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Aston Villa have been handed a major boost in their pursuit of Manchester United centre-back Axel Tuanzebe.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days and weeks have suggested that Dean Smith’s side have got their sights set on bringing the English defender back to Villa Park for a second spell at the club, and now, Football Insider have delivered an update on the situation.

It said: “The Midlands giants are front of the queue to make a move for the versatile 23-year-old after registering their interest in a deal.

“A Villa source has told Football Insider that the club have been given encouragement that United are planning to let Tuanzebe go in the current window. The 20-times champions have been sounded out by Villa over a potential deal and they will listen to offers if they can secure a replacement.”Dean Smith wants an athletic centre-back with Premier League experience to provide cover and competition for first-choice duo Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa. Tuanzebe has been targeted as he fits the profile of the recruitment team and has the potential to develop.” Dean Smith will be buzzing

In a highly successful first loan spell at Villa Park, Tuanzebe played 35 times for Villa during the 2018/2019 campaign, helping to secure promotion back to the Premier League via the play-offs.

And then, speaking ahead of Villa’s clash with United back in 2019, Smith himself said: “He is a terrific guy. He’s got a terrific attitude, that is the thing which will stand him in good stead with his career. I can’t speak highly enough of him.

“He was a big part of why we got promoted last season. I loved working with him, and I would like to think I helped in a small part in his development. I look forward to seeing him, but hopefully he doesn’t play too well against us.”

So, it’s no surprise that Villa are targeting a move for Tuanzebe, and given this latest transfer update on their pursuit of the centre-back, there’s no questioning Smith will be buzzing at the prospect of joining forces with him once again.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa have been handed an encouraging transfer update…

Celtic are interested in a deal to bring Zinedine Ferhat to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Foot Mercato (via Daily Record), who claimed that Ange Postecoglou has identified the Nimes playmaker as a potential target in the winter market, with the 28-year-old believed to be available on a cut-price deal due to his contract with the Ligue 2 side expiring at the end of the current campaign.

The report added that, as a result of his contract situation, the forward is expected to move onto pastures new in the January transfer window, with French duo Montpellier and Saint-Etienne also reported to be interested in the wide midfielder.

He loves to “turn on the style”

While Ferhat has not been in the best of form so far this season, having failed to score a goal or register an assist over his seven Ligue 2 appearances, it is undeniable that, should Postecoglou manage to seal a deal for the Algeria international this month, it would still be something of a major coup for the Bhoys.

Indeed, over his 33 Ligue 1 appearances in Nimes’ 2020/21 campaign, the £4.05m-rated man scored six goals, registered a whopping 10 assists and created nine big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 1.9 shots and making 1.6 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £13k-per-week winger who he himself claimed loves to “turn on the style” earn a rather astonishing seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.07, ranking him by far and away as his side’s best performer in the top flight of French football.

As such, it is clear to see that the Algerian forward would make a fantastic addition to Celtic’s current options out wide, leading us to believe that Postecoglou must do all he can to seal a swoop for Ferhat in the January transfer window.

In other news: Celtic confirm major transfer update which will leave Bhoys fans buzzing

Ibrahima Konate will be left out of Liverpool’s starting lineup to face Manchester City this weekend, according to reliable journalist James Pearce.

The Lowdown: Konate impresses despite error

The Frenchman started alongside Virgil van Dijk at Benfica in midweek, as the Reds won 3-1 in their Champions League quarter-final first leg clash.

Konate may have made an error for Darwin Nunez’s goal, air-kicking an attempted clearance, but he produced a superb overall performance in Portugal, drawing praise from Alisson for his display.

The 22-year-old made two tackles and one interception on the night, as well as the small matter of opening the scoring with a well-taken header – his first-ever goal for Liverpool.

The Latest: Pearce makes key claim

Despite this, Pearce believes Joel Matip will come in for Konate for Sunday’s huge trip to City, taking to Twitter to provide his thoughts:

“Some big decisions for Klopp v City. Matip back in for Konate pretty clear.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-27/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Correct decision

While Konate undoubtedly impressed against Benfica, bringing Matip back in for him is still the right call, should Jurgen Klopp do that.

He possesses more experience in such big games and he has been the superior player this season, performing magnificently next to Van Dijk and averaging 3.9 aerial duel wins per game in the league.

It would be a big shock if Konate was now picked, given his rawness, and his pace isn’t needed as much against a City side who are more intricate than fast.

