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Derby County have been dealt a major blow in their bid to keep Jason Knight at Pride Park this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Irish Examiner, who claim that both Newcastle United and Burnley are keeping a very close eye on the situation of the Derby midfielder ahead of a potential move before the closure of the summer transfer window.

The report continues by stating that further interest in the 20-year-old has been registered from clubs outside of the UK, while it is also claimed that, as a result of the Rams’ financial difficulties, Wayne Rooney’s side may reluctantly end up cashing in on the Republic of Ireland international.

Grave error

While it is indeed true that Derby appear to be in rather desperate need of an injection of cash this summer, considering the fact that Rooney has just nine fit outfield players ahead of the Rams’ opening Championship fixture of the season against Huddersfield Town on Saturday, it could easily be argued that sanctioning the sale of one of their most talented assets would be a mistake.

Indeed, despite his tender age, the 20-year-old was a mainstay in the Derby team last season, featuring in 43 of the club’s 46 Championship matches.

Over these fixtures, the £5.4m-rated midfielder scored two goals, as well as making an average of 0.9 interceptions, 1.5 tackles, 0.6 clearances and winning an impressive six duels per game.

These returns saw the man Rooney dubbed a “first-class” player earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.70, something that would have undoubtedly been higher if it were not for Derby’s incredibly poor league form last term.

As such, although the Rams look set to be without the services of Knight for the foreseeable future, as the midfielder was injured by his own manager during a collision in training, it would nevertheless appear to be a grave mistake for the 35-year-old to sanction his sale this summer, as the youngster could well prove to be the difference between survival and relegation in the Championship next season.

In other news: Nixon drops 10-word Derby County transfer claim that will be music to the ears of fans

Aston Villa are said to be in talks with RC Lens midfielder Cheick Doucouré as their summer recruitment drive intensifies, according to Goal.com [via Birmingham Live].

The Mali midfielder enjoyed a commendable 2020/21 campaign as he registered five goal contributions in 35 appearances, with four goals and one assist [Transfermarkt].

He could now be set for a move to England following recent reports. The Villains are believed to have commenced discussions over a possible deal, with Lens holding out for around €15m (£12.7m) before considering selling one of their prize assets [Goal.com, via Birmingham Live].

Dean Smith has already sanctioned deals for five players in the form of Axel Tuanzebe, Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendia, Ashley Young and Danny Ings in this transfer window [Transfermarkt].

In light of recent developments about Doucouré, plenty of Aston Villa diehards took to Twitter to discuss the update on the 21-year-old, who won more tackles per game last season (2.6) than anyone in Smith’s squad, which suggests that he could add plenty of steel to the Villans’ midfield.

Aston Villa fans react

Replying to popular Aston Villa fan outlet villareport on Twitter, here is what some fans had to say about the Doucouré situation, with one supporter describing him as “super highly rated”:

“Pleaseeeee”

Credit: @Tom_Price_AVFC_

“I’m on my knees. Please Villa.”

Credit: @GjamieJ”Sounds perfect, what we need. ‘His concentration and defensive awareness to proactively disrupt the opposition and retain possession in a simple but highly effective manner make him an incredibly underrated talent emerging from France.'”Credit: @MerseMagic”81 appearances and 5 goals at the age of 21? Looks like a decent buy to me”Credit: @jackMalin”Announce league title”Credit: @coleman83avfc”Super highly rated. Good young player to bring in and let him develop”Credit: @CDG5805In other news, many Aston Villa fans react to this reported plan from Dean Smith

Danny Ings to Aston Villa came as a bit of a shock to everyone after coming out of nowhere, but Express and Star journalist Luke Hatfield believes that the striker would have been on Villa’s target list this summer.

Ings joined Villa for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract at Villa Park. The 29-year-old scored 13 goals for Southampton last season which took his tally to 46 goals in 100 matches for the Saints.

The striker has joined Leon Bailey, Emi Buendia, Ashley Young and Axel Tuanzebe at Villa Park this summer, with Hatfield reckoning that Ings was on Villa’s radar despite the move coming as a bit of a shock, as he was linked elsewhere throughout the summer.

