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Ashley Preece has dropped a major transfer update on Jack Grealish’s future at Aston Villa just ahead of England’s EURO 2020 clash against Czech Republic tonight.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days and weeks have suggested that Manchester City are intent on signing Grealish this summer, but the journalist has moved quickly to dispel those fears.

Initially on Twitter, Preece said: “On the Jack Grealish situation, it’s as you were: #avfc building around him again. This is what I know.”

And then, in an article for The Birmingham Mail, the journalist added: “BirminghamLive has been told that despite such reports, Aston Villa remain unaware of transfer interest surrounding captain Grealish. There’s been no contact from City, no bids while Villa have never put a valuation on their star asset.

“Villa have no intention of selling England star Grealish. The plan now is to kick on once again in 2021/22 and to catch those who finished above them last season. Villa, as CEO Christian Purslow put it, “remain deeply ambitious” and they’ll do all they can to match Grealish’s aims of becoming a European performer.

“As ever, the transfer market will continue to evolve right up until the summer deadline on August 31 but, as it stands, Grealish is at Villa to stay as Dean Smith targets another season of vast improvement.”

Fans will be buzzing

Given just how important the club captain is to Villa, Preece’s update that Grealish is set to stay at Villa Park as of right now, and that crucially, the club have “no intention” of selling him, will be music to the ears of the club’s fans.

The England international scored seven goals and provided another 12 assists across all competitions last season, and will no doubt have been hoping that his club side would be doing everything they can to try and match his ambitions.

And, with the signing of Emi Buendia from Norwich, and a bargain deal for a Premier League proven player in Ashley Young, Villa have already got their transfer window off to a perfect start.

If Grealish needed any evidence that the Midlands club were keen on strengthening around him, then they have certainly let their actions do the talking.

News that Grealish is set to stay at Villa Park, and that NSWE are keen on pushing on again next season, will surely have fans buzzing.

Meanwhile, Dean Smith could land a superb deal in this EURO 2020 sensation…

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has dropped an injury update concerning David Turnbull.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Football Scotland, the Bhoys boss revealed that the midfielder’s hamstring injury picked up in the first half of the League Cup final victory over Hibernian on Sunday came as a result of fatigue, something which is down to the midfielder having started all but one of Celtic’s 34 fixtures so far this season.

Speaking about the 22-year-old’s knock, Postecoglou said: “David suffered from the number of games we are playing at the moment. We are suffering because of that. We have not been able to rotate the squad a lot and that is hurting us at the moment, picking up these injuries. We will just see how he is.”

Fans will be furious

Considering just how important a part of the Celtic side Turnbull has become under the management of Postecoglou, the fact that the midfielder looks set to spend a spell on the sidelines is sure to have left the Parkhead faithful furious.

Indeed, over his 18 Premiership appearances so far this season, the £4.5m-rated man has scored five goals, registered four assists and created seven big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of a whopping 4.1 key passes – the most of any player in the league – and taking 3.7 shots – the second-most in the division – per game.

These returns have seen the £14k-per-week Scotland international average a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.87, ranking him as the joint-best performer in the entirety of the top flight.

As such, with several crucial fixtures coming up for the Hoops in the next few weeks, including January’s clash with their Old Firm rivals, the midfielder’s absence is sure to come as a major blow to Postecoglou and his side.

Without Turnbull’s creativity in the middle of the park, Celtic are undoubtedly a far poorer outfit.

In other news: Bye-bye Boli: Celtic must seal deal for “massive talent” who “the sky’s the limit” for

A devastating Newcastle United injury setback on striker Callum Wilson has emerged…

What’s the latest?

Telegraph journalist Luke Edwards has revealed that the forward has not been able to recover on schedule after going away with the rest of the squad in Dubai. He has also relayed that Eddie Howe is now changing his plans over the Englishman’s schedule due to this latest setback.

Edwards tweeted: “Bad news on Callum Wilson. Having started running in Dubai his recovery is not progressing as hoped. Howe admitted today plan for him to return is being pushed back.”

Gutted

This news will surely leave Newcastle supporters gutted for multiple reasons.

