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A pundit has been left thrilled by Aston Villa's potential move for a "marquee" forward, which would be after Unai Emery's side attempt to seal deals for Hull City winger Jaden Philogene and Everton midfielder Amadou Onana.

Aston Villa closing in on deals for Philogene and Onana

The club's announcement of a near-£120 million loss in their latest set of financial accounts has not stopped them from spending big, as the Villans attempt to back Emery and reinforce the squad ahead of Champions League participation next campaign.

Deal being finalised as £50m star agrees to join Aston Villa with Philogene

Emery’s side are on the verge of a major signing.

ByEmilio Galantini Jul 13, 2024

Ian Maatsen, Samuel Iling-Junior, Cameron Archer, Lewis Dobbin, Enzo Barrenechea and Ross Barkley have all been announced and confirmed as Villa signings, with the six new squad members costing a combined £86 million.

Going the other way, Villa have managed to offload Douglas Luiz, Tim Iroegbunam and Morgan Sanson for around £56 million – with Calum Chambers leaving the club by mutual consent and Philippe Coutinho sealing a move to Vasco de Gama as well.

Ian Maatsen

£38 million

Cameron Archer

£14 million

Samuel Iling-Junior

£12 million

Lewis Dobbin

£10 million

Enzo Barrenechea

£7 million

Ross Barkley

£5 million

Despite their PSR concerns, Villa have wasted no time at all in identifying two more major signings on top of the aforementioned bunch. In the last 48 hours, Fabrizio Romano shared news that Monchi has activated matching rights as they seal a reunion with Philogene.

The Hull City winger will re-join Villa for around £13 million, due to a 30 per cent sell-on clause in his contract, with Emery personally wanting the 22-year-old back as Monchi grants the Spaniard's wish.

Following on from one of the Championship's star wingers of last season, it now appears Everton midfielder Amadou Onana is on the verge of joining Emery as well.

Indeed, reliable journalist David Ornstein broke news this morning that Villa are finalising a £50 million deal for Onana, with personal terms already agreed on a long-term contract and the Belgian keen to join.

Pundit thrilled as Villa also eye Joao Felix move

Speaking to Villa News, amid this clamor of transfer activity, pundit and podcaster Ty Bracey has endorsed a move for Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix.

Villa have been heavily linked with a move for Felix as they look to add a new striker and potentially replace Jhon Duran. Bracey says Felix would be a good signing for Villa, but cautions that he'll likely cost a "marquee" sum.

“I do think it would be a good signing but an expensive one for sure, his wage would probably be in excess of £180,000-a-week, that wouldn’t surprise me," said Bracey.

“He’d definitely be a marquee signing, I think he’d be great but it all hinges on if he wants to join. He brings Champions League experience, he’s played at the highest level so the pressure side of the game wouldn’t be a problem.

“He’s a very talented footballer, very skilful and we know he’s capable of scoring goals so he’s not someone I would say no to.“

Interestingly, recent reports have even claimed that both Monchi and Emery believe they can turn Felix into a star at Villa.

Leeds United fans will be worried by the real lack of business at Elland Road so far this summer, as talk surrounding the West Yorkshire club's transfer activity centres in on more and more outgoings.

Glen Kamara leaving has weakened the Whites in their holding midfield spots, with Joe Rothwell joining on loan in an attempt to plug some gaps, whilst Wilfried Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville are still being routinely linked with moves away in the non-stop transfer rumour mill.

Junior Firpo is yet another name also being tipped to ditch his West Yorkshire location soon, but Leeds could have his replacement in mind already with the capture of this versatile gem, who could also soften the blow of Archie Gray no longer being around.

Leeds looking to sign 21 y/o sensation

According to reports in Spain, Firpo could soon be on the move back to one of his former employers in Real Betis, despite turning around his faltering Whites career in the Championship last season.

As a result of the former Barcelona man returning back to Betis potentially, the outlet has also speculated that Leeds are eyeing up a swoop of PEC Zwolle gem Anselmo Garcia MacNulty to strengthen in the left-back spot, which will be very sparse without Firpo's quality being present.

