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Steven Gerrard is dreaming of bringing Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres to Aston Villa, according to Spanish outlet Fichajes. 

The lowdown

The 24-year-old is enjoying a first taste of Champions League football with Villarreal this season, having helped them defeat Manchester United to win the 2020/21 Europa League. He featured in the tournament’s Squad of the Season in recognition of his performances on the road to triumph in Gdansk.

Torres also earned a call-up to the Spain squad for last summer’s European Championship, featuring in all six of their matches as they reached the semi-final, where they lost on penalties to eventual champions Italy.

Javi Calleja, one of his former coaches, has marvelled at his ‘extraordinary talent to construct the play’, which saw him occasionally used as a midfielder. Another mentor, Miguel Alvarez of Villarreal B, has spoken of his ‘barbarous natural talent’ (via The Athletic).

For an idea of his playing style, he boasts a similar profile to Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte, former Arsenal defender David Luiz and Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger (via FBRef).

The latest

The report from Fichajes stated that Torres is a player with whom Gerrard ‘completely falls in love’.

The Villa manager apparently intent on upgrading at centre-half, with captain Tyrone Mings and Axel Tuanzebe adjudged to be in a ‘significant slump’ of form, and Gerrard knows he has ‘a lot of money’ at his disposal in his new position to strengthen the squad.

However, Villa will apparently need to shell out €50m, which equates to around £42m, to persuade Villarreal to part with Torres. His name has been mentioned in connection with Real Madrid and Manchester United, but there is a feeling that he’s not quite reached the elite level just yet.

The verdict

Signing Torres would be quite some coup for Villa. He has not only held his own against United but also, Calleja says, against the likes of Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

He’d be a real asset to Gerrard when it came to building attacks from deep – his passing success rate of 89.1% is better than anyone who has started a Premier League match for Villa this term.

Is it a realistic signing? If the top clubs haven’t seen enough yet to take the plunge on him, and the Midlanders have the money, then it’s just a matter of persuading Torres to swap Villarreal for Villa.

Given that Villarreal are currently 12th in La Liga, they might not have the advantage of European football next season, which could be another factor in Villa’s hopes of luring him to England.

In other news, this is who Gerrard wants at left-back for Villa

Crystal Palace must do all they can to keep Wilfried Zaha at Selhurst Park in the summer with the £36m rated gem a potential target for top clubs.

What’s the story?

Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson has urged his former club to sign Zaha insisting he is ‘a better player now’ than when they tried to previously sign him back in 2019.

The 29-year old winger who was dubbed “electric” by GOAL was a target for the Gunners during Unai Emery’s reign, but Arsenal’s £40m bid was not enough to persuade the South London club to sell.

He even handed in a transfer request at the time to try and force a move through but he ended up staying at Selhurst Park.

With his contract expiring next summer, now could be the time for Arsenal to get him at a reduced price.

Zaha is vital for Vieira

As a result of standing their ground, Palace have reaped the rewards with Zaha proving to be a star player since.

The Ivory Coast international is the Eagles’ top scorer this season with ten goals and has been key to manager Vieira’s positive start at the club.

However, it’s not just goal scoring that Palace rely on – Zaha ranks in the 90th percentile for passes into the penalty area when compared to other wingers in Europe’s big five leagues this season.

He also ranks the highest in the Palace squad when it comes to passes that lead to a shot attempt at 51 so far this campaign, proving his distribution and playmaking is simply crucial.

Despite these contributions, his manager still believes he has “potential to fulfil” and called on him to show more consistency.

There’s no doubting that’s a challenge that Zaha will relish with him saying that he feels like he “performs better” when he’s under the added pressure.

Seeing him attract interest from several big clubs isn’t a new thing. During his first stint with the Eagles, he was targeted by then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

He made the move to Old Trafford in 2013 for £10.5m just after the Scottish manager retired, but it didn’t quite work out for him during a period where United declined.

