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West Ham United could be set to release Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko on a free transfer as they look to garner salary funds, according to Haber 365 [via Sportslens].

Enjoying a productive 2020/21 campaign, the 28-year-old registered eight goal contributions in 24 games for the Hammers, with three goals and five assists [Transfermarkt].

Fresh from participating in the European Championship with Ukraine, he demonstrated his quality when called upon, with two goals and two assists in five games [UEFA.com] as his nation reached the quarter-finals.

However, he could now be set for an exit from the London Stadium after three years at the club. In light of this news, a number of West Ham supporters took to Twitter to vent their frustration about his possible departure.

West Ham United fans react:

Replying to popular West Ham United fan account West Ham Central, here is how some Hammers fans responded to the story, with one supporter describing it as potentially “terrible business”:

“Why is it we qualify for Europe and then start letting players go on a free? They may be useful against some foreign sides. I would keep both of them tbh, they could be invaluable in the EL”

Credit: @MarkHor85004053″I don’t want to hear we don’t have money for players when they are letting them go for free”Credit: @WestHamUtdFC2″Sorry but if this is true then they must have players waiting to sign….Surely you can’t be a month away from the Premier League starting and haven’t signed anyone but are willing to release them for free”Credit: @Whumaxx”Shambles”Credit: @ryan_hall27″Such terrible business.. and you know they will be waiting on Lingard the entire window for him to stay at Man U..”Credit: @chelwig54″Oh how I’ve missed the circus”Credit: @WHUMatt_In other news, a pundit has tipped the Hammers to win the chase for an international striker.

Aston Villa are keen on signing Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma, according to Sky Sports.

As to be expected, a number of Villa fans have been giving their thoughts to the news on social media.

The Midlands club have already finalised their first marquee addition of the January transfer window by agreeing on a loan deal with Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho.

Steven Gerrard and Johan Lange now appear to be turning their attention to a holding midfielder, with Marvelous Nakamba recently undergoing knee surgery.

Bissouma has just 18 months remaining on his contract with the Seagulls, with Villa seemingly willing to take advantage of that situation this month. The 25-year-old has been with Brighton since 2018 and has made 111 appearances for the club, 15 of which have come in the current campaign.

The Mali international is renowned for his effective distribution of the ball and his tough-tackling nature. No player who has started a top-flight match for Villa this season can better his 88.8% passing success rate, while his match average of 3.6 tackles is well clear of anyone in Gerrard’s squad (John McGinn leads the way with 2.7 per game).

Villa fans react

Well-known Twitter feed @villareport shared Sky Sports’ claim regarding Villa’s interest in Bissouma on the social media website.

Here is what these supporters had to say in reply, with many buzzing over the development and one describing a potential deal as ‘huge’.

“OH MY, STEVIE IS GOING CRAZY.”

Credit: @Jack_Hurley_R

“If we get him, wow”

Credit: @GW_94

“We are huge, man”

Credit: @TommmForddd

“Incredible if we pull this off as well”

Credit: @jack_gatehouse

“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Would have a bigger impact on the team overall than Coutinho”

Credit: @trading2b3

“DON GERRARD WHAT IS GOING ON”

Credit: @Finleysurrell1

In other news: ‘Oh my god’ – Many Villa fans erupt at who West Ham now want to sign

A number of Manchester City supporters absolutely loved Kevin De Bruyne’s comments which seemed to mock Manchester United’s quality.

Pep Guardiola’s side enjoyed a superb derby win last weekend, cruising to a 2-0 victory away to their bitter rivals at Old Trafford.

The gulf in quality between the two sides was enormous for much of the game, and in truth, City could easily have won by more if they had wanted to.

It was the latest proof of how superior City are to United currently, and some fresh comments from De Bruyne suggested that Guardiola thinks very little of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Speaking to the MIDMID Podcast [via City Xtra on Twitter], the Belgian admitted that City trained for just 10 minutes in the lead-up to the game – far less than they normally to do in preparation to face an opponent. He said:

“The day before a game we usually train tactically, based on how the opponent plays. But before United, Pep said: ‘We don’t know how they are going to play. We shall see’. And we stopped training after 10 minutes or so.”Often Pep knows how the opponent is going to play. This time he didn’t know, so he didn’t know what to do.”

Man City fans react to De Bruyne comments

These City fans took to Twitter to show their love for De Bruyne’s comments, with one supporter lapping up the “disrespect” shown to United.

