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Aston Villa are interested in a deal to bring Glen Kamara to Villa Park in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to TEAMtalk, who claim that, following recent reports suggesting that Glasgow Rangers would be willing to part with the central midfielder for a figure in the region of £10m this winter, Steven Gerrard’s side are currently one of the most interested clubs in a move for the 25-year-old – alongside French outfit OGC Nice.

The report goes on to state that, with Morgan Sanson looking likely to depart Villa Park in January, coupled with Douglas Luiz appearing set to leave the club on a free transfer at the end of his contract next summer, Johan Lange has work to do in strengthening Gerrard’s midfield – with Kamara seemingly a very attainable target.

Dream Luiz heir

While it is true that the loss of Luiz would come as a blow to Gerrard and his side, especially on a free, should Lange manage to bring in Kamara as the Brazil international’s replacement in the middle of the park, it would certainly help to soften the blow of waving goodbye to the 24-year-old.

Indeed, the £6.75m-rated talent was a key part of Gerrard’s title-winning Rangers side back in 2020/21, with the midfielder making an average of 60.1 passes – at a success rate of 91% – 0.9 interceptions, 1.1 tackles and winning 4.1 duels – at a success rate of 59% – per game over his 33 league appearances, with these returns seeing the Finland international average a SofaScore match rating of 6.99.

Furthermore, the £30k-per-week earner also impressed over his 14 appearances in Gers’ run to the Europa League final last time out, scoring one goal and registering two assists, in addition to making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 0.9 tackles, 0.6 key passes and winning 4.2 duels – at a success rate of 56% – per fixture.

It was this kind of performance level that saw Kamara become a firm favourite of the 42-year-old manager during his time in Glasgow, with the Liverpudlian stating of the midfielder back in 2019:

“He’s a terrific footballer in possession, always playing with his head up and looking to connect defence and attack. But what pleased me most is what I spoke about when we signed him in terms of how he’ll be out of possession.

“Will he hunt the ball back, be aggressive, work hard for the team and be a monster in the middle of the park? He showed signs of that against Kilmarnock and potentially he can become a top midfielder.”

As such, while Luiz – who has averaged SofaScore match ratings of 6.77, 6.87, 6.89 and 6.83 over his four Premier League campaigns at Villa Park – will not be an easy man to replace, Kamara would very much appear to be something of a dream heir to the Brazilian, especially for an extremely affordable fee of just £10m.

Everton have a certain knack for producing homegrown midfield talent, with Ross Barkley their most proud recent graduate despite his untimely exit back in 2018.

The current crop of youth prospects all seems to carry plenty of ambitions for a similar breakthrough, with Isaac Price a prominent member of a core group that is constantly mentioned in conversations with the first team.

Labelled a “box-to-box midfielder” by his former manager at youth level David Unsworth, the 19-year-old has earned praise for his industrious performances in the midfield for the Toffees.

Unsworth continued by claiming: “He is a great passer, he’s got a bit of everything.” He has also labelled him “terrific” in the past.

His emergence into the senior squad could come at the perfect time, with Idrissa Gana Gueye having returned to the club this summer.

The Senegalese star is a guaranteed starter for Frank Lampard’s side, but Price should aim to be the long-term successor to the 32-year-old whose engine must run out eventually.

Last season, the Northern Irish midfielder featured 24 times in the Premier League 2, scoring once and assisting twice. Similar to Gueye, his prerogative seems to stray from the offensive side of the game.

He can clearly chip in with goals, as this season he already has two in eight appearances in all competitions, but it is not his main strength.

His steady performances have earned him two appearances in the senior squad too, and although brief, the fact that both were under Lampard will give him confidence that if he performs well he will be given chances.

Across his two stints and 111 appearances, Gueye has managed to score just four goals, showing how big an impact someone can have without detailing outstanding statistics.

In the one game this season where data was available, Price had a standout performance. A SofaScore rating of 7.0 was well deserved, as he made 4.0 tackles and clearances, and was successful in 100% of his dribbles whilst having 76 touches and scoring a goal.

