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Aston Villa are flying high in the Premier League at the moment, so much so that they cannot afford to rest on their laurels in the summer.

What’s the word?

One player who the Villans are reportedly targeting ahead of the window is Sheffield United’s Sander Berge.

The midfielder has only been with the Blades just over a year but numerous clubs are now looking to capitalise on their potential relegation and snap him up.

In recent days, Eurosport have reported that Liverpool have joined Villa in the race to keep him in the top-flight.

Reports from France previously note that both Tottenham and Arsenal want to lure the Norwegian away.

Berge is currently rated at just £16.2m by Transfermarkt.

Their new Barry

This would be an eye-catching piece of business from Johan Lange and Christian Purslow.

When Villa came back up, the latter expressed that Villa were keen on strengthening their numbers by signing players ready for the first-team but that they could still develop.

In Berge, they’d tick that box pretty elaborately. The 23-year-old has been tied back by Sheffield United’s woeful performance this term. The Blades sit rock bottom of the table and thus, the Norway international needs to be unshackled.

Dean Smith has a reputation for getting the best from young players and in Berge, they could find a type of player capable of bringing back the qualities that Gareth Barry showed at Villa Park.

Now retired, Barry was a pillar of consistency in the middle of the park, defining the role of a box to box midfielder.

The 40-year-old spent 11 years in the Aston Villa senior side, playing 433 games for them. He was known as a tough tackler but also someone assured on the ball.

During his time at Everton, Roberto Martinez hailed Barry as “one of the best English players ever.” Those were remarkable words for someone who played a vital role in Manchester City’s title triumph in 2012.

The City website describes him as so: “A reliable, composed and tactically astute midfielder with a knack for sniffing out danger, his understated style of play made him one of the unsung heroes of that title-winning side.”

Indeed, Berge has a similar knack to Barry. He is reliable and as his pass success rate of 85.4% tells you, he is composed.

Dubbed a “complete” midfielder by Chris Wilder, he is also strong in the tackle. During the course of his career, he has won 1.8 tackles per game. That’s ever so slightly down on his career-high tally of 2.3 tackles per match for Genk in the 2016/17 Europa League.

One of Barry’s greatest qualities was his ability to win the ball back. For context, he won 2.4 challenges per outing.

Given the midfielder’s status at Villa Park, it would take a lot for Berge to live up to his reputation. That being said, he has the qualities to do so.

Johan Lange must turn this transfer into a reality.

AND in other news, “Someone will come in with a big bid” – Exclusive: Pundit expects Aston Villa star to leave…

Liverpool are ‘convinced’ that Mohamed Salah will remain a Reds player beyond this summer, according to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano.The 28-year-old has been a sensational signing for Liverpool since joining from Roma in the summer of 2017, scoring 119 goals in 192 appearances.  Salah has matured into one of the biggest names in world football and become a true icon, with his influence at Liverpool arguably unrivalled under Jurgen Klopp.Despite Salah generally appearing happy at Anfield, there seem to be constant rumours suggesting that he could leave this summer, perhaps not helped by an interview he conducted with AS back in December, when he flirted with the idea of joining Barcelona or Real Madrid. Liverpool confident Salah won’t leave

Writing for BenchWarmers, Romano claimed that Liverpool believe the Egyptian superstar will stay put, adding that there is ‘no problem with the club’ currently.

The journalist wrote that the Merseysiders “are convinced that they can keep Mohamed Salah”, adding that “soon they will also have to talk about his contract expiring in June 2023 but there is no problem with the club.”

Salah’s current £200,000-a-week Liverpool contract expires in two years’ time, but the hope is that he will sign a new deal in the near future.

Transfer Tavern take

There are times when it feels like the Reds’ number 11 is underappreciated, with his constant flow of goals and assists proving priceless over the last four seasons.

It may be that Salah’s world-class quality is only universally lauded when he leaves – the hope is that he is still a few years away from departing Anfield.

