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According to The Athletic, Newcastle were prepared to listen to transfer offers for defender Fabian Schar in the summer transfer window.

What’s the word?

Despite seemingly interested in bringing in a new centre-back to Steve Bruce’s squad – the likes of Rob Holding and Phil Jones were mooted as potential transfer targets – it’s now claimed the Magpies were also willing to let one go.

The Athletic’s Chris Waugh has claimed that the Tyneside club would have listened to offers for Switzerland international, Schar. It’s added that with Bruce having some misgivings over whether the former Basel man can play in a flat back four, he was keen on signing a new pacier defender.

Bruce should have been ruthless

If Bruce has doubts over using Schar, then he really should have forced the issue with the Newcastle board and made it clear that the Swiss ace had to be sold.

It would have brought in some much-needed funds to strengthen the squad elsewhere, and would also have removed his reported £40k-a-week wage bill off the books too.

Instead, by taking a more passive stance and just waiting for interested teams to potentially come in, it has left Newcastle in a predicament where they have a defender the manager doesn’t fancy.

Add that to the fact the Magpies didn’t even bring in the new central defender that they wanted, and it was a complete disaster for Bruce over the summer in that position.

After being benched for Aston Villa’s clash against Southampton last time out, Trezeguet no doubt would have wondered if he was going to have to watch Bertrand Traore establish himself as the side’s starting right winger.But after Villa’s summer signing was forced off with an injury in the first-half, the Egyptian responded with the kind of performance from a substitute that would have left his manager grinning from ear to ear.And after watching him help rip Arsenal to shreds on Sunday night in the Premier League, Dean Smith will be waking up very satisfied at seeing Trezeguet repay his faith with a dynamic performance.

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Whilst he may not have gotten himself on the score-sheet thanks to Bukayo Saka being the one to turn the ball into his own net for Villa’s opening goal, the winger showcased everything that is good about him.

Hard work, relentless running, and that knack for getting himself on the end of crosses at the far post. Villa podcaster Ty Bracey described his workrate as “unreal” and that he was “defensively brilliant”, and it really showed in the stats.

As per Sofascore, he made a team-high of six tackles (double that of the man in second Matty Cash), and won nine of his 15 total duels too. In fact, nobody on the Villa team contested more duels than Trezeguet on the night.

But he wasn’t just helping to shackle Arsenal danger man Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, instead, always making sure he was a threat on the break and when his team had possession, having two attempts on goal and providing two crosses too.

After capping off a fine performance last time against the Gunners with the winning goal at the back end of last season, Trezeguet stepped up to haunt Arsenal once more. The north Londoners weren’t ready again for the Egyptian king.

Leeds currently boast one of the most prolific strikers in the Premier League with Patrick Bamford. The 27-year-old one of the highest scoring players this season, up there with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Son-Heung min and Jamie Vardy (via BBC Sport).

But had they decided not to cash in on an equally impressive target man five years ago, they could have had a lethal strike duo on their hands.

The Whites signed Billy Sharp for just the lone season back in 2014 before moving him on to boyhood club Sheffield United. They swiped him from Southampton after he netted 10 goals in 18 appearances on the south coast and paid a nominal fee for his services – a reported £270,000.

Sharp’s time at Elland Road was a little off-pace, scoring just five times in a total of 35 Leeds matches. However, former club owner Massimo Cellino didn’t give him much time to rediscover his form before cashing in for a minuscule profit.

Leeds sold the striker for just £635,000 after one term into his two-year deal. But their loss has absolutely been Sheffield United’s gain.

Since rejoining the Blades, Sharp has fired home an impressive 94 goals, with his best season coming in 2016/17 when he netted 30 and contributed a further eight assists in the Championship (via Transfermarkt).

He has undoubtedly been Chris Wilder’s key man over the last few seasons and they would have arguably not won promotion without him. But seeing him in such strong form will have Marcelo Bielsa green with envy over the possibilities of what he and Bamford could create together.

In other news, Leeds-linked Steven Gerrard could put Elland Road back on the map…

Tottenham Hotspur advanced into the knockout stages of the Europa League by topping Group J on Thursday evening, though there’s no time to celebrate as their attentions will now quickly turn to the Premier League this weekend.

Jose Mourinho’s side are also sitting on the throne in the English top-flight after 11 matches and are favourites to continue their impressive form when they head to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.

And one member of his much-changed starting XI has just given him plenty to ponder.