It was the quintessential midfield performance against Morecambe, highlighting just a taste of what he can offer Everton in the future.

He could be a perfect replacement for Gueye, when he eventually starts to decline.

Sheffield Wednesday are having a look at free agent Owen Windsor, according to The Star’s Joe Crann.

The Lowdown: Windsor profiled

Windsor is 21 years of age and has been without a club since the summer after leaving West Brom.

Primarily a centre-forward, he can also play on the wing and has previous first-team experience on loan with Grimsby Town, Newport County and Carlisle United.

The left-footed forward netted three senior goals during those loan spells, and it looks as if Wednesday are eyeing a potential free move for Windsor.

The Latest: Wednesday links

Crann shared a story for The Star on Tuesday morning ahead of the Owls’ clash with Plymouth Argyle.

He claimed that Windsor was spotted in Sheffield Wednesday colours on Monday evening and was an unused substitute for Neil Thompson’s U21 side in a 3-0 defeat to local rivals Sheffield United.

Crann added that Wednesday are looking to bolster their ranks following a recent injury to youngster Luke Cook, who joined the club in the summer after previously playing non-league football.

The Verdict: One to watch

It’s good to see that Wednesday are still actively looking to bring in new players in the free agent market, although you’d expect Windsor would feature mainly for the U21s, should he earn a deal.

Wednesday’s U21s have four forwards on the books at this moment in time, so Windsor could become the fifth and would also provide an option out wide.

He already has 16 games of experience in League Two, so should he impress at Middlewood Road, he may well be on the fringes of Darren Moore’s first-team squad.

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has shared a transfer admission involving midfielder James Maddison, amid interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.

The Lowdown: Conte’s interest

According to football.london, Spurs manager Antonio Conte was in the market for a no.10 this summer.

Whilst Christian Eriksen and Jesse Lingard were of interest, the Lilywhites were keen on a move for Maddison.

However, the north London club were unwilling to match the Foxes’ £70m valuation of the 25-year-old. Consequently, the former England international remained at the King Power Stadium.

The Latest: Rodgers’ comments

Rodgers has accepted the fact that Premier League teams will reignite their interest in the attacking midfielder in January when the transfer window opens.

Consequently, football.london expect Tottenham to be back in for Maddison again this winter.

Speaking to the media about the speculation ahead of Leicester’s 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth, Rodgers claimed:

“I would think (there would be interest). My job is to coach him every day and make him the best he can be.

“What we’ve seen in the past is, sadly, players are linked with all sorts of clubs because an agent has to create a market, and then when it doesn’t come off, you see the player disappointed.

“It’s never been like that and James has been linked with loads of clubs. But he’s a realist. He also knows he’s in a good place to develop and learn, and he knows he can focus on day-to-day life and improve. What will be in the future will be, but it will only be on the back of playing well.”

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The Verdict: Great signing

When looking at Maddison’s underlying stats, it could be argued the Leicester playmaker would make a brilliant no.10 in Conte’s starting XI.

As per FBRef, compared with positional peers across Europe over the past year, the midfielder ranks in the 96th percentile for non-penalty goals, in the 89th percentile for assists and in the 86th percentile for shots total.

Having been hailed as an ‘extraordinary’ creative outlet by Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, Maddison would certainly fit the profile needed in Tottenham’s squad.

Therefore, it is likely we will see Spurs reignite their interest in the 25-year-old in January.

Aston Villa have already made contact with Mauricio Pochettino, who is keen on returning to the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Pochettino speculation

Pochettino was first linked with a move to the Midlands at the end of August and again towards the end of September with Steven Gerrard struggling in his first full season at Villa Park.

The Telegraph revealed on Monday that Villa will make an ‘ambitious attempt to convince Pochettino to step back into management’, with Gerrard facing a pivotal week in charge.

They even claimed that a positive result against Fulham or Brentford may not be enough for Gerrard, and it looks as if NSWE are now officially working on a move for Pochettino.