What MacNulty can offer Leeds

Capable of also playing at centre-back if needed, Daniel Farke and Co have been admirers of MacNulty's work for some time, having previously been linked with a switch for the 6 foot 2 defender.

This versatility could see Leeds win their next Gray in the process, hopeful that the 21-year-old can step up and fill in when needed across a gruelling Championship season to come, potentially even striking up a formidable relationship with new permanent recruit Joe Rodon along the way.

With 72 of his 104 professional career appearances coming from the centre-back spot, Farke will know he can rely on MacNulty to fill in at the heart of defence when needed next season, even if his most recent promising exploits for his Dutch employers have seen him dazzle from a left-back spot. Gray might not have experience on the left side but that ability to shuffle out into a wider full-back berth is certainly familiar here.

The ex-Wolfsburg youngster would play in this new position 30 out of 32 games last season in the Eredivisie, contributing to two goals and two assists across the span of those games, which included netting against FC Twente on the final day of the campaign.

Games played

31

44

Age

21

18

Goals scored

2

0

Assists

2

2

Touches*

61.7

54.4

Big chances created

4

2

Interceptions*

1.2

0.7

Tackles*

2.4

2.1

Ball recoveries*

3.6

4.5

Total duels won*

4.6

4.2

As can be seen glancing at the table above, MacNulty's numbers from the last Eredivisie campaign will make for encouraging reading for Leeds fans, who might well not be too clued up on the relative unknown entity away from all the speculation.

When donning a Zwolle strip last season in league action, the 21-year-old bettered Gray in many different areas of their respective games, with more big chances created as a threat down the left than the Tottenham Hotspur teenager, alongside eclipsing his counterpart's total duels won count per match.

MacNulty still has plenty of room to grow and develop into a better player over time too, with a switch to Leeds potentially the best move for him at this moment in time, so he can bounce off the likes of Rodon and Ethan Ampadu and hone in on his strengths even more.

Leeds have certainly reaped their rewards when shopping from the Netherlands in the past for talents who were previously unknown, just look at Summerville for example, and so they could gamble on MacNulty very shortly to try and add more numbers to a depleted Whites group.

What the England squad could look like at the 2026 World Cup

Former Leeds star Archie Gray has made the cut…

3 ByMatt Dawson Jul 17, 2024

Benjamin Sesko's contract includes a 'gentleman's agreement' with RB Leipzig, which will draw Arsenal and Manchester United's attention.

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Sesko's contract expires in 2029Slovenian linked with Arsenal & Man Utd'Gentleman's agreement' in RB Leipzig dealFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Sesko was on the radar of several high-profile teams in the summer before he decided to extend his contract with RB Leipzig until 2029. However, the move merely delays Sesko's inevitable exit and he'll be among the transfer rumours again at the end of the season.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Arsenal were heavily linked with the 21-year-old but Mikel Arteta decided to persist with his current options in attack, a move that could backfire with the Gunners looking up in the Premier League standings. Manchester United are also said to be interested in Sesko, with Rasmus Hojlund not yet doing enough to prove that he can be their striker of the future.

DID YOU KNOW?

Both clubs will likely be in the mix to sign Sesko again next summer and they have just found out how much the Slovenia international is likely to cost. According to journalist Florian Plettenberg, Sesko has a "gentleman's agreement" in his RB Leipzig deal, in lieu of a release clause, that means they will open negotiations with any interested clubs should they receive an offer of between €70-75 million (£58m-62m).

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR SESKO?

The striker has scored seven goals in all competitions this season, although he's on a run of one goal in his past seven matches. International duty now awaits, with Slovenia taking on Norway and Austria in the Nations League next week.

