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Yesterday it was announced that Aston Villa have agreed a £9.5m fee with Wigan Athletic for Charles N’Zogbia and the 25-year-old is set travel down to Villa Park to discuss personal terms today.

The French international who was last capped in 2010, will be a straight forward replacement on the left wing for the recently departed Stuart Downing and will become McLeish’s second summer signing after capturing N’Zogbia’s former Newcastle teammate Shay Given from Man City last week.

McLeish has long been an admirer of N’Zogbia and actually came within a whisker of signing him last summer for his former club Birmingham City but the deal collapsed at the 11th hour as they couldn’t agree personal terms. So although a fee has now been agreed it is still not 100% that he will be joining the club. However if as expected he does agree terms this week, McLeish will be hoping that he will be a suitable replacement for Downing and Young who had started to build up a potent attacking force alongside Darren Bent last season.

Villa have so far raised over £40 million from player sales this summer and N’Zogbia will be a major part of a new look Aston Villa side with the Alan Hutton and Scott Parker two other possible arrivals at Villa Park. Although he has experienced controversy in the past especially at Newcastle, I can see McLeish being disciplined with the winger and he will make sure the Villa fans only see N’Zogbia’s good side.

Interestingly he is actually classed as a home-grown player after being affiliated with an English club since the age of 18 when he brought over by Newcastle from Le Havre and will count as one of the eight players home-grown players needed in Villa’s 25-man-squad. This make it even more of a transfer bargain as everyone has seen that English players are moving at overinflated transfer fees partly due to this rule.

With Downing and Young sold, Villa were looking for a player that can create threats to the opposition and would also be responsible for set-pieces. In N’Zogbia they have this player as he is known for his match-winning ability, his excellent all round play and is one of the most exciting players to watch in the Premier League. He can also operate on either flank or as an attacking midfielder so it is understandable why Villa have snapped him up.

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It will be a new challenge for N’Zogbia who was influential in keeping the Latics in the Premier League last season and his two goals against West Ham in the penultimate game of the season all but secured their survival. Dave Whelan recently said of his prized asset: “I have always said for £10 million he is an absolute snip, if Stewart Downing can change hands for £20 million I don’t know what Charles is worth.”

He contributed with ten goals and seven assists for the Latics last season which is not too different to Downing’s total of seven goals and nine assists and this shows what a good deal Villa are getting with a reported £10.5 million difference in transfer fees.

With only 12 months left on his contract Wigan are getting a decent price for the winger but in terms of Downing’s move, it is still relatively cheap. He will only improve at a bigger club and in the right environment so N’Zogbia could be worth a lot more in the future. Downing’s £20m price tag was over-inflated by the fact he still had four years left on his contract at Villa Park but Villa fans must feel they are the end of a very good deal.

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Villa fans would have been saddened to see their player of the year Downing leave after his impressive form last season but I feel they are getting a more than adequate replacement in N’Zogbia. He has a similar goal scoring record, has the ability to change a game and is signing at a very reasonable price. The rebuilding has begun and securing N’Zogbia’s signature would be a great way to kick-start it.

Do you agree? Do you think N’Zogbia is the right man to replace Downing? Follow me on twitter @aidanmccartney

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Steven Pienaar has said speculation surrounding his future will not affect his current form.

The South Africa international has been strongly linked with a move away for weeks, with Tottenham looking the most likely destination for the 28-year-old.

The Toffees are still trying to persuade Pienaar to sign a new contract but time is running out.

Everton have already hinted they would rather sell him in January rather than lose him for nothing when his contract expires.

When asked whether he would still be on Merseyside come the end of the season Pienaar told Sky Sports: "No comment."

The winger did go on to say that he knew nothing of the apparent link with Tottenham, claiming it was all media speculation at this point in time.

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"I was also told this by one of my team-mates, so I don't know what is going on.

"The media in England is quite big and everyone can say what they want. I am just happy at Everton and I want to focus on my game."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

The 2011/ 2012 season was dubbed by many to have been the most entertaining we have seen for years. Arsenal Football Club have had a particularly turbulent year, concluding in their wait for a trophy still ticking over. The season began with one of the worst starts to a league season the red half of north London has ever experienced, and from there on in life as an Arsenal fan would be tested to the limit. They have seen the lows, with a 4-0 defeat in Milan followed by a FA Cup exit at Sunderland. But there have been highs for The Gunners this year too, most notably a 5-3 win at Stamford Bridge, and beating the old enemy 5-2 to help overturn a ten point deficit. But what exactly can Arsenal fans learn from this season? We look at ten concluding points to Arsenal’s season.