“Hahahahaha 10 minutes though. Manchester City I love you more and more by the day”

Credit: @CorrinneStanley

“My club”

Credit: @Dido_Mcfc

“Demolished them piece by piece after 10 minutes tactical training”

Credit: @fodenscity

“The disrespect”

Credit: @Mtamandeni_

“The pride of Manchester”

Credit: @thegoat10

“Mad, this is how United train every week”

Credit: @LordAtrexia

In other news, some Man City fans have erupted over an update on one player. Find out who it is here.

Kevin de Bruyne will be a ‘massive miss’ for Manchester City in their FA Cup semifinal meeting with Liverpool on Saturday, Danny Mills has told Football Insider.

The lowdown

De Bruyne was forced off in City’s goalless draw with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinal second leg after hurting his ankle.

And right-back Kyle Walker was also unable to complete the game at the Wanda Metropolitano after sustaining a similar injury.

Manager Pep Guardiola said after the match that the injuries had left his side in ‘big trouble’.

And in a fresh update in his Friday press conference, he revealed that neither De Bruyne nor Walker had trained on the eve of the game.

Liverpool are due to meet City for the second week in succession, with their semifinal pencilled in for 15.30 on Saturday. The winner will then play Chelsea or Crystal Palace in the May showpiece.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-28/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The latest

Mills, who played for City between 2004 and 2009, is confident that they’ll be able to cope with the absence of Walker.

But he fears that update on De Bruyne could potentially tip the scales in Liverpool’s favour.

“Kevin De Bruyne is a massive miss,” the Sky Sports pundit told FI. “Kyle Walker, they can probably deal with.

“[Joao] Cancelo slots across and [Oleksandr] Zinchenko comes in. You’re a touch weaker but they can deal with that.

The verdict

There’s no denying that De Bruyne is a huge loss for City. This is a player who was named the official ‘King of the Match’ in last Sunday’s 2-2 draw after opening the scoring.

But perhaps Mills shouldn’t downplay the absence of Walker.

Another pundit, Paul Robinson, has warned that Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane, Liverpool’s left wing options, will be ‘licking their lips’ if Walker is absent.

The Englishman was named the fastest player in the Premier League in 2020 and that pace can help him neutralise opposition wingers.

Diaz’s acceleration has been described as ‘incredible’ by Marko Grujic, so is he now primed to hurt City if he gets a start?

In other news, Liverpool are keen on this Real Madrid midfielder.

A big Sunderland update has emerged in their search for a new manager, regarding out-of-work coach Grant McCann.

What’s the talk?

The Sun journalist Alan Nixon has revealed that the former Hull City boss is poised to meet with the club over a potential deal to replace Lee Johnson.

He Tweeted: “Grant McCann will have talks soon. Won’t be only one. But no compo and experience of League One.”

Elation

Sunderland fans will surely be elated by this news for multiple reasons.

Firstly, it shows that the club are making swift moves to bring in a replacement. They are not biding their time and dallying over what their next step will be and are, instead, looking to speak to potential appointments as quickly as possible.

Fans could love this as Sunderland do not have time to waste. They are third in the League One table and straight back into action on Saturday at the Stadium of Light against Doncaster, which is why they need a coach in sooner rather than later to avoid potentially missing out on crucial points.

The Black Cats faithful may also be elated with this update as McCann could be an excellent appointment. He has proven that he knows how to get a side out of the third tier as he led Hull to promotion last season, winning the division and racking up 89 points – averaging 1.93 points per game.

Johnson, meanwhile, picked up 53 points – 1.66 per game – in League One for Sunderland during the same campaign. The ex-Bristol City boss was relieved of his duties after the 6-0 defeat to Bolton left him averaging 1.86 points per game this term.

This suggests that McCann could be an improvement on the 40-year-old as he has shown that he has what it takes to get a team promoted from this division. He also has 73 Championship matches managed under his belt, which could come in handy if he ends up joining the club and taking them up to the second tier.

Supporters will surely be pleased to read that the club are attempting to bring a coach in who has experience of managing in League One and doing so successfully on top of that. Kristjaan Speakman will now need to assess whether he is the right fit for the squad the club currently have available, with the next few days potentially being an exciting time for the fans as they wait to see who the new manager will be.