Siraj takes five but Australia still have enough time to push for series victory

Karthik Krishnaswamy17-Jan-2021
Rain wiped out nearly all of the last session of day four soon after Australia had set India 328 to win the Gabba Test. India’s openers had only faced 11 balls, and still had a possible 23.1 overs left to negotiate before stumps, when rain sent the players hurrying into their dressing rooms for the second and final time on the day.On a pitch where inconsistent bounce has grown into a frequent menace, Australia should still have enough time left, in theory, to bowl India out and wrap up a 2-1 series win, but the weather forecast for day five isn’t encouraging.India will have been the happier side at stumps – not so much from the standpoint of the match situation as much as the fact that the bowling attack they cobbled together for this Test match, with each of their senior options unavailable, managed to challenge Australia again and keep them from running away with the game.For one, they bowled Australia out. This hadn’t seemed likely when David Warner and Marcus Harris had extended their opening partnership to 89 and left Australia effectively 122 for no loss some 40 minutes into the day’s play. But India regrouped, with Shardul Thakur breaking the partnership on his way to an impressive four-wicket haul and Mohammed Siraj capping off a stellar debut series with a maiden Test-match five-for.Thakur had been wayward through the first innings but showed much better control in the second, changing the mood of the game by replacing an erratic T Natarajan and testing the left-handers with his angle from over the wicket, landing the ball within the line of the stumps and forcing them to play, and drawing a series of plays-and-misses with movement off the deck.A short ball brought the breakthrough, with Harris leaving his gloves in the way of the ball while trying to duck underneath it. Washington Sundar, Thakur’s partner in crime with the bat on day three, then had Warner lbw with one that went with the arm to leave Australia 91 for 2 with two new batsmen at the crease.Those two batsmen, Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith, threatened to take the game away once more with a counterattacking stand full of daring forays down the pitch to Sundar’s offspin. But having raced to 25 off 21, Labuschagne had no answer to Siraj when he got one to straighten in the channel after angling into him, and Rohit Sharma pouched a thick edge at second slip.Three balls later, Matthew Wade was caught down the leg side off Siraj, his duck capping a miserable series that has put his place in doubt.Either side of tea, Smith – batting with adventurous use of feet and hands – and Cameron Green – blocking stolidly with a rather mechanical-looking forward stride – added 73 in 23.2 overs, stretching the lead past the 200 mark.On 42, Smith gave India a chance when he stepped out and miscued a lofted hit off Sundar, but Siraj misjudged the catch at long-on and dropped it while off-balance. But soon after he’d moved past fifty, Siraj made up for the miss by getting a ball to leap at Smith from just short of a length. He made an impressive effort to survive the delivery, but couldn’t pull his bottom hand off the handle before the ball had struck his glove, and lobbed to gully.By the time Thakur sent Green back with an away-seamer in the corridor – it gave Sharma his fifth catch of the match – Australia’s lead had passed 250. Inconsistent bounce was becoming more frequent, with the long, vertical cracks on the pitch now having widened significantly. Natarajan had got one ball to creep through at ankle height and narrowly miss Green’s off stump. Thakur got one to spit up at Tim Paine and hit his glove. Australia may have felt they already had enough for an early declaration, especially given the danger of the erratic bounce injuring one of their bowlers.But they batted on, perhaps wary of having their bowlers – each of whom has played all four Tests, and all of whom have got through grueling workloads in India’s second innings in Sydney and their first innings here – get back on the field too soon. The runs came quickly, either side of a rain interruption that almost entirely coincided with the tea break, even as Siraj and Thakur chipped steadily away at the wickets. The bowlers survived this period largely unscathed, even though Pat Cummins suffered a smack on his right elbow from Siraj and a glancing blow to the back of his helmet from a Thakur bouncer that kept unexpectedly low.Eventually, Cummins made an unbeaten 28 – his highest score in 22 Test innings, a lean run stretching all the way to India’s previous tour of the country in 2018-19 – as the last four wickets added 67 to Australia’s total.

Manchester United and Chelsea owners, Avram Glazer & Todd Boehly, could reportedly be involved in an investment battle for cricket club London Spirit.

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Marylebone Cricket Club invite bids for SpiritTycoons from across the globe are set to battleSix entities including F1 rulers and IPL teams to competeFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

According to The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has been meeting with six potential buyers this week as they gear up for a high-profile bidding competition for a stake in London Spirit, one of The Hundred’s flagship cricket franchises.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHO'S IN THE RUNNING FOR LONDON SPIRIT?

