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Aston Villa revealed on Tuesday that additional tickets for the home game against Manchester United next month are now on sale, and a number of Villa fans were quick to give their thoughts to the news on social media.

Villa’s clash with Burnley on Saturday was postponed just a couple of hours before the scheduled kick-off time due to an ongoing viral outbreak at Bodymoor Heath. The Premier League are set to continue playing through the festive period, though, after deciding against a circuit breaker on Monday.

Fans watching matches live at the stadium now need to provide NHS certification of either a double vaccination or a negative test prior to attending.

Villa shared details of tickets for the match against Manchester United on January 15, which comes just a few days after the clubs’ FA Cup third round clash at Old Trafford. Prices start at £29.50 for adults and go up to £55, with all the information available to view here.

Villa fans react

Here is what these Villa fans had to say in reply to the club’s official Twitter post regarding the ticket arrangements, with one labelling the prices as ‘absurd’ and others questioning why they are advertising it given the distinct possibility of the match being either postponed or playing behind closed doors.

“This is brave”

Credit: @DaleAC93

“Those prices are absurd”

Credit: @_Whittall

“Why? Someone explain, I’m confused lol”

Credit: @JoesVillaArmy

“Announcement on playing Boxing Day yet or not?? Some of us have lives to organise rather than getting cancelled 2 hours before due to depleted squad..”

Credit: @JohnGallett

“Why do this when it’s probably going to be behind closed doors?”

Credit: @k2_villa

“Lockdown by then”

Credit: @TSJ671

In other news: ‘Is he really’ – Many Villa fans erupt as journalist says £27k-p/w ‘carthorse’ may join Gerrard

Nuno Espirito Santo is closing in on being appointed as Tottenham Hotspur’s next manager, and he could be in place in time for pre-season training, which gets underway on July 5.

What’s the word?

According to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, extensive talks between the north London outfit and the Portuguese coach have been held over the last few days, and barring another late setback, the 47-year-old is now set to become the new Spurs manager.

Writing on Twitter, the journalist said: “Extensive talks have now been held with Nuno Espirito Santo over becoming the new Spurs head coach. As I said a week or so back, Paratici really likes him and while his style of play does not match what Levy called for, his ability to develop young players, and older ones, does.

“Understand that, barring a complete about-turn (and we’ve had enough of those in these 67 days), the former Wolves boss could be in place at Tottenham next week just days before pre-season starts at Hotspur Way.”

Is it finally over?

The 47-year-old is a readily available candidate after he left Premier League rivals Wolves by mutual consent at the end of last season. He departed them in 13th place after a poor campaign, but much of that can be attributed to the loss of Diogo Jota to Liverpool and Raul Jimenez to a serious head injury as the Midlands outfit struggled in front of the net, bagging only 36 goals – the lowest of any team ranked above 16th.

Much of the Lilywhites faithful have expressed their disappointment in the likely appointment of Nuno on social media in recent days, getting a #NoToNuno campaign trending, but at the very least they should be glad that this whole process is coming to an end.

It’s been over nine weeks since chairman Daniel Levy sacked Jose Mourinho and there have been no fewer than eight names close to taking over before some sort of late blow occurred. Bayern-bound Julian Nagelsmann, former boss Mauricio Pochettino and ex-Premier League winner Antonio Conte are just three of those mooted throughout the process.

More recently, it seemed as if Paulo Fonseca was going to be the man for Spurs before a surprise twist emerged at the 11th hour.

Nuno may not be the first choice of many in N17 besides sporting director Fabio Paratici, but he does arrive with plenty of experience in the top flight and a proven record in developing players regardless of their age.

Adama Traore, Pedro Neto and Joao Moutinho are testament to that, whilst it must be hugely encouraging that he could be in place before pre-season, for if this were to rumble on when the players returned, then it would only set Spurs back even further with their plans.

It’s time for Nuno to get some backing as it seems this search is finally coming towards a much-needed end.

AND in other news, Paratici can seal Spurs’ dream Kane replacement in “complete” £36m-rated goal machine…

Following a highly impressive goalscoring campaign for Sunderland, there is reportedly a great deal of interest in Charlie Wyke this summer, although the Black Cats could already have a ready-made replacement for the 28-year-old.

