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After making his return from injury last time out in the Premier League, Jack Grealish must surely make Dean Smith’s starting line-up for Aston Villa’s clash against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.

The England international had missed the last twelve games in the top-flight with an injury, and given the number of weeks it took to see him finally back on the pitch, there would have been understandable fears about him missing the entire season.

But, the 5 foot 10 star came on for the final 18 minutes of the 0-0 draw against Everton, and while he couldn’t help inspire a late winner, should start from the off when Villa take on Roy Hodgson’s men.

Speaking after that Toffees game, Smith said: “I think (Grealish) had one mesmerising run where he had five or six Everton players chasing him and you thought it might be one of them days where he comes on scoring the winner.

“It’s really good to have him back. It’s small steps at the moment but it’s great to have him back out there. We’ve got three games now in the next 10 days and we’re hopeful Jack will play a part in all three of them games. Whether it’s Tottenham or Chelsea, we’re hoping to get 90 minutes out of him.

“He’ll be as fit as can be. He’s a naturally fit player anyway. He’s continued to work on his CV (cardiovascular) with a little bit more off feet and, in training, you don’t see a lack of fitness in him, that’s for sure.”

If Grealish is fit, then there’s no questioning he simply has to start against the Eagles, with the influence he has on this Villa side untold – in the 12 games that he missed, the side won just three games, and have completely fallen out of serious contention to finish in a European place.

Former Villa player Paul Merson raved about the kind of quality Grealish brings to the table, saying: “He’s a special player. He’s the best three or four-yard passer I’ve seen in the game for a long time. People will go ‘three or four-yard passes’, but you watch football when it comes back and see how many people roll the ball to a full-back and they have to take a touch or someone goes on the overlap and they kick it out of touch.

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“It is always a pitch perfect ball, that three or four-yard ball and for me he is a special player. Very comfortable on the ball, very gifted.”

Given their recent form, bringing Grealish back into the starting line-up could well be a real game-changer for Villa.

Meanwhile, Dean Smith must never play this Villa star again…

Crystal Palace are set to be without key midfielder James McArthur for an extended period of time after the extent of his injury was revealed.

What’s the word?

The influential 34-year-old missed the 3-3 draw with Burnley last time out after picking up a hamstring problem in training, and the extent of the damage has been revealed by The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam.

He tweeted: “Understand James McArthur is expected to be out for another six weeks with a torn hamstring. His absence will be a significant blow but #CPFC have good options. Inc Will Hughes – yet to play bc injury & form of midfield.”

Crystal Palace fans will be gutted

News that McArthur will miss potentially crucial games against the likes of Aston Villa, Leeds United and Manchester United as the busy festive period approaches will leave the club’s supporters feeling gutted.

Despite his age, the former Scotland international has been a key figure for the capital club this term, starting all 11 Premier League fixtures prior to his fitness woes.

His vast experience in the top-flight has helped provide a calming influence alongside summer signing Conor Gallagher, with the pair forming a formidable partnership in the engine room in the opening weeks of the campaign.

The club’s new manager has also taken a particular liking to him, saying after the win over Wolves: “He’s a fighter, he’s a warrior, he’s the benchmark for a professional. This is the same in training, he is no different.”

However, Vieira and co. will be forced to deal with McArthur’s enforced absence for several weeks due to his latest injury setback.

The likes of Will Hughes, Jeffrey Schlupp and Cheikhou Kouyaté will be eager to step up in the box-to-box dynamo’s absence, but the south London outfit’s fanbase will still be disappointed to lose such an influential player just as they were building some momentum.

And, in other news…Journo drops big claim over Palace “warrior” who Vieira loves, fans will be delighted

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a boost regarding the injury picked up by Sergio Reguilon on Sunday.

What’s the latest?

In a post on the left-back’s Twitter account, Reguilon revealed that the knock he picked up in Spurs’ 3-0 win over Norwich City this weekend – which saw the defender substituted in the 22nd minute of the clash – is nothing serious, before claiming he would be back to full fitness in a matter of days.

In his post, the 24-year-old said: “I’ll be back in a few days. Don’t sell me in @OfficialFPL.”

This would appear to be an assessment that is supported by Antonio Conte, with the Tottenham manager stating of the Spain international’s injury after the game: “Reguilon is a generous player, because he started the game, and he wasn’t 100 per cent.

“I spoke with him at the end of the game, and we stopped him at the right time. I hope to have him very soon. It’s not an injury, only fatigue in his muscle.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how important a part of the Tottenham side Reguilon has become since his £27m move to north London last summer, the news that the defender’s injury is not serious and will be back in a few days time is sure to have left Spurs fans buzzing.

