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Dean Smith will be livid with John McGinn after the Aston Villa midfielder provided a torrid display during the West Midlands derby win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

The Villans stole victory from the jaws of a draw with substitute Anwar El Ghazi converting a stoppage-time penalty to snatch all three points, as red cards for Douglas Luiz and Joao Moutinho saw both sides end the game with 10-men.

McGinn opened the Premier League clash alongside Luiz and youngster Jacob Ramsey in the engine room, as the 19-year-old earned his maiden top-flight start in a baptism of fire after Ross Barkley was ruled unfit following his layoff with a hamstring injury.

Smith would have hoped to see McGinn shoulder much of the midfield burden and show Wolves and fans across the country why he was handed a new contract on Friday, which sees the 26-year-old tied to the claret and blue side on improved terms through to 2025 despite only penning a revised deal in August 2019.

But McGinn was far from the star of the show, with the Scotland international’s role in winning the late penalty only proving to overshadow a display in which he often held Aston Villa back.

McGinn – who Smith lauds for his “remarkable” spirit – frequently ghosted into Wolves territory as he spotted space in between Conor Coady and Nelson Semedo, yet often became an easy read for the host’s when lining up efforts or passes through on goal.

The Molineux natives were able to pocket possession frequently in the Villans’ half, too, as McGinn turned the ball over time and time again – ending the match having lost possession 21 times, more than any other visiting player, per SofaScore.

He further committed a joint-team-high three fouls, was dribbled past a game-high four times, made only one successful tackle and one successful dribble, while failing to direct his only successful strike on target whilst earning a 10th-straight start of the league season.

The 29-cap star was left a mere passenger of his side’s performance, losing eight of 13 ground duels, one of three aerial contests and failing to connect with any of his four attempted crosses, as McGinn performed far below his best after Smith suggested those levels were close.

Meanwhile, Villa must reignite their interest in this “talismanic” star.

If you had told Aston Villa fans before the start of the new Premier League season that they would have beaten both Liverpool and Arsenal at an aggregate of 10-2, then they surely would have thought you were crazy.

But such has been the incredible start that Dean Smith’s side have enjoyed, that they find themselves in sixth place in the table, and only three points behind current leaders Leicester – that too, with a game in hand on the Foxes.

On Saturday, Villa return to top-flight action after the two-week international break, with Graham Potter’s Brighton standing in their way. Smith has largely gone for a settled side this season, and who can blame him, but he might want to freshen things up against the Seagulls.

And with that in mind, below is a look at how the Midlands club line up for the visit of Brighton.

After helping to keep a clean sheet against his former side last time out, Emiliano Martinez will hope to continue his impressive start to life at Villa.

In front of him, a back four of Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Matt Targett have played a crucial role in ensuring high-scoring Villa have also been one of the meanest teams in the league too. Their tally of just nine goals conceded from their opening seven league games is the joint-best in the division.

The first big call Smith must surely consider making, is the dropping of John McGinn. The Scotland international has looked nothing like his old self, and with Marvelous Nakamba waiting in the wings to make his mark, this could be the perfect time for that change to happen.

Douglas Luiz on the other hand continues to see his star grow, but has played an incredible number of minutes this season for both club and country, and Smith may wonder if a rest against Brighton could do the £24.3m-rated star the world of good when it comes to the crunch winter schedule in the Premier League.

If that’s the case, Conor Hourihane may fancy his chances of making a rare start after playing in mid-week for the Republic of Ireland.

In attack, there’s no reason to make any changes for Smith, with the likes of Jack Grealish, Ross Barkley, Trezeguet and Ollie Watkins all in fine fettle this season.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Nakamba, Hourihane; Trezeguet, Barkley, Grealish; Watkins.

Leeds United are in a bit of a dire situation at the back.

The Whites have to deal with three injuries to key defensive players with Diego Llorente, Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips all sidelined at the moment.

This has left Marcelo Bielsa with a sizeable selection headache and a defensive rejig is in order at Elland Road.

We already know that Pascal Struijk is set to move into Kalvin Phillips’ spot at the base of the midfield, while Robin Koch is likely to fill one of the centre-back spots, but the other centre-half position is up for grabs.

One option that the Argentine may want to explore is using Luke Ayling in that role.