In other news, there has been a key update on one injured Liverpool star – find out who it is here.

Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has had his say on Eddie Howe, following links to both Celtic and the Eagles.

Howe reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the Hoops at the start of the month, however, he’s since been sounded out by Palace to potentially replace Roy Hodgson in the summer.

The former Bournemouth manager’s representative has revealed that he plans to return to the dugout in the summer at the earliest, with Brighton also keeping tabs on the 43-year-old.

Talking on Tuesday’s White & Jordan talkSPORT show about all the managerial developments, the 53-year-old had some strong thoughts when it came to Howe potentially moving to Glasgow.

“He’d go to Celtic, as that is a very attractive and luring proposition. Let’s look at the Celtic job, with the exception of Brendan Rodgers, how many managers have gone in an upward direction [thereafter]?

“Celtic is a fabulous football club with a great history and wonderful support in a league that pays broadcasting rights that are equivalent to a bottle top and a packet of gobstoppers.

“I would suggest the more ambitious move for Eddie Howe is Crystal Palace. The Premier League is not even in the same zipcode in terms of quality to the Scottish Premiership.

“Why would you want to be a big fish in a tiny little small pond in a runt of a litter league or be a decent manager operating in a big league.”

Jordan then shared his views on how Palace would fare if they were in the Scottish Premiership, believing the Eagles would beat the Hoops.

“I would hasten to add, or venture to guess, that if you put Crystal Palace in the Scottish Premier League they might have a good chance of winning that league and getting into Europe.

“Palace would beat Celtic. I think Celtic are a poor side right now. I think the Scottish Premiership is a poor league.”

Transfer Tavern take

Not for the first time, but Jordan’s comments are over the top. He mentions Brendan Rodgers going on to bigger things with Leicester City, and Howe, should he join, could well follow in the Northern Irishman’s footsteps.

The Englishman could rebuild the Hoops successfully, as he did with Bournemouth, which, in the long run, may then put him in the frame for a return to the Premier League with a ‘bigger’ side.

Dealing with the Parkhead pressures and demands of winning titles is bound to catch the eye of some English giants, as he is yet to really establish himself as a boss who wins titles – if he simply wants to show he can keep a Premier League team up, he already spent a few years doing that with Bournemouth.

If he moved to Palace and achieved mid-table finishes, that may not appeal to a top-six side in the long run. It’s an interesting debate, but joining Celtic over Palace, in our view, shouldn’t be seen as a downgrade.

In other news: Premier League side looking to have deal in place for Celtic star prior to summer window, find out more here. 

Dean Windass has told Football FanCast that Adam Armstrong is not good enough to lead the line for West Ham United.

The Hammers have been heavily linked with a potential move for the Blackburn Rovers striker as the summer transfer window approaches, with The Sun suggesting he could cost £25m.

The Irons are, of course, looking to qualify for the Champions League and are currently just two points behind Chelsea following the Blues’ win over Liverpool.

West Ham only have one out-and-out striker, in Michail Antonio, and are in need of a new forward when the window opens.

They have been linked with a clutch of attackers but Armstrong seems to have stuck as a potential link but Windass does not think that he is good enough, especially if they do finish in the top four, something the former Premier League striker has his doubts over.

The 24-year-old has scored 19 goals in 32 appearances for Blackburn in the Championship this season and is valued at £9m by Transfermarkt.

Windass was asked if Armstrong could be the answer for the Hammers and told FFC: “Nope. I think, for me, no.

“West Ham, I don’t think they’ll get in the top four. I might be wrong. But then, at the end of the day, they’ve had a wonderful season under Moyes, he’s probably sat at home with his wife, having a coffee, thinking, ‘wow, I can’t believe I’m in the top four at this present time with players like that’.”

Windass admits, though, that he got it wrong when it came to Jarrod Bowen, who has emerged as a key player under Moyes.

