Aston Villa
Aston Villa join the race to sign young attacker, three other Premier League clubs keen
Aston Villa are interested in signing Bournemouth youngster Ajani Burchall. The 16-year-old attacker is a target for several other Premier League clubs, but Villa will hope to fend off the competition and secure the youngster’s services this summer. As per Football Insider, West Ham United, Arsenal and Leeds United are amongst the clubs interested in Burchall, and he looks set to leave Bournemouth when his current agreement expires at the end of the season. The player was recently offered a scholarship deal by the Championship outfit, but he has turned it down. The highly-rated youngster is the third-youngest player to make his debut for Bournemouth’s first team after being brought on against Huddersfield Town in December. SL View: Solid long-term investment for Villa Dean Smith has a tale...
From Owen to Wilshere, the Premier League’s Unfulfilled XI features the best players to never make it
The launch of the Premier League in 1992 sparked a wave of hype that has continued apace since then. While the self-styled ‘best division in the world’ clearly has plenty of attributes, it is debatable whether the excitement it generates is truly justified. One area where the propaganda machine has run riot is regarding players, with the last few decades littered with examples of someone being hailed as ‘the next big thing’. With many of those players failing to live up to expectations, we have assembled a Premier League Unfulfilled Potential XI. David James (GK) – Although James ended his career with two major trophies on his CV, it is impossible to look back on his playing days and think that he delivered what was expected of him. For starters, you don’t end up with the nickname ‘Calamit...
Tottenham and West Ham stars lead the list of Premier League’s bargain transfers this season
The transfer market has exploded in recent years. Newly-promoted clubs spend tens of millions, the top sides seem to cough up nine figures every summer, and someone breaks their transfer record every five minutes. However, it isn’t all £100 million deals. We still see plenty of players come in on the cheap and prove themselves to be superstars. Here is a look at the best bargains from the Premier League this season. GK: Emiliano Martinez (£16m) – Off the back of a succession of impressive performances post-lockdown for Arsenal, Aston Villa decided to splash out on Emiliano Martinez. It’s safe to say the signing has worked out. Martinez has been a brilliant signing for Aston Villa The Argentine has arguably been the best goalkeeper in the Premier League this season. His tally of 14 cle...
AFCON: Aston Villa congratulate Bertrand Traore, Burkina Faso on qualification
Premier League side Aston Villa have congratulated Bertrand Traore and Burkina Faso after qualifying for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations. Despite playing a 0-0 draw against Uganda on Wednesday evening at St. Mary’s Stadium-Kitende, Entebbe, Kamou Malo’s men booked a place in Cameroon with a game to spare. That will be the 13th time the West African country would reach the finals since their maiden appearance at Ghana 1978 – where they finished in eight position. The Villa Park giants have taken to social media to celebrate their winger and his country on their recent success. “Congratulations to Bertrand Traore and Burkina Faso, who qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 with a goalless draw against Uganda on Wednesday!” a tweet from the club read. Burkina Faso – who currently lead Gr...
Four major sports manufacturers involved in a sponsorship battle involving Aston Villa star
Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish is reportedly at the centre of a tussle involving four sports manufacturing giants. The midfielder’s sponsorship with Nike is into its final year, and their rivals are looking to secure his signature. According to Daily Mirror, Adidas, Puma and Under Armour are all reportedly chasing the midfielder’s signature, while Nike are also keen on renewing their terms. The 25-year-old has developed into one of the hottest prospects in English football, and it is no surprise that top brands are circling. The player has been linked with Manchester City and Manchester United, but he signed a five-year deal of around £130,000 per week with Villa last September. The highly-rated attacking midfielder has been one of the best players in the Premier League this sea...
UEFA rule change could result in an exciting summer transfer window for Aston Villa
UEFA are planning to scrap Financial Fair Play and replace it with a brand new system to govern club spending. According to reports (via Birmingham Mail), there could be a major shake-up in the summer, and the new system is likely to arm the clubs with greater freedom in the transfer market. This could allow them to exercise their spending power and sign more players in the transfer market without breaching regulations. Wealthy clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City could have a massive advantage in the market if that happens. The development could also be fascinating for Aston Villa heading into the summer transfer window. Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens are among the richest owners in the Premier League and have shown their commitment to improving the Villa squad. They have already spent ar...
