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Former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has called for Trezeguet and Anwar El Ghazi to deliver more in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

Villa have been without leading man Jack Grealish in recent weeks and it has impacted them. In his absence, they have won just one of their last five matches and have scored just three goals in that period.

Evidently, manager Dean Smith needs a bit more from his attacking players, and Hendrie has put the spotlight on both £8.75m man Trezeguet and the £8m El Ghazi, calling for the duo to step up.

Discussing the two wide men, the ex-Villa star told FFC:

“There has to be a balance. You’ve got to have that work ethic, but you’ve also got to have that creativity and that’s where I feel that Trezeguet just falls short. It’s great when you’re away from home and, you know, you need to get bodies behind the ball and work hard. He does the ugly side of the game well, but I’d like to see him doing a little bit more going the other way.”

Regarding El Ghazi, Hendrie said:

“He is very inconsistent at times. He comes on and he looks an absolute threat, he looks a goal threat, he looks hungry for scoring goals. But I think the way Villa play, sometimes I think you need a bit of a balance. He doesn’t always have to come inside and take them shots on, he’s got to be looking to maybe slip [Ollie] Watkins through.”

Trezeguet scored six goals in the Premier League last season but is yet to find the back of the net in the current campaign. As for El Ghazi, the 25-year-old has actually bettered his record from last term.

He has registered six strikes, two more than his entire league total from 2019/20, showing that the Dutch winger can produce moments of quality. However, only one of those goals came in the absence of Grealish, the 1-0 win over Leeds.

Undoubtedly, Villa’s attack is lacking at times, especially when their captain is unavailable, perhaps giving Smith something to think about ahead of the summer transfer window.

Rangers youngster Josh McPake is starting to attract interest from English Championship sides as a result of his impressive performances on loan at Harrogate Town, but sporting director Ross Wilson and manager Steven Gerrard should do everything they can to keep him at Ibrox this summer.

According to the Daily Record, the 19-year-old is being scouted by both Bristol City and QPR as a result of his displays in League Two so far this season.

The report suggests that Wilson, along with the rest of the Rangers hierarchy, are delighted with the way the teenager has developed this season in England and feel that he has the potential to be a first team regular with the Light Blues in the future.

McPake joined Harrogate Town on loan in January and has been a regular in Simon Weaver’s side ever since, making 15 appearances and contributing two goals.

In fact, the right midfielder looks to have established himself as a key player with the League Two side despite only joining two months ago, as nearly all of his appearances have seen him play the full 90 minutes.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-rangers-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read this week’s latest Rangers news, transfer rumours and more!”]

McPake was handed his Rangers debut by Gerrard in a Europa League qualifying match against St Joseph’s when he was just 17, so it seems clear that he is held in high regard by the 40-year-old and the rest of his coaching staff.

Although it is difficult to see him challenging Ianis Hagi or Joe Aribo on the right-wing in Gerrard’s side next season, the youngster is contracted until 2022 and there seems no reason why, perhaps with another season of experience under his belt, he can’t make it in the first team at Ibrox in the future.

During a previous loan spell with Morton, manager David Hopkin was full of praise for McPake, saying: “He gives you something different. You keep forgetting he’s a 19-year-old kid. He gets us up the pitch.”

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Therefore, if we see QPR, Bristol City or any other club make an official approach for the Scotland under-19 international this summer, Wilson must stand firm and ensure that he remains with the Gers.

In other news… Gerrard handed huge potential Rangers transfer blow with “outstanding talent”

Roberto Martinez dropped a huge clanger with Everton’s capture of Muhamed Besic, as Reading now line up a potential transfer for the summer free agent.

What’s the word?

According to The Telegraph, Reading are weighing up a move for Besic to head to the Madejski Stadium once his Toffees terms expire in June.

It is felt that his impending exit from Goodison Park will help ease negotiations after the Royals failed to conclude a deal during the winter market.

Reading were believed to have explored a deal for the Bosnia and Herzegovina international in the final hours of Deadline Day, as head coach Veljko Paunovic is a fan of the midfielder.

But no official approach was lodged, and Besic – who was keen to work with Veljko – had to remain on Merseyside, where he has been training with Everton’s Under 23s this season.

Besic was frozen out of the senior picture at Goodison Park after boss Carlo Ancelotti chose to omit the 28-year-old from his 25-man Premier League squad, and has remained on the fringes despite being added following the mid-season window.

The 45-cap international has not featured for the Blues since 2017, after which he sealed two loan spells with Middlesbrough in the Championship and joined Sheffield United for the 2019/20 Premier League campaign.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-everton-news-and-views” title=”Latest Everton news and views!”]

