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Aston Villa have already stamped their authority on the Championship this season as Steve Bruce continues to work wonders at Villa Park. 

Indeed, the Villains have now managed to bring in a number of players despite their financial troubles towards the start of the summer. And, it now looks as if they’re eyeing a swoop for an impressive Premier League forward, as according to Birmingham Live, Aston Villa are tracking Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham.

The villains are believed to be keen on signing Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham on loan.

And, it’s understood that the 20-year-old has been top of the list all summer for Villa.

Villa reportedly have one eye on the future, and are targeting young players this month who they believe could sign permanently if promotion is achieved.

Although, Chelsea are also said to be weighing up interest from Italy and the Netherlands.

THE VERDICT: 

Aston Villa have shown that they’re not afraid to make bold decisions under new ownership so far this summer as they managed to fend off Tottenham’s advances for Jack Grealish. And, it now looks as if they’re set to swoop for Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham, who featured in the Premier League for Swansea City last season.

Things are definitely on the up for the Villains as they continue to seek the type of quality that could take them up to the Premier League this season. And, with Bruce eyeing younger players that he could possibly secure on a permanent deal if they win promotion, it shows a lot of ambition.

Kieran Gibbs left Arsenal to join West Brom in 2017 after spending 13 years with the North London club. Despite strong interest in the 28-year-old over the summer, the Baggies were able to keep the former England international at the Hawthorns as they dropped into the Championship following a disappointing season in the Premier League.

West Brom’s boss Darren Moore will now be ecstatic that the fight to keep hold of Gibbs was successful, after the left-back’s impressive performance on Saturday in their thumping 7-1 home victory over a poor Queens Park Rangers side.

It took almost half an hour for the Baggies to open the scoring through on-form winger Matt Phillips and initially QPR responded well to going behind, netting the equaliser just five minutes later as Joel Lynch turned home Matt Smith’s knock down.

However, Gibbs’ goal just after half-time opened the floodgates. Playing at left wing-back, the Englishman was alert in the box to react first after Harvey Barnes’ shot bounced back off the post and into his path. Gibbs smashed in the rebound to net his first goal since scoring the equaliser in a North London Derby in November 2015.

QPR’s collapse seemed inevitable just three minutes later as Jay Rodriguez netted the first of his two penalties after Dwight Gayle was brought down in the box. Gayle then grabbed one for himself after some calamitous defending allowed Gibbs to get in behind and square the ball for the on-loan Newcastle man.

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Rodriguez’s second penalty, another from Matt Phillips and a stoppage time tap-in from Hal Robson-Kanu put the cherry on top of a fantastic attacking performance from Moore’s men.

For a defender to be one of the stand-out performers in that kind of display is certainly unusual, but Gibbs’ willingness to get forward will give QPR’s young right-back Osman Kakay nightmares for the next week.

The former Arsenal man was a constant threat going forward and provided six crosses from his 75 touches on the ball. He also made three tackles as the Baggies pressed and hounded Steve McClaren’s men, especially in the second half as they netted six goals in a crazy 40 minutes of Championship football.

Gibbs’ goal and assist were just reward for his work-rate and also his wider decision to stick with the West Midlands club in the second tier of English football. With a few more team performances like that over the course of this season there is no doubt that Moore will have West Brom competing for promotion again.

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Liverpool fans are absolutely loving this week’s big transfer link, as reports claim the Reds will move for World Cup winner Benjamin Pavard next summer.

According to reports, Liverpool are lining up a €35m (£31.5m) move for Pavard, who wowed spectators with his incredible volleyed goal in Russia.

The young Frenchman played at right back for most of the tournament, but is naturally a centre back, somewhere the Reds may still be looking to improve.

Virgil van Dijk has been an absolute colossus since arriving for a world record fee in January, but the position next to him is still up for grabs.

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Joe Gomez has been impressive at the start of this season, seizing the opportunity handed to him by Dejan Lovren’s injury.

Lovren himself has improved drastically over the past 18 months, but fans still feel he has a mistake or two in him.

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Pavard is incredibly good with the ball, played every minute of Stuttgart’s Bundesliga campaign last season, and will be available for that €35m price tag if they do not qualify for the Champions League.

Fans would love to bring the versatile young defender to Merseyside, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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It is not exactly breaking news that Aston Villa need a centre-back.

Indeed, it is doubtful that the club’s supporters could take much more of Mile Jedinak being deployed alongside James Chester in central defence.

John Terry and James Collins have both been linked with returns to Villa Park in recent days, but now the Villa fans are targeting another of their former defenders.

Carlos Cuellar turned out for Villa between 2008 and 2012, making more than 120 appearances for the club in all competitions before leaving for Sunderland.

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Cuellar recently confirmed that he is now a free agent after leaving Beitar Jerusalem – the club that he joined in July.

