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Aston Villa will look to re-sign Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe this summer.

That’s according to a report from Football Insider, who claimed that the Midlands club have made the 23-year-old one of their top targets for the summer window.

Tuanzebe, who made 35 appearances for Villa during two separate loan spells, is thought to be valued at around £7m by the Red Devils. He is on £38,000 per week at Old Trafford and has 12 months remaining on his deal, although United do have the option to extend it until 2023 next summer.

Football Insider have been informed by a Villa source that Tuanzebe ‘fits the profile the recruitment team are seeking’ – an interesting inside eight-word update.

Transfer Tavern take

To us, bringing in Tuanzebe – who Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently called ‘outstanding’ – for £7m could be a brilliant piece of business. He played a key role in Villa’s promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and could provide strong competition to first-choice pairing Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings.

Both Konsa and Mings have been ever-presents under Dean Smith this season, but should one get injured, Villa don’t exactly have the proven quality to come in for them. Reports have suggested that Villa are planning to offload Bjorn Engels this summer, and should that be the case, that would leave Smith with just Kortney Hause as cover for Konsa and Mings.

Therefore, adding Tuanzebe to the defensive ranks on a permanent basis may prove to be an excellent move in the long run.

In other news: Villa lining up huge bid for another Premier League ace, find out more here.  

Barry Fry has told Football FanCast that Liverpool’s season has been nothing short of a “disaster”.

The club are facing a genuine battle to finish in the top four, a comedown after last season’s brilliance as they won the Premier League title at a canter.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are fighting with Chelsea, West Ham United, and Tottenham Hotspur to qualify for the Champions League, with their hopes taking a fresh blow on Saturday as they were held to a last-gasp 1-1 draw against Newcastle United at Anfield.

But they could well finish in the Europa League, as they have battled with a number of injury issues.

Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Jordan Henderson, Alisson Becker and Divock Origi have all struggled with injury issues, with the first two missing the majority of the season.

Liverpool only dropped points in six games last season, drawing three and losing three, but following the clash with Newcastle United, they have now drawn nine and lost nine.

And Fry believes that they have run out of luck this term.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “I mean, after the previous two years, where they’ve been absolutely brilliant, this season’s been a disaster in as much as he’s had horrendous injuries for a horrendously long time and things like that, everything’s gone wrong for Liverpool this season.”

Wolves will have plenty to improve upon when the summer transfer window opens.

Nuno Santo will have to enhance a striker line-up that’s bagged just four goals since Raul Jimenez’s injury. They will also need to bring more depth into a squad ravaged by injury this term.

What’s the word?

One player linked with a move to Wolves is Omar Mascarell.

The holding midfield player is currently Schalke’s captain but after claiming he wouldn’t leave back in January, it now looks as though he’s wanting a new adventure.

The German club are in dire financial straits at the moment which means Mascarell could be available for as little as £4m.

What will also make Wolves’ pursuit easier is the fact that Schalke have now been relegated from the Bundesliga. That all unravelled this week as the club’s players ended up being chased down the street by an angry mob of ultras.

Subsequently, the Old Gold are looking to take advantage and bring the 28-year-old back to English football.

When the midfielder was a Real Madrid player, he spent a period on loan at Derby in the Championship where he caught the eye.

Forget Dendoncker

If Wolves sign a new midfielder then it may just provide Nuno with the ammunition he needs to axe Leander Dendoncker from the starting XI.

The Belgian has played in defence and in the middle of the park this term but he has been pretty inconsistent along the way.

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He was at fault during their battering against Manchester City and has been relatively inconsistent; specifically in defence.

When Dendoncker came up against Newcastle and Allan-Saint Maximin he was skinned on a regular basis as the French winger flourished with four key passes and four dribbles.

With that in mind, it wouldn’t be a bad idea if Wolves searched for an upgrade.

Mascarell may have been relegated this term but he is still a midfielder that can offer plenty.

Nuno wasn’t in charge when the Spaniard played for Derby but Wolves saw firsthand just how good he was when the Rams defeated them 5-0 in November 2014.