Click on Oxlade Chamberlain to unveil the top 10

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Barcelona feel they will finally land Cesc Fabregas with a renewed bid of £35m. Arsenal conceded that they are unlikely to stand in the Spaniard’s way providing that the Catalans meet their asking price and although there have been rumours in the press this morning that Cesc may look to go on strike in order to force a deal through; it seems unlikely that an amicable agreement won’t be reached.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Tottenham set for talks with Luka Modric; Liverpool willing to sacrifice kids to land Charlie Adam, while Sunderland trigger Wickham auction after having £13m bid accepted.

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Barcelona scent victory with renewed £35m Fábregas bid – Guardian

De Gea to seal £18.3m deal – Daily Telegraph

Chelsea still rebuilding as Abramovich considers Emenalo for director role – Daily Mail

Arsene’s letter to unhappy fan – Sun

Modric to hold talks with Tottenham – Guardian

Liverpool willing to sacrifice kids to land Adam – Mirror

City told not to rock the Boat – Sun

Sunderland trigger Wickham auction after agreeing £13m deal – Daily Mail

Spurs offer quartet to Bolton in bid to land Cahill – Daily Mail

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McLeish to offer Birmingham keeper swap deal – Mirror

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Harry Redknapp sees no reason why his Tottenham side cannot win this season's Premier League title, particularly after they hit back from two goals down to beat Arsenal 3-2 in the north London derby.

Spurs were outclassed in the first half and were fortunate to only be 2-0 down at the interval, Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh netting for the Gunners.

However, Redknapp's team were transformed after the interval and hit back to claim the three points thanks to Gareth Bale's goal, a Rafael van der Vaart penalty and Younes Kaboul's late winner.

The weekend results have left Spurs six points adrift of stuttering leaders Chelsea, leading Redknapp to say:"It's wide open this league this year, wide open.

"Chelsea aren't as good as they were, Man United aren't as good as they were three or four years ago. They're still excellent teams but they're not the force they were. They were almost invincible, the pair of them.

"I think Tottenham are now getting closer and the championship is wide open. I said that to the players on Friday morning. 'Why can't you win the championship? Who says you can't?'.

"It's wide open for somebody who can put a run together. It's there for someone to have real go at it this year. Why should we all be fearful and keep saying, 'We can't win it'?

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"I wouldn't be saying it if we had a bad group of players. I'm a realist, I'm not dreaming. It's difficult to do but it's not impossible.

"This is the best chance anyone's going to get this year. There's very little to choose between the top five or six teams at the moment."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

The candidates for this season’s PFA Players of the Year have been named, with Manchester City having three of the six possible winners.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart, playmaker David Silva and striker Sergio Aguero head the list of players ready to claim the prestigious accolade.

The Etihad Stadium trio are joined by Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney, Arsenal goal-machine Robin van Persie and Tottenham’s midfield dynamo Scott Parker.

Last year’s winner Gareth Bale is not included in the six candidates, but will be considered for the Young Player of the Year award, along with Spurs team-mate Kyle Walker.

Aguero is again included in the Young Player of the Year reckoning, as is Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge.

Danny Welbeck is rewarded for his breakthrough at Old Trafford with inclusion in the running for the Young Player award, with Arsenal Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain completing the list.

The awards will be presented on April 22nd at a ceremony in London.

PFA Player of the Year shortlist: Joe Hart, Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, Scott Parker.

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PFA Young Player of the Year shortlist: Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kyle Walker, Sergio Aguero and Gareth Bale

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England put in another shocking display which Fabio Capello put down to simply tiredness. It seems like a poor excuse from the outset, especially given the shocking errors from certain individuals.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that includes Crouch set to quit England, Wenger looks to rebuild squad, Chelsea must wait for Hiddink.

