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Aston Villa manager Dean Smith must urge the club to make a summer transfer move for David Brooks, amid Lee Hendrie’s verdict on the Bournemouth star.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent months have suggested that the Villa boss is keen on landing the Wales international and offering him a return back to Premier League football following the Cherries’ relegation last season.

Former Villa ace Hendrie has now revealed that he’s a “big fan” of the versatile midfielder, and insisted that the 23-year-old could be a great player for Smith.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “I’m a big fan of David Brooks. I’ve seen a fair bit of him this season and he’s an absolute talent, he really is. He’s a young man with bags of ability and I think if he comes into Villa, I think he’d be a great addition.

“He reminds me of Jack (Grealish). He’s very slight, he’s very mobile and, again, he’s another player that could set the Prem on fire if he’s given a chance.”

Get it done

In the £55,000-a-week earning Brooks, Smith would be getting someone who is able to play both in the number ten role and out wide, with the Welshman’s low centre of gravity and quick turn of pace something to really change the game – his former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe hailed him as someone who “turns well with the ball” and has “creative flair”.

This season has seen him bag four goals and provide a further five assists, and it’s no wonder that Chris Wilder, his former manager at Sheffield United, declared him a “match-winner” and someone he wanted to bring back in October last year.

Brooks could offer Villa that extra bit of dynamism going forward, with Howe also hailing his “creative flair” and “non-stop energy”.

It’s a move that Villa should be targeting this summer, with Hendrie’s glowing verdict another reason why the Midlands club would be foolish to pass him up.

Meanwhile, Gregg Evans has delivered a major transfer update on Aston Villa…

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes Celtic will need to sack the Head of Football Operations Nick Hammond to recruit a Director of Football.

Hammond out?

Reports back in January suggested that the transfer chief’s position is on the line as huge changes are due to take place next summer.

Neil Lennon resigned as manager after the Hoops fell further behind arch-rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership table, with any hopes of winning 10-in-a-row almost certainly gone.

Hammond brought in Albian Ajeti, Vasilis Barkas and Shane Duffy on loan last summer – all of which have been heavily criticised during their stay in Glasgow after a series of abject performances.

Speaking with Football Insider, Maguire insists that Hammond needs to step aside to implement the changes that the Hoops want.

“I think there would be issues because you’d end up with duplication of responsibilities,”

“That doesn’t necessarily sound good because you’ve got two people thinking they should each be making a decision.

“Equally, there will be some areas that they want the other person to take care of.

“So you either expand his role so he becomes director of football or I’m not quite sure what the alternative would be.

“Too many chefs spoil the broth and you can have too many people at one level in an organisation.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

Hammond’s exit is something that large segments of the Parkhead faithful will welcome, especially if it results in the implementation of a Director of Football at the club.

There is no getting away from the fact the recruitment during the 2020/21 campaign has been nowhere near good enough – and has played a huge part in the Bhoys’ failures domestically.

Time will tell whether Hammond will be released by the club or be merged into the new role to take Celtic forward.

In other news, More upheaval at Celtic as fresh sacking claim emerges behind-the-scenes.

Manchester City face Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League on Tuesday night and Pep Guardiola’s side will be confident of securing progression to the quarter-finals.

The Citizens hold a 2-0 advantage over Marco Rose’s side after goals from Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus secured the win for City in the first leg.

There will be no home advantage for City, however, as they return to the Puskas Arena in Budapest for Tuesday’s game, due to the current travel restrictions in the UK.

Guardiola made plenty of changes to his side for the trip to Craven Cottage at the weekend and came away with an impressive 3-0 win, so it will be interesting to see if key players return against Monchengladbach, or whether he sticks with the more rarely-seen men who did well last time out.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Guardiola to line his side up on Tuesday, with six changes from the team that started against Fulham…

Ederson unsurprisingly keeps his place in between the sticks as Monchengladbach still possess a lot of attacking threat, so should be taken seriously.

There are two changes in defence, as Oleksandr Zinchenko comes back in at left-back after a fairly disappointing cameo performance from Benjamin Mendy against Fulham, whilst Kyle Walker is a more than adequate replacement for Joao Cancelo at right-back, with City switching back to the tried and tested 4-2-3-1.

Ilkay Gundogan comes in for the “incredible” Bernardo Silva to partner Rodri in the centre of midfield, although it would not be a surprise to see Fernandinho come on for one of that duo if City are comfortable on Tuesday.

There are three changes in attack, as Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling all return to the side, and they support Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian back in a more familiar striker role despite his impressive performance as a winger against Fulham.

And, in other news… Bye-bye Aguero: City can reach a new level under Pep by signing £99m-rated “beast”

Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Bayern Munich wonderkid Jamal Musiala and if he were to join the Reds, he could overtake Harvey Elliott as the brightest prospect at the Merseyside club.