Apart from Glazer (the chairman of Lancer Capital) and Boehly (who backs Cain International), there are four other major contenders currently vying for a slice of London Spirit. Reliance Industries, owned by Mukesh Ambani, the owners of the IPL (Indian Premier League) franchise Mumbai Indians are among the runners. Fellow IPL team, Chennai Super Kings are also seeking a foothold in England’s new cricket league. The Sanjiv Goenka Group, which owns IPL’s Lucknow Super Giants and the Indian Super League's Mohun Bagan Super Giants are also keen to expand its cricket investments into The Hundred. Finally, Liberty Media, the parent company of Formula One, another heavyweight in the sports and entertainment industry rounds up the six bidders.

DID YOU KNOW?

With 15 investors competing across the eight franchises and around 35 bids in total, the London Spirit franchise is anticipated to attract the highest offer, owing to its prestigious Lord’s affiliation and strategic location. However, the bidding frenzy is not limited to London Spirit alone; several other franchises, including Welsh Fire, Northern Superchargers, and Trent Rockets, have also drawn significant interest from investors who believe these lesser-known teams offer substantial growth opportunities at a more accessible valuation.

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AFPWHAT NEXT?

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is seeking to sell up to 49 per cent of each of the eight teams in The Hundred, aiming to raise a minimum of £350 million across the league. Under the proposed arrangement, the ECB will direct 10 per cent of proceeds toward grassroots cricket, while the remaining revenue will be divided between the 18 first-class counties and the MCC. Each host county will retain control over the remaining 51 per cent and can choose to retain or sell part of this ownership.

As the Scottish Premiership campaign nears, Celtic could still lose star man Matt O'Riley, with another offer reportedly on the way that would see them receive a player on top of a transfer fee.

Celtic transfer news

In between welcoming Kasper Schmeichel, Viljami Sinisalo and, most recently, Paulo Bernardo, Celtic have faced the ongoing battle of keeping hold of O'Riley. The Dane is undoubtedly the standout player in Scotland, attracting interest from the likes of Liverpool, Atalanta and Southampton, but it remains to be seen whether he gets his move. As things stand, he is set to join Bernardo, Schmeichel and Sinisalo in Brendan Rodgers' list of options come the opening day against Kilmarnock this Sunday.

Speaking to Celtic's official website after re-joining on a permanent deal, latest signing Bernardo said: "It’s amazing for me and it’s a big step in my career. I really enjoyed last season when we won the championship and the cup, so it was great for me – my first two titles in my career, too.

"I love the atmosphere at Celtic Park and away in all the games. Celtic is a big, big club. The fans feed us in the game so we can score one more goal or win the game in the last minute. They show that they love the club and I think they really like me too, so I love them."

Imagine him & Johnston: Celtic hunting deal for "spectacular" star

The Hoops are reportedly interested in a deal to sign the impressive defender.

2 ByDan Emery Aug 3, 2024

This Sunday's opening day fixture against Kilmarnock could yet be the new arrival's final chance to play alongside O'Riley, despite ongoing rumours over his potential exit. According to Football Insider, Southampton are now set to submit a player-plus-cash offer to sign O'Riley, which could see young midfielder Shea Charles head to Glasgow this summer.

"Aggressive" Charles has crucial versatility

Whilst Charles would be far from a like-for-like replacement for the more attack-minded O'Riley, he would offer crucial versatility defensively, given that he is naturally a defensive midfielder who can also play at centre-back and right-back. If Southampton's fee is also suitable, then it's a deal that may well suit all parties in the coming weeks.

However, Saints boss Russell Martin may not be too keen to show Charles the door, despite his club's reportedly pending offer. He said via the Daily Record last season: "I know Flynn [Downes] has played in front of him, but when he has come on from the bench he has had a really good impact on the games. We have really good competition in the midfield. Shea wants to win. He is aggressive and he breaks up play. He will be a really important player for us."

With just a matter of weeks left until the transfer window slams shut, the O'Riley saga is far from over. The Dane will be in the shop window for all to see as the Scottish Premiership gets underway this weekend and Celtic will have to continue worrying about losing their star man.