So far this season, Wyke has undoubtedly been the star at the Stadium of Light, with the £270,000-rated forward bagging 25 goals and providing three assists over his 42 appearances in League One, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.35 – ranking him as Lee Johnson’s best player in the third tier.

However, while the former Bradford City striker’s goals have fired Sunderland to the play-offs this season, form as good as Wyke’s is a double-edged sword for a club of Sunderland’s current standing, as his performances have attracted a number of Championship teams who have the intention of stealing the centre-forward from the Black Cats’ grasp this summer.

Although, while losing a player as important as Wyke will undoubtedly be a huge blow for Johnson, there may not be any need to panic, as the club could already own a striker who is capable of filling the boots of the 28-year-old next season.

“We’re talking £10 million”

Prior to making a £304,000 switch to Sunderland in the January transfer window, Ross Stewart had spent two and a half years at Ross County, with the forward scoring 11 goals and providing three assists over his 32 appearances in the club’s 2018/19 campaign, bagging 11 goals and registering three assists over 26 appearances throughout County’s 2019/20 campaign and netting six goals and providing two assists over his 24 fixtures before moving to Sunderland this season.

So, there is very much a goalscorer in Stewart, who, at just 24-years-old, still has a bit of development to complete in his career as a professional footballer, in addition to having to adjust to the pace of the English game.

But, despite having to play second fiddle to Wyke this term, the 6ft 4 striker has already shown what he is capable of in a Sunderland shirt as, over his 11 league appearances for the club – only two of which have come as starts – he has already found the back of the net twice, in addition to averaging an impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.95.

Indeed, Johnson appears very firmly of the belief that Stewart has a fantastic future ahead of him at the Stadium of Light, with the 39-year-old praising the striker’s mobility, technical ability and his “extremely good” physicality in recent comments, as well as claiming that you’d be looking at a player worth “£10 million” if he was the finished product, which he still has enough time to become.

As such, despite the fact it very much seems as if Wyke could be moving on to pastures new this summer, Stewart is ready and waiting in the wings to seize his moment as the Black Cats’ main man.

In other news: Phillips drops worrying transfer claim on SAFC £6.4k-p/w beast, Johnson will be gutted – opinion

Nottingham Forest will look to continue their sprint towards Premier League promotion tonight, but will face a tough test against Champions-elect Fulham at Craven Cottage.

A victory would effectively cement Forest’s spot in the play-off places, though Cooper will be looking for a win in case of the possibility that they could pip both Bournemouth and Huddersfield to the second-place automatic promotion spot.

Including tonight’s fixture, Forest have four games to play with one of those ties against Bournemouth – their rivals for automatic promotion. A win today is a must for Steve Cooper’s side.

In terms of injury news, Max Lowe is still out with a groin issue, and Steve Cook is also unlikely to start after just coming back from an ankle injury. Fulham will not roll over though and still have the title to play for, despite already sealing their ticket back to the Premier League.

Keinan Davis is another who is ruled out due to a hamstring injury sustained against Luton Town two games ago.

Lewis Grabban is also unlikely to feature after hobbling off after a 15-minute cameo appearance against Peterborough.

With that update, here is how we at Football FanCast expect Nottingham Forest to line up against Fulham tonight.

In what would be a real statement of intent, our predicted line-up sees Surridge retain his starting spot through Grabban’s injury, meaning that there is just one change, with £1.8m-rated Tobias Figueiredo axed for Joe Lolley, due to the 4-2-3-1 system switch.

With his attacking prowess – he has 26 goals for Forest in total – and Lyle Taylor’s praise, dubbing him a “wriggly worm”, he could cause the Cottagers all sorts of problems this evening.

Cooper’s side have stuck with the 3-4-1-2 system for the last six games which has seen them score thirteen goals and concede just two during that run. And although the saying “don’t fix what isn’t broken” rings true in most cases, it failed to work for them last time out against Fulham who ran out 4-0 winners.

The 4-2-3-1 system has notably been used in big games by Cooper. In the game against Fulham before the 4-0 thrashing, they used the 4-2-3-1 system and narrowly lost 1-0.