In other news, Pearce has also made an exciting Liverpool transfer claim. Read more here.

Everton have received a potentially significant boost after it was revealed Paris Saint-Germain have ended their pursuit of star forward Richarlison.

What’s the story?

In the final weeks of the summer transfer window, it was revealed that the Ligue 1 giants had identified the highly-rated 24-year-old as a potential replacement for Kylian Mbappe.

However, according to Spanish outlet El Espanol, PSG have now moved their attention to RB Salzburg attacker Karim Adeyemi after his incredible start to the campaign.

The report states that: “On the table was the Brazilian Richarlison, but Everton did not let him out. Now the main candidate is Karim Adeyemi, from Salzburg and sought after throughout Europe after adding 15 in 22 games so far this season.”

Everton fans will be buzzing

News that the Parisians are no longer believed to be interested in acquiring Richarlison’s services will leave Everton fans buzzing with excitement, given his importance to the club.

As per WhoScored, the Brazil international bagged seven goals in his 34 Premier League appearances last term, averaging 2.4 shots per game and 1.8 dribbles, placing him in the top two for each metric amongst his teammates.

In the current campaign, a knee complaint has kept him sidelined for several weeks, but he’s still managed three goal contributions in just seven outings, highlighting his influence over proceedings.

And Richarlison’s integral nature to Everton’s success has only been exaggerated this term.

Key striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is facing a lengthy spell on the treatment table following a setback in his recovery from a quadricep injury while his replacement Salomon Rondon has been hugely underwhelming.

Calvert-Lewin was the Blues’ top scorer last season and Rondon hasn’t come close to replacing the Englishman’s output, failing to find the back of the net in any of his seven outings.

Therefore, the threat of Richarlison departing in January could have ended any realistic hopes Everton had of finishing in a European qualification spot come May, changing the outlet of their season completely.

As a result, this latest revelation will be met with a huge sigh of relief on Mersyside, and everyone associated with the club will be hoping to see Richarlison pull on their famous blue jersey many more times in the years to come.

And, in other news…EFC may repeat Iwobi disaster by signing “lacklustre” £140k-p/w dud, Brands must avoid 

Manchester United are predicted to make huge changes this summer, including the appointment of a new manager and now Fabrizio Romano has made a huge claim on the transfer plans at Old Trafford.

What’s the word?

According to popular transfer insider and journalist Romano, Manchester United are already making plans to sign their next striker, with Richarlison and Darwin Nunez named as two players the club are interested in.

The Italian took to his YouTube channel to make the claim:

“Erik ten Hag knows how important it is to decide who is the perfect striker for Manchester United as soon as possible.

“For example, Darwin Nunez, and Richarlison are already players they have discussed internally.

“The perfect striker will be discussed with ten Hag before jumping into negotiations. Man United will 100% sign a new striker regardless of what happens with Ronaldo.”

Supporters will be excited

Following the shocking 4-0 defeat at Anfield on Tuesday evening, supporters will surely be excited that the wheels are in motion to start making changes and improving the squad with Richarlison and Nunez named as potential candidates.

Richarlison is currently embroiled in a relegation battle at Everton, however, at just 24 years old could be a great signing for Man United to improve the quality in the front three.

The Brazilian striker usually plays on the left wing to accommodate his partnership with Dominic Calvert-Lewin who plays in the centre-forward role at Goodison Park but has proven he can also be effective in his team-mate’s role too following his absence this season through injury.

The Toffees attacker has scored 49 goals in 145 appearances for his current club, but with the right service and guidance could have the potential to become a much more consistent goal threat and would be a good prospect for replacing Marcus Rashford if he was to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season, as per reports.

Nunez is a hugely hot prospect for many Premier League clubs with Liverpool and Arsenal also speculated to be interested in securing his signature this summer following a fantastic season so far from the Benfica striker.

The 22-year-old has scored an impressive 33 goals in 38 appearances for his Portuguese club and has caught the eye of several clubs following his Champions League performances scoring six goals in the competition against Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Ajax.

With that being said, if ten Hag does join the club he will have a challenge on his hands to identify the right players to make an instant impact on the struggling Man United side to ensure next season they have the opportunity to compete for trophies, and signing a new strike force is clearly a promising priority.

AND in other news: Ten Hag must brutally axe “terrible” MUFC flop who made just 11 passes v LFC

Taking to Twitter, these Nottingham Forest fans were less than impressed with the performance of midfielder Philip Zinckernagel as their side snatched a last gasp 2-1 victory away to Bristol City last night.

