Aston Villa have been handed a slice of good news concerning their hunt for a new forward to bolster the ranks, with reports stating a prolific ace could soon be on the move… 

What’s the word?

According to French outlet Media Foot Mercato, Villa boss Unai Emery is set to rival Manchester United for the signing of Olympique Lyonnais striker Moussa Dembele, with his club reportedly happy to part with the ace if their demands are met. 

The 26-year-old has fallen somewhat out of favour with his French outfit and signed for Atletico Madrid on loan with the option to make the move permanent last year, although the clause was not exercised. 

And now Dembele could reignite his career in the Premier League with Villa, who could offer him a platform to star in a central role as the club look to climb the table and return to prominence. 

Imagine him & Watkins

The Frenchman returned to his homeland in 2018 when Lyon signed him from Scottish giants Celtic for £19.7m, enjoying considerable goalscoring success before slipping from form recently. 

Indeed, despite scoring a total of 69 goals from 156 appearances for his current outfit, Dembele has managed just two strikes this term.

One player that he could bind his skill-set with is Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, who has suffered something of a slump himself recently.

Watkins has enjoyed fair success in Claret and Blue colours, scoring 30 times and serving ten assists across 92 appearances for his club since his – then – club-record £28m transfer from Brentford. 

As per Sofascore, Watkins is enduring a dip in performance and efficiency this year, only clinching three goals and assists apiece across 16 displays.

His average Premier League rating is a lowly 6.64, and with eight big chances missed, he certainly seems to have lost his cutting edge in front of goal.

The previous two campaigns, however, Watkins snatched 11 and 16 goals for the Midlands outfit, and the introduction of Dembele could prove a worthwhile recipe for the success of both respective forwards. 

In the 2019/20 season, Dembele’s most productive campaign, the ace scored 24 goals and assisted seven more for his club, and despite dwindling these past few years could indeed reignite his career.

With Watkins’ pace and direct drives at opposing backlines, and Dembele’s tendency to drift outside of the traditional spot for a centre-forward, the contrasting approaches could lead to a multi-dimensional attack that can lift Villa to new heights under Emery.

The reports from France state that Lyon are looking for between roughly £7m-£9m for their “powerful” – as once dubbed by former Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers – player, and a cost-effective move hinting at a return to roaring form could materialise in the near future, boosting the fortunes of the likes of Watkins in the process.

Leeds United have been linked with a move for Noa Lang since the summer and a reliable source has given an update on the club’s pursuit of the player now that the January transfer window has opened.

What’s the latest?

According to journalist Dean Jones, Leeds could “accelerate” a move for the Club Brugge forward this month due to Everton’s potential interest in the player.

When asked about Leeds’ likely reaction should Everton make a move for Lang, Jones told GIVEMESPORT:

“If they started to think that things were leaning that way, I think they would probably try to accelerate things from their side.

“At the moment, we don’t really know how it’s going to open up. We know that Noa Lang has ambitions to play in the Premier League.

“His eyes and ears are open to when that can happen. It doesn’t seem clear if that’s going to be right now or not.”

Imagine him & Rodrigo

The current transfer window could be a golden opportunity for Jesse Marsch to bolster his attacking threat ahead of what is set to be a challenging second half of the Premier League season for Leeds.

Indeed, the Whites went three points clear of the bottom three when they collected an important point from their clash at St James’ Park on New Years’ Eve, however, with the bottom half of the table incredibly tight at present there is no room for a run of bad form.

Every club from 13th down are only four or fewer points clear of the bottom three, however, Leeds do have a game in hand on those rivalling their 14th position which could be important in their pursuit to avoid another relegation scrap this season.

As a result, the signing of Lang could be a major coup for Marsch ahead of the second half of the campaign, giving him a player who can provide versatility and of course, goal contributions to the team.

The €35m-valued (£31m) Dutchman – who was hailed a “phenomenon” by sports journalist Peter Vandenbempt – has experience in playing on the left and right wing as well as the centre-forward position – scoring 31 goals and registering 29 assists since joining Club Brugge back in 2020 with a goal contribution every 121 minutes so far.

Over 12 Pro League appearances so far this season, the 23-year-old has scored two goals, registered two assists and created three big chances, as well as winning 50% of his duels combined and has been successful in 59% of his dribbles.