This system was also used against Liverpool, who also found it tough against Forest.

A change to a hardy 4-2-3-1 could pay dividends for Cooper and provide an element of shock for Marco Silva.

In other news: Sold after 1 appearance: Nottingham Forest had a disaster over 23 y/o “top talent”…

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…

Aston Villa and Chelsea have been credited with an interest in free agent Wayne Hennessey, according to The Daily Mail.

The Lowdown: Villa a goalkeeper short

Villa only have two senior goalkeepers on the books after Tom Heaton left the club. Heaton has since joined Manchester United, so Dean Smith may have only Jed Steer as backup to Emiliano Martinez, with Lovre Kalinic also likely to depart.

Villa’s current transfer priority is a number 10, but it seems as if they are also keeping an eye on bolstering their options at the very back.

The Latest: Simon Jones’ claim

Simon Jones, described as The Daily Mail’s insider, posted the news on Tuesday afternoon. He claimed that both Villa and the Blues, along with Burnley, are keen on the Wales international after his deal with Crystal Palace expired.

Hennessey made 132 appearances for Palace, but just one of those came during the 2020/21 campaign.

The Verdict: A smart option

The 34-year-old has huge experience at both club and international level. He has turned out on 96 occasions for his country, 181 times in the Premier League and 93 in the Championship.

His Selhurst Park deal was worth £40,000 per week and Wales ‘keeper Danny Ward recently described Hennessey’s support as ‘incredible’ in and around the camp. If he is willing to serve as backup to Martinez, signing Hennessey could be a shrewd move by Aston Villa.

In other news: ‘Disgusting’, ‘Disgraceful’ – Many AVFC fans react to Neville and Wright’s comments on Grealish, find out more here. 

Southampton fans are far from happy with comments from Nathan Redmond ahead of their F.A Cup semi-final this weekend.

The Saints will travel to Wembley on Sunday to play Leicester City for a place in the final. Despite losing 3-0 to West Bromwich Albion on Monday, the St. Mary’s Stadium outfit will at least be happy to be playing a side who themselves are struggling for form in the Foxes – they have lost their last two games (lcfc.co.uk).

Redmond was speaking ahead of the clash, and he was discussing the contrast with Southampton’s last semi-final appearance in 2018. On that occasion, they were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea, and the £16.2m-valued 27-year-old (Transfermarkt) said that at the time there was no aspiration for success amongst the Saints players, although now they are in a far better position to prevail.

These comments were shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra, and it is fair to say the fans were disappointed. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the comments from Redmond below

“Appreciate his honesty but what a disgrace. In a semi final and no aspiration to succeed?!!”

Credit: @saintdansmith

“Behave”

Credit: @BuildABonfire

“This is throwing it on the line. Saying how up for it everyone is and how good the atmosphere is after a 3-0 spanking by a poor team means if we don’t turn up then we have some very big questions to answer.”

Credit: @Andrew_Stokes_

“He knows people actually watched the West Brom match right!?”

Credit: @JamesBrooksAP

“Imagine saying that out loud in any other job? Let alone a well paid one.”

Credit: @papaschmoo

“how can he say this after the wba game”

Credit: @jahgsvlayso

In other news, Southampton fans slammed this man against West Brom.

A source from Newcastle United has dropped a bombshell ahead of the opening of the summer window.

The Lowdown: Transfer window awaits

The summer transfer window is fast approaching, with the St. James’ Park faithful looking to bring in some good additions as well as shift deadwood in order to have the best squad possible to compete in the 2021/22 Premier League season.

Joe Willock is likely to be a player that they will look to try and sign on a permanent deal from Arsenal given his impact in the North East, while other players, namely Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle for example, face uncertain futures.

The Latest: Transfer bombshell dropped

Football Insider revealed a “bombshell” on Tuesday evening – Mike Ashley is refusing to spend big while talks over a potential takeover of the Tyneside club by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group continue.

A source from the Magpies has told the news outlet that the board have now passed on the message to Steve Bruce that he will only have a transfer budget of between £8-10m to work with.

