Aston Villa: Fans react to Targett news

Many Aston Villa fans are reacting to the very positive news that Matt Targett could have a chance of being called up to the England squad in the near future.

According to @MirrorFootball and tweeted out by @villareport, Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate is considering giving Targett an England call-up during the next international break this month. Following this news, one fan said: ‘He’s been fantastic.’

Villa are a team that the Three Lions boss should be looking at closely as they are only six points away from the Champions League spots with two games in hand (SofaScore). They also have 13 clean sheets this season (Premier League) and this is the second-best in the division – their entire first-choice back-four are all English.

This would be a huge achievement for the left-back. He has improved massively this campaign, managing 2.2 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 2.1 clearances (WhoScored) per game. The 25 year-old would also be making his club and supporters proud, and they could not contain their excitement following these reports.

Here is what they said following the news:

“What he deserves”

Credit: @Catrinedwards18

“MY GOAT”

Credit: @avfc_jf

“He’s been fantastic this season”

Credit: @RonAldoRMFC2016

“He’s been fantastic all season for us and most improved Villa player this season imo”

Credit: @UTVilla

“So he should.”

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Credit: @jeanstshirt

“You just love to see it”

Credit: @enstrod

In other news, fans have flocked to some of Dean Smith’s latest comments!

Nathan Redmond could redeem himself by exploiting big Everton weakness

Nathan Redmond could be handed a golden opportunity to redeem his recent form against Everton on Sunday. The winger has had a disappointing start to the season, being missing from the squad for two Premier League matches because of injury, and putting in pretty quiet performances when he has played.

Last campaign he mustered up just four goals and four assists in 32 league appearances, being silenced far too easily by his opponents (via Transfermarkt). In his most recent display against Chelsea, Redmond had a very disappointing match. The 26-year-old managed to complete just 58% of his attempted passes, lost possession 17 times and had one successful long ball out of five (via Sofascore).

A chance for redemption vs Everton

Southampton will prepare to host to league leaders at St Mary’s on Sunday after pulling off an impressive draw against Chelsea last weekend. Despite the odds being against them, the Saints have a good chance of upsetting Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Captain Seamus Coleman has been ruled out of the fixture after suffering a reported hamstring injury (via premierinjuries.com). With only Jonjoe Kenny to fill in, the Toffees will be forced to deploy the 23-year-old, who recently returned from loan in the Bundesliga. Of course, since coming back to Merseyside, he has been forced to play second fiddle to Coleman, and has so far only featured in the Carabao Cup.

Kenny’s most recent performance earned him a measly SofaScore rating of just 6.4 after having a very quiet game against West Ham. Ralph Hasenhuttl should be relishing the idea of the Liverpool native playing instead of Coleman, and will look to exploit the odd one out in the backline.

Redmond will also be looking to grab himself an assist or two if he can put pressure on Kenny. With the right-back missing out on the Premier League action so far, he could be nervous to perform and keep Everton’s impressive unbeaten streak alive.

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In other news, Ralph Hasenhuttl comments could mean new fate for Jannik Vestergaard…

Celtic’s Armstrong Okoflex shows off skills in online challenge

Celtic have a number of youngsters currently in the squad who could be destined for bigger and better things, though they are at different stages of their development.

Jeremie Frimpong has broken into the team this season and has earned praise from fans over the course of the season, though another prospect coming through – Armstrong Okoflex – could also show his talent soon.

The 18-year-old joined from Arsenal in 2018 but is still yet to make his debut for the Bhoys, and instead has had to prove himself in the Celtic youth team instead.

He has done that on occasion, and in order to take part in the #nutmegchallenge on social media he took footage from one of his previous games on his Instagram account, with an audacious bit of skill on show.

From the short video it is clear to see the midfielder possesses great technical ability and the confidence to match, as he picked up the ball from deep inside his own half before running at the opposition and putting his side on the front foot.

Celtic lack central midfielders with that pace and dynamism, so he could provide Neil Lennon with a different option.

Watch Celtic Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

It will be intriguing to see how he fares if he does indeed get a chance to shine for the first-team, but up until that point fans will probably have to keep their eyes peeled on the youth team to assess how he is progressing.

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Meanwhile, this poignant image of a Celtic transfer target says a lot about Neil Lennon’s big decision…

Liverpool fans praise Adrian as the Reds overcome Everton

There is no question that Adrian played a big role in Liverpool booking their spot in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.

The Spaniard made three big saves, as noted by WhoScored, in the first half of the contest, which was ultimately decided by a late strike from Curtis Jones.

Adrian is no longer Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper following the return of Alisson Becker from injury.