As a result, Marsch could finally land the perfect partner for Rodrigo, an eventuality that would allow the Leeds star to play in his strongest position just behind the striker with the two attackers consequently forming a threatening attacking presence in the final third.

Combining the Spanish attacker’s nine goals this term with Lang’s play-making attributes and ability to win the ball in a dangerous position could cause chaos for opponents over the second half of the season.

With that being said, it will be interesting to see if Victor Orta does sanction a move to improve the forward line over the next few weeks as acquiring a player like Lang could be the linchpin in a much more comfortable finish in the top flight at the end of the campaign.

Chelsea are ‘talking’ about a possible move for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia in January, according to journalist Simon Phillips. 

The Lowdown: Chelsea’s Lavia interest

The Athletic reported that the Blues had a £50m deadline day offer for Lavia turned down earlier this season, with the Saints keen on retaining him for the duration of the 2022/23 campaign. Ironically, that came just days after he scored against Chelsea in a 2-1 Southampton win in one of Thomas Tuchel’s final games at the helm.

The 18-year-old has made seven appearances in the Premier League this term and he has clearly impressed the Blues, who are now believed to be considering a move for him once again…

The Latest: Phillips’ comments

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Phillips detailed that Chelsea are eager to sign a midfielder in the January transfer window, with the Belgian youngster being discussed as a potential option.

The journalist outlined: “They want a new midfielder in January. They’ve looked at a host of different names. Romeo Lavia is one that they’re currently talking about signing.”

The Verdict: Worth it?

Lavia is clearly held in very high esteem by Southampton if they were willing to reject a £50m bid for him, so it appears as though only an offer which is even higher than that valuation is likely to sway them into a January sale.

While he did not bring the teenager to St Mary’s, current Saints manager Nathan Jones has clearly been impressed by the starlet, describing him as a ‘special talent’, which is indicated by some of his performances over the past year.

The midfielder has displayed remarkable defensive acumen, averaging 2.59 blocks and 1.94 interceptions per 90. Those figures place him in the 99th and 95th percentiles respectively compared to his positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues.

It is very much a surprise that Manchester City let him leave for just £12m this summer, given that his average pass completion rate of 88.3% would make him well-suited to Pep Guardiola’s possession-based system.

However, their loss could yet be Graham Potter’s gain, as Lavia would appear to be a phenomenal propsective acquisition for Chelsea, despite the amount of money that he would likely set them back in order to sign him.

Crystal Palace could hold an advantage in any potential January deal for Middlesbrough star Chuba Akpom, so chairman Steve Parish should do all he can to bring him to Selhurst Park this month.

What’s the word?

Akpom has recently been linked with the Eagles, as well as Everton and Southampton, after hitting 13 goals during the first half of the Championship for Michael Carrick’s promotion hopefuls.

The 27-year-old’s contract at the Riverside is set to expire at the end of the season which could cause Boro to cash in, with the frontman no doubt targeting another shot at Premier League football having failed to make the grade with Arsenal as a youngster.

In a recent interview with Football FanCast, journalist Pete O’Rourke shared his opinions on a potential Palace move for Akpom, suggesting that manager Patrick Vieira could also be a big selling point.

He said:

“I think anyone with past Arsenal connections would want to work with an Arsenal legend like Patrick Vieira. I’m sure that will be something that is interesting to Chuba Akpom. Also, the chance to move back to London, I’m sure will be attractive to him as well.”

Parish must act

While Akpom never really cut it at Arsenal, managing no goals in 12 appearances for the senior side, he was described as “dangerous” by legendary manager Arsene Wenger.

He has certainly lived up to that praise this season, leading the goalscoring charts in the second tier after some sensational recent form which has fired Middlesbrough into promotion contention, with the northeast outfit currently sitting fifth in the second tier.

Palace’s form since the World Cup ended has certainly been worrying, as they have suffered two heavy defeats at home to Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, which may have Vieira concerned that the Eagles could still find themselves in a relegation battle this season.

A lack of goals in attack has also been a problem for the Frenchman, as none of Odsonne Edouard, Jordan Ayew and Jean Phillipe-Mateta have shown themselves to be consistent goalscorers at this level, as they have managed just five league goals between them this season.