That would rule out the possibility of signing Willock permanently as the Gunners are thought to want closer to £20m, while quite frankly it is just a ridiculously low transfer kitty for an established top flight side in 2021.

The Verdict: Transfer blow

If the Toon only have a mere £8-10m to spend in the market, then that really is a big blow.

Not only would they likely miss out on Willock unless they could raise funds by selling other players, but it means that they would hardly be able to compete in the market against their fellow rivals in the top flight, despite the financial impact of the global pandemic.

NUFC will really want to kick on next season with fans back in the ground, but this latest piece of news will surely not appease them one bit, and now a takeover cannot come soon enough.

In other news, find out what ‘fascinating’ takeover insight a sports lawyer has dropped here!

Some Liverpool supporters are desperate to see the Reds sign Leeds United star Raphinha this summer, following a report claiming as much.

Jurgen Klopp will be on the lookout for new additions in the next transfer window, as his side look to bounce back from a taxing season.

With Ibrahima Konate joining from RB Leipzig and bringing depth at centre-back, attention may now turn to signing another attacking player.

Both Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino fell a long way short of their best last season and even more competition for places could be healthy moving forward.

According to Futbol de Ingelaterra [via the Liverpool Echo], Liverpool are considering a £32million bid for Leeds winger Raphinha, who chipped in with six goals and nine assists in the Premier League last season.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-3/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

A number of Reds fans took to Twitter to give their thoughts on Raphinha potentially heading to Anfield, with many fully behind the idea and one even calling the possible signing ‘amazing’.

Liverpool fans react

“Please be true”

Credit: @parkthebus8989

“PLEASEEEEEEE”

Credit: @lfc_rhys

“Finally, these are the players we need to go all out for. Would be brilliant to come in too when Mane and Salah go AFCON”

Credit: @lfcxcathal

“£35m + Harvey Elliott on loan should do the trick”

Credit: @Nabyesta

“That’s more like it. Top class baller”

Credit: @ShaunlfcT

“Amazing signing if true, another piece in the 4-2-3-1 puzzle”

Credit: @LFCYan

In other news, one divisive Liverpool player has been linked with a summer exit. Find out who it is here.

Crystal Palace have suffered an injury setback ahead of their Premier League encounter with Liverpool this afternoon after Jeffrey Schlupp was ruled out of action.

What’s the word?

The versatile 28-year-old picked up an injury while on international duty with Ghana and was also unavailable for Palace’s impressive victory over Tottenham Hotspur last time out.

Schlupp had played a part in all of the Eagles’ fixtures up until his enforced absence, and manager Patrick Vieira confirmed that he’ll be sidelined once again for today’s trip to Anfield.

“Jeffrey Schlupp is getting better but is not going to be involved tomorrow,” the Frenchman revealed in Friday’s press conference.

“He didn’t have enough training with the squad, so will stay behind and do a session tomorrow, before getting with the team on Monday morning.”

However, Vieira did have some positive updates for the Palace faithful. Youngster Eberechi Eze is currently on the treatment table with an Achilles injury, although he’s making good progress in his recovery.

The manager stated: “He’s improving, he’s going to start working outside very soon. Him and Nathan (Ferguson) are getting better.

“We can’t put any date (on his return to action). The positive side is he is getting better, and that is positive, but we can’t put any date because we don’t want to push him.

“There’s a medical journey that we have to take into consideration, and then we’ll know the next step with him. The same for Nathan.”

Patrick Vieira will be gutted

Despite Palace securing a famous three points over Spurs in Schlupp’s absence, Vieira will still be gutted that he is unable to call upon the Ghanaian’s services against Liverpool.

The midfielder adds energy and an attacking flair to the Eagles’ engine room, assets which the likes of James McArthur, Luka Milivojevic and Cheikhou Kouyate can’t replicate. Indeed, only four of Schlupp’s team-mates have completed more dribbles per game this season.

Considering that the Reds have started the 2021/22 term in impressive fashion, Vieira will not be at all amused that he will be forced to make do without a seasoned campaigner in the 28-year-old.

In other news… Signed for £26m, released for free: Parish endured a Palace nightmare over 31y/o dud