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Leeds United fans will love Phil Hay’s latest claim…

What’s the word?

The Athletic reporter dropped an exciting 12-word update on the contractual situation of Raphinha to Twitter earlier this week.

“Leeds United are increasingly confident of finalising a new contract with Raphinha,” he said before going on to discuss his performance against West Ham United on Sunday in an accompanying column for the website.

Hay described his display as a “creative masterclass” as Jack Harrison’s hat-trick secured an impressive 3-2 win over the Irons at the London Stadium.

A matter of time?

It is surely only a matter of time before we hear official news from the club on this front as all the noises around Elland Road are positive – the fact that one of the most reliable sources associated with Leeds is saying so is massively encouraging.

Indeed, Sunday’s performance was another damning reminder of how important the Brazilian is to Marcelo Bielsa and the squad.

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As per SofaScore, he registered a whopping eight key passes, including an assist for one of Harrison’s three goals. He also accurately delivered 100% of his crosses, registered two dribbles and attempted three shots but could not add to his eight goals.

Before the weekend, he was the only player to have scored more than twice. He also tops the charts for average rating (7.27) by quite some margin, leading the way for key passes (2.1 per game) and dribbles (2.3 per game), via WhoScored.

‘Leeds have no interest in listening to bids for Raphinha in the present transfer window,’ Hay added in his piece for The Athletic. ‘They have received no offers so far and when it was reported in his native Brazil on Christmas Eve that Bayern Munich would sign him before the end of the month, Leeds poured water on the story quickly.’

Raphinha has been a real star for the Yorkshire giants ever since his £17m move from Stade Rennes in October 2020 – now valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, it has looked every bit like an incredible deal for the club.

Of course, United should be resigned to losing him at some point but him being around for the foreseeable future, thanks to an extension to his current £63k-per-week deal is surely going to leave the Elland Road faithful absolutely buzzing.

AND in other news, “This week”: Journo drops big Leeds transfer claim live on air, fans will be buzzing…

Things could hardly be better for Crystal Palace right now, with Patrick Vieira’s charges enjoying a fabulous start to life in the new Premier League campaign.

The 45-year-old tactician has guided his new-look side to tenth place in the top-flight table after overseeing a six-game unbeaten run, with victories over Tottenham Hotspur and reigning champions Manchester City particular highlights.

And while the extremely impressive duo of Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher have claimed most of the plaudits in the opening weeks of the campaign, veteran midfielder James McArthur has quietly been putting in a string of outstanding displays.

It appeared as if the diminutive gem’s days at Palace were numbered after he was ruled out of action from January through injury, missing the capital club’s final 18 league fixtures of 2020/21.

However, the former Scotland international has arguably taken his game to another level this season, despite being 34 years old.

As per SofaScore, McArthur has won a whopping 61 duels after starting all 11 of Palace’s Premier League fixtures, created three big chances, made 25 tackles, 13 interceptions, threaded seven key passes and achieved a passing accuracy of 83%.

His eye-catching displays in the capital club’s engine room have gone unnoticed by many, but they’ve certainly caught the eye of his manager, with Vieira labelling him a ‘warrior’.

“He is valuable, he’s our captain, and so he has a responsibility to bring his leadership to the squad,” said the Frenchman after Saturday’s victory 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.”

Maintaining their current levels will be the aim for both Palace and McArthur from now until the end of the campaign, but the Scotsman is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

And, in other news…Palace dealt potential injury setback ahead of Burnley, Vieira would be gutted

Aston Villa fans have spotted Indiana Vassilev in team training at Bodymoor Heath. 

Back in July, Vassilev joined Major League Soccer outfit Inter Miami on loan.

But their season came to an end in early November after they finished in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and therefore failed to progress to the play-offs.

Vassilev made 21 appearances for the Florida-based outfit, scoring three goals.

It seems, from footage posted by @AVFCOfficial, that he’s now returned to the Midlands to rejoin his parent club.

What does the future hold for Vassilev?