AND in other news, Journo claims exciting SAFC manager news could emerge by “Saturday”, fans will love it…

The return of the Premier League this weekend after the latest international break sees Southampton take on Leeds United at St Mary’s on Saturday, with both teams having had rather disappointing starts to the campaign.

The Saints’ previous league outing before the break saw them fall to a 3-1 defeat against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Djenepo should start for Southampton on Saturday

One player who did not feature in Southampton’s starting XI against Chelsea but who should come in against Leeds is Moussa Djenepo, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £55k-per-week according to Spotrac.

Southampton signed the winger back in the 2019 summer transfer window on a four-year contract from Belgian club Standard Liege in a deal which could rise to £15m.

Since then, the 23-year-old – who is currently valued at £11.7m by Transfermarkt – has made 58 appearances for the Saints across all competitions, in which he has scored four goals and provided two assists along the way.

So far this season, Djenepo – who was described by teammate Nathan Redmond as being a “super-talented” player – has played in all but one of Southampton’s league games, starting four of them, but has yet to score a goal or provide an assist.

Nonetheless, he has managed to rack up 1.2 shots per game so far this season in the Premier League according to WhoScored, showing that he is still very much an attacking threat for the Saints whenever he’s on the pitch, and he could therefore be a potential game-changer against Leeds. Only four players can exceed that tally and there is a strong chance that two of them won’t feature on Saturday through either suspension (James Ward-Prowse) or injury (Che Adams).

After replacing Nathan Tella in the second half of the Chelsea game, Djenepo made two successful dribbles and won five ground duels and two tackles in just 17 minutes, ultimately seeing him earn a match rating of 6.5/10. That was higher than the likes of Tella and Redmond, both of whom started the match according to SofaScore.

Looking ahead to the Leeds clash, we feel that Hasenhuttl should go with Djenepo over Tella on the left wing to see if the Mali international can help the Saints secure their first league win of the season against Marcelo Bielsa’s side – who they would overtake in the table if they manage to do so – based on the decent showing the 23-year-old delivered off the bench against Chelsea.

In other news: Hasenhuttl must unleash “perfect” £9m-rated Southampton gem, he’s a real game-changer

Celtic have made some incredibly strong progress under Ange Postecoglou but the time to properly judge the Australian will be next May.

The Hoops have signed some exceptional players to suit his system and all of that has provided six wins on the spin.

Yet, given how everything unravelled last season, supporters must be realistic about their chances.

What’s the word?

With just over a week to go before the transfer window closes for the month, the Bhoys still have plenty of business they want to conclude.

Odsonne Edouard could still head to the Premier League and if he does depart, a replacement will be required.

Celtic have been in the market for Greek forward Giorgos Giakoumakis but they are also interested in signing a player closer to home; Kevin Nisbet.

The Scotland international has been a target all summer and according to reporter Peter Martin, they are trying to tempt Hibernian with a player swap deal involving Leigh Griffiths.

Whether Hibs decide to bite on a deal, however, remains to be seen.

Must sign him

With Nisbet having expert knowledge of the Premiership, deciding to sign him this summer should be a no-brainer for Postecoglou and Dominic McKay.

Only Edouard scored more goals in the Scottish top-flight than the 24-year-old last season while a further two strikes in 2021/22 has taken him to 20 in Hibernian colours.

Furthermore, Celtic have seen firsthand the damage he can do.

On his way to being described as “wonderful” by Frank McAvennie, Nisbet scored twice against the Bhoys last term, including a last gasp goal in the League Cup.

On that occasion, he embarrassed the catastrophic Shane Duffy late on. A ball was swung into the area but the Irish centre-half typically failed to deal with it.

He lost balance and then instead of clearing the ball sufficiently, played it straight into the path of Nisbet who fired home in injury time.

It was a typical poacher’s finish from a player who has made the Premiership his playground over the last 12 months.

His record might not be as attractive as someone like Giakoumakis who found the net 29 times last campaign, but he knows the SPFL inside out.

Needing little adjustment time, he may well be the perfect heir to Edouard’s coveted throne. Ange needs him for that reason alone.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Kyogo: Ange must seal Celtic swoop for “dazzling” 27-goal weapon…

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard will look to bring in a new centre-back and defensive midfielder in the January window.

That’s according to journalist Pete O’Rourke, talking to Give Me Sport, with a number of Villa fans reacting to the news on social media.