Indeed, the £22.5m-rated left-back has featured in all but one of Tottenham’s 14 Premier League fixtures so far this season, over which he has helped his side keep four clean sheets, scored one goal, registered three assists and created two big chances for his teammates.

The £68k-per-week man has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of one key pass, 1.9 interceptions, 1.5 tackles and winning 4.1 duels per match, with these returns seeing the 24-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 6.79.

As such, the news that the former Real Madrid defender could well feature in Spurs’ UEFA Europa Conference League fixture against Rennes on Thursday evening is sure to delight fans and Conte alike, as the Spaniard’s inclusion will undoubtedly provide the club’s chances of picking up all three points from the game with a major boost.

In other news: Paratici makes THFC move for £30m gem who Conte could “achieve incredible things” with

With the January transfer window fast appoaching, Bruno Lage and Jeff Shi will be starting to consider players who they could look to bring into Wolverhampton Wanderers in order to give the club the best possible chance of securing a top-half finish in the Premier League this season.

One such position will almost certainly be centre-back, with summer signing Yerson Mosquera being ruled out of action until at least February as a result of a hamstring injury, and both Willy Boly and Romain Saiss more than likely being unavailable for selection in January due to their potential involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations.

As such, Lage could well be left with just Conor Coady and Max Kilman as senior options for his three-man defence, something that would undoubtedly be a disaster for the 45-year-old manager.

However, before dipping into the transfer market, perhaps Lage and Shi should consider an option much closer to home – figurative speaking, at least – in the shape of Nigel Lonwijk.

Lonwijk could save Wolves millions

Having joined Wolves from PSV Eindhoven back in January of 2020, there was a considerable amount of hype about the 19-year-old centre-back, with Shi himself stating of the youngster’s signing: “To be able to get somebody of Nigel’s quality across the line was really pleasing and we’re delighted with the signing.

“He’s very good physically, a good defender one-v-one, and has strong technical ability, so we very much see him fitting into how our system as an outside centre-back. He’s got good physicality as well, so ticks the boxes in many of the things we’re looking for in terms of our centre-back positions.”

However, while it is not particularly unusual for a teenager making a move to England from another country, the £90k-rated defender is still yet to make a first-team appearance for the club, being sent on loan to Eredivisie side Fortuna Sittard for the 2021/22 campaign in order to continue his development in senior football.

And, if the 19-year-old’s most recent performance against PEC Zwolle is anything to go by, it would very much appear as if the youngster would make an extremely useful addition to Lage’s current options in the heart of his Wolves defence this winter.

Indeed, over the course of his 90 minutes on the pitch, the former Netherlands U16 international made a whopping 14 clearances, two interceptions, one tackle and won an incredible 11 of his 15 attempted duels.

Aside from this defensive masterclass, the 6 foot 3 centre-back also scored the match-winning goal for Fortuna, while his overall display saw him earn a SofaScore match rating of 8.3 – the highest of any player to feature in the fixture.

As such, with it being clear for all to see that Wolves are in desperate need of defensive reinforcements this January, bringing Lonwijk back to Molineux would very much look to be a smart move by both Lage and Shi, as, should the defender indeed impress when given a chance in the first-team, he could well go on to save Fosun millions of pounds in transfer fees this winter.

In other news: Tim Spiers drops 13-word transfer claim that will leave Wolves fans buzzing

Perhaps one criticism you could make of Steven Gerrard’s title-winning campaign as Rangers manager was the lack of opportunities for young players, but he can put that right by promoting Chris McKee to his first-team at Ibrox next season.

The 18-year-old, who joined Rangers from Linfield in 2018, has been scoring goals for fun in the academy in recent seasons and was rewarded with a new contract with the club in 2020, one which will see him stay with Gerrard’s side until 2022 at least.

He also earned his first call-up to the Northern Ireland U’21s earlier this season as a result of his performances for the Rangers B team, with whom he had scored eight goals by November, which was double the amount scored by any other player, which certainly suggests that he is one of the stars in the academy.

Earlier this month, McKee was sent on loan to Brechin City in League Two, having scored twice and assisted another in a friendly match between Brechin and Rangers’ B team back in November.

Although games have been postponed for all of this year so far as a result of the pandemic, the season resumes this weekend, so it will be interesting to see how McKee performs for Michael Paton’s side.

If he can impress in lower league football then perhaps he will earn a chance to make his debut for Rangers next season, although opportunities for young players in Gerrard’s side have been hard to come by this season.

Other than first-team regular Ianis Hagi, who is 22, we have seen just Calvin Bassey (21) make seven appearances in the league this season, whilst Nathan Patterson (19), has made four league appearances – which is arguably only due to the injury suffered by the influential James Tavernier.

