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After enjoying a superb debut campaign in the Premier League last year, Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins would have fancied his chances of kicking on again for the new season.

Instead, the man who was dubbed a “machine” by The Athletic’s Gregg Evans simply hasn’t been at the races this term, and it’s quite incredible to think that after seven appearances in the top flight in 2021/22, he has managed just the one goal and hasn’t provided a single assist either.

A number of Villa fans were critical of Watkins’ ineffective performance against Arsenal last time out in the Premier League when Dean Smith’s men fell to a dismal 3-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.

During a discussion for the Birmingham Mail before that game against the Gunners, Ashley Preece delivered his verdict on why the striker appears to be struggling this season, saying: “The injury he picked up in pre-season hasn’t helped, nor has Dean Smith’s decision to flip the script and play him with Danny Ings in a two-man attack. The pair appear to be on different wavelengths at the minute.

“Watkins, for me, is still adjusting to Smith’s new system. I think his confidence has taken a hit while it can’t be too nice seeing new signing Ings banging them in already, as opposed to Watkins, last season’s main man. You would have hoped his strike at Spurs would have given Watkins a new lease of life but, against Wolves, he struggled once again.”

If Smith opts to revert back to a four-man defence with two wingers, then Watkins dropping out would allow Danny Ings to operate as the lone striker and the likes of Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia to be utilised in their more natural positions.

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The £34m-rated Watkins could even do with being dropped just to light a fire under him, too.

Meanwhile, Villa must give this academy starlet a chance in the Premier League…

Everton’s transfer window hasn’t exactly been fireworks and excitement.

They’ve recruited smartly to land the likes of Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend but supporters will be hoping for some marquee additions at Goodison Park in the weeks to come.

What’s the word?

Everton were interested in Leon Bailey this summer but the Jamaican has now signed for Aston Villa, handing the Toffees a crushing blow.

However, they could make up for that shortfall by signing Lazio’s Joaquin Correa instead.

The attacker has caught the eye of the Toffees in recent months and according to recent reports from Tutto Mercato Web (via Sport Witness), they are now leading the race to acquire his signature.

It’s thought that Everton are at the front of the queue to sign Correa but will have to stump up a fee of between €30m-€35m (£25.5m-£30m).

Fans would love him

If you assess the qualities and dazzling ability of Correa then he has the potential to really light up Goodison Park and catch the imagination of supporters.

He can play in a multitude of positions, mainly out wide or through the middle as a number 10, but it’s his capability to score goals and assist teammates that stands out most.

The Argentine has scored 30 times during his Lazio career, 11 of which came during the 2020/21 season.

On top of that, the 26-year-old assisted six strikes, proving he can be a solid supply line for those around him.

Described as a “menace” in an analysis piece by Breaking the Lines, he is an incredibly tricky individual, something that would go down well with fans.

Last season, he produced 1.3 dribbles per game and was fouled on 1.9 occasions per match. For context, only Richarlison, Alex Iwobi and James Rodriguez were more successful when it came to take-ons.

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In terms of the second statistic, Correa would have been the second most fouled player in the entire Everton squad.

Now in the prime of his career, this would be an eye-catching swoop from the Toffees, one that would significantly improve their attacking ranks.

AND in other news, Benitez could discover his new Fernando Torres if Everton land 58-goal “nightmare”…

A number of Liverpool supporters have been reacting with glee to footage of Jordan Henderson continuing his injury recovery.

The Reds have had a disastrous season in the injury department, with the centre-back situation particularly dire. Jurgen Klopp has had to make do without Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip for many months, which has played a big part in their struggles during the campaign.

[freshpress-quiz id=“355458″]

Henderson has also been a noticeable absentee, with the captain not featuring since the 2-0 defeat at home to Everton back in February. The 30-year-old has been a huge loss, both in terms of quality and leadership, and he faces a race against time to be fit for Euro 2020 this summer.

However, footage has emerged of Henderson stepping up his recovery from his groin problem [via Watch LFC], working in the gym and returning to the training pitch.

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

Liverpool fans love Henderson video

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to provide their thoughts on the video, with much positivity in the air at seeing the captain step up his recovery.

“Missed this earlier! So excited to see Hendo again!!!”