The Latest: Contact made

Journalist Owen O’Brien took to Twitter shortly after The Telegraph’s update on Monday to share what he knows about the situation.

He said that Pochettino is Villa’s ‘number one choice’ to replace Gerrard, adding:

“Understand contact has already been made between Pochettino’s representatives and Aston Villa, and suggestions are that the 50 y/o is keen on returning to the PL.”

The Verdict: A coup

Should Villa decide to part ways with Gerrard, bringing in Pochettino could be viewed as a major coup by NSWE and Christian Purslow.

The Argentine likes to play an attacking 4-3-3 system and has plenty of experience at the highest level with both Tottenham and PSG. Pochettino also knows exactly what it takes to succeed in England, winning more than half of his 256 games in the Premier League.

Therefore, he could be the ideal man to come in at Villa Park, although with the club’s current struggles, it could be a tough sell for the board.

Tottenham Hotspur made it back-to-back Premier League defeats on Sunday afternoon, having suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of a resurgent Newcastle United side following what was another unconvincing display from Antonio Conte’s men.

Just a matter of days after their limp showing at Old Trafford against Manchester United, the north Londoners again came unstuck against the Magpies, having been undone by first-half goals from Callum Wilson and the in-form Miguel Amiron, who bagged his sixth league goal of the campaign.

A header from the ever-reliable Harry Kane – who now boasts a stunning haul of ten top-flight strikes so far this term – had given Spurs hope of a comeback against Eddie Howe’s men, although the home side were ultimately unable to produce much of a rally as they stumbled their way to defeat.

A key villain in that disappointing affair for the Lilywhites had been that of centre-back Davinson Sanchez, with the Colombian international having failed to deliver after taking the place of the stricken Cristian Romero in the backline.

The 26-year-old was “desperately poor” on the day – in the words of Sky Sports reporter Ben Grounds (Live Blog, 23/10/2022, 17:41), having been particularly wasteful in possession, squandering the ball on ten occasions from his 50 touches.

The £65k-per-week flop – who cost the club an eye-watering £42m fee back in 2017 – also failed to complete any of his four long balls, while also proving something of a liability in a defensive sense, having won just two of his six aerial duels.

On what was just his fifth league start of the season, the former Ajax man proved just why he has largely played second fiddle during Conte’s tenure to date, with his match rating of 6.6, as per SofaScore, having been the joint-second worst of any of his starting teammates against the Tynesiders.

The £25.2m-rated man was also notably criticised by the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick in his post-match player ratings piece, awarding the 50-cap dud a 5/10 rating, while also stating: ‘Uncomfortable when pressed and touch was sloppy. No surprise he was rusty but rarely comfortable when asked to play out.’

On the basis of that display, Sanchez – who has proven something of a costly mistake for owner Daniel Levy – will be lucky to retain his place for Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Sporting CP, having only served to amplify the setback of losing Romero to injury.

David Moyes’ transfer business during his second spell at West Ham United has been impressive, with the Scot bringing the likes of Gianluca Scamacca, Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen to the London Stadium.

The signing of Bowen has perhaps been most impressive. Joining from Hull in 2020, the winger has since scored 32 goals for the east London club and proved to be an excellent acquisition.

Indeed, Moyes might be onto another Bowen masterclass in terms of recruiting a Championship gem for a Premier League challenge.

West Ham are reportedly interested in bringing Isaiah Jones, the 23-year-old right wing-back and winger from Middlesbrough, to the London Stadium in the near future.

Last season, he scored once and registered nine assists in 42 Championship matches and has continued this fine form into the current campaign.

He already has five goal contributions in just 15 matches this term and is on course to smash the tally of ten that he achieved in 2021/22.

Jones ranks first in the Middlesbrough squad for successful dribbles (1.7 per match) and second for key passes (1.5 per match), proving that he is a constant attacking threat for his club.