Earlier in the year, Noel Whelan was full of praise for McKee in an interview with Football Insider, saying:

“Rangers have barely paid anything for McKee. He is a young player who knows where the back of the net is so he is worth his weight in gold, he really is.”

Therefore, whilst it may be tough for McKee to force his way into Gerrard’s plans, this loan move to Brechin City represents a real opportunity for him to find his feet in ‘men’s football’ before returning to Rangers ahead of next season, where he can hopefully make a real impression.

And, in other news… Wilson must not rush transfer decision on Rangers ace who Gerrard dubbed a “real threat”

Aston Villa could be facing a huge nightmare over Emiliano Martinez, with Manchester United said to be interested in making a move in this summer’s transfer window.

What’s the story?

The Argentine has been an absolute revelation for Dean Smith since joining from fellow Premier League side Arsenal last summer, keeping the second most clean sheets in the division with 14.

According to Football Insider, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have set their sights on Martinez after having been impressed with his performances in his first season at Villa.

The report claims that the 28-year-old is at the top of their target list as they look to strengthen the goalkeeping department, with the futures of David de Gea and Sergio Romero uncertain at this moment.

Dean Smith will be fuming

Described as a “phenomenon” and someone who “guarantees ten points per season” by Argentinian World Cup winner Daniel Bertoni, Martinez has been nothing short of outstanding for Villa since arriving from the Emirates in the summer.

It’s no surprise then that rival clubs have sat up and taken notice of his performances, and United’s interest is a massive compliment to just how well he has done.

While Villa have enjoyed a remarkable season thus far – they currently lie in the top half of the table – qualification into the Europa League or Champions League still isn’t a guarantee.

United meanwhile find themselves in second, and are into the quarter-finals of the Europa League, and look set to clinch Champions League football one way or the other, and that will no doubt be very appealing to Martinez.

The Argentine would fancy his chances of keeping out Dean Henderson as United’s number one goalkeeper, and the lure of competing for trophies and in European competition year in and year out may be too good to turn down.

It’s exactly why Smith will be very worried if United launch an official bid for the £22.5m-rated Martinez come the summer.

Meanwhile, Villa heading for unforgivable mistake over this £18m-rated flop…

Aston Villa have emerged as a potential suitor for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly according to reports from Italy.

What’s the Word?

Italian outlet TMW has claimed that Premier League sides Aston Villa, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur are all interested in the Senegal international, labelling him a “real tressure” in what would undoubtedly be a sensational signing for Villa.

The centre back is in high demand, with European heavyweights Barcelona also interested, this is despite Napoli placing a €70m (£58m) price tag on his head.

Koulibaly will turn 31 in June and a fee of this size might put a lot of teams off, especially when they may only get a couple of years out of him at his peak.

Imagine him & Konsa

Villa have been leaking goals as of late and surely a centre back is high on the list of Steven Gerrard’s priorities as he looks ahead to his first full season in charge at Villa Park.

There aren’t many defenders better than Koulibaly at the moment, with the Premier League surely being an attractive move having spent the last eight years in Serie A.

Forza Italian football editor Connor Clancy previously stated his belief that the Napoli titan “improves any team” he plays for, as well as dubbing the defender “phenomenal.” High praise for the 30-year-old.

The most important aspect that Gerrard will be looking at is to create a solid centre back pairing of both Ezri Konsa and Koulibaly.

With Konsa having a rating of 6.74 on SofaScore this season, the onus would be on the Senegal international to come in and form a solid backline with the 24-year-old English talent.

Regardless of if Gerrard actually manages to secure his services or not, it shows just how far Villa have come since promotion three years ago that they are linked with one of the finest centre backs in the world.

What a summer Villa supporters have in store.

AND in other news, Gerrard now plotting AVFC bid for £46k-p/w “phenomenon”, he’s better than Phillips

If Sunderland’s plight with Covid-19 a few weeks ago wasn’t bad enough, the squad has now been ravaged with injuries to a number of first-team players.

Denver Hume suffered a setback and is out for a further two months while his defensive colleague Tom Flanagan is also missing.

Luke O’Nien is still out as he recovers from a dislocated shoulder but Conor McLaughlin, Danny Graham, Lee Burge and Will Grigg are now absent.

Clearly, Lee Johnson’s start to life as Mackems boss hasn’t exactly been ideal. However, on paper, they should be victorious when they face relegation-threatened AFC Wimbledon on Saturday afternoon.

Though, with all of Sunderland’s injuries in mind, how will Johnson’s team look?

We’re tipping the Black Cats manager to make as many as three changes to the side that defeated Port Vale in the Papa John’s Trophy last week.