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Tevez – I decide my future – Sky Sports

Capello says his players were ‘exhausted’ after long season – Guardian

Chelsea must wait for Hiddink, says agent – Guardian

‘Hughes was too ambitious for Fulham’ – Guardian

Maradona: Fifa bosses are dinosaurs – Daily Telegraph

Cole set to end Anfield misery as Tottenham transfer nears completion – Daily Mail

I will expose Blatter: Angry CONCACAF president Warner promises to reveal all – Daily Mail

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Crouch quits Capello’s England: Swiss snub last straw for Spurs hitman – Daily Mail

City and United in £30m battle for Inter star – Mirror

Wenger cancels summer holiday to rebuild squad as three key stars face boot – Mirror

“It’s a f****** conspiracy!” The angry lady behind me shouted in the general direction of Mark Clattenburg as he neared my side of the pitch. “You’re a f****** cheat. I hope you’re f****** happy with your f****** paycheque, ref! You’ve f****** earned it today!” She, like everyone else in the stand, was annoyed that the referee of Manchester City’s defeat to Arsenal last Sunday awarded a goal kick to the visitors, overruling his linesman who had given a corner kick to the home side.

I’ve never truly understood the chant “you’re not fit to referee!”. Of course, the influence is subconscious, but it’s not exactly going to win the referee around to giving the next 50-50 decision to your team.

In fairness to the angry lady, she was right about that call; it was incorrect for Mark Clattenburg to award the goal kick and ignore the decision of his assistant. What didn’t help her case is that she directed a similar torrent of abuse towards the referee after every decision he made that wasn’t in City’s favour. Of course, I wouldn’t expect any football fans of any club to have a totally unbiased view – I do it and you do it. It’s human nature that we all see decisions with our team in mind.

The atmosphere against Arsenal was very feisty, something that was caused by the fans’ perceived view that the referee had given an incorrect red card and then, later, an incorrect penalty, both against City. From where I was sitting, I felt aggrieved about the red card. Looking through my blue shaded glasses, I’d seen Boyata win the ball, but even I couldn’t convince myself that Fabregas had dived, despite my best efforts and the efforts of those around me who had successfully convinced themselves. I had to check with a Belgian friend of mine, who is biased towards all things Belgian, and he told me that both decisions were correct. If he couldn’t find a way for the offending Belgians to be let off, then I wasn’t going to be able to.

I feel sorry for Boyata. It was only his third Premier League start and he’s made a genuine attempt to win the ball from a forward dashing towards goal. There’s no question that he fouled him and no question that a red card was the correct decision, but it’s from instances like this that he will learn. With just five minutes played, allowing Chamakh a shot on goal would probably have been the better decision – with Hart in inspired form this season, there’s no guarantee he’d have scored if he had hit the target. Even if he had netted, it would have left City 85 minutes to pull back the 0-1 deficit with a full complement of players, instead of trying to win the game a man down.

However, there’s no doubt that he’s a rising talent in the City squad and one mistake doesn’t change that. That he was selected over Lescott will show to him how much the manager values him.

Now, of course, only the hardcore of the hardcore City fans are still contesting those two major decisions; the referee got them both correct. But, at the time, those two decisions, combined with a few incorrect yellow cards and fouls – which went both ways – ensured a vitriol of abuse from the home fans. In fact, I’d go as far as saying the Clattenburg’s performance in that match was better than his previous performance at Eastlands when he officiated the match with Blackburn.

There were other contentious decisions besides the sending off and penalty. Some blues are upset, and in my opinion rightly so, by Cesc Fabregas’s imaginary card waving antics towards the referee after Boyata’s foul. A few years ago we were told that it would be a bookable offence because it was ungentlemanly conduct or not in the spirit of the game, but it’s a ruling that’s been applied rather haphazardly since it was introduced. Fabregas may have been lucky to escape a card there mainly because he did it whilst the referee wasn’t looking at him.

But had he been shown a yellow card for that incident, it’s impossible to say that he would have been sent off for the foul he committed later; without getting into a metaphysical debate on causality, if he was on a yellow card he might not have made the challenge that led to the foul.

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Later in the half, having already been shown a yellow card for a foul, a lot of the City support around me was convinced Fabregas should have been sent off for a second yellow card that, they believe, was given to wrong man. However, if my memory serves me correctly, the reason Djourou was shown the card was because he committed a foul and the ball broke to Tevez, who continued with the ball as the referee played the advantage. When Tevez lost the ball to Fabregas, it was clear there was no advantage and the play was brought back to where the foul was committed and a free kick was given.

There are, of course, some decisions by Mark Clattenburg on Sunday that I didn’t agree with. I do believe that Alex Song should have seen a second yellow card; principally because, having already been booked, he committed a very similar foul that had seen City’s Gareth Barry cautioned. Throw in the odd free kick wrongly awarded or ignored and this, to the angry lady at least, showed a definite bias against City.

But that inconsistency doesn’t prove that Mark Clattenburg cheated; it simply proves he is human.