Zaha made only 14 Premier League appearances for the Red Devils and didn’t score once before he eventually moved back to Palace in 2015 for a fraction of the price (£3.4m)

His value has once again soared, but if Palace are to continue thriving under Vieira they may need him to stick around for longer. Anything less would be seen as a disaster for Steve Parish and co.

IN other news: Sold for £25m, now worth just £608k: CPFC struck gold on dazzling 32 y/0 – opinion.

Celtic will attempt to secure Boli Bolingoli a move away from Parkhead over what remains of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Daily Mail (via the Daily Record), who claim that Ange Postcoglou has officially decided that the left-back, who has been linked with a move to Turkish side Altay SK this month, has no future at Celtic Park.

The report goes on to suggest that the Bhoys transfer team will do all they can to secure the 26-year-old a move away from the club prior to the closure of the current transfer market on January 31.

Postecoglou must axe Bolingoli

Considering just how little Bolingoli has featured for Celtic since his £3m signing back in the summer of 2019, coupled with the fact that the defender is currently earning a princely £15k-per-week at Parkhead, it would indeed appear an extremely wise move for Postecoglou to do all he can to move the left-back who Bill Leckie dubbed “arrogant” on this winter.

Indeed, during his two and a half year spell in Glasgow, the former Belgium youth international has featured just 31 times for the Hoops, something that is largely down to the fact Bolingoli was bombed out of the squad by Neil Lennon after being found to have broken lockdown restrictions in August 2020.

However, with the 56-year-old Bhoys boss not exactly being graced with strength in depth at left-back, in addition to 19-year-old Adam Montgomery looking set to leave the club on loan this month, should Celtic manage to find Bolingoli a move in the next few days, Postecoglou will subsequently need to bring in a fresh face into the position.

And, with the Hoops having been linked with a move for the Derby County left-back Lee Buchanan already this month, the 20-year-old would appear to be something of a perfect fit for the Greek-Australian coach.

Indeed, despite his tender age, the £2.25m-rated defender has already made 61 first-team appearances for the Rams, scoring one goal and registering three assists along the way.

Wayne Rooney also appears to be extremely excited about the youngster’s future in the game, with the former England captain stating of the current England U20 international: “Lee Buchanan is incredible. He’s got a real bright future. I’m sure he’ll play for England within the next couple of years.”

As such, it would very much appear to be an extremely intelligent piece of January business for Postecoglou to finally cut Celtic’s losses on Bolingoli this month, before reinvesting the money saved on the 26-year-old’s wages into a move for the £5k-per-week Buchanan.

In other news: Huge blow: Celtic dealt yet another injury setback, Postecoglou will be seething

David Moyes has revealed the latest information on the availability of Kurt Zouma, Tomas Soucek and Mark Noble ahead of their meeting with Leeds United this afternoon after the West Ham trio missed Wednesday night’s 2-0 win over Norwich City.

What’s the latest?

Speaking to West Ham’s official website, Moyes said: “Kurt Zouma is on his way back – he’s just started back training and is doing quite well.

“He’s another player unfortunately who had been down with the virus, and all the clubs have situations whether it be injuries or people with [illness], but we have to deal with it, move on and do the best we can.

“I don’t want to be specific on who’s got [the virus] and who’s injured, but we were without Tomas Soucek and Mark Noble on Wednesday. We’re hoping we might get one of them back, I’m not saying who.”

The midfield duo of Soucek and Noble both missed the Norwich victory, the first league game either had been absent from the squad for this campaign. In fact, since arriving in East London in July 2020, Soucek hadn’t missed a single minute of Premier League football for the Hammers before Wednesday evening.

As for Zouma, the French centre-back has missed over a month of action after sustaining a hamstring injury in the 3-2 victory over Chelsea in early December but appears close to being back in contention.

 West Ham fans will be buzzing

Naturally, supporters will want as many players available as possible throughout the campaign. However, the potential return of Zouma, Soucek and Noble is a particularly significant boost.