Bowen previously played for one of Windass’ old clubs, Hull City, and he has gone on to make 41 appearances for the Hammers, scoring six goals and laying on eight assists.

Windass added: “I might be wrong, I was wrong about Jarrod Bowen, I was working at Hull City as an ambassador, people asked me if he’d be good enough to play in the Premier League. I said no. He’s proved me wrong.

“He’s been absolutely magnificent for West Ham, has Jarrod Bowen. I might be wrong about the boy at Blackburn but I just think to push on again, like Arsenal want to push and play in the Champions League, you need better.

“I’m not being disrespectful to the boy but you need better players than that, unfortunately.”

West Brom have been dealt a deadline day blow in pursuit of a reported target, and it surely won’t please Sam Allardyce…

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the Baggies won’t be signing versatile Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles before tonight’s 11pm deadline, and he could instead join one of their Premier League rivals.

It’s claimed that the Gunners did not want the 23-year-old joining Albion, and now it is between Leicester City, Southampton and Newcastle United.

Maitland-Niles’ preferred destination appears to be West Brom’s Midlands rivals, whilst Arsenal would like to see him join the Saints.

Big Sam won’t be happy

This will come as a disappointing blow to Big Sam as the three-time England international was someone he was very keen to land. Speaking to reporters over the weekend, he claimed that he would “love” to bring Maitland-Niles to the Hawthorns.

And it’s easy to see why given his versatility and proven expertise in the English top-flight.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/west-brom-deadline-day-latest-news-transfer-rumours-and-more” title=”Deadline day is here: Read the latest West Brom news, transfer rumours and more!”]

The £16.2m-rated gem, who earns a reported £35k-per-week, has played in five different positions this campaign alone from a total of 1,183 minutes of action, via Transfermarkt.

He has also played 64 times in the Premier League and 31 times across the Europa League and Champions League, which is vast experience in comparison to the bulk of the Baggies’ current squad barring the likes of Kieran Gibbs and Branislav Ivanovic.

Former PL striker Chris Sutton dubbed Maitland-Niles a ‘diamond’ whose ‘versatility is a weapon,’ whilst his fellow BT Sport pundit Martin Keown once lauded the Hale End youth product a “Rolls-Royce of a player” given his energy and work-rate (via the Metro).

It’s thought that Albion are prioritising a right-sided defender. That’s what they would have got in the Arsenal man – one that is also capable of filling in other positions, which could have proved vital the season rumbles on.

Allardyce will clearly be gutted as it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll get a player he evidently really wanted at the club. Their attentions have now turned to Spurs’ Japhet Tangana, but they too face heated competition, as per The Athletic’s Steve Madeley and Charlie Eccleshare.

AND in other news, “Big talent” target would be a major upgrade for West Brom

Aston Villa could unearth their next Jack Grealish-like success story in 17-year-old starlet Carney Chukwuemeka.

The teenager may be more of a household name amongst Villa fans after making the bench for Dean Smith’s side’s Premier League clash against Leicester last week, and though he didn’t come on to make his first-team debut, there is real excitement about the kind of talent that he has.

Chukwuemeka is the prodigy that Christian Purslow went so far as to describe as the best player for his age last year, and there have been glowing reports about his abilities.

One scout told The Athletic: “He’s the best player Villa have got coming through. He can do everything in the midfield area and there are a lot of clubs monitoring his situation at Villa.”

And just recently on the 1874 podcast, Gregg Evans spoke about just how highly thought of he is in and around the club, revealing that “he’s the one everybody’s talking about” – the journalist even went so far as to describe him as “the real deal”.

Villa were able to tie down the teenager to a new contract late last year, and that was a major coup given that The Athletic had previously reported the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham were all looking to lure him away.

Predominantly a central or attacking midfielder, Chukwuemeka can also play slightly deeper as he has done for the U23s this season at Premier League 2 level, and certainly has the creative chops to match a young Grealish.