Jonathan Batty replaces Lydia Greenway as Oval Invincibles coach in women’s Hundred

Matt Roller23-Feb-2021Stephen Fleming has stepped back from his role as Trent Rockets’ coach in the Hundred, with Andy Flower confirmed as his replacement.Fleming, the long-term head coach of IPL side Chennai Super Kings, took part in the competition’s inaugural draft in October 2019, but opted against travelling to the UK this summer. It is understood that Fleming had intended to bring his family over, but was unclear whether he would be able to do so with the country still in lockdown and decided to resign from the job.”I’m really disappointed that I won’t be coach of the side this summer but ultimately family has to come first,” Fleming said. “The current global crisis has made it very difficult to travel and the extra time needed for quarantines has made it hard to get the right work/home balance.  Andy is a world-class coach with experience all over the world and I’m sure the Trent Rockets men’s team will have a fantastic first season of the Hundred with him behind them.”Related

The Hundred to launch with women's fixture on July 21

The Hundred – men's draft announcements

The Hundred – full 2021 squad lists

Flower: Looking after the person more important than developing the player

Flower, his replacement, has a growing reputation as a franchise coach. He is currently with Multan Sultans in the PSL after leading them to the top of the group stages in his first season. He has also coached Maratha Arabians to an Abu Dhabi T10 title, finished as a runner-up with St Lucia Zouks in the CPL and Delhi Bulls in the Abu Dhabi T10, and worked as Kings XI Punjab’s assistant coach in last year’s IPL.Flower was involved in the Rockets’ recruitment in Monday’s draft, which saw them sign Timm van der Gugten and Samit Patel to complete their squad. However, it is understood that some squad members were unaware of the change of coach until Tuesday.”Stephen will be a tough act to follow, but the guys put together a really strong squad in the original draft with a mix of international and local talent,” Flower said. “We have built on it in this draft with van der Gugten and Patel joining.”Flower’s appointment will reignite the debate over the absence of any British head coaches in the men’s Hundred, which came in for criticism when jobs were initially offered in 2019. All eight head coaches in the men’s competition are from overseas, though the majority of support staff are British.Jonathan Batty will replace Lydia Greenway as Oval Invincibles head coach•Getty ImagesThere has also been a change of head coach in the women’s competition, with Lydia Greenway stepping down from her role at Oval Invincibles. She will be replaced by Jonathan Batty, the former Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and Surrey wicketkeeper, who was in interim charge of South East Stars in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy last summer.It is understood that Greenway is still likely to be involved in the competition as a commentator, having previously worked for both Sky Sports and the BBC.

Robinson’s former Sussex coach believes seamer can stake claim for Ashes involvement

Valkerie Baynes07-Apr-2021Jason Gillespie says Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson deserves an England Test berth and believes he could prove more than handy on the Ashes tour at the end of the year.As Robinson prepares to spearhead the Sussex attack in their County Championship opener against Lancashire, starting at Old Trafford on Thursday, he has in mind the importance of a good season kick start for his prospects of earning a maiden Test cap this summer.Having spent time on the fringes of Test selection as part of numerous bio-secure squad bubbles over the past year, Robinson revealed last week that he had been advised by England to aim towards selection for the two Tests against New Zealand in June.Related