‘Always felt that the wheels would come off’ – Former Villa manager reacts to their dip in form
Former Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood is not surprised with the club’s recent dip in form. Villa started the season brightly but their form has dropped off considerably in recent weeks. The injury to Jack Grealish has proven to be a devastating blow for Dean Smith’s side. Sherwood has revealed that he expected the Villans to regress as the season went on. The former Villa manager feels that the wheels have started to come off. He said (via Birmingham Mail): “They are probably where I expected them to be this season. Probably a little bit higher by one or two positions. “It was such a great start by Dean, but I always felt that the wheels would come off and they have started to come off. But hopefully, they don’t completely fly off. It’s a good time to play Villa without Grealish.” I...
Former Aston Villa ace urges the club to sign trio from PL side if they are relegated
Former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has urged the club to look at three Fulham players if the London side are relegated at the end of the season. According to Hendrie, Harrison Reed, Ademola Lookman and Bobby Decordova-Reid would prove to be quality signings for the West Midlands club. Speaking to the website FootballFanCast, Hendrie said: “If Fulham do go down, I just feel that there’s possibly a couple of players I would certainly look at in that team that would certainly stand out for me. “Harrison Reed in the midfield, Ademola Lookman and Bobby Decordova-Reid, he’s one again that I’d certainly have, and he would play week in, week out.” Aston Villa could definitely use more depth in their attack and the likes of Lookman and Decordova-Reid would be superb additions. The likes...
Lucas Moura: Tottenham squad united behind Jose Mourinho
Lucas Moura has insisted that the whole Tottenham squad are united behind under-fire boss Jose Mourinho amid the club’s turbulent 2020-21 campaign. Mourinho’s position in the Spurs dugout has been called into question in the wake of a nightmare week which saw the team follow up a north London derby defeat to Arsenal by exiting the Europa League in shocking fashion at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb. Spurs were thrashed 3-0 in the second leg of that last-16 tie in Croatia, but responded by beating Aston Villa 2-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, with Moura issuing a rallying cry in his post-match interview. “It’s been a very bad week for us, the feeling was very bad,” the Spurs winger told the Evening Standard : “Last night, we showed our nature, we showed attitude. “The good thing about footbal...
‘Championship level at best’ – Some Villa fans tear into 26-yr-old after yesterday’s defeat
Aston Villa crashed to a 2-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend. The Midlands club struggled against Tottenham’s attack and were toothless going forward. The absence of Jack Grealish has left them struggling in the final third, and Villa failed to create any meaningful chances throughout the game. The likes of Ollie Watkins and Trezeguet were poor for the home side, and the fans were particularly disappointed with the Egyptian. The winger is severely lacking in form and confidence. The last time he scored a goal was in July 2020, and he was one of the worst performers on the pitch yesterday. His first touch was poor, and he drifted offside more than once. Trezeguet was expected to take players on with his flair and pace but kept giving the ball away and failed to support Watki...
Spurs predicted XI: Mourinho to make seven changes; 24-year-old set to return
After back to back defeats, Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to get back to winning ways when they face Aston Villa in the Premier League clash on Sunday at Villa Park. Jose Mourinho will be looking to pick players that he can trust as Spurs should fight tooth and nail to get back into the top-four. Spurs lost 3-0 against Dinamo Zagreb in the midweek and got crushed out of the Europa League knock-out stages. Mourinho will definitely look to make some changes, and as many as seven players could be dropped. In defence, Toby Alderweireld and Sergio Reguilon are certain to start in place of Eric Dier and Ben Davies. Both Serge Aurier and Matt Doherty have been disappointing in recent games, and Mourinho must look to give Japhet Tanganga a rare start. In midfield, both Harry Winks and Moussa S...
Aston Villa chiefs are not pleased with Smith’s transfer decision regarding 24-cap Int’l
Aston Villa Chiefs are thought to be unhappy with Dean Smith’s which decision to send Conor Hourihane out on loan to Swansea City during the January transfer window as per Football Insider. Villa are currently struggling with creativity because of Jack Grealish’s injury and Hourihane could have been a useful option for them right now. Apart from scoring goals, the 24-cap Republic of Ireland international is excellent with his set-piece delivery and he could have been a handy player for Villa. Perhaps keeping Hourihane for the remainder of the season as a squad option would have been a wise move. The Premier League side signed Morgan Sanson from Marseille for a fee of around £14 million after loaning Hourihane out to Swansea and the Frenchman is still adapting to his new team and the n...