Giovani Lo Celso, a player that has taken very scathing criticism from his manager, delivered a masterclass as Spurs defeated Royal Antwerp 2-0.

Indeed, he was rewarded as the Man of the Match with an 8.9 rating by SofaScore.

Last month, Mourinho slammed the Argentine’s fitness, he told reporters via Sky Sports:

“I feel that when he plays he’s not the Gio that we know, not the Gio that we know that he can be an amazing player. But with the ball of course great criteria and he knows what he’s doing of course, and understands the way we want to play. But we need more intensity to be fitter, to be more intense and to be stronger in the transitions.”

Well, Thursday night may have been a delayed reaction to that as on top of scoring the match-winner, Lo Celso also had a squad-high 72 touches, won ten duels, made four key passes, pulled off six successful dribbles and even put in three tackles, via SofaScore.

It was certainly Lo Celso’s night.

Time to unshackle him?

Now Mourinho must reward the £31.5m-rated playmaker with an opportunity to continue his mini-rise in the Premier League, a competition that has seen him restricted to just two starts.

In Europe, the former Betis star has delivered, already scoring four goals so it’s only fair he gets a crack against Palace this weekend.

Tanguy Ndombele’s return could see Lo Celso drop back to the bench, though we saw a glimpse of what life could be like when pairing the two together and when you throw in the stability of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, then it becomes a mouth-watering prospect.

The three have had the ability to run the show at Selhurst Park.

Once dubbed “extraordinary,” the £70k-per-week monster must be unleashed once again.

AND in other news, £25m Spurs ace with fewer touches than HART endured a night to FORGET…

Aston Villa have been heavily linked to Odsonne Edouard this season, but they could now be priced out of a January move for the French starlet.

The latest on Edouard

According to The Athletic, although the Premier League side rate Edouard highly, they will not be pursuing him in the January transfer window. This is due to the fact that they believe Celtic will place a large valuation on the forward that will be too much for Villa.

Edouard looks to be a star striker

Celtic manager Neil Lennon was discussing the Frenchman last month, saying: “What we have with Odsonne is an outstanding, talented player.”

He is only 22, but ‘French Eddy’ already has 74 goals and 35 assists in 174 appearances during his career so far (Transfermarkt). This shows that he is very prolific and that he has the potential to be a star striker.

It is understandable to see Villa not make a move in January however. This transfer window in the middle of a season sees many prices inflated as sides are desperate to add quality to save their seasons.

With summer signing Ollie Watkins off to a great start for Villa, scoring six goals and picking up one assist in eleven Premier League games (Transfermarkt), the club are not desperate for another top forward. Therefore they can reassess the possible signing of Edouard at the end of the season.

In other Villa news, fans have been piling praise on one star at the club following his latest comments. Have a read who it is here!

Just like that, everything looks a lot rosier at the Stadium of Light – certainly in terms of performances.

Although Sunderland drew 1-1 with Wimbledon on Tuesday evening, their progress was halted due to eight first-team players missing through a COVID-19 scare.

It was a huge shame, especially given the 4-0 drubbing they handed Lincoln last weekend.

On the chalkboard

Due to the sheer amount of absentees on Tuesday, it meant that Lee Johnson was able to hand a rare start to summer signing Aiden O’Brien.

The winger hadn’t been seen since the beginning of November when he took to the field in the Papa John’s trophy against Fleetwood.

He has started only six times in all competitions since arriving but this was perhaps one of his most lively displays yet. Although he never really looked like scoring, he gave the Wimbledon defence a torrid evening with his tricky dribbling.

While he was on the pitch, O’Brien managed to perform three successful dribbles, providing two key passes in the process.

Furthermore, the attacker also completed 88% of his passes in what was an assured display. It was needed too given how many players were missing.

Yet, there is a huge takeaway from this performance.

Parkinson’s wish

Just over a year ago Phil Parkinson took the decision to axe Aiden McGeady from the squad. He was banished from the first-team picture and loaned to Charlton. He hadn’t played for the Black Cats in 2020 at all until Johnson’s first game against Wigan.

Of course, he was never going to set the world alight considering how much football he’s missed but he did claim an assist against Lincoln last weekend.

That being said, it was always Parkinson’s wish to get rid of him completely. Towards the end of 2019, the former Sunderland boss transfer listed the Irishman and considering his colossal wages of £31k-a-week, few can blame him for wanting rid from a financial point of view.