New manager Steven Gerrard will no doubt run the rule over the American, but Villa could potentially look to secure another loan move for him when the transfer window opens in January.

The 20-year-old has had six outings for Villa’s senior team to date, four of which have come in the Premier League.

He’s a strikingly versatile player, able to operate on either flank, as a centre forward and even as an attacking midfielder.

These Villa fans spot Vassilev in training

“Is that Vassilev?”

Credit: @HarryAVFC_

“Is that Indi Vassilev talking to Konsa at the start of the video?”

Credit: @KevinCorAvfc

“Wait Vassilev?”

Credit: @1874Jacob

“I wonder if he’ll get a chance now he’s back”

Credit: @doc3d

“Since when was Vassilev back?”

Credit: @1874dan

“Anyone else spot Vassilev in this video? Wonder if he’ll be given a chance in the first team”

Credit: @AstonDrilla

In other news, Steven Gerrard wants this left-back.

After an impressive start to life as Aston Villa manager, former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard returned to Anfield on Saturday, looking to build on his side’s recent run of three league wins from four.

Despite a battling performance, the Villans left Merseyside empty-handed as Mo Salah’s 67th-minute penalty separated the two teams.

With the Reds the league’s top scorers with 44 goals prior to the match, the Midlands club were always going to need their front men to perform if they were to come away with a result, particularly Ollie Watkins. However, the striker had a quiet afternoon at Anfield.

Starting in a front three alongside Ashley Young and Jacob Ramsey, Watkins struggled to make any sort of impact, with the centre-forward failing to get a single shot away.

Furthermore, according to SofaScore, the 25-year-old lost possession 14 times alongside making just 36 touches, meaning that he lost the ball every 2.57 touches. There was a lack of physical presence up front from Villa’s talisman too as Watkins lost 75% of his duels.

The £44k-p/w forward has made a good start to life under Gerrard, scoring against Brighton and Manchester City under the 41-year-old since he replaced Dean Smith, and there is still little doubt that Watkins is the club’s best striker, his four league goals the most of anyone in Villa’s squad so far this season.

However, fellow forward Danny Ings returned from injury on Saturday, having not played for three games, which will increase competition in the attacking department once again. The two started alongside each other in Gerrard’s first game against Brighton, with Ings playing as a centre-forward and Watkins playing on the left of a front three.

It’s plausible that this could happen again, but if both were to purely play in their preferred centre-forward role, then one would have to miss out. This must be used as an incentive for Watkins has his place in the starting line-up is at greater risk after today’s soporific performance, especially with the renewed availability of Ings.

In other news: Aston Villa can start January with a bang by signing “unbeatable” £27m-rated machine

Speaking recently to the Polish media, Krzysztof Piatek revealed that he turned down a move to Tottenham Hotspur last year.

In comments made to Prawda Futbolu (via Sport Witness), the Hertha Berlin centre-forward claimed that Spurs made an offer to loan him for one-and-a-half years back in January 2020 – when Harry Kane was sidelined due to injury – but he preferred a move to the Bundesliga.

The Poland international said: “I don’t know if I can talk about it, but Milan must have received an offer from Tottenham to loan me for 1.5 years. That was when Harry Kane was injured and I was supposed to replace him for the first three months. However, Hertha were more specific.”

Indeed, Piatek was heavily linked with a £30m move to north London in the winter transfer window of the 2019/20 season, but the £15.3m-rated 25-year-old ultimately joined Hertha in a £21.6m deal.

Transfer Tavern Take

Piatek’s rejection of Spurs is something that was likely to have been a huge blow to Jose Mourinho at the time; and with the benefit of hindsight, it could easily be argued that not bringing a striker in during that January transfer window played a large part in Tottenham’s failure to secure a place in the top four last season.

However, considering the Poland international’s subsequent form at Hertha Berlin – 11 goals and three assists over 40 appearances for the club – as well as the fact that Tottenham now have Carlos Vinicius on their books, who has nine goals and three assists over his 18 appearances for Spurs, it would appear that Piatek’s snubbing of the club could have been a blessing in disguise for Mourinho in the long run.