Recent reports have suggested that Liverpool, as well as both Manchester clubs, are keen on signing the 17-year-old.

The former Chelsea youngster has enjoyed a sensational rise so far this season and has regularly appeared for Hans Dieter-Flick’s side, despite being so young.

In 13 Bundesliga appearances this season, the teenager has impressively contributed three goals, which has seen his Transfermarkt value soar to £9 million.

However, he is only contracted with Die Roten until 2022 and recent reports have suggested that contract talks with the club are not going well, with Musiala wanting as much as £100k per week.

It is a possibility, therefore, that Liverpool’s reported interest is simply Musiala’s agent’s way of encouraging Bayern Munich to give him what he wants, but if the Reds are interested, they should definitely try and sign the 17-year-old, as he looks destined for a great future in the game.

In fact, it could be argued that he would be even more of a prospect than Harvey Elliott, who is impressing on loan with Blackburn Rovers in the Championship.

Since joining Tony Mowbray’s side in the second tier, the 17-year-old has contributed four goals and seven assists in 19 appearances, so certainly looks set for a bright future with the Reds.

With the greatest respect to Blackburn, they are not of the same level as the current European champions, so the fact that Musiala is establishing himself there is arguably more impressive than Elliott’s feats.

Elliott has averaged 0.23 goals per 90 minutes in the Championship, compared to Musiala’s impressive 0.75 goals per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga.

He also scores higher than the Liverpool man when it comes to pass completion, having registered an 86% success rate compared to the 80% Elliott registered in the Premier League last season.

Therefore, the fact that Musiala is outscoring Elliott despite playing fewer minutes at a higher standard suggests that he is currently a better option than Elliott, and could, therefore, be a superb addition to Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

The 17-year-old’s former coach Andrew Martin was full of praise for Musiala after his goal against Schalke earlier this season, saying:

“Technically outstanding, very skillful, and a player who can score all types of goals, inside and outside the box. And he’s a great dribbler and likes to take players on, as he did against Schalke. He later became a No.10 and has become as much of a creator as a goalscorer.”

It seems as if Musiala is destined for a big future in the game, and Liverpool could be the ones to benefit from his current contract stalemate, so Michael Edwards should swoop for the winger.

And, in other news… “Of course he would” – Exclusive: Pundit claims PL beast would love to join LFC

Reports by 90min earlier this week claimed Newcastle United are weighing up a move to sign free-agent Ahmed Musa, but Steve Bruce would be barking up the wrong tree by taking a punt on the former Leicester City forward.

It is thought the Magpies are mulling over a handful of out-of-contract attackers who can offer additional depth after Callum Wilson was ruled out for up to two months with a deep hamstring tear, including ex-Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge.

The blow has deprived Bruce of his top-scorer and lead playmaker, with Wilson offering 10 goals and five assists in 21 games since joining the Magpies in a £20m transfer from AFC Bournemouth following their relegation to the Championship.

Musa has been without a club since leaving Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr in October, where he scored 11 goals in 57 games during a two-year stint following the curtain falling on an underwhelming time at Leicester.

The former Nigeria international became the Foxes club-record signing when acquired for £16m in 2016 and hit the ground running with goals against Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur, yet those two strikes proved his only Premier League efforts in 21 career appearances.

Nonetheless, he is now said to be a potential target for Newcastle plus striker hungry West Ham and Southampton, after West Bromwich Albion passed on a potential deal to sign the 28-year-old.

Musa had been training with Sam Allardyce’s relegation-threatened Baggies in a bid to prove his fitness as he eagerly strives for another chance to prove himself in the English top-flight.

However, The Hawthorns outfit felt they already had stronger options in Musa’s preferred wide role, per the Express and Star, with six players on the books able to occupy a spot on the wing while Karlan Grant and Callum Wilson can also play as a centre-forward.

Newcastle should now follow the path taken by West Brom and pass on the chance to sign Musa, as the £5.5m-rated free-agent would not be expected to offer anything at St. James’ Park that Bruce cannot dig out of those already on Tyneside.

The Foxes flop was given plenty of opportunities to find the back of the net while at the King Power Stadium, but failed to turn the ball home and has now been passed on by Allardyce’s side despite having the third-worst goalscoring record in the Premier League this season.

If Musa is also eying a return to English football to play on the wing, Bruce would not be solving the issue Wilson’s injury has created by acquiring the free-agent forward, and instead only adding to his myriad of options in Allan Saint-Maximin, Ryan Fraser, Jacob Murphy, Matt Ritchie and if needs be Miguel Almiron and Joelinton.

Bruce certainly needs to find ways of unlocking goals in his side with alternative strikers Joelinton, Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle only scoring once each in the league this term, but Musa proving a better option would remain to be seen.