The Schalke enforcer completed 95% of his passes, four of which created key opportunities to score. Mascarell claimed an assist too as he terrorised both Danny Batth and Ethan Ebanks-Landell. He also did the dirty work well too, registering two tackles and three interceptions.

It was a performance that was described as “absolutely outstanding” by first-team coach Paul Simpson at the time.

Of course, times have changed, but his free-kicks and corners that day were also attractive. “His set-piece delivery was very good against Wolves on a number of occasions and it gives us an added threat in the opposition’s penalty area,” Simpson continued.

That being said, it’s the defensive assets he possesses that would be so crucial to Wolves building from the back.

He won 1.8 tackles and 2.7 interceptions per game last term for instance. Dendoncker, on the other hand, managed the same number of challenges but fewer interceptions with just one per match.

Mascarell reads the play well and would offer a dynamic threat from dead-ball scenarios; there is much to like about his game.

AND in other news, Forget McBurnie: Wolves can save £15m by unleashing “powerful” rarely-seen beast…

Marcel Brands pulled off a masterclass over the past year in his negotiations to bring and keep top talents including Ben Godfrey and Lucas Digne at Everton.

What’s the word?

According to figures published by the Football Association, via the Liverpool Echo, the Toffees paid a combined £14m to agents between February 2020 and February 2021.

That’s a drop of nearly £3m from the previous 12-month period, and far less than their big-spending Premier League rivals Chelsea who top the charts at £35m.

Both Manchester clubs City and United paid agents nearly £30m, while Liverpool (£21.5m) plus north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham (£16m) handed over more than Everton.

The Blues’ spending included their deals to sign Godfrey, James Rodriguez, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Allan, Niels Nkounkou, Robin Olsen and Joshua King.

It also included the new contracts awarded to Digne, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Mason Holgate, Michael Keane and Anthony Gordon.

Relegation-threatened West Bromwich Albion sit bottom of the spending charts for agent fees at £4m, despite the arrivals of 15 players at The Hawthorns this season.

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Everton’s investments in transfers and tieing down some of their top talents to new deals has seen Carlo Ancelotti’s side challenge for a top-four Premier League finish, and will exit the international break four points clear of Arsenal and with a game in hand.

A masterclass by Brands

Everton spending less than half on agents than Chelsea and a considerable amount less than the other top-six clubs will go down as a masterclass by Brands, given the wealth of talent the Toffees’ Director of Football has brought to and kept at Goodison Park over the 12-month period.

Chelsea are only five points better off in the Premier League table than Everton ahead of the 30th round of fixtures, despite their significant outlay and playing a game more than the Merseysiders.

Liverpool sit ahead of the Blues only on goal difference, while Tottenham are two points above the Goodison Park natives though having also played a game extra.

The signings of Allan, Doucoure, Rodriguez and Godfrey – who Richard Cresswell, his former coach at York City, claims has a “ridiculous” amount of similarities with Rio Ferdinand – have played a great role in Everton’s strong position.

Olsen’s arrival on loan from AS Roma has likewise had an impact, with Ancelotti often lauding the Sweden international for helping to keep Jordan Pickford on his toes.

The Toffees will also be in a strong position to fend off any approaches for the likes of Digne and Calvert-Lewin this summer through the pair signing new contracts, with Manchester United previously said to be tracking the England striker and Atletico Madrid eying a move for the French full-back.

Everton and Ancelotti would surely loath losing their 14-goal top-scorer in Calvert-Lewin or six-assist lead playmaker in Digne, but are positioned well thanks to Brands’ masterclass in negotiating the deals and managing how much was spent on agents.

AND in other news, Everton are tracking a £17m striker with “a wealth of talent”…

Many Everton fans have been cursing the performance of Andre Gomes in their 2-1 home defeat to Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday evening.

The Merseyside club lost yet another game at Goodison Park as Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s headed goal after a fine cross by Tom Davies was not enough to cancel out earlier strikes from Chris Wood and Dwight McNeil.

Gomes did not have the best of games for Carlo Ancelotti’s team, losing out on 100% of his duels as well as failing to make a single successful dribble, clearance or tackle, while losing possession of the ball no fewer than 19 times in the match, the second-most of any player to have set foot on the pitch (Sofascore).