The 33-year-old’s early-season form – conceding only eight times in eight Premier League starts – clearly resonated with Jurgen Klopp, though, as he was trusted to start between the sticks in the Merseyside derby.

And a whole host of the Liverpool fans have lavished praise on his display.

Meanwhile, a number of the club’s fans have paid tribute to Adrian in general for his form since arriving at Anfield from West Ham United.

Much harder than you’d think… Can you name Liverpool’s top scorers for each of these 25 seasons?

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The goalkeeper has made 10 Premier League appearances overall this season due to Alisson’s calf problem, whilst he has also featured twice in the Champions League.

Meanwhile, a number of the club’s fans were also delighted with the performance of another player during the impressive victory over Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Everton’s Lewis Gibson could be thrust into senior squad in Yerry Mina’s absence

This article is part of Football FanCast’sÂOpinionÂseries, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Everton returned to winning ways last weekend against West Ham United, with the club keeping just their third Premier League clean sheet of the season in the process.

Central to the success of the weekend result was the performance of Yerry Mina. The Colombian was a rock at the back and never gave the likes of Sebastien Haller a sniff in front of goal. However, as Sky Sports have reported, Mina could be set for a spell on the sidelines, as he is a doubt for the trip to Brighton & Hove Albion.

And Marco Silva appeared to confirm the bad news on Thursday in his press conference, revealing that Mina he hasn’t been in full first-team training so far this week.

Whilst this could force Mason Holgate into the starting XI, it should be the perfect time to thrust Lewis Gibson into the senior squad. Gibson is yet to make a senior appearance for Everton, although, the 19-year-old has been making a lot of noise in the youth academy.

The young England star won the U17s World Cup and also helped Everton’s U23s win the Premier League 2. However, Gibson is out of contract in the summer and could leave having not entered the first-team.

As shown by games recorded by Transfermarkt, Gibson is versatile and can play both right and left centre-back, whilst he has also dropped in at left-back. Being as versatile as he is, the Englishman could be vital going forward for Silva and prove himself as a valuable asset.

Injuries such as Mina’s could cause problems for the Toffees in the future and now is the perfect time for Gibson to come in and prevent such issues in the long run.

The former Newcastle man has proved his worth already in the youth setups for both club and country.

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Plus, amid reported interest from the likes of Ajax, Gibson could end up moving away on a free.

Silva should use Mina’s injury as a chance to integrate him and this could be the youngster’s big chance to experience life in the senior matchday squad, even if he is merely spectating from the substitutes bench.

He’s never been called up to the senior squad before, but with Mina likely to be sidelined and no further senior back up players beyond Mason Holgate, this could be a landmark weekend in Gibson’s career.

Liverpool fans discuss Emre Can being deemed surplus to requirements at Juventus

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Lots of Liverpool fans on Twitter have been sparked into a discussion about their former player Emre Can, after a report emerged revealing that he has been told he is no longer needed at Juventus by Maurizio Sarri.

The Germany international left Anfield in 2018 on a free transfer after letting his contract run down at the club, leaving in a respectful manner in comparison to Philippe Coutinho, who handed in a transfer request and paid his own money to force a move to Barcelona.

However, the 25-year-old has now been told that he is surplus to requirements in Turin, with Paris Saint-Germain and Can’s former side Bayern Munich interested in signing him.

He clearly didn’t feel his future was best placed at Anfield having ran down his contract to leave, but both Liverpool and the midfielder have had contrasting fortunes since his departure – the Reds have won the Champions League, whilst Can must now look for a new club.

Let’s see how the Liverpool fans on Twitter reacted to the news about their former midfielder…

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Regional Digest: Why Crystal Palace should consider selling Wilfried Zaha in the summer

Crystal Palace supporters must really be panicking right now, and you can hardly blame them.

The team’s talisman Wilfried Zaha seemingly wants out, with Sky Sports reporting last week that the 26-year-old has expressed his desire to move to a Champions League outfit to the south London club.

Zaha has single-handedly dragged the Eagles to Premier League safety in the last couple of seasons. Should he depart, the Selhurst Park faithful will undoubtedly be fearing the worst.

Looking at the big picture, though, perhaps selling Zaha would not be the worst idea after all.

While it is unlikely that Crystal Palace will get anything close to the £100m they are demanding (Telegraph), they should still be able to bring in a hefty sum for the Ivorian, which Steve Parish and Roy Hodgson could use to strengthen more than one area of the squad.

£60m, for example, could easily get the Eagles a top-class centre-forward like Michy Batshuayi and a quality wide man to replace Zaha.

They could also opt to keep Batshuayi on loan for another campaign — if Chelsea approve — and then buy a winger and midfielder or central defender, who will drastically improve the starting XI.