As previously mentioned, Soucek had been an ever-present for Moyes’ side since his move from Slavia Prague last season and is a crucial engine in the midfield for the Hammers. The Czech Republic international has three goals and one assist in the Premier League so far and his presence will certainly be an advantage against Leeds.

Zouma’s return will also be welcome with the Irons not looking as steely at the back during his absence. In the league games where the 27-year-old was present, West Ham conceded 14 goals in 11 matches, a 1.27 goals per game average. However, in the matches since his injury, the East London outfit have conceded eight goals in six games, a slightly higher average of 1.33 per game.

As for Noble, the 34-year-old West Ham legend will be retiring at the end of the season after making over 500 appearances for the club. Although he has only featured 12 times in all competitions this season, West Ham fans will be keen to see Noble play a handful more times for sentimental reasons.

In other news: Moyes could finally replace Haller as West Ham plot bid for “complete” £13.5m-rated machine

Writing on his personal Twitter feed, journalist Matteo Moretto of Sky Sports Italia has backed a transfer development out of Tottenham Hotspur involving Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz.

The Lowdown: Spurs ‘preparing’ £32m bid…

According to The Daily Mail, as Spurs close in on the signing of both Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski of Juventus, the Lilywhites are not quite done there.

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Their sources claim that transfer chief Fabio Paratici could be busy long into deadline day as Tottenham apparently prepare a £32 million bid to sign Villa star Luiz.

The Brazilian is apparently attracting real interest from Tottenham as manager Antonio Conte seeks to bolster his options before the 11pm Monday deadline.

The Latest: Moretto backs development…

Taking to social media, Moretto has backed this report, simply stating ‘it is true’ that Spurs are planning to sign Luiz in this final hurdle of the transfer window.

“And it is true that Tottenham plans to try to sign Douglas Luiz, as reported by the Daily Mail,” he stated.

The Verdict: Brilliant move?

The 23-year-old would come to Spurs with plenty of plus points, and depending on Villa’s sale stance so late in January, he could be a great signing.

Journalist Gregg Evans of The Athletic (via This is Futbol) raved over Luiz back in 2020, calling him an ‘absolute star’ and a ‘joy to watch’ – perhaps highlighting just how brilliant has been for Villa since his move from Man City back in 2019.

Earning nine caps for Brazil, one of the most competitive international squads in world football, City boss Pep Guardiola has also praised the midfielder in past seasons.

The Spaniard called Luiz an ‘important player’ for Villa as well as ‘clever’ and ‘strong’ (Daily Express), with evidence seemingly piling up that he would be a brilliant 11th hour move.

In other news: Tottenham gifted late window chance to sign player once valued at £90m, find out more here.

Wolves are building towards an extremely exciting summer transfer window if reports of late are to be believed.

The likes of Lucas Ocampos and Allan Saint-Maximin have both been touted with making a switch to Molineux but will Bruno Lage be able to secure them?

What’s the word?

Unfortunately, it looks as though their hopes of securing a deal for Saint-Maximin may have been quashed.

That comes courtesy of Fabrizio Romano who claimed there is nothing concrete in rumours linking the Frenchman with a move away from Newcastle United.

He said on the Que Golazo YouTube channel: “So at the moment, for Saint-Maximin, still nothing concrete, but let’s see in the coming weeks what happens.”

90min had initially suggested that Wolves and Everton were both interested in securing his services.

Supporters surely gutted

Considering just exciting Saint-Maximin can be, this news is unlikely to please much of the Molineux fanbase.

After all, there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding their forward line ahead of the summer so it is absolutely imperative they have some targets lined up.

Adama Traore could still move to Barcelona while Wolves have a deal in place, should they choose to utilise it, to sign Trincao from the Catalan giants on a permanent basis.

However, judging by the fact that both players have contributed to a combined haul of just two goals in the Premier League this term, neither should be long-term options.

Yet, in Saint-Maximin, they’d find a player capable of not only excelling in areas where Traore thrives – pace and dribbling – but also someone who is capable of providing more end product in the final third.