Chris Wilder had appeared keen to retain Besic for a further 12-months following his temporary spell at Bramall Lane, but hinted that a deal was not possible due to his agent chasing a more lucrative contract than the Blades could afford.

A clanger by Martinez

Besic’s future has long appeared to be away from Everton with Ancelotti even opting against offering the midfielder a seat on the bench this term, so will no doubt be hopeful of securing a move to Reading where he is more likely to have the backing of the head coach.

The Berlin-born Bosnian would also bring a heap of Premier League and Championship experience to the Madejski Stadium, where top-flight football for next season cannot yet be ruled out with the Royals only five points outside of the Play-Off places.

But Besic is unlikely to be missed at Goodison Park, having faded massively from the player Martinez considered to be “a phenomenal asset” of his Toffees side having only ever proven to be a regular under the Spaniard.

Injuries ravished his 2015/16 season and kept the £2m-rated midfielder sidelined for almost the entirety of the ‘16/17 term, before being given fleeting appearances under Ronald Koeman and later accepting his first spell away from Merseyside with Middlesbrough.

Everton were at least able to get Boro and Sheffield United to cover his wages, saving the Toffees from having to pay £30,000-per-week to a player they awarded a pay rise to in February 2016 only to rarely see on the field after that.

But the weeks that Besic will have spent in the wilderness this season, the years on Merseyside before joining Middlesbrough and time spent before moving to Sheffield United will have seen Everton pay out a total of £7.6m in wages on a player they spent £4m to sign in 2014.

Little of that £11.6m will have not been wasted when Besic departs Everton at the end of his contract on June 30, which can surely not come soon enough for both the player and the club.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands could hand Carlo Ancelotti his own Dayot Upamecano with £7m Everton transfer…

According to recent reports, West Ham United will have to battle a Premier League rival in order to land the summer signing of Adam Armstrong.

The report by The Sun claims that Armstrong, who is valued at £25m by Blackburn Rovers, is attracting interest from both West Ham and Brighton & Hove Albion, with the Seagulls said to be “desperate for a finisher” in the summer transfer window as Graham Potter’s side have massively underperformed on their xG in the Premier League this season.

It is also reported that David Moyes’ side are “reluctant” to pay the Championship club’s valuation of the 24-year-old as the striker will have just 12 months remaining on his contract this summer, posing another obstacle to a move going through.

However, The Sun claimed that Brighton “may go close” to Blackburn’s asking price, adding that the former England under-21 international’s wages would “not be too high” for the south coast club.

Transfer Tavern Take

Armstrong has certainly impressed over his 32 Championship appearances for Tony Mowbray’s side this season, with the 24-year-old bagging 19 goals and providing three assists, as well as averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.02 – ranking him as the club’s best performer in the second tier.

However, despite the centre-forward’s impressive form this season, that he will enter the final year of his deal at Ewood Park this summer does make his £25m asking price appear rather steep.

Also, with Brighton’s interest now reported, it would seem unlikely that Blackburn will budge on the striker’s valuation, raising the question as to whether a move would make financial sense for West Ham.

In other news: Many West Ham fans responded to this club update, find out more here!

After slipping to one of their most disappointing results of the season against Burnley last time out, Aston Villa will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they travel to the south coast to take on Southampton.

Dean Smith’s side were in front twice against the Clarets in the Premier League clash at Turf Moor, but a late rally from the home side saw them come from behind to win 3-2.

Villa did receive a major boost earlier in the week with the confirmation of Morgan Sanson’s arrival from Ligue 1 giants Marseille, and Smith will surely be tempted to hand him his debut at St Mary’s.

With no other injury concerns either, Smith is likely to go as full strength as possible, and with that in mind, below is a look at how Villa might line up for the game against Southampton on Saturday night.

The back-five is likely to remain unchanged as it pretty much has been all season, with the only real dilemma for the Villa boss coming in central midfield, with new signing Sanson waiting in the wings.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Smith revealed: “Morgan Sanson came in on the Wednesday when we were at Burnley and did a little bit of training with our performance team. He was then training with the lads yesterday.

“He looks in a good place and he’s available for the squad, so he’ll certainly travel down with us.”

With Douglas Luiz having played an incredible amount of football already this season both with Villa and Brazil – he’s started every Premier League game bar one – Smith may feel he could offer the former Manchester City man a rest, and hand Sanson his debut.

Further forward, Trezeguet is pushing for a recall to the starting line-up after making another cameo appearance off the bench against Burnley following a few weeks out with an injury.