The 23-year-old was dubbed “special” by George Elek last season, and it’s hard to disagree judging by his performances so far in the current campaign.

With Bowen proving to be an incredible success story at the London Stadium, Moyes might be able to repeat this masterclass by enticing Jones to join West Ham next year.

His next logical step is moving to the Premier League to continue his development, and it’s safe to say that the 59-year-old will be keeping a close watch on the Boro gem’s performances between now and the end of the season.

Westley said squad were “disappointed” they let the incident happen

George Dobell29-Sep-2020

Essex captain Tom Westley has issued an apology on behalf of his team following an incident at Lord’s which saw alcohol poured over a young Muslim player.Essex lifted the Bob Willis Trophy on Sunday, triggering scenes of jubilation on the balcony of their dressing room at Lord’s. Amid the photographs of those moments, Feroze Khushi, a 21-year-old batsman who played four games in the group stage of the tournament, is seen grimacing as beer is poured over his head by another young player on the staff. ESPNcricinfo has chosen not to name that player or show photographs which might be deemed incriminating.ALSO READ: Essex admit ‘work needs to be done’ after player pictured pouring alcohol over Muslim team-mateWhile Essex released a statement on Monday admitting the celebrations “did not meet the inclusive values” of the club, they stopped short of offering an apology. Westley, at the end of his first season as captain, has now corrected that and admitted the squad are “disappointed” they let the incident happen and determined to “be more responsible” in future.”On behalf of myself and the team, we would like to apologise for any offence that was caused during our celebrations at Lord’s on Sunday,” Westley said. “At Essex, we believe we have built a strong dressing-room culture that supports one another both on and off the field.”As a group, we have come together today and discussed the event and on reflection, we are disappointed that we let this happen.”Moving forward, the squad will be more responsible and aware of our actions and will continue to learn and develop with the help of the ECB and the PCA.”The incident occurred at a time of great sensitivity towards such issues in the game across the country. Revelations from the likes of Michael Carberry, Azeem Rafiq, Michael Holding and Ebony Rainford-Brent have increased awareness over the struggles of players from BAME communities in the English game and led to an acceptance that the sport has a long way to go in its journey towards full and equal inclusivity.While most observers, including those from the National Asian Cricket and the National Cricket League, agreed the incident at Lord’s was grounded more in ignorance than malice, it will have done nothing to convince those from Muslim communities that the sport is welcoming towards them.Essex’s record in such areas is better than most. No county squad contains more players from a BAME background and the speed with which they produced a statement on Monday compared favourably with Yorkshire’s reluctance to comment following Rafiq’s allegations. Westley’s additional comments underline the impression the club are determined to use the incident as a learning experience in their bid to increase their commitment towards inclusivity.

Leeds United brought an end to their eight-game winless streak in dramatic fashion on Saturday night, with Jesse Marsch’s side running out 2-1 winners over Liverpool under the Anfield lights.

In a performance which was reminiscent of the Whites’ 3-0 victory over Chelsea in August, Leeds got off to a spectacular start, with Rodrigo bagging one of the easiest goals he will likely ever score after Joe Gomez’s backpass caught out an onrushing Alisson Becker before the Spaniard tapped home into an empty net.

After Mohamed Salah drew the home side level just 10 minutes later, the Reds began to assert their dominance, with Salah, Darwin Núñez, Roberto Firmino, Andrew Robertson and Jordan Henderson all forcing a spectacular Illan Meslier into a monumental nine saves over the course of the 90 minutes.

This is not to say that the Whites didn’t have their own chances to regain the lead, with Brenden Aaronson crashing an effort against the Liverpool crossbar, while Patrick Bamford also squandered an opportunity to pull the trigger when one-on-one with Alisson after a poor first touch which took him away from goal.

However, with the game still finely poised heading towards the 90-minute mark, a Crysencio Summerville moment of magic would prove decisive, with the 21-year-old picking the ball up in the Liverpool penalty area, dancing his way between Gomez and Virgil van Dijk and firing past Alisson to seal a last-gasp win for Leeds.