Credit: @lfccxt

“Ahhhhh yeahhhhh”

Credit: @LFCSai7

“Captain fantastic”

Credit: @satriafaisal

“My idol”

Credit: @Cellextine72

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“Nice to see the Cap on the road to recovery”

Credit: @red_klopp

“My captain”

Credit: @OJITRIPUOJI

In other news, Liverpool have been linked with a move for a world-renowned player with endless trophies. Find out who it is here.

Glasgow Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has suffered a fresh blow ahead of their crucial Europa League tie this evening…

What’s the latest?

Speaking ahead of kick-off, Gerrard confirmed that midfield favourite Ryan Jack would not be involved as the Scottish Premiership champions host Slavia Prague, even though he is seemingly close to a return to action. Jack missed the first-leg tie, but Gerrard said at the time that he could have played but that the Rangers staff chose not to risk him.

Scotland were keen to have Jack as part of their squad, which Steven Gerrard has spoken to Steve Clarke about, which suggests he is close to a return, but tonight’s game, unfortunately, comes too soon for Jack to feature in, suggesting he’s had a bit of a setback, given that he was seemingly fit to play last week.

Gerrard said, via the Daily Record:

“I had a chat with Steve Clarke and obviously that will remain private.

“We’ve been in touch over Ryan and a few other players for some time now but I’m not going to divulge what gets said in the conversation. I don’t think that’s fair or respectful.

“We will make a decision on the weekend when we need to but he is ruled out for tomorrow’s game.”

The 29-year-old missed last week’s 1-1 draw in the Czech Republic and is now a major doubt for the Old Firm derby this weekend.

Bad news for Gerrard

Even though they’ve secured their first title in ten years, this update will come as a major setback for Gerrard and Rangers.

Jack has emerged as a regular starter when fit, with 16 of his 19 league appearances coming from the off, whilst he also started the big group games against Standard Liege and Benfica.

In terms of central midfield options this season, the Scottish powerhouse tops the charts for average WhoScored rating (7.03) ahead of veteran Steven Davis (7.01), Glen Kamara (6.93), Scott Arfield (6.67) and Bongani Zungu (6.26), so evidently, he’s Gerrard’s best man when available.

Speaking about the situation last week, the 40-year-old revealed he was “upset” by the injury and reinforced Jack’s influence to the side. He added: “He’s so important to us.”

Admittedly, he’s vital to Rangers’ fortunes – for creativity in the middle, there’s no one better as he’s managed one key pass per game, which is more than the aforementioned quartet of alternative options, whilst 1.1 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per match suggest he’s just as prominent defensively – only Davis betters such returns, via WhoScored.

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It is this ability to read the game and snuff out any danger which could prove to be a big miss on the night, especially in such a huge fixture.

Ex-Gers star Thomas Buffel recently compared him to Barry Ferguson, which is high praise indeed. He told The Sun: “His consistency levels are incredible and he is the one player the manager can always rely on. He really reminds me of Barry — and that is the highest compliment I can pay him.”

If Gerrard’s side loses tonight, then their European dream is over for another season and their chances of finding a way past the Czech champions will be all that more harder without the industrious Jack pulling the strings in the engine room.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Kent: Rangers must swoop for magical 18-goal gem, he’s made 109 dribbles…

Things are just beginning to look up if you’re a Newcastle United fan.

After a dreadful and timid display at home to Manchester United eventually saw them lose 4-1, the Magpies have enjoyed a couple of very impressive results in the Premier League.

First, Steve Bruce’s side rescued a very creditable point away at notoriously hard to play Wolves at Molineux, before picking up a huge 2-1 win against this season’s high-fliers Everton.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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With in-form Southampton their next challenge in the top-flight, there’s a real chance Newcastle could end up in the top four by the end of Friday night, if – and it’s a big if – they can beat Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

Below is a look at just how the Magpies could potentially line up.

With Martin Dubravka still no closer to making his return to the starting line-up thanks to injury, Karl Darlow will continue in between the sticks for the Magpies.

In front of him, Bruce will no doubt continue with the same back-five that served him so well in that clash against Everton, with very little reason to make changes there.

The two big decisions that the Newcastle boss will have to make comes further forward. Both Isaac Hayden and Ryan Fraser came on as substitutes in that win over the Toffees, and will surely be pushing for a start this time around against Southampton.