That could see the 55-cap Bertrand Traore drop out, with Trezeguet joined alongside by Ross Barkley and Jack Grealish. Ollie Watkins meanwhile will be hoping to make it a third Premier League game in a row in which he has scored.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Sanson, McGinn; Trezeguet, Barkley, Grealish; Watkins.

Meanwhile, this Aston Villa star was Dean Smith’s only silver lining vs Burnley…

Many Sheffield Wednesday fans are reacting to the latest injury update on Jack Marriott, who has been missing since a mere eight-minute showing at the end of January.

According to journalist Dom Howson, Marriott is back in full training and it means that he might be included in the squad to face Luton at the weekend.

The English striker has only managed eight appearances for the Owls this season (four from the bench). With the club embroiled in a relegation battle and the lowest scorers in the division with 21 goals, (SofaScore) an attacker who has shown form in the division with Derby County being available again looks like great news on paper.

However the only goal the 26 year-old has scored this season was when playing for the Rams, so despite the squad having more depth being a huge positive, his form when he has played has not been great – hopefully he can find some form and confidence and deliver what he was signed to do.

Here is how Owls fans reacted to the news:

“Cue Jack Marriott not in squad Saturday and same starting eleven as last night!”

Credit: @IanSWFC80

“Great, that will make all the difference!!!”

Credit: @ejc18671

“Send the lad back to derby,another poor signing.”

Credit: @1867_Owl

“Won’t stop the MF creating anything. Another small player to hoof the ball too”

Credit: @onefurlongout

“Brilliant, can’t wait”

Credit: @LeonHulme3

“Like having a broken leg needing morphine and being offered a junior aspirin!”

Credit: @mark1867bryan

In other news, fans were discussing midfielder Izzy Brown. Have a read why here!

When the summer transfer window rolls around, there will be one thing that Leeds simply have to prioritise; their midfield.

On the chalkboard

Last year, Leeds did their best to bolster their midfield ranks. Michael Cuisance had his foot in the door but in true Dan James style, the move somehow fell through.

The French midfielder had agreed a deal and was all set to sign for Marcelo Bielsa’s men before the Whites pulled the plug following a reported problem with his medical.

Since then, they’ve been rather stretched in the middle of the park. Whenever Kalvin Phillips has been out, they’ve looked suspect. Pascal Struijk has impressed in defence but when moved forward to feature in midfield, it’s not gone well at all.

Leeds have lost their matches by an aggregate score of 15-6 when the Dutchman has played in front of the back four.

With that in mind, signing another midfielder should be at the top of their wish list in a few months time.

Koopmeiners to the rescue

Last summer, the Whites were linked with a move for AZ Alkmaar midfielder Teun Koopmeiners. There has been an update on his future in recent weeks with Phil Hay stating clubs from Italy were circling ahead of the next window.

The player’s agent admits a move could be on the cards and thus, he’s become a player that Hay thinks Victor Orta should lure to Elland Road.

He put a piece together for The Athletic this week that detailed potential options to solve Leeds’ midfield conundrum. In the process, he said there was a lot to like about the Dutchman and that’s evident when you look at the stats.

A goal-scoring midfielder who is also adept defensively, the 23-year-old has quite a few similarities to a certain Mateusz Klich.

The Pole has been a fantastic servant under Bielsa and until this season, he’d never missed a league match with the Argentine at the helm. In his two years in the Championship, Klich scored 16 times and also amassed 14 assists.

Koopmeiners, however, also knows where the back of the net is. He’s scored 42 goals for AZ, 16 of which have come this season. On top of that, the Netherlands international also has seven assists to his name in 2020/21.

Already, you can see why we’re comparing him to Klich. Blessed with the ability to play in a holding role or slightly further forward, the duo are both strong in the tackle.

The Leeds midfielder has won 1.1 tackles per game this term, but during his penultimate campaign in the Eredisive, he won 2.7 challenges a match for FC Twente.

Coincidentally, that’s just 0.1 fewer than Koopmeiners has won in the same division this term. With Leeds looking for more cover defensively and additional goals from their midfield, he’d be the ideal transfer acquisition.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Alioski: Leeds must swoop for £54k-p/w beast with “explosive ability”…

Arsenal are making a poor decision by keeping hold of Eddie Nketiah, amid reported transfer interest from West Ham.

What’s the story?

The England U21 international has had a mixed start to the season thus far, breaking Alan Shearer’s goal-scoring record for the Young Lions, but struggling to replicate that form at club level with Mikel Arteta’s side – he’s managed just one goal in 12 Premier League appearances.

Reports in recent days have suggested the Gunners’ Premier League rivals West Ham are eyeing him as a potential replacement for Sebastien Haller, but The Athletic have now revealed that the north Londoners are adamant that they will not be selling him.