Ayling has played centre-back before and he is more experienced than someone like Oliver Casey who would be one of Bielsa’s only other options in that position.

Of course, this leaves another issue at right-back, but that is a problem that can easily be fixed by Jamie Shackleton.

We’ve not seen much of Shackleton this season, with the 21-year-old playing just nine Premier League minutes so far, but he certainly has what it takes to fill in at right-back against Aston Villa.

The youngster has all the physical attributes needed to be a success in the modern full-back role, with Noel Whelan giving him a glowing review after he returned from an injury last year, saying:

“He is very quick, tenacious, really energetic, good on the ball, a real athlete, so his return at such a key point in the season is very welcome.”

He’s a midfielder by trade, but Leeds don’t have another senior right-back behind Ayling and Shackleton has deputised in that role previously.

It may be time for Bielsa to unleash Shackleton and give him a shot at starting in the Premier League. If he shines against a Villa side that have won every game so far this season, it may not be long before he’s a regular starter in the top-flight.

West Bromwich Albion had a quiet deadline day with no incomings but they weren’t completely void of at least one transfer saga…

What’s the word?

At one stage on Monday, it seemed that veteran winger Kamil Grosicki was set to depart the Hawthorns for pastures new – the Express & Star’s Joseph Masi claimed the 32-year-old was in talks with Olympiacos over a permanent move.

It would have seen him instantly loaned out to Evangelos Marinakis’ other owned club, Championship outfit Nottingham Forest.

However, it appears that the deal fell through late on with the Polish winger claiming there was “no concrete offer” and he’d stay to fight for his place.

Mistake?

This could turn out to be a massive mistake from all those involved as the former Hull City man is evidently going to find it hard to break into the starting XI.

He’s not even been named on the bench in any of the Baggies’ last three Premier League outings and has only ever started four league games since his £800k January arrival.

At the time, technical director Luke Dowling said: “Look at the ones we did this window, Grosicki – £800,000 for 18 months. We looked at other players and we were quoted a £1m loan fee – on top of their salary. That is where this window can be stupid. To get a player like Grosicki with his experience for that kind of money we were pleased with.”

Well, perhaps they’d have been better off signing one of those ‘costly’ loan targets as the 5 foot 11 wide man is now costing the club by not being involved.

Getting him off the books could have aided their pursuit of Karlan Grant, who the club are struggling to fund a move for with Huddersfield wanting £18m for his signature, according to reports.

It’s thought that the Polish international is among the high earners at the club, taking home around £25k-per-week, which is more than regular starters Darnell Furlong and Semi Ajayi.

Grosicki’s former Hull teammate Jackson Irvine described him as “unplayable” when he’s at his best, adding: “You can’t afford to give him that much space to run in behind” whilst ex-Tigers boss Nigel Adkins dubbed him an “exceptional” winger.

Though Albion have been yet to see that and given his mooted exit throughout the summer, he should have been let go. EFL clubs can sign players for another ten days, so maybe this saga isn’t finished just yet.

AND in other news, West Brom’s forgotten man has been a costly £10.5m mistake…

Many Everton fans reacted excitedly to reports that Napoli ace Allan is on his way to Finch Farm to finalise his transfer to the Merseyside club.

In a clip posted by Football Daily on their official Twitter page, the Brazilian international can be seen getting into a vehicle that is reportedly heading to the Toffees’ training ground.

Indeed, Allan would arguably be an upgrade on the current central midfield players available to Carlo Ancelotti at Goodison Park, as the 29-year old averaged more tackles and key passes than Fabian Delph, Tom Davies and Andre Gomes in their respective domestic leagues in the 2019/20 season, as per WhoScored.

With two other midfielders in James Rodriguez and Abdoulaye Doucoure reportedly very close to joining as well, the Toffees will be looking forward to a new-look midfield come the start of the 2020/21 season.

These Everton supporters loved seeing the footage of Allan, with one fan branding him a ‘beast’:

Evertonians, are you excited by Allan’s impending arrival? Comment below with your views!

Wolverhampton Wanderers kickstarted the new campaign with a bang on Monday evening and they could fire another warning shot to the rest of the league with a swoop for one mooted transfer target…

What’s the word?