Sean Longstaff’s inspired performance on his return from injury may however have convinced Bruce that he should be kept in the starting eleven, meaning Hayden will have to settle for a place on the bench.

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Miguel Almiron on the other hand, is surely in danger of losing his place, especially given Fraser’s contribution to Wilson’s second goal, which proved to be the match-winner of course thanks to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s late strike.

That could see Bruce field a very exciting, and pacy, front-three of Fraser, Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson.

Predicted XI: Darlow; Murphy, Schar, Lascelles, Fernandez, Lewis; Longstaff, Hendrick; Saint-Maximin, Wilson, Fraser.

Former Tottenham striker Darren Bent has thrown his backing behind Barcelona’s reported offer for Tanguy Ndombele.

Ndombele has been the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks, with a report from Sky Sports suggesting that Barcelona have offered Spurs the chance to sign Samuel Umtiti and Nelson Semedo in exchange for letting the Frenchman go.

After hearing about the news, Bent admitted that the two players they would potentially be getting in return may be good for Spurs in the long-run and help fix some important issues for them.

Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “To be fair, that swap deal would cover up a lot of cracks and I think it would help. Centre-half, they’ve been a little bit week this season and at full-back as well, they’ve been a little bit suspect. Tanganga’s done very, very well but he’s still quite young.

“Semedo a couple of years ago was absolutely brilliant for Benfica, absolutely brilliant. Went to Barcelona, struggled a little bit but that covers it. Umtiti as well, a World Cup winner of course! If you’re getting Umtiti and Semedo, you ain’t having to buy these players and that’s two positions kind of sewn up.”

In terms of the two players they would be getting in return, both Semedo and Umtiti would help solve Spurs’ current woes at right-back and centre-back respectively.

Serge Aurier has been the picture of unreliability what with his recklessness, whilst Kyle Walker-Peters was sent out on loan to Southampton during the middle of the campaign. And in the heart of defence, Jan Vertonghen’s future is very much up in the air due to his contract with the club expiring in the summer.

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Letting Ndombele go after just one season would be a bold gamble, but it may be worth it overall.

Missing football!? There’s still plenty of Spurs discussion going on in the Vital Tottenham Forum! Click here to get involved!

Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri has offered an update on Everton’s reported interest in Inter Milan midfielder Matias Vecino on Twitter.

What’s the latest?

Palmeri didn’t give too much away as he simply said that the Toffees have made contact with the Serie A outfit over a move, nevertheless the fact they have done it may suggest that the Merseyside outfit could be keen on bringing the 28-year-old to Goodison Park sooner rather than later.

The reliable Gianluca Di Marzio reported last week that Everton were keen on the Uruguay international, and it now appears as though they have initiated that initial correspondence, as per Palmeri.

Watch Everton Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Di Marzio said at the time that Carlo Ancelotti took a liking to the South American star when he came up against him as Napoli manager.

Will he join this month?

It would certainly be a strange move in many ways.

While the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin and Gylfi Sigurdsson haven’t particularly impressed in the middle of the park with both coming under criticism from supporters on Twitter, the Toffees still have plenty of options there.

Call yourself an Everton expert? How much did each of these January signings cost?

Tom Davies, Fabian Delph and even Mason Holgate can play there with the latter shining in the draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford last month with a higher WhoScored rating than any of his teammates, while Andre Gomes has returned to training after fracturing his ankle against Tottenham in November, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin is also closing in on a return.

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In Ancelotti’s preferred 4-4-2 formation that would leave at least seven players fighting for two positions, and that is overkill to say the least if no-one is leaving before January 31st.

Everton may well want Vecino, but they would be better off waiting until the summer to see where they are at.

In other Everton news, one Toffees transfer target has liked an official Everton club post on Instagram…

Former Premier League footballer Danny Mills has likened the up-and-down form of Marcus Rashford and some of his Manchester United teammates to Theo Walcott – saying the striker has a mild form of ‘Theo Walcott Syndrome’.

Rashford had scored in United’s three games prior to their weekend defeat at Bournemouth, following the 22-year-old’s goals against Liverpool and Norwich City as well as his match-winning double at Chelsea in midweek.

But as United drew a blank on the south coast on Saturday lunchtime, Mills compared the extreme highs and lows of Rashford’s form to that of Everton winger Walcott, claiming a lot of United players are suffering from similar disparities within their performances.