Everton fan reaction to Gomes display

These Toffees supporters slammed his performance on Twitter, with one Blues fan even going as far as to claim that the former Barcelona man was ‘shocking’ against the Clarets:

“Davies/Allan double pivot makes more sense to keep possession & better defensive structure. Gives Richarlison King more license to stay further forward pinning fullbacks back. Instead allowing Gomes just to run round helplessly an try hit 40-yard balls into the main stand #EFC”

Credit: @TLogic1991

“Gomes stinking Goodison out here. Dreadful. #efc”

Credit: @mikeb73

“Gomes looks like a fan who won a competition to play for Everton in this game. Totally shocking #efc #Everton”

Credit: @SheepFlavour

“Garbage that Iwobi and Gomes #efc”

Credit: @MaisOuiMaisOui_

“Would keep Allan, Doucoure and probably Davies who has looked like he has improved a bit this season. Gomes and Iwobi can go though. Don’t know what they are supposed to offer. #EVEBUR”

Credit: @Carl0sAlbert0

“Predator, Holgate and Gomes in the bin please. Had enough. #EVEBUR”

Credit: @Funtimefreckle

In other news, find out what injury update has been lauded by several Everton fans!

In the space of a month, Sunderland’s promotion hopes have been completely transformed.

The Mackems are unbeaten in their last seven outings, six of which have been wins. Victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Doncaster was the tip of the iceberg for Lee Johnson, but his side can’t afford to let up now.

He has engineered the Black Cats to fourth spot in the League One table but they face Portsmouth on Tuesday evening. This will be one of their toughest trips of the season, especially as they cast half an eye towards the Papa John’s Trophy final on Sunday.

With that fixture in mind, Johnson may choose to rest and rotate a little. Though, given the magnitude of this fixture too, he’d be foolish to go overboard.

As a result, we’re tipping the manager to make three changes to his side on Tuesday evening.

Johnson has had a habit of changing his formation during the course of matches in recent weeks so it’s a little unclear as to how he could line-up.

That being said, we’re entrusting him to go with a four-man backline. The first change of note is that Oliver Younger comes out of the side.

He didn’t really put a foot wrong against Rochdale last weekend but given how tough Pompey could be, we’re tipping Johnson to move Max Power to right-back instead.

What that leaves is a vacant hole in midfield to fill. With Grant Leadbitter out with a dislocated shoulder and Luke O’Nien playing at centre-back, it means Josh Scowen comes in to partner Carl Winchester.

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Another change is on the right-hand side. Jordan Jones was influential on Saturday, providing the assist for Charlie Wyke’s goal. However, with not much football under his belt, we think he could be rested for the final on Sunday. As a consequence, Chris Maguire comes into the XI.

He’s had some brilliant cameos in recent weeks, scoring versus Crewe and assisting against Fleetwood and Swindon. Thus, he deserves a chance from the off.

The final change is at left-back where Jake Vokins replaces Callum McFadzean. The latter has been somewhat of a liability this season but will probably make the starting XI in the final due to his recent minutes. With fitness in mind, we don’t think the £2.4k-per-week earner will play on Tuesday.

AND in other news, Imagine him & McGeady: SAFC must land 29-goal ace who Moyes once dubbed “priceless”…

Manchester City will be looking to continue their exceptional winning run when they take on high-flying West Ham in the Premier League in Saturday’s early kick-off.

Pep Guardiola’s side have now won 19 games in a row in all competitions and are comfortable at the top of the Premier League, but will have to be at their best if they want to take three points against David Moyes’ side, who sit fourth after their own strong run of form.

Guardiola made several changes to his side for the trip to Budapest to face Borussia Monchengladbach in midweek and more rotation seems likely, especially with another home game against Wolves to come on Tuesday.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects the Spanish manager to line his side up against the Hammers, with three changes from the starting team that secured a 2-0 win in the Champions League on Wednesday…

Ederson looks set to win the golden glove this season should City’s impressive defensive record continue, so he is likely to continue in goal.