In just 19 games for Villa’s U18s, he’d racked up six assists, and despite only turning 17 back in October, is already a fully-fledged member of the club’s U23s set up now.

It’s a real testament to just how quickly he is progressing through the ranks at Villa, and Smith’s decision to give him some exposure to life in the first-team by naming him on the bench against the Foxes last time out is a real indication that he features highly in the manager’s plans.

Grealish is where he is now because he was given an opportunity to impress. Chukwuemeka has got the talent, now it’s up to Smith to really harness it.

According to a West Ham United source, speaking to Football Insider, star striker Michail Antonio looks set to make his decision on switching international allegiances to Jamaica at the end of the season – with the 30-year-old currently wanting to focus on the Premier League campaign.

Antonio, who has debatably been one of the Hammers’ most important players this season when available, has been at the centre of reports linking him with representing the Reggae Boyz at international level.

Fans have often expressed their concern that Antonio’s injury problems could be exacerbated by regular trips across the Atlantic for international breaks, feeling his final decision could have a big impact on his availability for the Irons.

Antonio looks set for end of season decision

A claim by the Telegraph last month emerged detailing that Antonio looked certain to turn out for Jamaica in their quest to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, with the country’s Football Federation wanting him in the squad for qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico in September.

Football Insider have now provided this latest update as a Hammers source tells the outlet that Antonio is going to delay his call until the end of the campaign.

It is relayed by the outlet that Antonio is ‘passionate’ about turning out for Jamaica given he is yet to receive his first international cap for England.

Transfer Tavern take

Former Three Lions boss Sam Allardyce has called him up to the squad before, as well as Gareth Southgate, but with no appearances to date.

Described as ‘frightening’ by Harry Redknapp on Sky Sports (via the Boot Room) earlier this season, one could argue that Antonio has been unfortunate to miss out on a first cap so far.

Time will tell exactly when this decision will be at the end of the campaign, but the reports could suggest he is more likely to opt for Jamaica.

In other news: West Ham are eyeing talks to sign this starlet, find out more here.

Leeds must bite the bullet on Rafa Mujica and call time on his career at Elland Road.

What’s the story?

The Spaniard arrived from La Liga giants Barcelona in the summer of 2019 following the expiration of his contract, with the Whites confirming on their official club website at the time that he would “initially link up with Carlos Corberan’s Under-23 side, with a view to training with the first team”.

That just hasn’t been the case, however, with the 22-year-old having played a grand sum of zero games under Marcelo Bielsa. The striker has spent this season on loan at Real Oviedo, but now, Udlaspalmas.net (via Sport Witness) claim that he could end up joining Las Palmas if they cut short another loanee’s stay at the club to accommodate his arrival .

Orta disaster

At 22, Mujica surely can’t be considered a young up-and-coming talent, and the fact he’s yet to play a single competitive game for Leeds is indicative of how out of the first-team picture he is at Elland Road.

The fact he’s just made five total appearances for Oviedo this season – a side languishing in Spanish football’s second tier – says everything about his ability and whether he is even remotely close to being a Premier League player.

Continually just sending him out on loan makes no sense whatsoever, and it would just be better for all parties if the Whites make a decisive call and just accept that Mujica may not turn out to be a Victor Orta success story.

Leeds’ director of football has worked his magic in the transfer market for the Whites since he’s been at Elland Road, helping Bielsa build a side that are battling against the top sides in the Premier League this season, where they have picked up some big results – not least the draw against Manchester City at home.

But Orta’s signing of Mujica will go down as nothing but a disaster, and whilst the player’s short-term future looks like it might include yet another loan spell at yet another club, his long-term future should not be anywhere near Leeds. They simply have to bite the bullet.

Meanwhile, Leeds are interested in this Premier League starlet…

After an inconsistent start to the season, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could do with some good news for once.

Whilst much has been made of Frank Lampard’s decision to give the youth a chance at Chelsea, the Red Devils know exactly what a young talent (or two) can do to brighten the mood at Old Trafford – the famed Class of ’92 springs to mind, although the likes of Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Brandon Williams have all played their part in recent memory as well.