Gerrard has enjoyed a brilliant start to life at Bodymoor Heath, picking up three wins from a possible four and pushing champions Manchester City all the way in his only defeat at the helm.

Attention is now starting to turn to the January transfer window, and with NSWE promising the manager a huge winter budget last month, many are wondering what areas of the Villa squad he may bolster.

According to O’Rourke, the 41-year-old has identified a centre-back and a defensive midfielder as two priority positions.

Villa fans react

Both Total Villa and The AVFC Faithful shared O’Rourke’s claim on Twitter. Here is what these fans had to say in reply, with many unhappy over the apparent plans and some highlighting Marvelous Nakamba’s transformation under Gerrard.

“why would we need a CB”

Credit: @po7ok

“Why? We have 3 seemingly quality CBs…and a capable Hause….and Marvelous has been awesome, with Luiz capable of sitting… main concern is a replacement for Targett (not good enough) and back up for Cash.”

Credit: @TheCount_minusO

“Really? I don’t think we need either of them right now. Surely left back and maybe a winger with one on their way out?”

Credit: @StevieGsVilla

“The disrespect on Marv. LB is a must, CB is secondary rn”

Credit: @DomRay6

“Nakamba been class recently”

Credit: @villafanscentre

“4 quality CBs already? Sounds odd.”

Credit: @TimAsson1

In other news: ‘I am desperate’ – Lots of Villa fans erupt over ‘dream’ fixture news

Leeds United grabbed a vital three points in their aim to steer clear of the relegation zone with an injury-time penalty from Raphinha to beat Crystal Palace.

Marcelo Bielsa’s team had to be patient in the end as they dominated possession and shots at Elland Road, as Raphinha eventually got them out of jail to secure a 1-0 win. While the three points are what matters most, some players may not have been too pleased with their own individual performances, as The Transfer Tavern use statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst performers (to have played at least 45 minutes) were for the home side:

Raphinha

It certainly seems strange that the match-winner was ranked as the third-worst player for the Whites, and Raphinha’s 6.5 rating from SofaScore is actually the same rating as second place, but has been put in third for his goal contribution.

Aside from the late penalty, it was a frustrating night at times for the Brazilian, who lost out on 10 of his duels, the most out of his teammates, while he also ranked the highest in terms of unsuccessful dribble attempts (five).

Raphinha was also inaccurate with seven of his crosses, and lost the ball on no fewer than on 31 separate occasions in the game, by far the most out of any player on the pitch.

Mateusz Klich

Klich only played the first half, but ranks in second with a 6.5 overall rating given by SofaScore.

The central midfield player lost two duels, and failed to record a single shot on goal, blocked shot, tackle, key pass, cross or accurate long ball.

His mere 16 touches was the lowest recorded out of a starting player, while he was guilty of losing possession six times.

Rodrigo

Again, considering he only played in one half, Rodrigo’s 6.3 rating from SofaScore may be deemed a little harsh, but he was the lowest rated out of his teammates.

The Spaniard also lost two of his duels, while failing to hit a shot on target or make a successful dribble, and losing the ball on seven occasions in total.

In other news, find out what position Phil Hay wants LUFC to sign here!

Some Glasgow Rangers fans have been left buzzing as it was confirmed that Jordan Jones has left the club.

As per the official website of the Ibrox faithful, the winger has joined Wigan Athletic on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee.

Jones was sent out on loan to Sunderland in the 2020/21 season, and so was clearly not part of Steven Gerrard’s plans.

It has not quite worked out for the Englishman with the Gers, scoring just one goal and making two assists in 19 games in total over all competitions across the last two campaigns (Transfermarkt).

Thus, it was a wise idea for them to let Jones go permanently, and they can use the money recouped from his sale to reinvest back into the squad.

Rangers fans on Jones exit

These RFC supporters buzzed as the news of Jones’ exit was confirmed by the club on their Twitter page, with one claiming that it was ‘good news’:

“Yesss wasted his chance”

Credit: @scottrm93

“Thank Christ for that”

Credit: @dippiecookie

“ANNOUNCE MORE GOOD NEWS”

Credit: @croft1972

“THANK GOD”

Credit: @Hagis_Left_boot

“Excellent work by Ross Wilson.”

Credit: @glasgowsportsfa

“Excellent news”

Credit: @AzzurroWolf

In other news, find out which Gers signing one pundit has been left impressed by here!