The 37-year-old is not looking to hang up his boots though, and the Villa fans want to see the Spaniard back at Villa Park for the 2018-19 campaign.

The 6ft 3in colossus had some excellent matches in a Villa shirt, and made close to 100 Premier League appearances during his time at the club.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Villa supporters can be seen below:

In honour of the Premier League player that never was, we are going to take a look at the best Dutch players in the Premier League era. Of course, the player we are referring to is Wesley Sneijder who was honoured in his last game for his country in a friendly against Peru.

Year after year, Sneijder was connected to a rumoured transfer to Manchester United, and the on again off again rumour became somewhat of a meme. But, in the end, Sneijder never played in the Premier League. He still set an appearance record for the Dutch national team with 134 games played.

Aside from Sneijder, the Premier League has been graced by some top Dutch talents throughout the years. The connection between Dutch and English football has grown strong, and many top Dutch players have experienced their best seasons in England.

Most recently, Robin van Persie lit up the league with Arsenal and Manchester United. His 30-goal season for Arsenal in 2011-12 showed van Persie’s class on the biggest stage. But, Arsenal supporters were left disgusted when the Dutch striker left the club for rivals Manchester United.

He scored beautiful goals for both sides and ended with 144 Premier League goals to his name. He now plays back in the Netherlands with former club Feyenoord.

From one Manchester United Dutchman to another, Edwin van der Sar pulled out some great saves in his time in Manchester. He first played in the Premier League for Fulham before taking the step up to Old Trafford.

He was United’s number one keeper for six seasons and won four Premier League titles and the Champions League during his time at the club. United supporters remember the Dutchman for his safe hands and acrobatic saves.

Before Wesley Sneijder, van der Sar had the most appearances for the Oranje, and he was a key member of many Dutch squads.

Rounding out the Manchester United selection is Ruud van Nistelrooy. From 2001-2006 van Nistelrooy scored an unbelievable 95 Premier League goals.

His charismatic personality and lethal finishing made van Nistelrooy a fan favourite during his time at Old Trafford. However, he only won one league title during his Manchester days.

Arjen Robben may be better remembered for his time at Bayern Munich, but he also enjoyed a successful Premier League spell at Chelsea. The prolific winger played three seasons in London and scored 15 Premier League goals.

He won two Premier League titles for Chelsea. Most fans will remember his penalty miss against Chelsea in the 2012 Champions League Final while he was playing for Bayern Munich. The miss allowed Chelsea to win the trophy.

From attack to defense, we move to the first defensive player in Jaap Stam. Manchester United supporters will remember Stam for his tough tackling and hard-nosed defending.

Stam played 29 league games for the Red Devils and won two Premier League titles in Manchester.

Next is the most skillful Dutchman on the list and the one with the most experience in English football. Dennis Bergkamp became an Arsenal legend during his 11 years at the club and wowed the Emirates with his technical play.

He scored 87 league goals and contributed 61 assists, but he will be best remembered for his “Bergkamp flick” goal against Newcastle United.

From the selection, it is clear Sir Alex Ferguson had a love affair with Dutch players, and Dutchmen are responsible for some of the most memorable moments in Premier League history.

Currently, the Dutch national team could use some of this top talent. The Netherlands faces top competition in the UEFA Nations League, and sports betting websites seem to think their chances are slim.

But, the small country has always churned out great young players. The likes of Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum are just the latest crop of Premier League stars.

According to The Sun, Aston Villa are keen on signing Robert Huth after missing out on re-signing John Terry, but Steve Bruce should look at Huth’s fellow German Philipp Wollscheid as a better option.

Current situation

Villa went through a difficult period this summer after losing the Championship Playoff Final to Fulham and missing out on the money that the Premier League brings to a club. After facing a winding up order from HMRC and with the threat of Financial Fair Play breaches, Dr Tony Xia finally sold a controlling stake in the club to billionaires Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.

The two new owners began putting money back into the club and Bruce was able to make seven signings on either permanent or loan deals. Despite doing some good business though, the 57-year-old failed to sign a centre-back and even let Tommy Elphick leave on loan to Hull.

With The Sun reporting that Terry is set to sign for Spartak Moscow, Huth would be a decent option for Bruce on a free transfer. The former Leicester man has plenty of experience and is a three-time Premier League winner.

The better option

However, the former German international is now 34-years-old and was never blessed with pace even at the peak of his career. While Terry impressed even as a 37-year-old, there are better options out there who could be a more long-term solution for Bruce rather than just patching up his defence each summer.

Ex-Stoke defender Wollscheid is also available on a free transfer after leaving French side Metz in January this year. Since then the 29-year-old has kept himself fit by playing futsal but Villa should take a chance on him.