In other news: Tottenham are also monitoring this attacker, find out more here.

Plenty of Aston Villa fans have been giving their thoughts over a potential permanent deal for Ross Barkley on social media.

That’s after Marlon Harewood shared his views on the attacking midfielder, with the former Villa striker believing Barkley will want to make his move permanent in the Midlands.

Barkley initially impressed at Villa Park but he’s managed just one goal involvement in his last 11 Premier League appearances and has had to make do with a place on the bench in recent weeks.

Chelsea’s huge asking price

Reports last month suggested that Villa would need to smash their transfer record, which stands at the £28m plus add-ons deal to bring Ollie Watkins to the club, to land Barkley on a long-term basis.

Chelsea will ask for a fee in the region of £40m this summer, with Thomas Tuchel’s stance on Barkley not yet known.

However, Harewood, talking to Football FanCast, gave Villa the green light in regards to a permanent deal for Barkley.

Harwood’s comments were shared on social media in a story by @AVFC_News on Thursday evening, who asked supporters if a deal will happen.

Villa supporters not keen

“Hopefully not. Will cost us 20-30 million as well. Really needs to step up his game. He hasn’t proven himself yet imo”

Credit: @SSaultyyy

“Ramsey over Barkley anytime and spend the cash elsewhere…”

Credit: @Mrb47016877

“#nothanks”

Credit: @villa_vernon

“He needs to step up then if he wants the move. Imo he’s not done enough for us since joining”

Credit: @villaman101

“Very much doubt it if he can’t even retain his place in the starting line-up.”

Credit: @joeinpoole

“Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Credit: @AstonZillaFC

In other news: Many Villa fans have hit out at Dean Smith for his training ground comments, find out more here.

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has been mentioned with a potential overhaul of his squad during the upcoming summer transfer window.

The previous January window saw numerous players not only make moves to Villa Park but also saw some other figures wave goodbye to the club as they left on loan deals.

Looking ahead to the upcoming summer transfer window, it seems as though one current Villa figure could be set to have his bags packed and bring his time at the Midlands club to an end.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Football Insider sources, French club Marseille are interested in re-signing Villa midfielder Morgan Sanson this summer.

Villa signed the Frenchman back in the 2021 January transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £16m.

Since then, the midfielder has only made 20 appearances for the Villans across all competitions, failing to score even one goal or provide one assist, making him somewhat of a flop considering what they paid for him.

Get rid of Sanson

Having suffered from injury and illness issues when he first arrived at the club, which was described as “frustrating” by former Villa manager Dean Smith, the 27-year-old has found it hard to get regular game time under Gerrard in this campaign.

Since the turn of the year, the £59k-per-week disappointment has only appeared in six league games, starting just two of them.

It’s hard to determine what exactly the Frenchman offers the team considering how, from an attacking point of view, he’s only been able to make three shot-creating actions in the league.

From a defensive standpoint, he’s only made eight tackles for his side, which is lower than the likes of Leon Bailey, Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins.

His performances throughout this campaign haven’t done much to convince the current Villa boss that he deserves to be in the squad next season.

According to WhoScored, the former Marseille star is listed as the lowest-rated Villa player currently in Gerrard’s squad to have started more than one league fixture, with an overall rating of 6.34/10.

With that in mind, if Gerrard doesn’t have Sanson in his long-term plans for the future beyond this season and Marseille are willing to make a suitable financial offer for their former midfielder, then selling him would be the best option for all parties this summer.

In other news: “Gerrard wants..“: Journo drops teasing transfer claim, AVFC supporters surely buzzing 

Liverpool’s defensive issues this season have overshadowed the steady rise of 18-year-old centre-back Billy Koumetio, with the defender becoming the Reds’ youngest ever player to feature in the Champions League earlier in the season.

Injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip have meant that Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams have established themselves as first-team regulars so far this season but it seems as if the Merseyside club have another extremely talented youngster waiting in the wings, in the form of Koumetio.