While it is undeniable that the flying Dutchman will steal this morning’s headlines, it was arguably the performance of second-half substitute and first-team debutant Wilfried Gnonto which was the real game-changer for Marsch on Saturday night.

Indeed, after being brought on with just 18 minutes of normal time left to play, the £5m summer signing changed the course of the game for the Whites. Despite enjoying just 12 touches of the ball and completing three passes, the 18-year-old caused Liverpool’s defenders no end of problems with his constant movement and electric pace.

Most notably, the £9m-rated talent was the man to provide Bamford with his gilt-edged chance to reinstate Leeds’ advantage – only for the 29-year-old’s aforementioned poor touch to let him down – while it was also Gnonto’s impressive work on the left flank which resulted in the Whites’ dramatic winner.

Taking an exceptional headed first touch to bypass Robertson, the Italy international was then crowded out by three Liverpool players, yet he somehow still managed to fizz a cross into Bamford, whose subsequent flick then set up Summerville.

As such, it is not difficult to see why a number of journalists heaped praise on the “wonderkid” after the final whistle, with Nico Cantor claiming it was Gnonto’s “spark” which saw Leeds take all three points, Thomas Hammond stating his belief that the teenager looks “really special” and Josh Bunting suggesting that the Whites’ winner was “all about” Gnonto”.

Furthermore, The Athletic’s James Horncastle gave a particularly glowing summary of the youngster’s display on Twitter, stating: “Gnonto makes things happen. Did so on his debut for Italy. Does so again tonight with ball in for Bamford and Cry. Bit baffled it’s taken this long to use him.”

While Summerville should rightly be lauded for his ice-cold composure in the closing stages of the match, the efforts of Gnonto cannot be overlooked in Leeds’ famous victory, as the Italian sensation was well and truly Marsch’s game-changer at Anfield.

A claim has emerged on Newcastle United and what they need to do to sign James Maddison from Leicester City in the January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

Journalist Ben Jacobs has claimed that the Magpies could need to be quick and decisive to land the England international at the start of 2023, due to the potential interest in his services.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “They probably have to move quite aggressively and fast if they want Maddison and to try to get a jump on his other suitors.

“But, from Maddison’s point of view, I think he’ll bide his time. I don’t think he’ll rush into a move when he knows that if he completes another strong season at Leicester, having been their player of the season last year, he will have a whole host of offers including, no doubt, from clubs that have qualified for the Champions League.

“Newcastle is obviously one to watch because they’re flying and Eddie Howe really likes James Maddison.”

Get it done

Magpies sporting director Dan Ashworth must take action and ‘aggressively’ pursue a deal to sign the attacking midfielder as soon as possible as he could be a fantastic addition to the team.

Newcastle must snap him up before other teams have the chance to tempt him into moving elsewhere, particularly if he ends up going to Qatar next month as performing well in a World Cup could attract more interest in his services.

The gem, who the Foxes reportedly value at £60m, has the quality to improve Eddie Howe’s squad as he is a proven Premier League performer who can score and assist goals at this level.

He has found the back of the net 18 times in the league since the start of last season and that is six more than any Newcastle player in that time, with Callum Wilson (12) leading the way.

Meanwhile, his 22 chances created in 2021/22 suggest that the maestro, whose set-pieces were once dubbed “world-class” by Gareth Southgate, would provide a level of creativity from the middle of that park that Howe’s team has been lacking so far this term.

Bruno Guimaraes has created 14 chances in the top-flight this season and no other Magpies midfielder or attacker has managed more than that, highlighting the improvement Maddison would provide in that department.

Statman Dave recently described the gem as a “magician” and the former Norwich man’s statistics suggest that he has the quality to weave his magic week-in-week-out at St. James’ Park if he joins the club in January.

Therefore, Ashworth must aggressively pursue the 25-year-old as his ability could make him a valuable addition to Howe’s squad by improving the team’s attack heading into the second half of the campaign.