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Journalist Ryan Taylor has said that Aston Villa are ‘prioritising other areas’ above centre-back amid links to Burnley’s Nathan Collins. 

The lowdown

talkSPORT’s Alex Crook reported midway through June that Villa are one of the Premier League clubs ‘monitoring’ the Republic of Ireland international. Burnley paid £12.6million to sign Collins from Stoke City last summer, but they then went on to suffer relegation to the Championship.

Villa have already signed one centre-half this summer, bringing in Diego Carlos from Sevilla for a fee of £26m. They’ve also sealed permanent deals for Philippe Coutinho (£17m), Robin Olsen (£3m) and Boubacar Kamara (free transfer).

The latter is predominantly a defensive midfielder but he can also operate as a centre-back.

The latest

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Taylor suggested that Gerrard had more pressing concerns to address at this moment in time.

However, he doesn’t rule out Collins getting a move to Villa, or indeed another of his top-flight suitors.

The journalist claimed: “I think Villa are prioritising other areas. But I do think there’s Premier League interest in Collins, who finished the season really strongly.”

The verdict

What are the current priorities for Gerrard and Villa?

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans reported prior to the capture of Carlos that the 42-year-old wanted a centre-back, a left-back and potentially another forward.

The Villa boss secured reinforcements in the heart of defence, and perhaps any further investment in that area will depend upon players leaving.

Still, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see Collins playing Premier League football once again next season.

This is someone who could go on to become a ‘top, top player’, in the words of Ireland under-21 coach Jim Crawford, who added that the 21-year-old already shown himself to be a ‘leader’.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are considering a bid for a low-cost midfield target this summer.

What’s the word?

That is according to a report by Portuguese publication Jornal de Noticias (via Sport Witness), who claim that Bruno Lage’s side could well be on the hunt for lower-cost signings amidst reports that the Molineux side “need to bring in funds” before they can make an official offer for Matheus Nunes.

Should Lage’s side’s reported struggle for funds this summer, Vitoria de Guimaraes’ 22-year-old midfielder Andre Almeida has reemerged as a potential target with the report stating that the Wolves boss and Fosun have “taken an interest.”

Almeida is valued between €4m (£3.4m) and €6m (£5m).

The new Moutinho

The “intriguing” Almeida – as dubbed by Zach Lowy – could quickly be integrated within the Old Gold first team having featured 31 times for the Liga Portugal side in 2021/22.

His average of 2.4 successful dribbles per 90 is better than Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves’ averages combined – with the Wolves pairs’ 0.5 and 0.9 respective averages totalling 1.4 successful dribbles per game. Almeida’s returns are actually around that of a winger, with his average last term also beating the likes of Daniel Podence, who registered 2.1 per fixture.

Lage’s side lack a progressive central option that can consistently progress the ball. Almeida would allow them to be more direct in the attacking transition and allow them to build on the measly total of 41 big chances created – a metric that ranked the Portuguese manager’s outfit as the fourth-worst in the Premier League last season.

His consistency as a main-stay in the heart of the engine room could see him become a Moutinho-like presence and would not only offer Lage a method of future-proofing his side but would also act as an instant method of bolstering competition for first-team places in Wolves 2022/23 campaign.

AND in other news: Lage now heading for big Wolves transfer disaster on “unplayable” £18m-rated “machine” 

Sky Sports pundit Kevin Campbell believes Liverpool defender Joe Gomez should leave the club this summer if the right opportunity comes in.

The Lowdown: Fallen out of favour

The 25-year-old has enjoyed a hugely successful seven-year spell in the Premier League, having first joined the Reds from Charlton back in 2015.

However, the centre-back has recently fallen out of favour under Jurgen Klopp, with the likes of Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate leapfrogging his place in the German’s pecking order.

Even though the 6 foot 1 powerhouse still has two years remaining on his contract at Anfield, The Mirror‘s Simon Mullock revealed just last week that he has become frustrated at a lack of game time, leaving his future on Merseyside up in the air.

The Latest: Campbell reacts

Reacting to the news from Mullock in a chat with Football Insider, Campbell said: “I think he will look to leave if a good offer comes in.

“The fact of the matter is, he is not playing enough football.

“It is one thing being first reserve but it is another when you are third or fourth choice. He is probably the fourth choice centre-half.

“Liverpool have also signed another right-back as well. The writing is on the wall as far as I’m concerned.

“If he has any ambition of getting to the World Cup, he needs to leave. He needs to be playing.

“The key is to go to a club where he will play regularly. Hopefully a deal can be done and he can play football. There is nothing better than playing.”