The French defender joined Liverpool from Orleans U19 in January 2019 and has clearly impressed in his time with the Reds, as he has been training with the first-team since he was just 17 and made his debut for the senior side in the 1-1 draw with FC Midtjylland in December 2020.

Klopp is certainly a fan of the Frenchman, having included him in his pre-season training camp back in August 2020, dubbing him a “big talent”.

He also signed his first professional contract with the club in 2020 and looks destined for an excellent future with the Reds, so perhaps it won’t be too long until we see him make his first appearance in the Premier League.

Certainly, Rhys Williams’ vulnerability was exposed in the 4-1 win against Aston Villa recently, when he was left in the dust by 17-year-old Louie Barry, so perhaps Klopp should consider promoting Koumetio instead.

Barry Lewtas, who is now manager of the U23 side at Liverpool, described the defender as a “real imposing figure at centre-back” so you can definitely make a comparison to Van Dijk and his style of play, with the Dutchman regularly dominating his opponents with his strength and aerial ability.

Whilst the former Southampton man recovers from his cruciate ligament injury, therefore, perhaps we should see Koumetio start to feature more for the Reds’ first-team, as he could prove to be Liverpool’s next Van Dijk.

And, in other news, Transfer update on “aggressive” 6 ft 2 LFC beast proves Klopp doesn’t trust him…

In an exclusive interview with Transfer Tavern, Steve Howey, who made 278 appearances during his career, has claimed that Sergio Aguero would do well at Everton under Carlo Ancelotti.

Aguero is set to leave Manchester City after their Champions League final against Chelsea and he has reportedly already held talks with Barcelona over a potential move this summer.

City’s all-time top scorer has also been linked with a move to Goodison Park this summer as the 32-year old may feel he still has plenty to offer in the Premier League, despite Pep Guardiola seeing him as surplus to requirements.

Speaking on how Aguero is still good enough to play in the Premier League and why a team like Everton would be good for Aguero, Howey exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“He’s a goal machine because you give him a chance and he’ll score. I don’t think he’s past it, but obviously, Pep is looking for something else.

“Somebody like Everton would be good for him. So I think given the right kind of contract and if he wants the move, then a deal can definitely be done.”

Aguero showed everyone what he is still capable of with his goal two weeks ago against Crystal Palace, but he was left rather red-faced when his panenka penalty was saved by Edouard Mendy last weekend.

Man City’s final league game of the season is set to have fans inside the Etihad which will allow them to give Aguero a send-off after lifting the Premier League trophy.

A number of Liverpool supporters have been left frustrated with an update on the future of on-loan Reds defender Ozan Kabak.

The 21-year-old moved to Anfield in the January transfer window, looking to fill the centre-back void left by long-term injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.

It was an extremely difficult situation for Kabak to be thrown into, but after a difficult start, he has begun to look the part for Liverpool, excelling against RB Leipzig in the Champions League. The Turkey international has made nine Premier League appearances to date, although an injury is currently keeping him sidelined.

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Kabak only joined the Reds on loan, however, so it may be that he ends up returning to Schalke 04 at the end of the season, should Jurgen Klopp decide not to retain his services. According to the Liverpool Echo [via Anfield Watch], the club are yet to make a decision over the defender’s future, with Klopp mulling over his options.

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Liverpool fans unhappy at Kabak

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to react to the update on Kabak’s future, with frustration in the air among many Kopites.

“Sigh I give up, we’re not meant to be”

Credit: @lfcyerms

“Smh…this club”

Credit: @BlvckLyte

“I’d have him rather than Konate tbh. Younger and proved himself”

Credit: @StephanSteyn1

“We’d be daft not to at the price”

Credit: @dazmul19761

“Take him!! He’s worth every penny”

Credit: @JokeSrirattana

“Surely we must try and keep him”

Credit: @Julie_K_83

In other news, Liverpool have been linked with a trophy-laden player this summer – find out who it is here.