Ollie Robinson senses Test cap is close

Surrey recruit Sean Abbott for Championship and Blast

Head, Handscomb turn thoughts to England

Lancashire, Yorkshire go head-to-head in pursuit of glory

Gillespie, the former Australia quick who played 71 Tests, coached Robinson initially at Yorkshire and more recently at Sussex, and he believes Robinson is ready for higher honours.”He wouldn’t let anyone down. If he was thrown the ball in a Test match, he wouldn’t let England down, he would perform a role very well,” Gillespie told ESPNcricinfo from Adelaide, where he is now head coach of South Australia and Adelaide Strikers. “He’s one of the most researched bowlers that I’ve worked with.”What I mean by that is he comes very prepared to every session, every team meeting, he does his research on the opposition batsmen, he watches a lot of footage, he pores over statistics, which may surprise a few people. And I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t necessarily see that in the short time Ollie was at Yorkshire, but once I got to Sussex I’d seen a lot of growth in Ollie as a player and person.”Having reached this point on the back of two hugely successful Championship seasons in 2018 and 2019 and a match-winning contribution against Australia A on England Lions’ tour of Australia early last year, Robinson knows first-hand how crucial the coming weeks can be.Could Robinson feature during this winter’s Ashes series? Gillespie believes he should.”I think he’s good enough,” Gillespie said. “I certainly believe he could perform a role for England. I think he’s certainly someone England should have in their squad for the Ashes because I think he could have an impact.”England have got some fine bowlers, there’s no doubt about that, and I think he deserves to be in those conversations to be a part of that tour and a part of that squad. Speaking to Australian batsmen who played in that A series, they were very impressed with him.”It wasn’t always this way with Robinson. Some observers may have been surprised by his progress, namely those who remember him as a youngster at Yorkshire with loads of talent but less aptitude for discipline, which ultimately saw him released in 2014 at the age of just 20 for a series of misdemeanours relating to punctuality, training and commitment.Ollie Robinson has been tipped for an England spot•Stu Forster/Getty ImagesGillespie, Yorkshire’s coach at the time, believes Robinson’s problems stemmed from a struggle to settle after moving north from his native Kent.The stepson of Paul Farbrace, who was then Yorkshire’s second-team coach before going on to become England assistant coach and now Warwickshire’s director of cricket, Robinson missed his friends, according to Gillespie, who remembers Robinson driving back and forth four-and-a-half hours each way in an unsustainable attempt to maintain his social life back in Kent. Robinson’s cricket suffered – he would be late for training or not turn up at all and Yorkshire lost patience.But by the time the pair were reunited at Sussex – when Gillespie took over as coach in 2018 – Robinson was thriving, having adopted a truly professional approach to his game.”It’s fair to say Ollie, being from Kent, he didn’t quite settle into the environment at Yorkshire,” Gillespie says. “He was quite young and he missed his life down south so it just didn’t quite work out. Everyone saw that the skills and the talent were there.”He’s a real leader around Sussex. That’s probably something that I think may have surprised a lot of people at Yorkshire.”Full credit to him. Ollie being released by Yorkshire, he had a choice to make – he could either mope around and be disappointed about it and ‘woe is me’ or do something about it.”He sought opportunity elsewhere, he did the hard yards, he got offered an opportunity to trial at Sussex and he did everything he could to make the most of that opportunity. He deserves a lot of respect around the county circuit for how he’s gone about things.”

Ruben Amorim has appointed a series of specialist coaches to help turn the Manchester United ship around as the Portuguese coach makes his mark.

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Amorim appoints specialist coachesEarned first United win against Bodo/GlimtTakes on Everton in first home Premier League gameFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Amorim continues to try and revamp United from their turgid time under Erik Ten Hag by bringing in specialised members of his coaching staff to work specifically with his defenders, midfielders and forwards. While this may not seem the most groundbreaking idea in modern football, it marks a fundamental shift in coaching methods by Amorim, away from those utilised by his predecessor. Amorim insists that this is inspired by his time as a player where he benefitted most from practical training, rather than extensive video analysis footage, and a more hands-on approach from the coaching staff.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT AMORIM SAID

He said: "I was a football player. Videos more than 12 minutes? Forget it! Because of concentration.

"Instead of video, we do it like walking – and jogging – it’s a way to do it. Showing some video. Then we have all the staff. For example, Carlos [Fernandes] is with the strikers. They will show individual moments. So, we will try to cope with that. Everyone has a job in the staff and they are more important maybe than me."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

When he joined the club, Amorim brought in several members of his staff to help implement the 3-4-3 style of play that has become so intrinsically linked with him. The Portuguese coach brought in Carlos Fernandes, Jorge Vital, Adelio Candido, Emanuel Ferro and Paulo Barreira and is hopeful their close work with smaller groups of players can help turn United's fortunes. The Red Devils have been languid this season and are in desperate need of reinvigoration to shift them back up the table from the 12th spot they currently find themselves in.

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR AMORIM?

The Amorim transformation has a chance to be truly launched on Sunday with United hosting Everton in the new boss' first home Premier League game. After a 1-1 draw away to Ipswich, Amorim earned his first win in front of the crowds at Old Trafford on Thursday with a scrappy 3-2 win over Bodo/Glimt and will have to continue to improve if he is to keep United moving in the right direction.