Looking to gather momentum under new boss Steve Cooper, Forest took on City yesterday evening in what ended up being a thrilling encounter.

The Reds sealed a last second victory to keep some pace with the Championship play-off chasers and it is super substitute Lyle Taylor who deserves the acclaim.

Coming on for Lewis Grabban with just under 10 minutes remaining, the 31-year-old international buried a brace in added time to nick all three points after Forest spent much of the game trying to breakthrough.

Before this dramatic finish, one man who certainly didn’t help Cooper’s side on the night was Zinckernagel – and it is clear to see why some fans were less than impressed.

According to SofaScore, before he was hauled off with under 15 minutes to go, the attacker completed just two out of six take-ons, lost the overwhelming majority of his ground duels and gave possession away a massive 26 times in total.

Taking this into account, Forest fans voiced their criticism on social media – find all of their verdicts down below.

Forest fans slam Zinckernagel…

“Someone tell Zinckernagel to put some effort into his corner”

Credit: @Jaffaca22393862

“put mighten on zinck thinks he’s messi today”

Credit: @NFFCRadfordinho

“Zinckernagel’s been greedy so far”

Credit: @OliverAdkin

“I’d love to see abit of Mighten. Zinckernagel looks off it tonight.”

Credit: @ConorCrossland_

“Right sub there, probably Zinckernagel’s worst game for us.”

Credit: @NiallSav98

“Zinckernagel has been absolutely woeful”

Credit: @BrummieTricky

A number of Manchester City fans have been reacting to reports that the Citizens could allow Bernardo Silva to leave on loan until the end of the season.

So far this term, the 27-year-old has featured heavily, making nine appearances in all competitions under Pep Guardiola (Transfermarkt). He made the switch to the Etihad Stadium in 2017 and has already played 210 games for the Cityzens, scoring 36 goals and providing 44 assists.

However, it seems that he could be out the door in January. As per Calciomercato (via Sport Witness), Juventus are interested in capturing the £63m-valued Portuguese international (Transfermarkt), and City would be open to an “interest loan”. However, the Turin club would first need to offload players to be able to intensify negotiations with the Premier League champions.

The news was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from Man City supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the transfer rumours, and it is fair to say they were not best pleased with the notion of loaning out Silva. Indeed, one even said that club executives Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano should be sacked if they sanction any such move.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Silva news

“Txixi and Soriano out if this happens”

Credit: @ThomasSowell90

“NO! I want to retire at City, he loves this club”

Credit: @mcfcrr

“What? Why would we do that when he is one of our best players so far”

Credit: @RealSlimFoden

“If we do this then Txiki needs deporting to North Korea”

Credit: @TeacherOfBall

“Simple, if Bernardo left permanently or on loan it would be one of the biggest mistakes that the club had ever made regarding transfers, madness”

Credit: @BowdenJoniebee

“Yes let’s loan him for a year making maybe a couple mil, then discuss a straight loan to run down his contract and let them sign him for free or peanuts. Who comes up with this… surely they’re writing this laughing knowing it’s a complete joke”

Credit: @ManCitizen06

In other news, lots of Man City fans were gutted with this news on one of Bernardo’s team-mates

Judging by Twitter, it’s safe to say that many Southampton fans weren’t impressed with the performance of winger Theo Walcott as their side succumbed to opening day defeat.

The Saints returned to Premier League action this afternoon at Goodison Park as they faced off against Everton, with an interesting season up ahead as they cope without big names from 2020/21.

In recent weeks, former star striker Danny Ings sealed a move to Aston Villa, while defender Jannik Vestergaard signed for Leicester City on Friday evening.

However, that isn’t to say Southampton haven’t made their own moves in an attempt to reinforce Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad, with summer signing Adam Armstrong #getting on the scoresheet in their 3-1 loss to the Toffees today.

One player with whom many Saints fans didn’t seem impressed, though, was fellow attacker Walcott, who seemed largely ‘anonymous’ in the eyes of some supporters.

According to SofaScore, the Englishman made no successful crosses, had zero attempts on goal and was among the lowest-rated players for Southampton with a subdued 6.3. He also lost possession of the ball on nine occasions.

Taking this into account, it’s little wonder his performance frustrated a fair few Saints supporters – check out a flavour of their verdicts from Twitter below.