Although he’s only just come back into the side, the Mackems could honour Parkinson’s wish if O’Brien continues to demonstrate the form he showed on Tuesday evening. A similar player in terms of their dribbling, he has the ability to become a key player and a thorn in the opposition.

Speaking about O’Brien after he signed, Kevin Phillips said: “He has a bit of everything about him. He can play as a nine, a ten and he can play out wide. A player that gets himself in the box and can score a goal. I am very excited to see this lad play.”

If he continues to play well, it’s a distinct possibility that McGeady’s time in the north-east could finally come to an end.

After all, there are plenty of wingers in the squad and Sunderland are right on the cusp of the EFL’s wage restrictions.

In other news, woeful Sunderland ace who lost possession 15x will have left Johnson furious…

Former referee Mark Halsey has talked about whether Wilfried Zaha should have been sent off in Aston Villa’s recent Premier League win at Villa Park.

Dean Smith’s Villa picked up a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday despite being down to ten men. Tyrone Mings was sent off after picking up two yellow cards, but the first yellow came as a result of a flashpoint involving Zaha and the defender. Zaha also got a yellow card for the incident (as per BBC Sport).

Smith described both bookings as soft yellow cards but Halsey has talked about whether Zaha himself should’ve been sent off for what happened during the flashpoint where he appeared to throw a hand at the Villa defender.

Halsey on whether Zaha deserved a red against Aston Villa

Halsey was exclusively talking to The Transfer Tavern recently and he discussed whether the Palace winger should’ve been sent off for throwing a hand at Mings. The former referee believes that VAR must have had a look at the incident and deemed it not to be worthy of a red card. Halsey himself feels that yellow cards for both Zaha and Mings were appropriate outcomes.

He said:

“I mean, you could argue the case (of a red card) but then, you have to say ‘well, why didn’t VAR pick that up and recommend a review?’ So VAR must have been happy that it wasn’t a serious and obvious error made by the referee on that occasion. To be fair, I thought two yellow cards was the right outcome in that situation.”

Villa were 1-0 up when Mings was sent off but despite the disadvantage, Smith’s men scored through Anwar El Ghazi and Kortney Hause in the second half.

Villa showed grit despite the disadvantage

It is anyone’s guess if Zaha’s sending off would’ve made any difference in the result considering the fact that Villa won 3-0 even while having ten men on the pitch. More than that, Smith’s men completely outperformed Palace on xG as well, generating a tally of as much as 3.5 while Palace’s tally stood at a lowly 1.06 despite the man advantage (as per FBRef).

Zaha had picked up a rating of only 6.32 in the game and while that was the fourth-highest rating for the Eagles, it was a disappointing rating in a general perspective (as per Whoscored).

So the winger clearly didn’t make much of a difference and a potential sending off for him may not have been too impactful for Villa.

In other news, Aston Villa have been buzzing about Matty Cash’s latest tweet – read more about it here.

West Bromwich Albion target Kasper Junker has told The Athletic that now is the perfect time for him to move on from current club Bodo Glimt.

Junker eyes transfer

The Baggies were linked with a move for the 26-year-old in December of last year, as were a number of other clubs.

Now, Junker has spoken about his future, and he has admitted that he now thinks it is the perfect time for him to move on from Norway. He said:

“Everybody in the team is obviously ambitious to make the next step. For me, who is a little bit older than the other guys, the time has to be sooner but the ambition is very high in that club.

“The age I am now, it’s the perfect time to make the next step but both (Jens Petter) Hauge and Philip (Zinckernagel) were there (at Bodo/Glimt) for more than one year.

“If I have to stay for one more year, then that’s no problem but it’s very good for the club and the players that big clubs come and look at our players because it shows that we are doing something right.”

Potential bargain

Currently valued at £1.8m (Transfermarkt), Junker could represent fantastic value for Sam Allardyce and the WBA recruitment team if they decide to make another move for him.

Last season, he scored a huge 27 goals in just 25 appearances in the Norwegian top flight, while he also contributed 11 assists. That was his best campaign by some distance, but it shows that, perhaps, he is now entering his prime years.

Only Sheffield United and Burnley have scored fewer goals than West Brom’s 11 goals so far this campaign, so they need someone who can put the ball into the back of the net on a regular basis. Based on last term’s form, Junker could very well be that man.

In other news, West Brom have been offered the chance to sign this forward.

Whilst the likes of Jack Grealish and Ollie Watkins may be the Aston Villa players to take most of the headlines this season, spare a mention for Matt Targett.