Akpom would presumably be a low-cost, low-risk signing for Parish to make and given his excellent performances in the second tier this season, he should definitely be given another chance in the Premier League with the Eagles.

Journalist Greg O’Keeffe believes that Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell needs to question his transfer decisions if Frank Lampard ends up sacked.

The Lowdown: Everton in turmoil

Despite picking up a point away to Premier League champions Manchester City not too long ago, Everton were booed off the pitch after their 4-1 defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek.

This led to many speculating over the future of Lampard, with the former Chelsea boss having won just one game in his last 11 across all competitions, with that run also including heavy defeats to Bournemouth.

However, it’s not just Lampard that should be questioned, with the manager working closely with Thelwell over the summer to recruit eight new players, with many of them failing to make an impact.

The Latest: Thelwell’s role to be questioned

O’Keeffe has insisted that Thelwell, who was appointed not long after Lampard arrived at Goodison Park, has had a big role to play in Everton’s woes this season, as he explained on the All Together Now podcast.

He said: “I did want to say this about Thelwell. I think he’s flying under the radar to a degree, and it’s early doors in his reign – but only as early doors, really, as it is for Lampard; he didn’t come in much after the manager.

“What I would say is you do have to look at the summer and say, okay, Amadou Onana – good business. [Has] potential, a player that looks like he’s going to be a really, really good player if he’s been a hit or miss so far. I agree with that signing, I can see the value.

“Dwight McNeil – I can’t see it.

“He wasn’t good enough for Burnley, the feeling was this was a team that’s going into the Championship and they were almost glad to see the back of him with his stats as well. Moneyball there? I don’t think so.

“Last night [against Brighton] again, and someone was saying to me earlier and I tend to agree, even if you put aside his ability and say he’s young like Lampard keeps saying, has he got the right personality to thrive in one of the most difficult situations you can have in football in one of the most difficult clubs with one of the most frustrated and angry fanbases? I’m not sure he has.

“Finally, Neal Maupay – spent a lot of money on Maupay to try and replace some of the qualities that Richarlison’s got. We were sceptical at the time, I don’t see it.

“So if Frank Lampard ends up going, Kevin Thelwell’s got to take a long hard look at the decisions that he was involved in over the summer, too, and say we got more wrong than right.”

The Verdict: Many people responsible for Everton’s woes

It’s not as simple as people solely pointing the finger at Lampard, Thelwell, Farhad Moshiri or the Everton players as to who is at fault for the Toffees’ rapid decline over the last few years, as it’s a combination of things.

Too many Everton players have been at the club for too long now without making significant impacts such as Yerry Mina, Ben Godfrey, Tom Davies and Abdoulaye Doucoure, whereas some of the signings over the years have made no sense, such as Sandro Ramirez, Cenk Tosun and James Rodriguez.

However, this season, a lot of the blame must fall on the shoulders of Lampard and Thelwell, as they clearly had the most say over the summer, and the new recruits have failed to help progress the club forward in any way, so it’s a huge mess at Goodison Park once again.

Newcastle United head to Hillsborough this evening for their clash against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup third round, and Eddie Howe will surely be full of confidence ahead of the match as his team has been in phenomenal form this season.

The Magpies are third in the Premier League after 18 matches and are in contention for a Champions League qualification place as it stands, which will be a dream come true for the St James’ Park faithful if they can achieve it. However, a major piece of silverware would also be warmly welcomed after going without one for almost seven decades.

In terms of injuries, Jonjo Shelvey, Emil Krafth and Paul Dummett remain unavailable for selection due to long-term issues, with Matt Targett joining them as he is currently being assessed for a heel injury.

Howe took to his pre-match press conference to deliver an update on Alexander Isak’s potential return to action today and has hinted at a late fitness test to determine whether the Swede will be ready to take part in the FA Cup clash.

The Newcastle boss said: “Let’s get him through training today. I’m not clear because I just don’t want to put pressure on him. We’ll introduce him at the right time and he’s getting closer all the time. He’s trained with the team so we’re pleased with his process. Let’s wait and see.”