Southampton fans slam Walcott

“We deserve that for giving Walcott 75 minutes, the guy is dreadful idc”

Credit: @KieranKellyyy_

“How is Walcott still on the pitch”

Credit: @sfc_susan

“Walcott can’t continue as a starter”

Credit: @Afromeror

“For Walcott, obviously, who has been largely anonymous.”

Credit: @OWTSaintspod

“Stu needs to come on for Walcott immediately”

Credit: @SaintMatt7

“Adam Armstrong and Che Adams is already looking like an extremely exciting and dangerous partnership, but I can’t help but wish we had Tella and Stu Armstrong behind them both rather than Djenepo and Walcott. Both soooo unbelievably average and predictable.”

Credit: @JackKnutsen_

“Get Walcott off for KWP and move Livramento up. Absolutely non-existent.”

Credit: @HQSoton

In other news: ‘Can’t wait’, ‘I’m excited’, ‘Fantastic’ – Many Saints fans flock to official news, find out more here.

A report has revealed that Newcastle United are now ‘in pole’ to sign Ousmane Dembele.

The Lowdown: More developments

Dembele has been linked with a move to St James’ Park ever since the takeover by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium was completed.

Sport reported last month that his camp have initiated talks with the Tyneside club over a potential move, while ABC (via Sport Witness) claimed that Dembele ‘has an offer on the table’ from the Magpies, so it seems as if the new owners are serious about securing his signature.

The Latest: Newcastle ‘in pole’

As per a ‘Top Secret’ report from Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), Newcastle are now ‘in pole position’ to sign Dembele and are ‘pushing very hard’ for the Barcelona winger.

His current contract at the Catalan giants expires in 2022, and they want to tie him down to a new deal, but it does not look likely at this stage.

They have ‘received an astronomical proposal’ from the Magpies worth €15m (£12.7m) per season and a signing-on bonus of €15m (£12.7m), and his agent would also get a generous commission.

Nonetheless, it is now up to Barca over whether they cash in during the January transfer window or risk losing him for free in the summer.

The Verdict: Rare opportunity

Signing Dembele, potentially for free, presents the Magpies with a rare opportunity to bring in a truly quality player on his day.

In previous years, he helped France to win the World Cup (Transfermarkt), while Lionel Messi once dubbed him ‘frightening’ and a ‘phenomenon’ when they were teammates at the Nou Camp.

Dembele has tailored off a bit since then, mainly due to persistent injuries, but he still has 30 goals and 22 assists for Barcelona (Transfermarkt), and at 24 years of age, there is every chance that he will only get better.

In other news, NUFC are willing to pay big money for this rising star

Sunderland are interested in a deal to bring Stephen O’Donnell to the Stadium of Light this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claim that Lee Johnson’s side are ready to make a move for the Motherwell right-back in the summer transfer window, with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus holding the belief that a deal would cost the Black Cats less than £500k.

The League One side have been linked with a number of players in the 29-year-old’s position in recent weeks, most notably Nottingham Forest’s Jordan Gabriel.

However, with Blackpool also thought to be keen on the 22-year-old, Sunderland now look to have turned their attention in the market towards the Scotland international, who has two years left to run on his contract at Fir Park.

Major coup

Considering just how short Johnson’s squad currently is in options at right-back, in addition to how impressive the Motherwell captain has been for both his club and country in recent seasons, it is unsurprising to learn of Sunderland’s interest in a move for O’Donnell.

Indeed, over his 34 Scottish Premiership appearances for Graham Alexander’s side last term, the £810k-rated man helped his side keep 11 clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.4 interceptions, 1.3 tackles, two clearances and winning 4.5 duels per game.

The defender also helped his side out in an attacking capacity, scoring one goal, registering two assists and creating one big chance for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 0.9 key passes per match.

These returns saw the £1.2k-per-week man earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.73, with his performances playing a key role in his club securing survival in the top flight of Scottish football.

This league form saw O’Donnell earn a call up to Steve Clarke’s Scotland side for Euro 2020 this summer, with the 29-year-old highly impressing for his country, most notably in the 0-0 draw with England.

In the stalemate, the right-back made two tackles, one clearance, two key passes and won three duels, seeing him earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.2 – the second-best of any Scotland player on the day.

As such, it would certainly appear as if the defender would be quite a major coup for the Black Cats ahead of the new League One season, leading us to believe Louis-Dreyfus should do all he can to get a deal over the line for O’Donnell in the coming days.

In other news: Alan Nixon drops two-word Sunderland transfer update that will have fans buzzing