Firstly, they will be disappointed that they will not be able to see Wilson out on the pitch when they may expected him back. He is a proven Premier League performer and the fans he know is capable of finding the net regularly when given the opportunity, as he has scored 18 top-flight goals since the start of 2020/21.

Therefore, the Toon are currently dealing without his goalscoring prowess at the top end of the pitch and it is a huge blow to the side. Despite not playing a single minute of football in 2022, he remains the club’s top scorer in the league this season, which illustrates his importance to the team.

They will also be gutted with this update because of what it may mean heading into next season. Since joining the Magpies in 2020, Wilson has suffered seven separate injury issues and missed 29 competitive games in less than two full campaigns.

He has been unreliable for the Toon in terms of his availability, and being fit is a player’s most important attribute, given that it allows them to perform on the pitch. Howe will surely not want to go into next season with a first-choice striker who seems likely to miss a number of games because of his propensity to pick up knocks.

This may lead to the club looking to replace him in the summer. PIF and Howe could decide that they want to go for a player with a better injury record in an attempt to nail down that position instead of crossing their fingers and hoping for the best every time Wilson steps foot on the pitch, which is why this is a devastating development for the forward as it could put his future into question.

Supports would be gutted with this because of what he has been able to deliver on the pitch for the club whenever he has been fit. His 18 goals over the past 20 months for the Magpies have been pivotal to helping the side to remain in the Premier League, and fans will surely be upset if injuries continue to curtail his time as the main man at St James’ Park.

AND in other news, NUFC can finally replace Cabaye with “phenomenal” £34m gem, he has “magical powers”…

Wolverhampton Wanderers are plotting a surprise move to bring versatile midfielder John Swift to Molineux.

What’s the talk?

In a recent interview with Give Me Sport, the Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield discussed Wolves’ recent links with a move for the Reading midfielder, claiming that the Premier League side would be breaking their transfer policy by signing the Championship star.

Speaking about the club’s links with the 26-year-old, Hatfield said: “The only thing you’d say in terms of Wolves’ transfer policy is you don’t see them too often plucking a name out of the Championship or British football in general, do you? It’s normally a player which you’ve not heard too much about – but the stats don’t lie with John Swift, do they?”

He’s what Lage is missing

Considering just how impressive Swift has been for Reading in recent seasons, in addition to the fact that Bruno Lage currently lacks significant depth in both central and attacking midfield in his first-team squad, a move for the former England U21 international would certainly appear to be a wise one by Jeff Shi.

Indeed, over his 11 Championship appearances this season, the £3.6m-rated man has wowed the Madejski with his astonishing returns, having already scored seven goals, registered five assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.1 shots and making a whopping 2.7 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player Veljko Paunovic dubbed “super talented” average a rather astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.62, not only ranking him as the Royals’ best performer in the second tier but also as the best player in the entirety of the league.

As such, while Hatfield’s claim that a move for Swift would be diverting from Wolves’ recent transfer policy of signing lesser-known foreign talents – with the club’s most recent domestic signing, aside from free transfers, being Benik Afobe back in 2018 – is indeed correct, the journalist’s further statement that the stats don’t lie with Swift also rings true.

So, when taking into account the fact that the 26-year-old’s contract expires at the end of the current campaign, and with goals from Lage’s midfielders having been severely lacking so far this season, a move for Swift would appear to make sense on a number of levels for Wolves.

In other news: Fresh fitness update emerges on “assured” £140k-p/w dynamo, Wolves fans will be gutted

Wolves youngster Ki-Jana Hoever will miss his side’s Premier League clash with Newcastle United through injury, according to reliable journalist Tim Spiers.

The Lowdown: Wolves head to Newcastle

Bruno Lage’s side are back in league action on Friday evening, making the trip to St James’ Park to take on a Magpies side who have pulled clear of the relegation zone.

It is another important game for Wolves in their quest to qualify for Europe this season, with victory taking them into seventh place ahead of Manchester United, for the time being at least.

With United playing one match fewer and also heading to out-of-sorts Everton on Saturday, it feels like a must-win game for the Wanderers.