The 25-year-old livewire has racked up a supremely impressive haul of 4.3 dribbles per match in 2021/22, a number that actually eclipses that of Traore who has managed 4.2 in comparison.

His five goals and three assists are also a better tally than the energetic Spaniard, proving he’d be a superb acquisition this summer.

Sadly, if you believe Romano, a deal now looks unlikely. Wolves supporters will have every right to be gutted as a result.

AND in other news, Jota 2.0: Wolves plot bid to sign “electric” £58m gem who terrorised Doherty in 2020…

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe is just over a month away from entering his first transfer window in charge of the club.

The former Bournemouth head coach has inherited a Magpies team rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, so January could be crucial to the club’s attempts to retain their position in the top tier of English football.

Statement signing

The Magpies could truly kickstart the Howe era at St James’ Park by making a statement signing in the January transfer window to show that they mean business and stay in the division. They can get away from the grim Mike Ashley days of old and propel themselves towards a brighter future by landing a huge deal, namely the addition of Luka Modric from Real Madrid.

Tottenham, Manchester City and Newcastle have all been touted as potential destinations for the Croatian, whose contract at the Bernabeu expires at the end of the season. PIF could swoop in during the January window to snap him up from the Spanish giants by offering them a chance to rake in a fee for his services instead of losing him for nothing.

This could allow Howe to bolster his squad for the second half of the campaign, whilst it also allows Real Madrid to reinvest some of the potential funds in order to find a replacement. That is why it could be a viable deal for PIF to complete, should Modric not want to sign an extension in the Spanish capital.

He could be a gigantic signing on and off the pitch. Firstly, it would show a real sign of intent from PIF and Howe and potentially convince other players to join, as Modric’s vast experience in the game highlights his stature among other players. He has won a Ballon d’Or and four Champions League titles in his career, whilst playing well over 500 games for Tottenham and Real Madrid combined.

Secondly, he still has the quality to make an impact on the pitch. Former Galactico and Brazil legend Kaka previously claimed that football is ‘like a dance’ for the £275k-per-week gem, who he showered with praise.

He said: “Luka [Modric] shows us that it’s easy to play. Believe me it’s really really hard to play football. To play the World Cup it’s even harder. And he plays like it’s normal. It’s like a dance for him.

“And now he’s this amazing player at a high level. Four Champions Leagues, a World Cup final and being the captain of his team.”

Last season, the veteran midfielder averaged an excellent WhoScored rating of 7.15 across 35 La Liga outings for the Spanish giants. He provided five goals and three assists from the middle of the park, showing that he is able to consistently perform to a high level despite his age.

Therefore, Newcastle could kickstart the Howe era by landing Modric and increasing the club’s profile off the pitch, whilst improving the team and boosting their chances of staying in the Premier League at the same time.

AND in other news, NUFC to blow rivals out of the water for potential £29.5m deal, fans surely ecstatic…

Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves is likely to leave the club this summer and Barcelona are keen on signing him, according to reliable journalist David Ornstein for The Athletic.

The Lowdown: Neves’ Wolves future in doubt

The Portuguese maestro has stood out as one of the Old Gold’s best players this season, recapturing some of his best form and making 26 starts in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, Neves has been linked with an exit from Molineux this summer, with the 24-year-old potentially eyeing up a new challenge at an elite European club.

A fresh update has now emerged which appears to further increase the probability of him moving on from the Black Country.

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The Latest: Ornstein provides Neves latest

According to The Athletic’s Ornstein, Barcelona look like the most likely club to snap up Neves this summer, with discussions currently underway over his future. The journalist reported:

“However the campaign ends, it is expected to be another summer of change at Molineux — with uncertainty over the future of some key players, such as Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho.

“There is an acceptance that after five years of fine service, Neves may be sold if a suitable offer arrives and gives him a chance to play Champions League football.

“Discussions are taking place between intermediaries and at present the most likely destination is said to be Barcelona, though Premier League teams are known to be keen and Wolves would gladly sign him to a new contract.”

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The Verdict: Matter of time?