With that being said, this is how Football FanCast expects Newcastle to line up against Sheffield Wednesday…

Martin Dubravka (GK), Kieran Trippier (RB), Jamaal Lascelles (CB), Sven Botman (CB), Jamal Lewis (LB), Bruno Guimaraes (CDM), Joelinton (CM), Sean Longstaff (CM), Miguel Almiron (RW), Chris Wood (ST), Allan Saint-Maximin (LW)

We predict that Howe will make five changes to the team which drew at Arsenal earlier this week, with the manager combining first-team experience with some rotation to give opportunities to fringe players.

The first two changes we expect to see is Jamal Lewis and club captain Jamaal Lascelles joining Sven Botman and Kieran Trippier in the back-line, providing Dan Burn and Fabian Schar with a rest after the congested Christmas period.

In midfield, Joelinton will reprise his place in a more central role in the heart of the team alongside Bruno Guimaraes and Sean Longstaff, after playing on the left wing in the stalemate against Mikel Arteta’s side. Joe Willock drops out as a result.

In the final third, Allan Saint-Maximin returns to action on the left flank whilst Miguel Almiron retains his spot on the right and Chris Wood comes in for Callum Wilson, who is likely to be rested for the cup fixture.

The £46k-per-week England international – who was dubbed “selfless” by journalist Harry Roy – has not only had a busy few months both for Newcastle and for his country at the World Cup in Qatar, but is also notorious for his injury issues, so a much-needed rest against Sheffield Wednesday will be welcomed.

The final change we predict is Martin Dubravka returning to the starting line-up in place of Nick Pope after returning to St James’ Park from being on loan with Manchester United for the first half of the season.

Sunderland moved into the Championship playoff spots as they earned an emphatic 4-1 win over Wigan Athletic in their final game of 2022.

Ellis Simms handed Tony Mowbray’s side the lead with 19 minutes on the clock but the Black Cats were pegged back by Will Keane’s equaliser just before half time.

However, Mowbray made the necessary changes and substitute Ross Stewart converted from the penalty spot to make it 2-1 after Patrick Roberts was fouled, before the former Manchester City man and Amad Diallo scored late on to give the scoreline a far more convincing look.

While there were a number of impressive performances from Sunderland players at the DW Stadium, it was arguably Diallo who was the star man on Thursday evening.

The Manchester United loanee continued his fine goalscoring form with a beautifully taken finish late on, taking his tally to six for the season in the Championship.

As per Sofascore, the 20-year-old winger would earn an impressive 7.4/10 rating for his performance in Lancashire, with only Dan Neil (7.9), Trai Hume (7.9) and Roberts (7.5) rated higher.

During the 90 minutes, Diallo would have 75 touches of the ball, completing 38 passes with an accuracy rate of 90%, representing a significant upgrade on his 28.2 average passes and 83% average success rate in the Championship so far this season.

He would also contribute four shots at the DW Stadium, one of which would hit the woodwork and one of which would beat Jamie Jones for Sunderland’s fourth, which again is an increase on the 1.6 shots per game he has averaged in the second tier.

Journalist Josh Bunting was full of praise for the youngster on Twitter even before he rounded off Sunderland’s victory, writing:

“The way Amad Diallo gets on the ball and drives from midfield is just beautiful to watch, what a player we have, just has so much confidence at the moment. Different level for the Championship, outstanding at dropping back in and starting counterattacks.”

Mackems everywhere will be desperate for Manchester United not to recall Diallo in January as he continues to impress in Mowbray’s side, with the young winger once again showing how important he is at Sunderland in their final game of the year.

Journalist Joshua Barrie, who contributes on Sky Sports, has claimed that Rangers transfer target Todd Cantwell will be ‘more than capable’ of making a good impression in Scotland despite some ‘difficult’ recent years.

What’s the word?

With the January transfer market now open, rumours are beginning to grow stronger by the day as numerous players are linked with exciting new moves.

For instance, it has recently been reported that Rangers could be looking to add the Norwich City midfielder to their ranks this winter, while Tom Davies of Everton was also named as a target.

Amid all this talk, Barrie has backed Cantwell to rediscover his best form in the Scottish Premiership if he was to arrive and insisted that both midfielders could have a good impact on the team.

Speaking on The Rangers Review, he said: “Cantwell kind of seems to have had a difficult couple of years in his career. But you’re right, he was so coveted and performing well for Norwich when they were in the Championship and going up to the Premier League for a reason.