Solskjaer has had his fair share of criticism in recent weeks, but if there’s one thing the critics cannot fault him for, it’s giving the academy graduates the time to shine. Now he must put his faith in Donny van de Beek if recent reports are to be believed…

According to The Manchester Evening News, Paul Pogba has spoken quite candidly about leaving United whilst away on international duty with France, which is precisely why Solskjaer must unleash Van de Beek against West Bromwich Albion at the weekend.

United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward signed the Dutch midfielder from Ajax for £35m on a five-year contract, with £5m in add-ons in performance-related bonuses. Since then, the 23-year-old has made just ten appearances in all competitions, with the majority coming by way of a cameo as a substitute from the bench.

In five games in the Premier League this season, Van de Beek has already scored one goal so far, despite the fact Solskjaer still hasn’t handed him his first start in the English first division. By comparison, Pogba has only scored once in the top flight since April 2019, which is quite shocking for one of the highest-paid players at the club.

There’s no denying the fact that Pogba is one of the best players in the world when he is firing on all cylinders but the trouble is that his form (no goal in the league this season) has been far too inconsistent in recent weeks.

Van de Beek’s habit of breaking into the box and finding the back of the net is something that United don’t have in many of their central midfield options which is why he must be knocking on Solskjaer’s door as he will be desperate for the chance to prove himself on a regular basis.

The club legend once lauded him as a “fantastic” beast, whilst former United player Owen Hargreaves claimed he could become the English club’s version of Thomas Muller. The versatile player has played a pivotal part in Bayern Munich and Germany’s successes in recent years, with 205 goals and 201 assists to his name in all competitions for the defending Bundesliga champions.

Similarly the Dutchman, who predominantly plays as a centre-midfielder, can also be deployed in the defensive midfield and attacking midfield. He still has some way to go before he can hit the same heights as Muller but he has taken a big step in the right direction, having scored 41 goals and supplied 34 assists in 175 games for Ajax.

Solskjaer has shown he is willing to give the youngsters a chance like he did with Greenwood last season. Doing the same with Van de Beek will go some way towards justifying his hefty price-tag. The ball is in his court, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Carlton Palmer makes stunning prediction about Paul Pogba’s future at Manchester United…

Glasgow Rangers will want to continue their newfound momentum when they travel to McDiarmid Park to take on St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday night.

Steven Gerrard’s side survived an early scare at the weekend as they had to come from behind to beat Motherwell at Ibrox and extend their lead over Celtic to 16 points at the top of the table.

The Ibrox boss has shown no hesitation in rotating his squad in anticipation of the busy schedule and he faces some tough decisions before the Light Blues take the trip to Perth, with clashes with Aberdeen, Celtic and Hibernian on the horizon.

Here’s our predicted starting lineup for tonight’s action, which sees Gerrard make three changes to the team that beat the Steelmen.

Allan McGregor will keep his place in goal behind an unchanged back four consisting of James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Filip Helander and Borna Barisic.

It’s hard to work out which players will be forced to make room and that’s something Gerrard will continue to assess before kick-off, but it’s likely he’ll bring first-team stars Joe Aribo and Ianis Hagi into the starting line-up, which means Scott Arfield and Glen Kamara will be rested before the clash with Hibernian at home.

The Ibrox boss will stick with the usual 4-3-2-1 formation, with Aribo, Steven Davis and Hagi forming his midfield three in the engine room.

This means that Bongani Zungu will have to settle for a place on the bench, such is the strength of Gerrard’s squad right now.

With Alfredo Morelos serving a two-match suspension, Cedric Itten will most likely lead the line flanked by the ever-reliable Ryan Kent and Kemar Roofe, who came off the bench to score against the Steelmen at Ibrox.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Pundit drops big claim about Alfredo Morelos’ future at Glasgow Rangers…