There’s one change in defence, as John Stones comes back in Aymeric Laporte, having been rested against Monchengladbach in midweek, whilst Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker continue at full-back having excelled there against Marco Rose’s side.

Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan are likely to start in midfield, but they will support Kevin De Bruyne, with the Belgian left on the bench against Monchengladbach as he has only just returned from injury.

He comes in for Bernardo Silva, with Riyad Mahrez starting on the right-wing ahead of the Portuguese international.

Finally, Raheem Sterling moves up front ahead of Gabriel Jesus, who is dropped to the bench despite scoring in midweek, as Guardiola suggested that his side should have scored more in Hungary, with the Brazilian perhaps the guilty party after failing to shoot when through on goal.

AND, in other news… Txiki should hand new deal to £150k-p/w City beast; even if he rarely plays

After a hugely disappointing defeat to the Premier League’s bottom side in midweek, there are big questions that Aston Villa manager Dean Smith will have to answer before his side take on Wolves on Saturday evening.

Villa were consigned to a damaging loss by Sheffield United thanks to a goal from David McGoldrick, and in truth they never looked like hurting the Blades – they managed just four shots on target in the entire match.

While Bertrand Traore was hardly the biggest culprit in Villa’s defeat, and did come up with a couple of promising moments including a weaving run, the Burkina Faso international has just looked short of form in recent weeks.

From mid-December to mid-January, the summer signing from Lyon went on a run of four goals and one assist in just six Premier League games, but it has since been downhill from there.

The next eight games have resulted in just one goal and one assist, and with Trezeguet really pushing for a recall to the starting line-up after making his full return to fitness from injury, surely enough is enough when it comes to Traore.

The tricky right winger just hasn’t delivered the goods over the past couple of months in terms of end product, and there’s only so many flashes of brilliance that Smith can accept.

An eye-catching run here and there isn’t enough to keep your place in a side and, coming after a dismal defeat to Sheffield United, the time has surely come for Smith to make a ruthless call on his big-money signing from last summer and drop him from the team.

The £17.5m-rated man could potentially do with just being taken out of the firing line for now, especially with Villa’s form in recent weeks being topsy-turvy to say the least – while they may have beaten Arsenal in their past six games, they’ve only picked up two wins in that run and have lost three times.

Traore could well be the fall guy for today.

Meanwhile, Villa could find a perfect strike partner for Ollie Watkins in this star…

David Moyes must have a plan in place to strengthen his midfield in the summer transfer window after Mark Noble was tipped to quit West Ham United at the end of the season.

What’s the word?

While speaking with Football Insider, former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan claimed that the 2020/21 season could be Noble’s last at the London Stadium.

Whelan believes the £4m-rated veteran will still have the fire in his belly to go out and cut it elsewhere, as Noble will not want to see his playing career end on a whimper.

Moyes has awarded Noble starting roles in just three of the Hammers’ 23 Premier League fixtures thus far this term, while handing him a further nine outings from the bench for a total of only 279 minutes.

Ben Johnson (143) and Jesse Lingard (180) are the only outfield players currently at West Ham to have featured in the top-flight less often than Noble this season, but Whelan doubts the 33-year-old is ready to throw in the towel.

“He loves the club, he’s West Ham through and through but I think everyone will understand that if it’s his last year and he’s coming to the back end of his career, he needs to be playing and enjoying it, make the most of it and squeezing every last bit of juice out of the game that he’s got,” said Whelan.

“He doesn’t want to finish just being at West Ham and being a bit-part player, that’s not how people want to end their relationship with a club. I’m sure that he feels he’s got enough left in him to go and play another couple of seasons somewhere and be successful somewhere.

“He’ll still have that desire and appetite for the game, and I think it might be a farewell for him at the end of the season.”

Does Moyes have a Plan-B?

Noble is nearing the end of his current West Ham contract, with his £50,000-per-week terms due to expire in the summer. So, Moyes will need to have a Plan-B in place in case the midfielder decides to leave the London Stadium, to either hang up his boots or wear a jersey that’s not claret and blue next season.

It has been no surprise to see Noble struggle to get on the field for Premier League games this season, with Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek both performing at superb levels in the two deep-lying roles of Moyes’ midfield.