With McLaughlin set to go under the knife, Max Power keeps his place at right-back. Calum McFadzean is selected over Wolves loanee Dion Sanderson at left-back.

Jordan Willis retains his spot with Flanagan out so all of the aforementioned changes come in the final third.

Aiden O’Brien scored in Sunderland’s midweek win but we think that Jack Diamond should come in and start as he did against Hull City. The youngster was mightily impressive during that clash, making a team-high three successful dribbles from six attempted. As bright as O’Brien was against Port Vale, he failed to complete a single dribble.

Another change sees Elliot Embleton drop into midfield which means Aiden McGeady replaces Dan Neil. The Irishman netted late on in the Papa John’s Trophy so gets a chance to show what he’s capable of from the off once again.

The final change sees top-scorer Charlie Wyke replace Lynden Gooch as the centre-forward. The target man missed a wonderful opportunity to score when Sunderland played the Tigers but given his fabulous record of ten goals this term, simply has to start.

AND in other news, Speakman can end Johnson’s big SAFC dilemma with swoop for “clever and skilful” 20 y/o…

Declan Rice’s return from injury was one huge silver lining for West Ham as their recent poor form continued on Saturday afternoon.

The Irons were dealt a devastating blow to their already slim top-four chances after they could only return to East London with one point, making it three losses and one draw from their last five outings.

However, the 22-year-old powerhouse was the rare positive from their disappointing showing at the Amex Stadium.

Rice had missed their last six matches after picking up a knee problem whilst on international duty but in reality, it was like he was never away as he was once again cut above the rest on the pitch.

He captained the side in the absence of Mark Noble and shone above his fellow Hammers teammates.

As per SofaScore, the 15-time England international recorded a team-high 90 touches of the ball, meaning everything ran through him as he looked to control the match on his return to competitive football.

With those touches, Rice successfully made 94% of his 77 passes – again, the most of any visiting star and only further shows how much of an influence he has in this squad.

Considering he had been out for the past month or so, it was certainly an impressive showing despite the poor result.

According to the Evening Standard’s Jack Rosser he “controlled the game” and football.london were equally glowing in their post-game column.

“Excellent return to the side after a number of matches out. He allowed Tomas Soucek to push forward and shielded his defence expertly. Good on the ball which is an often underrated part of his game.”

The £54m-rated beast, who earns a reported £60k-per-week at the London Stadium, also chipped in with two blocks, one tackle and one interception, via SofaScore.

His dominance through the middle was further evident by the fact that he didn’t lose a single midfield battle, winning 100% of his duels throughout the 90 minutes he was on the pitch.

Impressive.

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It’s no wonder Noble has previously lauded his teammate as a “special talent” because not many could come straight back in from a serious injury and control a Premier League match like that.

Perhaps his return can fuel more positive returns in their final two matches of the season.

The Hammers will have to win both to stand a chance at qualifying for the Europa League, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Forget Lingard: West Ham disaster who lost ball every 2.7 touches let Moyes down again…

Some Wolves fans have been left to slam the display of Fabio Silva in their 1-0 away loss to Everton in the Premier League on Wednesday evening.

In a game that was played in front of several thousand Toffees supporters at Goodison Park, Richarlison grabbed the only goal as Carlo Ancelotti’s team took all three points.

On the opposite side of the pitch, Silva struggled to make an impact, as he lost out on 67% of his duels, and also failed to record a single shot on target or key pass, losing possession of the ball on no fewer than on 13 separate occasions in the match (Sofascore).

Nonetheless, the former FC Porto man will be hoping for a better performance in their final fixture against Manchester United at Molineux.

Wolves fans on Silva display

These WWFC supporters slammed his performance on Twitter, with one even going as far as to call the 18-year-old ‘petulant’:

“Silva needs to stop diving. #wwfc”

Credit: @kevins1966

“Where was Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ronaldo, etc, etc!! These were class youngsters who always showed they had something about them!! Silva is a petulant kid nowhere good enough & in my opinion never will be. Biggest waste of multi millions in Wolves history.”

Credit: @SteveWiles20

“I really hope we buy an experienced striker over the summer. Fabio Silva is just a kid and out of his depth at the moment.”

Credit: @BalSinghBad

“Stop sending crosses to Fabio. Completely uncapable to connect. It´s like playing with 10 men”

Credit: @RodrigoBecarius

“What the hell is Nuno playing at taking MGW off when you’ve got Silva doing nothing and Moutinho misplacing passes and taking rubbish corners left right and centre. The mind boggles #wolves”

Credit: @mikeaitch20

“Will those fans who still rate Fabio Silva please make an appointment at the nearest psychiatric unit. Thank you. #wwfc”

Credit: @dougan_the

In other news, find out what transfer update has left Wanderers buzzing here!