The left-back has continued to be a reliable performer for Dean Smith’s in the Premier League, and produced an impressive display against Manchester City in mid-week, keeping England star Raheem Sterling in check.

But after coming up with just over 15 minutes to go at the Etihad, Targett appears to be a serious doubt for Villa’s next top-flight clash.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Newcastle on Saturday night, Smith said: “It was a very good performance up until the 74th minute when he decided to sit down because he was tired out and we knew there was a possibility of that happening to one or two of the players who had suffered (with the virus).”

The £35k-a-week earning ace is a bit of an unsung hero for Villa, something Alan Hutton echoed, when he said: “I think he just quietly goes about his business and you’re right, because of the other players within that squad, he probably doesn’t get the praise that he’s due this season.

“He’s definitely went under the radar but I think the proper football fans and people will see exactly what he does for the team, much like Matty Cash on the opposite side.”

With Neil Taylor the only other real left-back option to Smith, he will be desperately hoping that Targett can pass any late fitness checks and makes it for the Newcastle game.

Taylor has made just four appearances in total this campaign, with only 15 minutes of Premier League football under his belt. Targett has nailed that left-back role down and has been part of a settled back-line for Villa for most of the season.

If he’s missing versus Newcastle, Smith will be worried.

Meanwhile, Villa boss Dean Smith must start this man tonight…

Tottenham Hotspur may have just missed out on a perfect opportunity to sign another Mousa Dembele.

The saga surrounding Dele Alli’s future in north London rumbles on and with less than four days remaining in the transfer window, it remains to be seen where the 24-year-old will be.

Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is keen to bring him to Paris Saint-Germain, according to Fabrizio Romano. Even Jose Mourinho is happy to sanction his departure as he’s only utilised him for a total of 472 minutes this campaign.

However, chairman Daniel Levy is against seeing the attacking midfielder leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium permanently. Romano told the ‘Here We Go’ podcast that the tough-negotiator was holding up any exit this month, claiming that “everyone is waiting” for his decision.

But the longer he’s out-of-favour, the quicker his value is going to diminish – it’s already dropped from £81m in December 2019, around the time of Mourinho’s appointment, to £34.2m as of December 2020, per Transfermarkt.

The 37-time England international also hasn’t played for the Three Lions since September 2019 in their Nations League third-place playoff win over Switzerland, and that won’t do his total worth any help either.

Clearly, he’s not doing enough to convince Mourinho and in reality, he may be better off sold as this issue isn’t going to change anytime soon with the Special One at the helm.

Indeed, the decision to reject PSG’s latest offer is a strange one.

According to Le Parisien, the Ligue 1 champions offered a swap deal involving former Everton and Villa powerhouse Idrissa Gueye, who would have brought Dembele-like qualities to north London once again.

He cost PSG £28m only 18 months ago.

But Spurs rejected the move before agreeing to a dry loan – no obligation or option to buy – on the basis they find cover before Monday’s deadline.

Well even though Gueye is a vastly-different option in the middle, he could have been his replacement in this squad, especially given the fact that he’s a box-to-box enforcer – something that Mourinho is said to be after, as per The Sunday Times’ Duncan Castles.

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Spurs legend Tim Sherwood was in charge of Villa when Gueye was at the club, and he dubbed him a “monster.” He said: “You look at him and his stature is very small. But when he’s on the pitch he looks like a monster. He plays like that.”

That season, the 31-year-old brute averaged a whopping 4.1 tackles, four interceptions and two dribbles per game across 35 appearances, via WhoScored, which was the second-most for tackles and interceptions in the division to N’Golo Kante – Dembele was a close fourth (3.6 tackles, 2.6 dribbles).

As seen by those returns alone, Dembele and Gueye were very similar players during their time in the Premier League, and even despite the Senegal international’s advancing years, he’s still putting up impressive numbers.

In 15 appearances, he’s delivered two goals and averaged 2.5 tackles, one interception and 0.7 dribbles per game, via WhoScored. It’s that sort of bustling energy that Mourinho needs alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the engine room.

Something which Alli doesn’t bring. The Spurs boss publically blasted him as “lazy” during the Amazon ‘All or Nothing’ docuseries last year, so it’s no wonder he rarely features anymore.

Swapping the faltering midfielder for Gueye would have been a solid piece of business, especially if they could have gotten a fee in return also.

Perhaps Levy has missed out on a golden chance to improve Spurs here – one foolish mistake from the Spurs chief.

AND in other news, this Spurs star badly let Mourinho down against Liverpool…