AND in other news, Newcastle have been offered a free-agent boasting 77 career goals in the Premier League…

Southampton kicked off 2021 in the ideal style as they produced a superb display to beat champions Liverpool 1-0 at St Mary’s.

An early goal from Danny Ings proved enough to defeat Jurgen Klopp’s side, although a lot of credit has to go to the Saints defence, as they worked tirelessly to keep out seemingly relentless Liverpool attacks in the second half.

Whilst Ings will get a lot of the credit for his goal, and Ibrahima Diallo will claim a lot of plaudits for his performance in midfield, it was perhaps the performance of Kyle Walker-Peters that stood out the most.

As per SofaScore, the former Tottenham Hotspur ace picked up a 7.4 rating for his display, with only Danny Ings, Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek rated higher of the Southampton players.

The right-back was always likely to be in for a tough game up against former Southampton man Sadio Mane on the left-wing but he was able to shackle the Senegalese international for much of the game, helping to limit the away side to just one shot on target during the 90 minutes.

During the game, the 23-year-old defender would win 11 out of his 16 duels, also making six tackles and seven clearances, which summed up the sort of battling displays he has consistently produced since joining on a permanent deal during the summer.

Despite the hosts struggling to keep hold of the ball in the second period, Walker-Peters was still fairly accurate with his passing, as he lost possession on just 12 occasions, whilst he also registered a solid 78% pass accuracy.

On what was something of a nightmare evening for his counter-part Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Southampton right-back has perhaps given Gareth Southgate something to think about before he names his next England squad.

Hampshire Live certainly seem to agree that Walker-Peters was superb on Monday night, rating him 8/10, although they ranked Diallo a 9/10 for his excellent display.

Perhaps Saints fans have simply been accustomed to Walker-Peters’ superb displays of late, as Hasenhuttl’s side have now kept eight clean sheets in the top-flight this season, which is the joint-most in the division and is testament to the influence the right-back is having in this Southampton side.

And, in other news, Hasenhuttl can sign his Redmond successor in 24 y/o “big talent”; he won’t cost Semmens a penny…

Leeds United have been heavily linked to Championship starlet Louie Sibley going all the way back to October, and former Premier League star Rob Lee has given his verdict on whether this would be a good transfer.

Lee’s thoughts on Sibley

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern about Derby County’s Sibley, Lee said: “Yeah, he’s a good young player. Would he go straight into their team? I’m not sure.

“They’ve got certain way of playing, and if they’re going to buy someone they need someone who’s going to go straight in, bang.

“But it would be a good signing for easing his way in because he’s a good young player.”

One for the future

Derby U23s coach Pat Lyons piled the praise on Sibley after he scored a hat-trick for the U23s against Leeds’ youngsters last season. He said: “I’m delighted for him to get the hat-trick. He was outstanding all night. His driving with the ball is unbelievable, the way he goes past players and the way he makes things happen.”

The Rams starlet looks like he has the quality to succeed and he has taken these “outstanding” performances from youth level to first team football, as he shone in the FA Cup against Manchester United and also scored a hat-trick against Millwall.

He is just 19 years-old, and the fact that Leeds have been linked suggests that the Yorkshire side feel he has the potential to succeed at a higher level in the future. The midfielder has shown some great attacking intent in his 16 appearances this season (only five were starts) and the fact he is fouled 1.3 times a game suggests that defences find it very tricky to get a hold of him fairly.

It is hard to disagree with Lee’s comments as Sibley looks to be a good young player with lots of potential, but it might take him a bit of time to cement his place into a Marcelo Bielsa side. He would however add some good depth and become a valuable asset with an eye to the future.

In other news, find out whose return from injury has been deemed ‘massive’ here!

Jose Mourinho is now starting to prove exactly why Daniel Levy brought him in as the new head coach. After some hiccups last season which saw Spurs lose out on Champions League football, the three-time Premier League winner is making amends.

The Lilywhites have lost just one of their nine games played so far, winning six and drawing the remaining two. Their task will be to thwart Mourinho’s former side Chelsea, which will give them a huge boost in their title run if they can get the job done.

The Portuguese boss will fancy his side to come away with the spoils, especially after his recent masterplan involving Harry Kane.

Mourinho has unearthed a new Harry Kane

The England captain is globally known for his neat finishing and unstoppable threat in front of goal. Many have lauded him as the perfect example of a ‘complete striker’. Now, Mourinho is putting his skills to the test by giving him a more free-roaming role in the Tottenham squad.

Kane has been dropping deep and operating as more of a No.10 recently, which has been working wonders for Tottenham so far. Paul Merson was recently wowed by his performance and admitted that he was starting to do things that Manchester City playmaker Kevin de Bruyne does on the daily.

“I just struggle with words to describe him,” he told Sky Sports. “He is not far off the best player in the world.”