Aston Villa have had some legendary strikers play for them during the Premier League era. Despite having spent three seasons out of the Premier League, with their only relegation since the inception of the league coming in the 2015/16 campaign, they have had some of the competition’s deadliest marksmen at the club.

Their current all-time Premier League top goalscorer is Gabby Agbonlahor, who played 322 times in the top flight for the Villans, scoring 73 times. He is closely followed by one of the league’s all-time great strikers, Dwight Yorke. Before his move to Manchester United in 1998, Yorke called Villa Park home 179 times, scoring 60 goals.

Coming in third for the Villans is a current player, Ollie Watkins, who was phenomenal with 19 goals to his name in the 2023/24 season. He has 59 Premier League goals in 146 games for the Villans. Those three are the only Villans with 50 or more Premier League goals for the club. Dion Dublin is close behind in fourth with 47 goals.

With all the striking pedigree over the years at Villa Park, they have been linked with another legendary Premier League striker who is already in the 100 club himself.

Villa target Premier League striker

The player in question here is Chelsea and Belgium international striker Romelu Lukaku. It has been a few years filled with turmoil since he returned to Stamford Bridge in 2021 for £97.5m, and he could finally cut ties with the Blues altogether this summer.

According to reports from Italian outlets Il Mattino and Sport Mediaset – via Football Italia – the Villans are ‘ready to pay’ the release clause for the nomadic Belgium striker this summer, as Chelsea look to finally offload him following the disastrous transfer back to Stamford Bridge three summers ago.

However, they won’t be alone in their pursuit of the services of the former Manchester United number nine. Napoli are believed to be clear favourites, and the striker is believed to prefer a move to Naples over the Midlands.

When it comes to a price, the Villans might be looking at a fee of around £38m. That is consistent with the fee Roma would have needed to have paid if they had activated the buy clause in his loan deal from the 2023/24 season.

Why Lukaku would be a good signing

There are few current players as experienced at scoring goals in the Premier League than Lukaku. The 31-year-old striker has scored 121 times in 278 games in England’s top flight, for four different clubs; Chelsea, West Brom, Everton and Man United.

Club

Games

Goals

Chelsea

36

8

West Brom

35

17

Everton

141

68

Man United

66

28

Total

278

121

Although he was arguably not at his best for Roma last term, the Belgian still got himself on the scoresheet 13 times in 32 Serie A games, as well as scoring seven goals in 13 games in the Europa League, as I Giallorossi got to the semi-final before losing to Bayer Leverkusen.

Lukaku could be an excellent signing for Villa this summer as a replacement for Jhon Duran. The 20-year-old Columbian has been trying to force an exit from Villa Park this summer, and whilst the chances of a departure have reduced, he could still leave the club.

Bringing in an experienced centre-forward like Lukaku to replace the former Chicago Fire striker could well be a smart move by Villa. Duran, whilst talented, is still raw, and someone in the mould of the experienced Chelsea man could easily replace his goals.

Last term the youngster scored five goals in 23 games. However, as per FBref, he played the equivalent of just 5.3 full 90-minute games. Like Lukaku, the Columbian far exceeded his expected goals tally, with just 2xG and five goals, compared to 9.3xG and 13 goals for the Belgian.

There is no doubt that Duran has potential, but for a 20-year-old to continue scoring tough chances at that rate is not easy, and some refinement would certainly be needed.

Instead, replacing him with the Belgian legend would take the pressure off such young shoulders and add a natural, and crucially experienced, goalscorer to Villa’s frontline. The former Anderlecht youth product was described as a "phenomenon" by Sky Sports presenter Dougie Critchley, and Villa fans would certainly hope he can be just that should he join the club.

For just £38m, this could be a deal Unai Emery and his coaching staff do not want to miss out on. Lukaku could be the dream Duran replacement if they move the Columbian on, and also bring quality and experience to an already deadly frontline.

Konsa 2.0: Aston Villa offered "revelation" who can replace Carlos

Unai Emery could snap up an experienced defender for nothing…

ByRoss Kilvington Aug 10, 2024