers.

As per SofaScore, the £13,000-per-week beast received a match rating of 8.4 out of 10, by far the highest total of any player on the pitch. When taking a closer look at his underlying numbers, it’s easy to understand why.

Not only did Adomah grab an assist, he also won a whopping 15 duels as he continued to dominate his full-back throughout the 90 minutes, completed four of his five attempted dribbles successfully and made two key passes (Sofascore).

What was really impressive, though, was how the Ghanaian was just as effective when carrying out his defensive duties for Mark Warburton’s side. He made a huge seven tackles, along with two interceptions, highlighting his effective performance at both ends of the pitch (Sofascore).

QPR will be hoping for more of the same from Adomah in the weeks to come as they target a top six finish, with a trip to Cardiff City up next in midweek.

In other news… Lost possession 22 times: QPR lightweight who won zero duels let Warburton down against Sunderland 

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has delivered a major update on Aston Villa star Emi Martinez ahead of the international break.

What’s the story?

The goalkeeper of course was part of a Villa duo along with Emi Buendia who made the trip with Argentina for their games during the last international break, which saw them having to then head back to Croatia and miss the game against Chelsea in the Premier League.

Now, Preece has revealed what the current plan at Villa Park is, and whether Martinez (Buendia hasn’t been called up) could face something similar this time around.

Writing initially on Twitter, he said: “International call-ups are mind-bending at the minute as Christian Purslow & Johan Lange fight for a solution involving Emi Martinez who, as it stands, will miss fixtures vs Wolves & Arsenal. An #avfc round-up here involving Nakamba, Traore & others.”

Then, in a follow-up article for The Birmingham Mail, Preece added: “As it stands, Martinez will miss Villa’s first two games after the international break due to the current 10-day quarantine rule which is still in place in the UK, although there is hope that a new five-day quarantine rule will be approved as a compromise.

“Chief executive Christian Purslow and sporting director Johan Lange are now awaiting to see if the UK Government relax their quarantine rules for international players, with FIFA, the FA and the Premier League sending a joint letter to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a bid to find a reasonable solution.

“If Villa are unsuccessful then it’s hoped Martinez will once again pull out of Argentina’s final match with Peru in order for him to return in time to face his former club Arsenal at the Emirates on Friday, October 22, with Martinez again expected to be available just hours before kick-off.”

Villa fans will be worried

Without Martinez for that game at Stamford Bridge back in early September, Villa boss Dean Smith was forced to turn to number two goalkeeper Jed Steer.

And while Steer didn’t exactly put a foot wrong in that clash against the Blues, he couldn’t stop Thomas Tuchel’s side running out as 3-0 winners in a game that was tight for most of it.

Martinez’s return since that game has seen them keep back-to-back clean sheets in the Premier League, including the antics that he pulled to put off Bruno Fernandes in injury-time of Villa’s 1-0 win against Manchester United just last weekend.

The Argentine is a massive presence in between the sticks, and brings a sense of intimidation to opposition strikers that unsurprisingly just can’t be matched or replicated.

Missing him for one game against Wolves would be bad enough, but being without him against his former club Arsenal would be a huge blow. Villa fans will surely be very worried at Preece’s latest update.

Meanwhile, this Villa star is now attracting interest from Man City…

Leeds United centre-back Robin Koch has reportedly undergone successful surgery on a hip injury and is hopeful of returning to action ‘soon’.

The Lowdown: Koch missing for a while

The 25-year-old has been missing since the 5-1 defeat at Manchester United on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

Koch limped out of proceedings with a hip problem, and given the severity of the issue, surgery was required in the United States.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375277″]

The Latest: Positive update emerges

According to Bild [via Sport Witness], the surgery has been a success and the German is now focusing on being back in the Leeds fold as soon as possible.

Koch will return to the club next week and it is claimed that he could be back on the pitch in the ‘coming weeks’.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-20/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Much-needed boost

There isn’t much positive injury news to report for the Whites currently – the likes of Luke Ayling, Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford are all out, among others – so this is a welcome boost.

Granted, Koch may not necessarily be a guaranteed starter when fit, but he provides competition for places and is capable of thriving in both defence and midfield, being hailed as ‘magnificent’ by Noel Whelan in the past.

Indeed, with Bielsa’s squad ravaged by absences at the moment, any positive update on the injury front is a most welcome one, not least in defence.

In other news, Leeds could sign a summer transfer target in January, according to a fresh update. Read more here.

West Ham United are among the teams eyeing a move for Jed Wallace this January…

What’s the word?

According to Football League World, the Irons are watching the 27-year-old’s situation ahead of a potential move, with his Millwall contract set to expire at the end of the current season.

It’s thought that an offer to stay at the Den is currently on the table but nothing has been agreed so far, meaning interest has ramped up in recent weeks.

The Hammers face competition from Premier League rivals Burnley, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Brentford, as well as Championship giants West Brom and Scottish duo Rangers and Celtic, who are able to agree on a pre-contract agreement at the turn of the year.

Sources have told FLW that the chances of Wallace signing an extension appear slim at this stage.

Another Bowen?

West Ham have had plenty of success when dipping their toes into the lower leagues of English football, with notable cases being Aaron Cresswell and Jarrod Bowen.

In Wallace, they could certainly repeat their trick with the latter, who signed from Hull City after a few fruitful seasons in the second tier.

After ten goals and seven assists during the 2020/21 campaign and ten goals and 12 assists in 2019/20, the £6.3m-rated dynamo has continued his fine form into the current season, scoring three times and providing two assists in six appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

Lions boss Gary Rowett knows exactly how important he has been for his side throughout the past few seasons. After a win over Bristol City in 2019, he described Wallace as “instrumental in everything we achieve at the moment,” whilst he was dubbed a “game-changer” after his performance against Blackpool just last month.

Throughout the course of his career, Wallace has proven to be very consistent, which bodes well for his chances of making the big step-up into the Premier League – as per WhoScored, he’s averaged 1.9 shots, 1.6 key passes and 1.5 dribbles every game since 2015/16.

Meanwhile, he’s provided a total of 39 goals and 40 assists across 228 appearances, averaging a direct contribution once every 239 minutes, per Transfermarkt.

Considering the success of Bowen, the Irons should certainly take a punt on the 27-year-old attacker in 2022, whether that be in January or on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Wallace could be the next great success story of Moyes’ impressive recruitment.

AND in other news, ExWHUemployee drops major claim on £60k-p/w West Ham star, fans will be ecstatic…