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The Latest: Hoever ruled out

Taking to Twitter, Spiers has confirmed that Hoever will be absent at St James’ Park because of injury, despite returning to training:

“Hoever also trained a bit but he’s not available tomorrow.”

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The Verdict: Blow to squad depth

While any injury is a blow, the absence of Hoever shouldn’t be a huge issue to the first XI, with the 20-year-old only starting four Premier League games this season.

However, with Nelson Semedo fit but perhaps not ready to start after such a long lay-off, it means that Jonny will likely continue at right-back rather than his preferred role, where he has scored in his last two appearances, so it is definitely a hit to the depth at Lage’s disposal.

The hope is that Hoever is back in the near future, however, allowing Jonny to switch back to the left and providing competition for Semedo, giving Lage the flexibility he needs to fire Wolves to a European place.

In other news, Wolves are believed to be in a four-way battle to sign one player. Find out who it is here.

Flocking to Twitter, a number of Manchester City fans have been left excited by a claim involving Paris-Saint Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe.

City have got their Premier League title defence off to a solid start despite their brief injury scares and dropped points away to Tottenham and at home to Southampton.

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Indeed, the Sky Blues have just come off the back of a crucial 1-0 win away to European champions and title rivals Chelsea, with Gabriel Jesus scoring the only goal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Now, it appears that City supporters have more to celebrate as a claim emerges involving Mbappe and Pep Guardiola’s side.

According to reporter Duncan Castles on The Transfer Window Podcast, it is said that the club have now been given a ‘mandate’ to sign the France forward and that they want him at ‘any cost’.

Flocking to this claim, many fans have been left excited by the prospect of signing the 22-year-old, who has scored 163 club career goals so far – check out some of their verdicts below.

Man City fans excited by Mbappe claim…

“IT’S HAPPENING”

Credit: @NoMoreWxrds

“Bring him to City ASAP”

Credit: @Nathan6ii

“Stop teasing me….”

Credit: @dameue3

“get him home please”

Credit: @Erlipson6

“I hope this is true”

Credit: @Dieguitocity

“Yesssssssssssssss”

Credit: @Kevin57197624

“FINALLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY MANIFESTATION COMING TRUE!

Credit: @MichaelNana

In other news: ‘Most underrated player in our squad’…lots of Man City fans wowed by star’s ‘best performance ever, find out more here.

Former player Steve Howey believes that Southampton are going to want a huge fee for midfielder James Ward-Prowse. 

The Saints captain played in all Southampton’s Premier League games last season, as well as making five FA Cup appearances and one Carabao Cup match, scoring nine goals and setting up a further seven.

Ward-Prowse only extended his contract last year with Southampton but has attracted the interest of Aston Villa this summer. Villa saw a bid of around £25m rejected for the Saints man last month according to Sky Sports, with Saints Extra claiming this week that the Midlands outfit are expected to return with a second offer, believing the England international could cost them up to £50m.

Steve Howey believes that the Saints will want to command a much higher fee for Ward-Prowse, telling Football FanCast: “I think they’d want a lot more than that, I think you’d be looking to double that possibly for him.”

Southampton have been active in the transfer window already this summer with four new signings. Theo Walcott, Tino Livramento, Romain Perraud and Dynel Simeu have all arrived at St Mary’s, and after Danny Ings departed the club for Aston Villa, talkSPORT understands that the Saints have enquired about the availability of Tammy Abraham on loan.

Many Everton fans have been left reacting to some transfer news that has emerged on Donny van de Beek.

Speaking on FIVE (via EFC DAILY), Italian football journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that the Goodison Park faithful are ‘still interested’ in the Manchester United midfield player after wanting him at the end of August, and the deal could be an initial loan with in January with an option to buy in the summer transfer window.

Van de Beek has struggled to get regular game time at Old Trafford, as he has only managed to play in a mere five matches in total over all competitions so far this season (Transfermarkt), so there would certainly be question marks over his sharpness if he made the move to Merseyside.