According to the Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, the Midlanders are poised to make another attempt to sign Arsenal utility man Ainsley Maitland-Niles before the window closes next month.

He claims that Nuno Santo is still keen on the newly-capped England star as a potential replacement for the recently-departed Matt Doherty.

It’s thought that the decision could come down to the player himself as he wants assurances over playing time having broke into Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions during the international break, though he started the Gunners’ opener vs Fulham on Saturday.

Perfect fit

Yesterday evening saw Adama Traore revert back to the right wing-back position but after providing six goals and 12 assists last season, he’s better off in an advanced role up the field.

His versatility surely makes him a dream fit for Nuno’s system at Molineux. At the weekend he played left wing-back having started his career out as a midfielder.

In 20 appearances last season, Maitland-Niles averaged 2.1 tackles, 1.6 clearances, one dribble and 0.6 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

Despite not being a regular starter in north London, the 23-year-old has received plenty of glowing endorsements for his performances in an Arsenal shirt.

Former Gunners striker Jeremie Aliadiere believes Maitland-Niles has “all the attributes to become a top player” whilst BT Sport pundit Chris Sutton labelled him a “diamond” who’s a “versatile talent”.

“The young man’s versatility is a weapon, as is his pace and the way he reads the game”

Chris Sutton.

Wolves will become seriously restricted if they head past October with just Traore as the only option on the right, so Jeff Shi must sanction the £30m swoop, it could soon prove to be one of the coups of the window.

Maitland-Niles would fit in like a glove in the Midlands.

AND in other news, Wolves have to avoid signing yet another Jorge Mendes client in injury-prone flop…

It wasn’t the greatest season for Sheffield Wednesday as they finished 16th in the Championship, and they have also recently found out they will have a twelve point deduction at the start of the next campaign for their misconduct charge.

Hopefully they will still be able to survive the drop next season despite the deduction, and many of the Owls fan base are reacting to a tweet by journalist Dom Howson, who asked: ‘Should #SWFC be looking at getting Eddie Howe in as manager?’

Eddie Howe left AFC Bournemouth over the weekend. He managed 455 games for the side in two different spells. In the first spell he got the side promoted into League One. He then left for a short period to manage Burnley whilst the Cherries were still in the third tier.

When he returned for his second spell in charge which lasted nearly eight years he took the Cherries from League One to the Premier League. Even though his time at the club ended badly after they were relegated from England’s top flight this season, he is still remembered fondly for what he did for the South Coast side.

Many Wednesday fans cannot believe the journalist has made such a suggestion as Howe is highly praised for his work at Bournemouth and they do not believe he would manage the club.

Garry Monk looked to have started well with the Owls, as they were third in December, but there wasn’t a lot for the fan base to cheer about in 2020 as they only picked up four victories since the 22nd of December. Due to this, many have debated whether he is the right man for the job.

However, despite Howson’s suggestion, they do not believe that if they did let Monk go that Howe would be a realistic target given his positive reputation and their now perilous position in the Championship.

Here is what fans said following the tweet:

Owls fans, what do you think about Howson’s tweet? Let us know down below!

Key Information about Ashton Gate Stadium

Ashton Gate Stadium has been the home of Bristol City Football Club since 1900. It was formerly the home of Bedminster FC before their merge with Bristol South End who previously played at St John’s Lane.

The Championship ground has an all-seater capacity of 27,000 and comprises four famous stands, the Lansdown Stand, the Dolman Stand, the Atyeo Stand, and the South Stand, which unlike the other stands it is not named after a figure who had strong ties with the South West England club.

A history of Ashton Gate Stadium

The four stands were redeveloped during different years since Ashton Gate Stadium opened over 100 years ago. The oldest redeveloped stand was the Doman Stand which was built in 1970 which makes it the oldest stand at the ground. At the time of construction, it had a family enclosed zone which stood in front of the stand; however, this was later rebuilt and converted to seating. The original wooden seats in the upper tier of the stand were replaced with modern plastic seats in 2007, and further enhanced during the summer of 2015 as part of a whole stadium redevelopment.

