Arsenal anger Villa with Watkins bid

Aston Villa officials were upset with Arsenal late on Wednesday when the Gunners made a move to sign striker Ollie Watkins prior to Villa’s Champions League match at home to Celtic. Villa said the move was a distraction for Watkins and the timing was unfair. In the event Villa turned down the £60million offer and […]

Aston Villa officials were upset with Arsenal late on Wednesday when the Gunners made a move to sign striker Ollie Watkins prior to Villa’s Champions League match at home to Celtic. Villa said the move was a distraction for Watkins and the timing was unfair. In the event Villa turned down the £60million offer and Watkins scored in their 4-2 victory but he also missed a penalty.

Villa rejected the bid but my sources have revealed that Arsenal could return with an increased offer before the Monday transfer deadline.

Mikel Arteta needs to strengthen his frontline now that Gabriel Jesus has suffered another injury and his options for fielding a full strength forward line are limited.

 

Ange Postecoglou pleads that “things will get better”

Last weekend I wrote “Postecoglou has to find answers.” In the local Tottenham/Fulham London derby he didn’t find any of those answers and lost 2-1 in front of 50,000 angry supporters. The fact is that Ange Postecoglou is now teetering on the brink of getting sacked and he admits that he could be out of a job by the time you read this column. He said, “Where we are in the league is nowhere good enough. That is on me and my coaching.”

Many supporters have also turned on club chairman Daniel Levy and large areas of supporters at the weekend continually chanted, “We want Levy out.” A banner held aloft in the South Stand read “24 years, 16 managers, 1 trophy. TIME FOR CHANGE.” And don’t forget Harry Kane left because he didn’t win anything with Tottenham.

The embarrassed Tottenham players were whistled and booed as the game ended and they quickly disappeared down the tunnel.

Spurs have now won only 23 points in 24 games and lost the last seven games which is their worst spell for 17 years.

Postecoglou proclaimed that things would get better when Mickey van de Ven and Cristian Romero returned from injury but supporters are going to need a lot of convincing. He pointed out that he is having to pick teams without 10 first-team players and against the Foxes James Maddison was injured.

 

Gravenberch showing his value to Liverpool

There was a time not long ago when Ryan Gravenberch had to wait for the fourth official’s neon lit board to display No38 before he could join in a Liverpool game from the bench. Times have certainly changed and his name is one of the first on Arne Slot’s team sheet.

Virgil van Dijk said this week that Ryan has emerged as one of the team’s most important players and the defensive midfield have come to rely on his attacking style. Up to the moment he stepped onto the Anfield grass only 16 European outfield players had registered more minutes of play than this likeable young man. With his never say die energy, discipline, tactical awareness, dribbling ability and passing range, he has become a player the coach protects for the big important games. I will let his Dutch compatriot and teammate Van Dijk continue the story: “Last year Ryan didn’t play so much. But we all saw his quality. For him it was definitely key to keep his head down and work his socks off. This year, he has got the trust and the confidence. He can show his quality week in, week out and every few days. I am very impressed with him. Not only on the pitch, but outside the pitch as well. He is still a young boy but his is growing into a man. The way you approach the game on and off the pitch is key to be a world-class player. The consistency he is showing, he is a world-class player. And he can only get better.”

 

Hojlund accused of not performing

Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund is at the centre of a row accusing him of not pulling his weight and Joshua Zirkzee deserves to start in his place. He was criticised for giving the ball away too often against Fulham and engaging opponents physically instead of using his ability to beat defenders and win the ball. Comments pointed the finger at Hojlund for not holding up the ball and allowing other attackers to get involved with many promising goal opportunities ending up with no result. Hojlund has scored a disappointing seven goals in

28 appearances and the Danish striker has failed to find the net in his last 11 matches.

 

The worst start ever for a debut player?

Manchester City players all gathered round Abdukodir Khusanov in the dressing room after his absolute nightmare start at the Etihad Stadium against Chelsea which marked his debut for the club. They could only give him smiles, hugs and anything to make him feel better because the 20 year-old from Uzbekistan had only just arrived from French club Lens. Taking Kyle Walker’s place would always prove to be a challenge but after he tried to head a difficult ball back to goalkeeper Ederson the ball was put directly into the path of the oncoming Nicolas Jackson who squared it to Noni Madueke and it was 1-0 to Chelsea.

Khusanov looked dejected, lacked confidence and after such a nightmare start he found it difficult to make a decent pass and was replaced after only 52 minutes.

 

Mings hit by injury again

Unai Emery has a big problem with his defence. Aston Villa club captain Tyrone Mings, one of the unluckiest players in the PL, broke down in tears after suffering yet another horror knee injury against West Ham. With only half an hour of the match gone, Mings was in a tackle with Mohammed Kudus and fell clutching his knee and feared it was a repeat of the ACL problem which kept him sidelined for a year. Fortunately, he returned from the dressing room some time later and was smiling having been convinced by the medical staff in attendance that it was not as serious as he thought. Emery said at the end of the match, “The first test we carried out suggests it is not really a bad injury.”

Villa also have Pau Torres injured and as yet they haven’t replaced Diego Carlos . Unai Emery said, “We have been playing the last month with just two centre-backs – Tyrone and Ezri Konsa.”

 

United get huge boost for new Old Trafford

Following my report to you last week that Manchester United intended to increase their crowd capacity either by building a new stadium or regenerating Old Trafford, the club have received a huge boost in their plans. The UK government and particularly the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, has said they will champion the regeneration project because it will include new housing, commercial projects and open spaces for the public to enjoy. A task force has been set up to explore the best options and include ex-player and pundit Gary Neville, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Britain’s Olympic champion Lord Coe.