However, that is not to say that he is not a quality player on his day, emphasised by his time at Ajax, where he managed to score 41 goals and make a further 34 assists in 175 appearances (Transfermarkt).

Everton fans on van de Beek transfer news

These Toffees supporters seemed split as the transfer news was shared on Twitter, perhaps unsurprising given his obvious quality but inability to break through in England so far…

“Would be a good signing imo, him on loan and Ramsey on a free pleaseee Everton, then sell Davies and Gomes”

Credit: @jayhammefc

“Yes please”

Credit: @taylor_davies77

“VDB needs a new lease at life and would solidify the 3rd piece in our midfield. I’m not quite sure how we could pull it off but it would be great business”

Credit: @1878_Shirts

“He can’t get a game in United’s midfield over Fred and McTominay”

Credit: @KevinGillen8

“No. He’s the same as Klaassen. Not strong enough and quick enough for Premier League. It’s easy when you’re at Ajax, the opposition let you have the ball and you have that confidence of having the ball in Europe competitions. In PL under Rafa especially he will struggle.”

Credit: @SatFlora

“I fear that he maybe another Davy Klaassen. Hope he proves me wrong if he does come.”

Credit: @SG_Ramon

In other news, find out what transfer news has Blues raging here!

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left fuming after two new managerial candidates  for the Ibrox hot-seat emerged in the form of Ronald Koeman and John Terry.

As per Football Insider, the Scottish champions have now ‘set their sights’ on the aforementioned two names as a potential replacement for Steven Gerrard, who has left to join Aston Villa in the Premier League.

A source from the Light Blues has revealed to the news outlet that they both ‘feature highly’ on the club’s wish list, as director of football Ross Wilson is ‘leading the search’ for a ‘high profile’ coach to take charge.

Koeman’s most recent job at Barcelona ended badly, being sacked last month after leaving them in ninth place in the La Liga table (The Guardian), while Terry has never been a club’s main manager before, having most recently been assistant to Gerrard’s predecessor Dean Smith at Villa.

Therefore, it is not a surprise at all to see so many Rangers fans being opposed to either appointment.

Rangers fans on Koeman and Terry manager news

These Gers fumed as the manager news was shared on Twitter and begged Wilson to disregard both candidates:

“We are going to over complicate this aren’t we? Just go get Gio, Mr Wilson!”

Credit: @CF3Loyal

“Ross Wilson gives me the fear. Just get Gio in and give the fans what they want”

Credit: @chrissyr8289

“Wrong Dutch guy Mr Wilson”

Credit: @baigriec

“Read the room Ross Wilson.”

Credit: @BedsBucksRSC

“Koeman… can’t see it. Terry, just no.”

Credit: @jaayfc

“You’ve got the Netherlands mangers mixed up pal”

Credit: @JacobMcArthur18

In other news, find out how these Gers supporters reacted to Gerrard leaving

Everton winger Bernard is ‘heading closer’ to leaving the club amid interest from three countries, according to the Liverpool Echo. 

The lowdown

The Toffees signed Bernard from Shakhtar Donetsk ahead of the 2018/19 season on a free transfer.

He’s gone on to make 84 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals and providing seven assists (via Transfermarkt).

Last season, he was limited to just three Premier League starts, with a further nine appearances off the bench (via WhoScored).

Bernard has only a year remaining on his contract at Goodison Park and is valued at £10.8million by Transfermarkt.

The latest

Talks over the potential departure of the 28-year-old are said to be ‘ongoing’.

A club in the United Arab Emirates are keen on the Brazilian, who also has suitors in both Greece and Russia.

The report adds that the likely move will see Everton clear one of the ‘top earners’ from their wage bill – he is rumoured to be on £120k per-week, which is over £6m per-year.

The verdict

This deal makes sense for Everton. It will be a considerable boost to their coffers, and it won’t hurt them all that much on the field given the feeble impact he made last season.

Perhaps Bernard hoped that the change of manager at the club might yield more opportunities, but the reality is that he hasn’t done enough to be starting matches.

He’s a player who’s only shown rare glimpses, and his record for direct goal contributions is far from inspiring.

In other news, fans react to a potential incoming.