“Danny Ings will have been on their target list I think, when you look back at the list of targets they probably had, particularly someone up front, him and Tammy Abraham probably would have been up there,” he told Football Fancast.

Ings has a decent goalscoring record throughout his career as he has scored 106 goals, and Villa will be hoping that he has a great season in front of goal this season and helps Villa improve on last season’s 11th-placed Premier League finish.

A number of Liverpool supporters are delighted after James Pearce provided an update regarding plans for the Reds’ midfield.

Jurgen Klopp’s side began their Premier League season on Saturday evening, making the trip to Norwich City. Liverpool produced a superb performance, cruising to a 3-0 victory at Carrow Road as they made the perfect start to their campaign.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

Diogo Jota opened the scoring in the first half before Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah found the net after the interval.

One area where Liverpool didn’t always look convincing, though, was in midfield, with James Milner anchoring it and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita in front of him.

Although Keita did well overall, the trio didn’t wholly convince as a unit, with Fabinho making a difference when he came on, allowing the Reds to boss proceedings even more.

Speaking in a Q&A for The Athletic after the game, Pearce claimed that the midfield on show at Norwich won’t be used again, with Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Thiago returning to the fray soon.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-copy-4/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans love James Pearce update

These Liverpool fans reacted gleefully to the update from Pearce via Anfield Watch on Twitter.

“GOOD NEWS PEARCEEEE”

Credit: @bacnlfc

“Dreams really do come true…”

Credit: @_Roselynn

“Man with the defence back, front 3 firing and this midfield 3, our first 11 will be unstoppable”

Credit: @F1Bennn

“Fabinho Henderson Thiago, that’s what we want”

Credit: @SamNikeng

“The league is in trouble when we start Fab Thiago Hendo”

Credit: @mytypa_

“Some good news here”

Credit: @davidaheebwa3

In other news, some Liverpool fans are ecstatic after an update regarding one Reds player. Find out who it is here.

Carlton Palmer has exclusively told Football FanCast that Arsenal fans are soon going to lose patience with Mikel Arteta.

The Spaniard has delivered the FA Cup in his first season in north London, but the Gunners league form since his arrival has been seriously concerning.

Arsenal finished outside the top-six when they came eighth in his FA Cup-winning season, with their victory over Chelsea securing their place in the Europa League.

However, a second eighth-place last term saw them fail to qualify for Europe for the first time in 21 years, with Tottenham’s final-day win at Leicester snatching their place in the UEFA Conference League.

Arteta has looked to improve his squad by making three summer signing, including the £50m arrival of Ben White from Brighton.

But White’s presence made little difference as Arsenal slumped to a 2-0 opening day loss at Brentford on Friday, with the daunting prospect of games against Chelsea and Man City now to come.

Asked whether he thinks Arteta’s job could soon come under threat, Palmer told FFC:

” I do. At some point, the fans are going to lose their patience. When you’re a supporter or a chairman, you look at an evolvement of the club.

“If you look at Ole, people wanted him out, but every time I watch him, I see an improvement, and I’ve not seen an evolvement at Arsenal since Arteta has gone in there.”

Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield cannot see Aston Villa making a late move for Lazio attacker Joaquin Correa.

Correa has been linked with a move to Villa, with Il Messaggero (via Sport Witness) reporting at the start of the month that the Midlands club were one possible destination for the 27-year-old this summer.

However, Inter Milan currently look to be winning the race for Correa. According to Italian broadcaster SportMediaset (via SempreInter), the Serie A champions have agreed personal terms with the £27m-rated player as they look to tie up a deal.

And Hatfield is not expecting a late challenge from Villa, who have already bolstered their attacking options in this transfer window.

“I don’t see it happening,” the Aston Villa journalist told FFC. “He just doesn’t strike me as a Villa player.

“When you see links regarding players and Villa, Dean Smith seems very intent on signing those with some Premier League experience and if not, then someone who’s shown real potential.

“I don’t see Correa really fitting the mould for Villa. It seems very much like paper talk.”