He told TalkSPORT: “One minute he’s a world-beater and the next you are going, ‘what’s happened? He’s gone?’

“It’s not quite as dramatic, but it’s almost like ‘Theo Walcott Syndrome’. He’d score a hat-trick and you’d think, ‘oh my goodness, he’s arrived! That’s it, he is going to kick on’.

“But then he went missing for the next five or six games.

“I think a lot of United’s players are like that.”

Mills’ harsh critique of Rashford makes it hard not to feel sorry for the England international, here. It is as if Mills expects Rashford to keep scoring game after game, without considering the weight of pressure he must be feeling having been left to lead the line for an underachieving United side.

Even so, he has notched seven times for the club this season already.

That he has managed to score four in his previous four starts for the club – as well as getting on the scoresheet for England recently, too – is a sure sign of the youngster’s promise, with Rashford already racking up 50 goals in United colours having turned 22 last week, making the timing of Mills’ comments all the more bizarre.

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Meanwhile, Mills is also arguably harsh on Walcott, who but for a career stacked with injuries, could have got even more than the 108 Arsenal goals, three FA Cups and 47 England caps he has earned throughout his career to date.

However, that may leave Rashford well-placed to usurp the achievements of Walcott in the years to come, and prove Mills wrong – especially if he is tasked with spearheading United’s attack as he has done so far this season.

United fans, do you agree with Mills’ comments? How far can Rashford go at the club? Join the discussion in the comments below!

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After lighting up the Emirates against Burnley, Dani Ceballos appeared to have the world at his feet following his season-long loan move from Real Madrid.

The Spain international ran the show against Sean Dyche’s side, and his inclusion from the off against Liverpool at Anfield was understandable.

Unfortunately for the 23-year-old, the game seemed to pass him by and he struggled to impose himself on the Reds’ dominant midfield.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The Spaniard was dispossessed four times and managed just 29 passes in the hour that he was on the field.

After seeing Ceballos’ struggles, Arsenal fans took to Twitter to voice their concerns about the midfielder.

Many supporters of the north London side questioned why Emery chose to select him in the starting line-up, and said that he should have known the game may have been “too quick” for him.

Indeed, some fans even suggested Ceballos was out of his depth at Anfield as he endured a really difficult evening against the Reds.

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Check out some of the reaction of Arsenal fans below:

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What kind of transfer window will it be at all if Ed Woodward doesn’t end up eying the acquisition of another world-class star? What if United don’t make a statement and bring another big name to what can only be described as a circus of them now? We’re being sarcastic of course. 

So, despite his “world-class” buys producing bittersweet results in recent years, Woodward’s fame-hungry eyes have seemingly glown up with Antoine Griezmann’s recent availability.

Indeed, according to reports from the Independent late last week, the Red Devils are aiming to snatch away the French superstar from Barcelona’s hands and sign him. While this is could mostly be a ploy to increase Griezmann’s value, United’s lavish financial state cannot be underestimated. It’s quite possible a deal goes through, but it won’t solve United’s problems at all.

More recently, talkSPORT pundit (via the Express) Tony Cascarino backed the potential addition, which just seems so far from what the club actually need.

As a matter of fact, their problems could be amplified with this potential transfer. Granted Paul Pogba might well stay with his best friend’s arrival, but the real issues won’t really get fixed. For one, Griezmann simply isn’t suited that well to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s system. He just isn’t the winger the Norwegian is reportedly (as per the Sun) craving for, nor is that creative outlet to get their pacy forwards firing.

The Norwegian will have to create a number 10 or second striker role for him, changing his formation. Stupid, stupid stuff.

However, for Woodward, Griezmann’s the perfect marketing project. Indeed, he’s associated with many brands and is extremely popular around the world. Indeed, the commercial revenue around him would surely be monumental.

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However, United’s development will remain static even after his potential arrival. The Red Devils won’t be able to spend much on reinforcing other roles if they splash everything out on Griezmann either, only adding to the problem. Frankly, the recurring nightmare could continue over next season if Woodward aims for another marquee signing over fixing the real problems plaguing Manchester United.

United fans, do you think Griezmann’s signing can fix the attacking problems? Join the discussion by commenting below…