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If Crystal Palace want to evolve as a team and become an outfit less reliant on a single individual and his brilliance, then giving Zaha his dream move may be necessary in order to move forward.

Crystal Palace fans, should the club consider selling Zaha in the summer? Join the discussion by commenting below.

Idrissa Gueye’s latest comments prove that rueful summer exit is inevitable

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Everton managed to keep hold of Idrissa Gueye in the January transfer window despite relentless speculation linking him with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, but those rumours haven’t ceased to exist since the window slammed shut.

What’s the word?

The combative, diligent and incredibly consistent midfield lynchpin has been one of the stars of the Toffees’ season so far, and interest from the Ligue 1 giants has certainly been well placed.

Gueye handed in a transfer request in January to force a move through and recent quotes from the player prove that he has was bitterly disappointed not to earn a mid-season transfer, per Canal + (via Sky Sports).

“I was disappointed not to join PSG because it’s a big club and all players dream of playing in the Champions League and winning trophies.

“I was ready to go. It did not happen.”

Running out of time for a major challenge

At 29-years-old it’s fair to say that Gueye is something of a late bloomer. The Senegal international has only recently established himself as a player boasting genuine credentials of joining a side of PSG’s stature, and with time running out in his career it’s easy to understand why he’s so desperate to complete a switch.

Despite Gueye’s comments, he has upheld the highest level of professional conduct on the pitch and maintained his excellent form with speculation rumbling on in the media, but when the season reaches its conclusion it’s fair to say that a transfer away from Goodison Park is inevitable.

Silva is, much to the dismay of the supporters, fighting a losing battle to keep a key man at the club. With Everton some way from challenging for a place in the Champions League, Gueye will be drawn towards any potential suitor offering a chance to play on the grand European stage, whether it be PSG or another top club.

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Without the promise of genuine challenges for silverware and European evenings to remember turning his head, the Toffees faithful will be forced to say a rueful goodbye this summer.

West Brom fans on Twitter slate Tosin Adarabioyo after Brentford’s late equaliser

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West Brom fans on Twitter were not happy after their side conceded a late goal to draw 1-1 with struggling Brentford at the Hawthorns on Monday evening, and Manchester City loanee Tosin Adarabioyo took plenty of criticism.

The Baggies missed a hatful of chances in the first-half and had 23 shots on the night, but they didn’t break the deadlock until the 77th minute through loanee Harvey Barnes.

The Leicester youngster took his tally for the season to eight as he fired in a rebound from 12 yards. The West Midlands side were left to regret their poor finishing though as Brentford substitute Lewis Macleod headed in a late equaliser in stoppage time.

Playmaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he would have snubbed Tottenham for Arsenal if they’d come knocking in 2005…

The 24-year-old drifted into the Baggies box almost unnoticed, and many West Brom fans felt that it should have been Adarabioyo’s job to pick him up. The 21-year-old was playing out of position at right-back again though, and Scotsman Macleod ended up with a free header that he powered past Sam Johnstone in the West Brom net.

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Check out some of the tweets in reaction to Adarabioyo’s mistake and performance.

Kokorin would give Crystal Palace the kind of striker to hit an exciting new level

Crystal Palace have suffered three consecutive defeats in the Premier League ahead of their game against Huddersfield.

The Eagles made the perfect start to the new campaign with a win against Fulham on the opening day of the season. However, Roy Hodgson has suffered defeat in all three of their next fixtures to pile the pressure on already. The international break came at a welcome time for the former England boss especially given their record in recent seasons.

Their most recent opponents, Huddersfield, have just three wins in the 15 games that followed the international breaks in the first half of the season, just one of them coming at the John Smith’s stadium. The Terriers were without captain Jonathan Hogg and, as usual, Wilfried Zaha ran absolutely wild.

Still. with Christian Benteke sidelined through injury, Hodgson may be tempted to sign a new striker in the January transfer window. One man he should be targeting is Zenit St Petersburg forward – Aleksandr Kokorin. Valued at £9.9m by Transfermarkt, the Russia international has less than one year remaining on his contract at the club.

The 27-year-old was in fine form last season, netting 19 goals in 35 appearances during all competitions. Kokorin also registered four assists for his side. The forward has been capped 48 times by his country, scoring 12 goals. He was expected to be a key player for Russia at the World Cup before an injury ruled him out of contention.

With Benteke struggling in front of goal, Kokorin would be the perfect addition to the squad. Alongside Wilfried Zaha in the attack, Hodgson would have a forward line that would fire them up the table.

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Crystal Palace fans, thoughts?

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