“I think, technically, of course, they’d be more than capable of coming up to the Scottish Premiership and making an imprint.”

Career kickstart

It wasn’t that long ago that Cantwell was being linked with a move to Premier League giants Liverpool – with some fans evening begging for a transfer back in 2020.

However, that move never came to pass and the 24-year-old failed to impress on a subsequent loan to Bournemouth, scoring no goals and providing no assists in 12 games.

This term, with Norwich he has failed to rediscover his goalscoring touch too, but at least gets regular minutes with 18 Championship outings so far.

Certainly, the past few seasons have not gone well for a player once so highly rated. However, Cantwell is still fairly young and is obviously talented, so it might well be a deal worth chasing for Rangers.

Journalist Ashley Preece spotted Unai Emery’s moment of ‘anger’ during Aston Villa’s impressive Premier League victory away to Tottenham.

The Lowdown: Brilliant win for Villa

The Villans faced a tough task on Sunday afternoon, making the trip to a Spurs side who are looking to finish in the Champions League places this season.

Emery’s side picked up a thoroughly deserved 2-0 win, however, with Emiliano Buendia and Douglas Luiz scoring the goals for the visitors as they completely stifled and outplayed their hosts in the second half.

It was a third victory in four games for the Spaniard as Villa manager, but that’s not to say that he was happy with everything he saw in north London.

The Latest: Emery’s moment of ‘anger’

Writing on Twitter on Monday, Preece, who was in north London to cover the match, spotted Emery’s ‘anger’ at one piece of showboating from Buendia:

“Emery’s anger at Buendia’s rabona pass epitomises his sky-high standards.”

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The Verdict: Top-class manager

This is exactly the type of thing you like to see from a manager and it showcases Emery’s search for perfection and professionalism in his Villa players.

[freshpress-quiz id=“418895″]

While it is nice to see footballers express themselves, there is a time and place for it and away at a ‘big six’ club is not that, so Buendia was rightly lambasted by his manager in the process.

This has been a hugely encouraging start by Emery and incidents such as these will help Villa become a more formidable opponent moving forward, with a win at home to Wolves on Wednesday night hopefully up next.

Everton are reportedly set to hijack a deal for Dinamo Zagreb winger Mislav Orsic and the Croatia international could be the ideal signing for Frank Lampard at Goodison Park.

What’s the word?

According to Croatian journalist Izak Ante Sucic, Southampton’s deal for the 30-year-old is now off after a second bid was deemed far too low, with Everton now ready to ‘hijack’ the deal.

Nottingham Forest are also credited with an interest in Orsic, which suggests that a number of relegation-threatened teams in the top flight see him as a potential saviour in the second half of the season.

Despite spending the vast majority of his career playing in Croatia with Dinamo Zagreb, Orsic is well-known to a lot of English football fans for his goals in European competition against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in recent seasons, with the wide man scoring a memorable hat-trick to knock Spurs out of the Europa League in 2021.

He also scored a beautiful goal for Croatia in their World Cup third-place playoff game against Morocco recently, which may have been enough to convince a number of Premier League managers that he is capable of cutting it in the top flight.

Exactly what Lampard needs?

Everton find themselves in a desperate situation this season, with a lack of quality in the final third once again seeing them occupy a place at the wrong end of the Premier League table.

Demarai Gray and Anthony Gordon are the current joint-top scorers with just three to their name in the top flight, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Neal Maupay have both struggled in front of goal for the Toffees.

While it is difficult to judge the Croatian top flight at the same quality as the Premier League, Orsic has shown during his time with Zagreb that he is an extremely reliable option in front of goal, contributing 91 goals and 40 assists in 214 appearances for the Blues.

The aforementioned Sucic has been full of praise for Orsic in the past, when he was heavily linked with a move to Burnley last season before a deal collapsed at the last minute.

He said: “If they are trying to sign a good player who is capable of producing one piece of magic to do the crucial thing in a game, then he is the one.”

Moments of magic are exactly what Lampard needs to keep his job at Goodison Park right now, so the former Chelsea man should do everything in his power to bring in Orsic this month. He could just be the man that keeps the Merseyside outfit in the Premier League.