Indeed, Kane boasts 13 goals and 11 assists across all competitions so far this season and has contributed to 16 goals in his last nine appearances in the Premier League (via Transfermarkt).

His new role has been a masterstroke from Mourinho, who is getting results by playing Kane in the same manner that Jurgen Klopp plays Roberto Firmino. The Brazilian at Anfield is a key member of the Liverpool squad, but is struggling to reflect his hard work in his numbers.

Firmino finished last season with nine goals and eight assists and currently has just two goals and two assists to his name this term. Whilst he works well in Liverpool’s system, he isn’t bringing in numbers anywhere near Kane, which indicates that perhaps Mourinho has a secret Klopp doesn’t know about.

In other news, Mourinho must unleash this Spurs player vs Chelsea…

Marcel Brands has landed a huge break in his bid to finally rid Everton of Yannick Bolasie with Middlesbrough reportedly reigniting their drive to sign the unwanted winger.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, Neil Warnock’s Boro are putting plans in place to bring Bolasie to the Riverside Stadium in January having failed to get a deal over the line this summer.

Everton were believed to have agreed on terms with the Championship side ahead of the window slamming shut, but saw the move collapse on Deadline Day as the paperwork needed to register the DR Congo international was not processed in time.

Warnock is a big admirer of Bolasie’s talents following their time together at Crystal Palace and has stated previously a determination to reunite with the forward in January, feeling the 31-year-old is the type of player who can make a difference in their push for promotion.

Boro sit six-points outside the Play-Off positions after the opening 17 games of the campaign thanks to one of the second-tier’s most evenly-balanced records, featuring six wins, six draws and five defeats, but a tame offence with just 16 goals scored thus far.

Bolasie has not featured in any competition this season after Carlo Ancelotti informed Everton’s £25million signing that he was surplus to requirements at Goodison Park upon returning from a season-long loan with Liga NOS powerhouse Sporting CP.

Millions on millions wasted

Middlesbrough reigniting their efforts to end Bolasie’s Goodison Park nightmare is a huge break for Everton’s Director of Football Brands, who has shouldered the burden of removing Steve Walsh’s disastrous signing since arriving on Merseyside in 2018.

Bolasie has been completely frozen out at Everton since the appointment of Ancelotti, but his horrors date back further with a serious knee injury in December 2016 – just months after his arrival – the start of what has proven to be a long road to nowhere.

The blow brought short a campaign of little promise with four assists and one goal in 13 Premier League appearances, and forced Bolasie to miss more than a year out before offering one goal and no assists in 16 games under Sam Allardyce upon his return.

Bolasie’s seven-minute run out in Everton’s 3-1 loss to West Ham United on the final day of the 2017/18 season remains his last for the club and with his £75,000-per-week contract due to expire next summer, Brands must do all he can to ensure the Lyon-born forward’s record scratches to its final halt this winter.

Everton have already wasted millions on millions through Ronald Koeman’s decision to sign Bolasie and Walsh’s call to pay £25m, as his total salary to date has pushed the Blues’ outlay to £41.87m and will only continue to climb until he says his last goodbyes.

AND in other news, Everton already have their answer to a 48-goal target “every coach wants”.

Leeds United are never far from a bit of drama, and despite a transfer window that seemed to mostly go swimmingly, the Whites still managed to find time for a gripping transfer saga that all went wrong.

Of course, we’re talking about the failed signing of Michael Cuisance.

The French midfielder seemed set to come to Elland Road on a permanent deal, but complications with his medical saw the deal fall apart at the 11th hour.

Unfortunately, Leeds won’t get the chance to revisit this one in January as he’s already found himself a new club, joining Marseille on loan, with the French club holding the option to buy him.

To make matters even worse, he’s been solid since joining the French outfit.

The 21-year-old may not have any goals or assists to his name as of yet, but he has been brilliant in a defensive sense, something his Leeds counterpart Mateusz Klich has struggled with.

We’ve covered Klich’s defensive problems in some depth before, but to cut a long story short, his main issue is that he’s dribbled past far too often.

Indeed, the Pole is dribbled past 2.7 times per game, making him the second-most dribbled past player in the division, but while Klich is struggling in that area, Cuisance is thriving.

It’s rare to see Cuisance taken on, with the Frenchman being dribbled past just once per game, and it’s not as if he’s one to shy away from putting a foot in either, making three tackles per game this season.

It has to sting to see Cuisance thriving where Klich is coming up short.

There was plenty of disappointment for everyone associated with the club when the initial deal fell through, perfectly highlighted by Noel Whelan’s comments at the time:

“Disappointment because I think everyone was getting quite excited, 21-years-old from Bayern Munich, big prospect so on that front, very disappointing. It is a setback, absolutely.”

Leeds fans can only be left wondering what could have been after missing out on their man.