Sad as it may be to accept, Neves does look likely to leave at the end of the season, having given five years of great service to Wolves and making 207 appearances overall.

As he approaches 25, the midfielder – who has been described as ‘fantastic’ by Molineux team-mate Jose Sa – may feel that now is the right time to enjoy a new chapter in his career.

It would be hard to begrudge Neves a move to a club of Barcelona’s legendary stature, and should it happen, finding the right replacement then becomes pivotal for Bruno Lage to ensure that Wanderers continue their upward trajectory.

In other news, Wolves have been linked with a move for one La Liga winger this summer. Read more here.

A number of Liverpool supporters are excited after journalist James Pearce claimed that four key players would be available for the Reds’ next Premier League game.

Jurgen Klopp’s men picked up a victory on Sunday afternoon, battling their way to a 3-1 triumph away to Crystal Palace.

The Merseysiders weren’t always at their best at Selhurst Park but they dug deep and ensured that they made up two points on Manchester City over the weekend. The result leaves them nine points adrift of the leaders, but with one game in hand at home to 15th-placed Leeds.

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Liverpool have done well in the absence of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita in January, winning each of their league games and reaching the Carabao Cup final, and the trio will return for the Reds next month after their involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations.

According to The Athletic’s Pearce [via Anfield Watch on Twitter], all three players – as well as Thiago back from injury – should be available for the next Premier League game at home to Leicester on February 10th, acting as a major boost when the Reds’ top-flight campaign resumes.

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Liverpool fans hail Pearce update

These Liverpool fans reacted to the update in positive fashion on Twitter, which is no surprise given that the quartet have 38 goals between them already this season.

“HERE WE COME”

Credit: @Alex_AMS96

“So glad that at the end of the day, we didn’t miss them for the games we played in their absence. Their return would be a big boost to the team”

Credit: @Drgroundzero17

“City we are coming for you”

Credit: @sean3648

“Liverpool PRIME is back!”

Credit: @fcel17

“Good news”

Credit: @iraguhajackson2

“THEY AIN’T READY FOR THE SMOKE BLUD”

Credit: @shush29344954

In other news, some Liverpool fans are fuming over one transfer update. Read more here.

A number of Wolves supporters have reacted in frustrated fashion to Tim Spiers’ confirmation that the club’s Premier League clash with Arsenal, scheduled for Tuesday lunchtime, has been postponed.

Bruno Lage’s side were also meant to be in action on Boxing Day but their league meeting with Watford at Molineux was called off. It has given Wolves’ players time to recharge their batteries and preparations had been underway to take on the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow.

Unfortunately, Wanderers have now had back-to-back matches postponed, with Spiers confirming the news on Twitter on Monday evening due to a combination of numerous injuries and positive virus cases within Lage’s squad, which is among the thinnest in the Premier League anyway.

It is deeply frustrating for Wolves at a time when they are looking to continue their good form, but their next match now won’t be until January 3, when they make the trip to Manchester United.

Wolves fans fume over Arsenal postponement

These Wanderers fans took to Twitter to show their annoyance at the news, which some supporters dubbed a “shocking” indictment of the lack of squad depth at Molineux.

“Embarrassing, imagine if we actually had a squad and not just 14 first team players anyway. Club is a shambles top to bottom, where’s all the Watford bashers now”

Credit: @TheMolineuxBlog

“Embarrassing from us”

Credit: @adamwwfc03

“This season is fast becoming a farce, looks like teams are taking it in turns to have a week off”

Credit: @Retrowolves1

“Game should go ahead, nobody’s fault other than ours that we have a tiny squad”

Credit: @wwfcltd

“Injuries? That’s embarrassing. That’s our own fault, not Arsenal’s”

Credit: @WiggyWWFC

“Shocking when these blokes are meant to be all vaccinated, work in some of the most covid safe environments etc. Just end the season now otherwise every team soon as they get a few injuries will be crying Covid”

Credit: @jamiehen1

In other news, Wolves are still interested in signing one player. Find out who it is here.