As touched on earlier, Villa have already splashed out on attacking reinforcements this summer, bringing in the likes of Danny Ings, Leon Bailey and Emiliano Buendia.

Considering that, unless there is an outgoing before the transfer window closes, it is hard to imagine the Villans bringing in another attacker.

According to reliable West Ham United insider ExWHUemployee, Jesse Lingard is on his way to London to speak to David Moyes ahead of a potential return to the Hammers.

The Lowdown: Hammers making late moves

So far during the transfer window, the Irons have brought in just two new faces in Alphonse Areola and Kurt Zouma, and the latter was signed in the last couple of days.

As such, the Hammers seem to be leaving it late as they aim to get their transfer business done before the Tuesday night deadline.

The Latest: West Ham eye Lingard

ExWHUemployee regularly updates West Ham fans about the club and their transfer dealings, and he has now provided news on Lingard.

As per his Patreon channel ‘The West Ham Way’, he has said that the 28-year-old is on his way to the capital to speak to Moyes about his future.

The Verdict: Big twist

After Lingard enjoyed a successful spell on loan with West Ham last season, scoring nine goals and providing five assists in 16 matches (Transfermarkt), there had been hope that he would stay with the club on a permanent basis. However, it soon emerged that the £19.8m-valued midfielder was looking to stay at Manchester United to fight for a place in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side (via The Sun).

However, with just four minutes on the pitch in the Red Devils’ opening three Premier League matches this term, things may have changed. If the Hammers could get the deal done, it would come as be a huge boost to their hopes of being competitive in four competitions this season, given how Lingard performed during his loan spell in east London earlier this year.

In other news, some West Ham fans weren’t impressed with this player on Saturday

Phil Smith has offered his thoughts on what should happen to Sunderland’s Anthony Patterson following the signing of Thorben Hoffmann…

What’s the talk?

The journalist has suggested that the arrival of Hoffmann on loan from Bayern Munich could leave Patterson in a difficult position. Smith has claimed that the 21-year-old could need a loan to the lower leagues for regular game-time due to being pushed down the pecking order by the signing of the German.

He told The Roar Podcast, via This is Futbol: “Obviously, he’s very early on his development and Hoffman has a lot more senior football under his belt, even if it is in the Bayern Munich second side.

“So I think they now have a bit of a dilemma, if you like, with Patterson, whereby they obviously have to make a decision whether they think his development is best served by maybe going on a National League loan, or by staying with the first group every day, so he can keep learning that philosophy, so he can get further embedded in it.”

Fans would love it

Lee Johnson must now make a key decision and sanction a loan exit for Patterson in the coming weeks as fans may love to see him get an opportunity elsewhere. If there is a National League club, or perhaps even a team in step two of non-league, in need of a goalkeeper to come in and be their number one, it could be beneficial to send the 21-year-old stopper there.

With Hoffmann coming in to potentially be the number one goalkeeper, as Smith explained, Patterson could end up as the third choice behind him and Lee Burge. This means that the chances of him getting minutes in League One or cup competitions would be limited, provided Hoffmann and Burge stay fit and available.

Therefore, it could be in the best interests of his development to send him out to play regular senior football. At the age of 21, there is no point in him being around the club and not playing any first team games, which is why a loan move could be best for his growth. He would be able to improve as a goalkeeper by playing senior competitive games, which would give him an experience that he will not get in training.

Johnson must allow him to go and get the minutes he needs, even if it is only a short-term deal until January. They could then reevaluate his position in the winter window, with Hoffmann’s and Burge’s performances to take into consideration and the possibility of then being able to get Patterson a loan to League One or League Two.

Fans would love it as it offers Patterson the chance to go out and prove that he is worth using in the first team at the Stadium of Light. Whilst watching either Hoffmann or Burge as their number one, supporters could keep tabs on the 21-year-old in non-league and enjoy seeing him hopefully progress as a goalkeeper and hone his skills with regular on-field minutes.

AND in other news, Phil Smith drops claim on £1.6m-rated “top prospect” which will excite Sunderland fans…

West Ham United have been handed a massive boost ahead of their return to Premier League action after the international break…

What’s the latest?