Manchester City vs. Arsenal, however, wasn’t a particularly bad game for him, either. He has no anti-City agenda as seems to be the general consensus amongst my fellow City fans. A few wrong decisions on Sunday and the fact that he gave Craig Bellamy a second yellow card for diving when he was tripped almost a year ago when Mark Hughes was still in charge just proves he can get things wrong.

Those same fans forget, for example, the advantage he played that allowed Wright-Phillips to cross for Adebayor’s header in the City vs. Arsenal fixture last season. In fact, before Sunday, City had never lost a Premier League game with him in charge. Decisions do balance out over the course of a season and City have already had a slice of good and bad.

In fact, it’s all too easy for the word ‘cheat’ to roll off the tongue. It’s a serious allegation and one I don’t believe to be true of the game (there are so many things wrong with football, but this, in my view, isn’t one of them). Making mistakes isn’t cheating. But, then again, I suppose chanting ‘incompetent’ or ‘having a bad day at the office’ doesn’t scan.

The most interesting aspect of the allegation of a “conspiracy” to stop City from breaking into the top four is that, this season, City have been on the receiving end of some quite beneficial decisions. Take Blackpool away: Tevez’s first goal was offside and, on his second, he clearly fouled the defender he stole the ball off. The match previous to that, Sam Williamson gave away a penalty for a fair tackle on Tevez outside the box.

And if there was an enormous movement to protect the established top four, then Tottenham wouldn’t have just pipped City to the post last season. Surely both City and Tottenham would have been out of the running by then?

In fact, on one particular City forum, it’s become a bit of a predictable occurrence to see a thread posted about who the referee for the next game will be, followed by comments about how that referee never gives City anything or how that referee hates the club. It gets tiresome and clearly isn’t true.

Blaming the referee for a defeat like Sunday’s is an easy conclusion to come to. It absolves the team from any blame (not that I feel City should be blamed in any way). I can understand where Mancini is coming from when he says that City’s performance shows how far the team has come; 0-3 was a very flattering scoreline towards an Arsenal side that were matched for large portions of the game by a team with a man less.

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But it’s not Clattenburg’s fault that Boyata fouled Chamakh and nor is it his fault that the rules say he had to send Boyata off. It’s not even his fault that another referee in another match with a very similar incident has incorrectly shown a yellow card instead of a red.

Consistency is what is needed in decisions, but consistently correct decisions.

Talk of a conspiracy against City is embarrassing. There just isn’t one.

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Leonardo Bonucci is an experienced winner having won seven league titles in his career, and now he is being linked with a move to the Premier League.

According to Calciomercato, Manchester City are one of a handful of clubs that are interested in recruiting the veteran defender.

Pep Guardiola already has a strong team at his disposal, and not a huge amount needs to be changed following last season’s title triumph.

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However, it seems that the recent two-year European ban implemented on Milan by UEFA has led City to consider a swoop for Bonucci as he is now believed to be considering his future.

Calciomercato reports that along with City, the club’s arch rivals Manchester United, as well as Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are tracking the defender.

Who do you think will win the World Cup? Let us know here and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.

Guardiola are not in desperate need of a new centre-back, but there are concerns over injury prone Vincent Kompany.

Judging by the reaction on Twitter, though, City fans would rather the club did not make a move for the 31-year-old.

Mohamed Salah has been in a class of his own this season, scoring 23 goals and only failing to score twice in his last 10 Premier League games.

He’s not the only Liverpool player to make an impact since signing in the summer, though, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Virgil Van Dijk, Andrew Robertson and Dominic Solanke all making a name for themselves after arriving at Anfield either in the summer or the January transfer window.

Centre-forward Dominic Solanke has, at least quantitatively, probably been the least effective signing – with the Chelsea youth graduate appearing 16 times for Liverpool in the league this season but only earning the one assist to his name.

Left-back Andrew Robertson has fought his way into the side after barely seeing the field in the first few months of the season, and the left-back is now a first-team regular with two assists in the record books this season.

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Virgil Van Dijk have had the most expectation attached to them out of the new signings, with the former arriving at Anfield for £34m in the summer and Van Dijk transferring from Southampton on a £70m fee in January.

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The formal Arsenal midfielder has chipped in three goals and four assists, while the ex-Southampton centre-back has kept two clean sheets in the league since joining the club, but has either player been worth their inflated price tag?

We’ll let Liverpool fans decide who has been the best signing at the club this season – have your say by voting below…