The stand is named after the former club chairman and president Harry Dolman. The Atyeo Stand is the smallest stand at Ashton Gate Stadium with a capacity of just 4,200, though it was built in 1994 to replace an open terrace. It still contains the old dressing rooms and a gym for players to use in training. This stand is named after Bristol City legend and all-time top goalscorer John Atyeo who played well over 600 games for City, scoring an incredible 351 goals. Atyeo sadly passed away a year before the new stand was opened, and it was subsequently named in his honour. Ahead of the 2017-18 season, the Atyeo Stand was made available to away fans, and it is closed for Rugby Union matches played by Bristol Bears who have ground-shared since 2014.

Bristol City commenced major redevelopment of Ashton Gate Stadium in late 2013, with work being carried out the following spring. This included the demolition of the existing Williams and Wedlock stands, to be replaced with new modern stands (south). In addition to this, the extension of the Dolan stand was permitted as well as a new pitch that was laid to enable shared use with Bristol Bears rugby club. The redevelopment was completed ahead of the 2016-17 season.

Tickets to Watch Bristol City at Ashton Gate Stadium

Adult tickets for members of the Bristol City can purchase a single matchday ticket from £20-32 depending on which stand is desired. Seniors and under-25s can go from £17-29, under-22s from £14-26, under-19s from £10-16, and under-12s for just £5. Adult season tickets for next season range from £366-636, and under-12s can go the entire season for just £55.

Related Links

https://www.bcfc.co.uk/ – Official website of Bristol City

https://www.bcfc.co.uk/tickets-memberships/matchday-prices/ – Bristol City Ticket Office

Ever since Tottenham’s new stadium was first opened, one of the big questions has been what it could be potentially called if Daniel Levy managed to sell its naming rights.That hasn’t happened as of yet, and now, The Daily Mail have provided an insight into why that’s been the case.

Hilariously obscure Premier League players – Can you name them all?

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The report claims that Spurs have been attempting to sell naming rights for the stadium for five years, but that any interested parties have been put off by Levy’s £25m-a-year valuation.

And with the Premier League potentially hosting the rest of the season at neutral venues, The Daily Mail claim Levy has “expressed fears” that this would “further hinder” his attempts to get a naming rights partner.

After hearing about the update, Spurs fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.

One Spurs fan urged Jeff Bezos to just “sign the stadium” and then take over from Levy.

With the current situation taking its toll, Levy’s insistence on holding out for the price he wants may have cost Spurs in the long-run.

Instead of guaranteeing an annual revenue over these next couple of seasons already, Spurs could realistically be without a value-for-money sponsor for their stadium for the time being, particularly with the issue of where Premier League games are to be played in major doubt.

According to FCInterNews, Newcastle United are prepared to offer Napoli forward Dries Mertens a lucrative contract with his current deal set to expire at the Serie A giants.

What’s the word?

It’s claimed that the Magpies’ prospective new owners would pay the Italian frontman €7m-per-year (£6.14m) across two seasons, but they will have to compete with Napoli offering him an extension as well as Inter Milan’s proposal.

Stuck in isolation? Our mega footy quiz will cure any boredom…

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Premier League rivals Chelsea are also keen on landing the 32-year-old with his contract set to finish at the end of the current campaign.

Newcastle’s offer is believed to eclipse both Italian teams whilst there is no word on what Frank Lampard’s Blues would hand Mertens.

Just the start

If Amanda Staveley’s consortium were able to clinch the veteran forward, then it would be the perfect start to the new Saudi era at St James’ Park.

Despite his age, Mertens has found the net 12 times this campaign and has also provided six assists, meaning he has contributed to 18 goals in just 29 appearances, via Transfermarkt. But this has been the pattern throughout the duration of his Gil Azzurri career – scoring 121 goals as well as racking up 73 assists from 331 matches.

Mike Ashley wasted an abhorrent £40m on the one-goal Joelinton, so swooping for Mertens would certainly ease their attacking problems substantially, going by the above record.

Mertens’ experience in Europe would also help the club transition from midtable straddlers under Steve Bruce into genuine contenders for glory, which will surely be the aim under the lucrative new ownership.

The Belgian is described as a hard-working frontman who possesses good technique and dribbling, so it won’t take long for the Magpies faithful to fall in love with him either.

Mertens should be high on their priorities this summer.

AND in other news, Phillips claims money may tempt unemployed manager to join Newcastle…