Wollscheid was at Stoke between 2015 and 2017 and made 56 appearances for the club in the Premier League. He also has two caps for the German national side, proving that he has the quality needed for a promotion push from the Championship.

Aston Villa secured the signature Anwar El Ghazi during the summer, with the Dutch attacker moving to the Championship club on loan from Lille.

It was some coup for Villa when considering that El Ghazi is a two-time Netherlands international, and was a regular scorer during his time at Ajax.

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The 23-year-old has made four appearances for Villa this season, managing one goal and one assist.

He started Villa’s 2-0 win over Rotherham United in the Championship on Tuesday night, but was replaced in the 73rd minute after struggling to make his mark.

There is no question that El Ghazi is a big talent, and could turn out to be key in Villa’s hopes of securing promotion to the Premier League.

The Villa fans were not best pleased with his performance on Tuesday, however, with many taking to social media to criticise the Dutchman.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the club’s supporters can be seen below:

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Everton have shown promising signs on the pitch, but the fact of the matter is that Marco Silva’s side have picked up just two wins in seven matches in all competitions.

The team have scored 11 goals, but the club’s recognised strikers are struggling to make an impact.

Cenk Tosun has been the first option for Silva so far, but the Turkish international has failed to make an impact in the final third.

The lack of options up front have led to suggestions that the Toffees should dip into the market when the transfer window reopens in January.

One man who could potentially be an option is Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, who was a key figure in the club’s shock Premier League title win in the 2015-16 campaign.

In six years at the King Power Stadium the striker has scored 91 goals, 64 of which have come in the English top flight, and registered 42 assists in 238 appearances.

The forward is under contract until 2022, but Vardy may want a fresh challenge elsewhere.

Should Everton make a move in January?

Let us know by voting below.

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Leeds United have enjoyed a blistering start to their Championship promotion push this season, although the weekend’s defeat to Birmingham City risks taking the wind out of their sales.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side still stand amongst the favourites for a return to the Premier League, where the Peacocks have been absent since their relegation in 2004, and reports suggest signings ahead of a return to the top-flight are already being considered.

One of those reported signings is said to be Liverpool veteran James Milner, who sees his contract at Anfield expire at the end of the season and, with no agreement in sight, could be available on a free transfer next summer.

Milner left his boyhood side Leeds following their relegation in 2004 and earlier this year revealed he regrets not staying at Elland Road for longer, increasing the possibility of a dramatic return to the Yorkshire giants.

Signing Milner would be another masterstroke from Bielsa and would be the club’s biggest addition since they got Robbie Fowler in 2001.

The 32-year-old should stand top of Leeds’ wishlist if they are to win promotion as the experience he would provide to the Peacocks would be vital, even though he is getting no younger.

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Do you agree Leeds fans? Would you like to see Milner back at Elland Road? Let us know your thoughts in our poll below…

According to a recent report from The Daily Mirror, forward Danny Welbeck could be set for a move away. The Englishman currently plays his football at Premier League giants Arsenal and has done so since leaving Manchester United back in 2014, bagging 31 goals for the Gunners in his four-year stint at the Emirates Stadium.

Yet reports suggest that the 27-year-old could be on his way out of the North London club at the expiration of his contract at the end of the season, with no agreement reportedly close, and this should be of interest to Leicester City manager Claude Puel, as Welbeck’s addition would arm him with the firepower needed to take the Foxes into Europe.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, the Midlands outfit remain heavily reliant on the goals of star striker Jamie Vardy, who has exceeded the 20-goal mark in two of his last three seasons at the King Power Stadium, one of which helping the club to the Premier League title back in 2016.

And with three goals in six games already this term, including in each of his last two league matches, the former England international again looks set to be vital in whatever success they have this term.

Outside of him though, Puel is certainly lacking in the striking department, with Kelechi Iheanacho perhaps the only other who could chip in with crucial goals over the course of the season – Shinji Okazaki offers a lot upfront, but simply isn’t a goal-scorer.

And while Welbeck’s goal-scoring record in the Premier League is not exactly pulling up any trees, bringing him in would hugely complement messrs Vardy and Iheanacho, especially given his recent goal-scoring has been relatively impressive.

The England star bagged six times in the second half of last season to help the Gunners finish sixth in the Premier League and reach the last four of the Europa League, while he has also netted four goals already this term to suggest that he is a forward in form.

And in a Leicester side that finished ninth last season, yet could have easily usurped Burnley in seventh had they not fallen away in the second half of the campaign, his addition would certainly help them sustain a challenge for the European spots this time round.

Thus, with Welbeck’s spell at Arsenal seemingly coming to an end in the near future, Leicester must be ready to pounce, as adding the £13.5 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt) to his squad would arm Puel with the firepower needed to return the Foxes to European football.

Leicester fans… what do you think? Let us know!