Michail Antonio was called up to the Jamaica national side for the very first time this week and had been set to miss some of the Irons’ matches later this month.

However, The Daily Mail report that he will only play for the country once during this coming week, meaning he will not have to quarantine and miss crucial fixtures against Manchester United, Southampton as well as their first Europa League group stage match.

The 31-year-old will not fly out for Jamaica’s World Cup qualifiers against Mexico and Costa Rica and will just be made available for their home game against Panama this Sunday.

Big boost

Antonio has started the 2021/22 season on fire.

Indeed, he currently sits top of the goalscoring charts across the entire division on four goals, whilst also providing three assists, too. He also has the best minutes-per-goal ratio in the top-flight, having managed to find the net every 67 minutes so far this campaign.

The Hammers favourite also ended last season as their top joint-goalscorer with ten goals, despite only starting 24 of their 38 league games. And this highlights two crucial things.

Firstly, Antonio is absolutely imperative to David Moyes’ success this season. When he does play, he’s a regular source of goals and a very big nuisance against many an opposition defence.

Secondly, he’s been rather injury-prone throughout his time at the London Stadium. He has not started more than 24 matches in the league in any of the last four seasons.

So not only will Antonio be available for the Premier League’s return as he will not have to quarantine, but he will also lessen the risk of picking up a knock or something much more severe because he’s playing once, rather than three times this week.

The east Londoners are currently unbeaten from their first three matches and face Southampton on their return on September 11th. Then, there’s the small matter of Dinamo Zagreb and a Manchester United side that could contain Cristiano Ronaldo, alongside Raphael Varane and co, too.

Therefore, this latest update should leave much of the Irons faithful absolutely buzzing heading into next week. They will look a much stronger side with him in, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Moyes dropped huge West Ham summer transfer howler over “phenomenal” 30-cap marksman…

Liverpool could secure their ideal heir to departed forward Xherdan Shaqiri after being linked with a move for Real Madrid ace Marco Asensio.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet TodoFichajes, the Reds are preparing a bid for the versatile 25-year-old as manager Jurgen Klopp continues to search for reinforcements for his first-team squad.

The report states that: “The Mallorcan still does not have a leading role in Ancelotti’s plans, and he has been looking for a way out to relaunch his career for a long time,” with Liverpool reportedly plotting a £30.1 million move for Asensio.

Heir to Xherdan Shaqiri

Asensio made a big impact when he first arrived in Madrid following his move from boyhood club Mallorca, establishing himself as one of Europe’s most promising young talents with a string of impressive performances.

His outstanding displays caught the eye of several onlookers, including Madrid legend Guti, who praised his compatriot’s mindset.

“Asensio is a lot better player than I was. He has an unlimited ceiling, his head is very well furnished, and will depend on what he wants to do in the world of football. The future is in his feet,” said Guti.

A ruptured cruciate ligament in 2020 stunted the midfielder’s progress, though, limiting him to just 10 appearances throughout the 2019/20 campaign.

Nevertheless, he made a solid return to action last term, scoring seven goals and providing two assists in 48 appearances, and at just 25, he still has plenty of time to fulfil his potential.

New Madrid boss Ancelotti doesn’t appear to have a big role for Asensio at the Bernabeu, however. He’s played just 57 minutes of La Liga football in the opening weeks of the campaign, leading to speculation that an imminent exit could be on the cards.

And Klopp may view the Spain international as the ideal replacement for Shaqiri. The diminutive forward departed Anfield after three frustrating years this summer, joining Ligue 1 outfit Lyon in a £9.5m move.

His exit has left Liverpool a little lightweight in the forward areas, though, and with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah set to miss a significant chunk of the campaign due to the African Cup of Nations, further additions are likely to be required.

A move for Asensio, therefore, makes sense for multiple reasons, and Klopp may be tempted to strike as soon as January in order to provide cover for his forward line.

And, in other news…Liverpool could finally replace Coutinho with move for smart £36m-rated magician