It’s claimed that Arsenal seem determined to keep him until at least the summer, with Arteta himself very recently responding with a definitive “no” when asked about whether he would consider allowing the young striker to leave in this January transfer window.

Arteta must reconsider

When Nketiah broke onto the scene at the Emirates with that iconic brace against Norwich City in the Carabao Cup, it seemed like Arsenal had unearthed yet another quality young striker who might be able to lead the line for the years to come.

Instead, the 21-year-old hasn’t quite progressed as much as he, or the club, would perhaps have wanted. He is still not yet an established part of the first-team, and sometimes, he is not even making it off the bench, as has been the case for the past three Premier League games that the Gunners have won.

What makes Nketiah’s situation even more important is the future of another one of Arsenal’s rising stars, Folarin Balogun. The teenager’s contract is set to expire come the end of the season, with reports recently even indicating he was close to joining a foreign team on a pre-contract deal as he wants more regular game time.

The question really then becomes ‘who do the Gunners really feel will be the better player going forward?’

Per Mertesacker, the club’s academy manager, has surely seen first-hand what both Nketiah and Balogun can bring to the table, whilst the latter has taken his brief opportunities this season with aplomb, scoring two goals and providing one assist in four Europa League games.

It’s highly unlikely the Gunners will be able to convince both of the players that their future lay at the Emirates, given they both play in the same position. But with Balogun almost two years younger, and the £18m-rated Nketiah still not truly laying a marker down after 57 first-team games, Arteta must surely reconsider his stance on the latter’s future, thus paving a way for Balogun to get more game time, which could then see him stay at the club.

As a young English striker, Nketiah could command a hefty price in the modern transfer market, and given the financial situation facings clubs around the world and the fact that the Gunners need to start pulling in big fees themselves, selling the 21-year-old might see sum more funds given to Arteta.

Arsenal forked out a hefty sum to bring Thomas Partey to the club in the summer, and it would make sense if the owners will be expecting the Gunners to balance the books with some sales before investing any more money this month. Selling Nketiah would go a long way to doing exactly that, and yet Arteta is making a rather hasty call by seemingly deciding to keep him and by proxy, pushing Balogun further towards the exit door.

Meanwhile, Arteta can finally unleash Thomas Partey if he does this…

Many Crystal Palace fans are reacting to the latest transfer news around the club which suggests James McCarthy could be leaving.

According to TEAMtalk, and tweeted out by @cpfc_xtra, Scottish giants Celtic are ready to offer the midfielder a contract in January in the hope of persuading him to make the move.

With Scottish midfielder James McArthur near to end of his career as he is now 33, it seems quite risky to let the Irishman leave unless an immediate replacement is brought in.

McCarthy’s exit would mean Palace could lack serious depth in midfield, and the news has seen fans desperate for the ‘key’ man to stay, while others ponder if he is indeed replaceable.

It is easy to see why supporters feel this way too – he has managed 2.2 tackles, one interception and 1.4 clearances per game this campaign, so he is vital to protecting the defence (WhoScored).

With his contract expiring in the summer, there is a real possibility that he could leave on a free, so the club need to act fast if they want to keep him, or at the very least secure a fee for his services.

Here is what Palace fans said following the news around McCarthy:

In other Palace news, have a read of a bizarre statistic about the club which fans aren’t happy with here!

After slipping to yet another defeat in the Championship – albeit one they perhaps may have expected – Nottingham Forest are deep in the midst of a relegation battle 17 games into the season.

Chris Hughton’s side lost 2-1 to high-flyers Norwich in mid-week, and although they ended a horrific run without scoring in the clash, they had no points to show by the end of it.

And with their next opponents, Brentford, enjoying another season full of promotion potential, Forest face an extremely tall order to end their winless streak.

Hughton will surely have to make some big changes to try and spark some life into his side and get them back to winning ways.

Despite the fact Brice Samba hasn’t been entirely convincing this season – his clanger against Reading was particularly awful – Hughton may resist the temptation to drop his number one for this game.

In front of him, the Forest boss could make the big call to finally drop Tobias Figueiredo after his latest shocker in mid-week, and that could see veteran defender Michael Dawson come in.

Further forward, Anthony Knockaert’s goal against the Canaries may see him return to the starting line-up in place of Sammy Ameobi, and Hughton could well get the Frenchman to start on the right hand side and get Joe Lolley to move over to the left in a bid to change things up.

Predicted XI: Samba; Christie, Dawson, Worrall, Ribeiro; Sow, Cafu; Knockaert, Arter, Lolley; Taylor.