The Verdict: Regular minutes needed

When Gomez hasn’t been used in his natural position in the Liverpool starting XI, Klopp has typically placed him as cover at right-back, but with the new arrival of Calvin Ramsay as a backup option to Trent Alexander-Arnold, he’s now got even less of a chance of nailing down regular minutes.

Last season, the 11-cap international only made four top-flight starts for the Reds, so it’s no wonder that he might want to look elsewhere in a bid to find some much-needed game time.

As Campbell said, if Gomez has any hopes of regaining a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad ahead of the World Cup later this year, then making the move away from Liverpool would be the best option for his career at this moment in time.

Aston Villa have been handed a boost by the admission of one of their reported transfer targets.

What’s the word?

As per a report from Birmingham Mail, Villa-linked Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has become a potential option, with him reportedly expressing his desperation to leave Anfield due to annoyance over a lack of game-time.

It is said that the former Arsenal midfielder “could be tempted” to work under Gerrard after his previous comment mentioning the Villa boss was hurled back into the spotlight amidst the 28-year-old’s links with the Midlands club.

The same report mentioned that, in 2017, Oxlade-Chamberlain said: “Playing for a team like Arsenal, it ends up being more of a right-wing job. I get the ball from deeper and the plays into my hands more. At the end of the day, it’s given me minutes and I’m not one to complain.

“But, the centre-mid role… I’ve always wanted to be Steven Gerrard, so I’ve still got a hope of that.”

Gerrard 2.0

Indeed, the £14.4m-rated Oxlade-Chamberlain’s versatility in itself is a phenomenal asset to have among the team, something that Villa already have to some degree in 36-year-old Ashley Young.

However, whilst the Liverpool midfielder does indeed offer versatility in the engine room, he has still struggled for game-time, playing just 787 minutes from 17 appearances in the Premier League last term.

Twelve of those appearances have seen him function as a central midfielder, but he is still nowhere near a nailed-on option in the middle of the park.

Turning 29 in August, it is high-time that the 35-cap England international achieved regular first-team status in a progressive club where he could make his way into the first team as a central midfielder.

Despite a lack of game-time, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s numbers are that of a technician and suggest that he would be an excellent asset for Gerrard, having taken a leaf out of the Villa manager’s book with his balanced playing style.

Over the past year, the 28-year-old has averaged 2.57 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes whilst still remaining defensively aware, as evidenced by 6.96 successful pressures and 2.4 tackles per 90 minutes.

His balanced style and all-round astuteness could make him a great option in a position that the Villa manager knows like the back of his hand from his distinguished playing career.

On the above evidence, Villa fans would surely love to have such a well-rounded midfielder like Oxlade-Chamberlain at the club under the tutelage of one of the Premier League’s finest exponents of the position.

In other news: Lange plotting Villa bid for “exquisite” 34-goal sensation, imagine him and Coutinho 

Aston Villa might already boast one of the top young right-backs in the Premier League in Matty Cash, but Steven Gerrard may soon have competition for the Poland international in Kaine Kesler-Hayden.

The 19-year-old earned rave reviews on loan with Swindon Town and MK Dons last season and looks to have a big future at Villa, so fans might not have to wait too long until they see him starting in the first-team.

The academy graduate did feature in the infamous 4-1 FA Cup defeat against Liverpool in January 2021, when the pandemic forced the Villans to play an academy side, but the right-back may soon find himself lining up alongside the likes of Philippe Coutinho.

Last season saw him sent to Swindon in League Two for the first half of the campaign, where he made 21 appearances, contributing one goal and two assists, before those at Villa decided he needed to test himself at a higher level.

He was sent to League One promotion hopefuls MK Dons, helping Liam Manning’s side to a playoff spot with one goal and one assist in 17 appearances.

During his time with the Robins, local reporter Johnny Leighfield sang his praises, saying:

“He’s just a cut above. He’s got a brilliant turn of pace and a player who likes to do his damage up the other end of the pitch.

“He’s got everything about him to play either Championship or Premier League football regularly.”

It would not be a surprise to see the teenage defender earn a Championship loan next season, although Gerrard might be keen to assess the youngster in pre-season to see if he could compete with Cash for a starting spot first.

Kesler-Hayden may struggle to usurp the Polish full-back, however, as he was one of the standout performers for Villa last season, averaging a strong 6.91 rating from WhoScored after appearing in every Premier League fixture, contributing four goals and five assists.

The former Nottingham Forest man may only be 24, but Villa fans can be safe in the knowledge that they have Kesler-Hayden coming through as a potential replacement for Cash in the future.

And, in other news… Gerrard now set for his first summer transfer disaster, AVFC supporters will be fuming – opinion