Their efforts have left Noble forced to rely on a drop off in form from Said Benrahma, Pablo Fornals or Manuel Lanzini to earn his three starts in the attacking role, and his chances have only gotten slimmer with the addition of Lingard on loan from Manchester United.

But Moyes cannot simply wave Noble goodbye at the end of the season, as the 33-year-old is currently his only senior depth behind Rice and Soucek, who – along with Aaron Cresswell – are the only Irons players to feature for all 2,070 minutes of regular time in the top-flight this term.

It is vital that Moyes and his recruitment team spend the coming months working with West Ham’s scouts to source a replacement, as well as a striker to fill Sebastien Haller’s void, as he could be despairingly thin of options next season in a campaign that may yet include European football.

AND in other news, West Ham are willing to take a £19m hit to offload an £85k-p/w flop…

Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has been linked with a move for one of his former stars this week…

What’s the word?

According to L’Equipe, Spurs have made contact with Paris Saint-Germain attacker Angel Di Maria over a potential switch to north London as he’s out of contract at the end of the season.

It’s claimed that the Ligue 1 champions, now managed by ex-Tottenham favourite Mauricio Pochettino, remain hopeful of securing him to an extension, but Mourinho would like to reunite with his former Real Madrid star if possible.

Di Maria is thought to have rejected PSG’s latest contract offer at the end of 2020 as it reduced his current £220k-per-week terms.

Forget Bale

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy will have a major call to make in the summer as there’s a possibility that he could keep hold of Gareth Bale for the foreseeable future as there’s seemingly no way back for him in Spain.

His agent, Jonathan Barrett, didn’t rule out staying beyond the season-long loan, he told talkSPORT (via Sky Sports):

“Yeah, there are lots of opportunities; it’s up to him. The most important thing is for him to enjoy his football and that he’s playing well. As long as that’s happening, it’ll all be fine.”

Whilst football.london claim there is an option to keep him longer.

Well, things have hardly gone to plan so far this campaign as the Welshman has featured for 713 minutes, which includes only one start in the Premier League, per Transfermarkt.

Considering Spurs are paying 40% of his £600k-per-week wages (around £240k-per-week), and would have to either do the same again next season or at least force his contract to end a year early, it could be a financial nightmare.

If Di Maria is available for free in the summer, and on similar, if not reduced wages – as mentioned above – then it’s a no-brainer to bring the Argentinian in instead.

He’s a player that Mourinho knows greatly having managed him for two seasons at the Bernabeu.

Indeed the 32-year-old winger has lauded the Portguese’s impact in the past, he told Dario Ole (via Goal): “Mourinho made me a better player. He showed me many things and made me grow as a footballer.”

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Whilst he has also spoken to Marca (via Goal), where the 104-cap international dubbed Mourinho “very special,” adding: “With him, I have improved each year.”

Unlike Bale, the PSG star has featured regularly despite his advancing years.

This term, he’s bagged four goals and provided eight assists having featured for a total of 1551 minutes, via WhoScored – over double the time we’ve seen the 31-year-old Bale in a Spurs shirt.

Even over the past two campaigns, Di Maria has shown he can still cut it at an elite level, averaging at least 2.7 key passes per game in back-to-back league campaigns as well as at least 2.4 shots and 1.6 dribbles per game, vis WhoScored.

This merely emphasises his creative nature and the ability to still get past the opposition’s defence to either create chances or provide for himself.

Marco Verratti also believes he’s an “extraordinary player” who’s similar to Arjen Robben. “They’re very important players in modern football because one-on-one they’re incredible, very generous on the pitch, who provide you with 15 or 20 assists every year, very altruistic and give everything for the team,” added the Italian.

Whilst Di Maria was helping PSG qualify for the Champions League final, Bale was largely sat on the bench at Madrid and as he’s yet to prove his worth back in a Spurs shirt, Levy absolutely must consider a move for Di Maria instead if he has a choice between the two.

Landing the £25.2m-rated veteran on a free transfer could be an absolute bargain move.

AND in other news, “talismanic” £20m monster can be Spurs’ dream Harry Kane heir…