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Carles Gil is Aston Villa’s first signing of this January transfer window, with Paul Lambert’s side acquiring the attacking midfielder from Valencia. Gil has already made a good start to life in the Midlands, scoring a lovely goal as Villa defeated Bournemouth in the FA Cup last weekend.

Signed on a four-and-a-half-year deal, Lambert will hope Gil can reinvigorate a Villa attack that is currently the most impotent in all of England’s top five leagues.

This has led to an online petition calling for Lambert to go, though the ex-Norwich boss will have faith that his new signing can help to reverse the growing negativity that surrounds Villa Park.

Lambert said of his new signing: “We’ve been on the lookout for a creative player and he will certainly bring that extra element to the side – he has a lot to offer and I know we can get the best out of him.”

So who is Gil and where has he come from?

Gil is a Spanish under-21 international, gaining an assist in a lone appearance for his country, showing his talent is widely recognised. The attacking midfielder is a product of the renowned Valencia youth system, first appearing for their B team in 2009 – impressive considering that Gil was only 17.

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Various loans in the lower Spanish leagues gave him experience, before gaining notoriety for his excellence during a two-year loan to Elche across recent seasons Gil was a crucial player in the Elche said that gained a remarkable double of not only gaining promotion to La Liga in 2012-2013, but defying the odds to stay up the following season.

The new Villa recruit managed just three assists and five goals across 66 appearances, but this is forgiveable given that many of his outings came when shielding the back four. This as opposed to more attacking midfield roles, to which Gil’s came is clearly better suited.

Since returning to Valencia, Gil has struggled for opportunities due to intense competition for places, leading to a move to the Premier League. But with Villa having scored just once in six Premier League games, what can Gil do to change Villa’s dwindling fortunes?

Gil can help Villa to regain some creativity and quality service to help Christian Benteke find more opportunities, and his scoring touch. Currently no Villa player has more than two league assists, a void that the Spaniard’s arrival can help fill.

The Spaniard is versatile, easing tactical problems for Lambert when seeking to accommodate his most capable attackers. The new signing can play on either flank and in the number 10 role, most probably behind Benteke, Villa’s best chance of finding regular goals.

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The midfielder is primarily left-footed, and has evident technical ability, though understandably the question will be whether Gil can handle the physicality of the Premier League. The Spaniard has certainly been thrown in the deep end, with fixtures against current leaders Chelsea, a resurgent Liverpool and a top side in Arsenal all coming up in the next few weeks.

However, with Villa sitting precariously above the relegation zone, Gil appears as good a chance as any other realistic signings Lambert could make to help his side regain their attacking edge.

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Take a sprinkling of underdog triumphs, add a pinch of young players getting their chance to impress and top it all off with plenty of goals and you have a fine recipe, a recipe that we call the Capital One Cup.

The first competitive competition of the year has sometimes been pushed aside by teams, but the fact remains that the League Cup is a fine example of everything that’s good about English football.

The tournament’s schedule makes for an unusual set of circumstances, leaving football fans with a mid-season cup final at Wembley. The prospect of wining silverware at just past the mid point of the domestic season is one that attracts many teams, making for exciting ties and some unexpected results.

Lets start with the first ingredient of the Capital One Cup: underdog triumphs. Cup football is very much a winner takes it all process, with a one off game often granting the team who perform on the day a spot in the next round. Whereas over a league season the cream rises, the League Cup can throw a team from the lower echelons of the professional tier up against true giants of the English game.

Bradford City’s penalty shoot-out win against Arsenal in this year’s quarter-final is a fine example of the plucky minnow triumphing in ‘David vs. Goliath’ fashion. The Bantams were expected to be brushed aside with ease by Arsene Wenger’s troops, but instead they battled valiantly, took the lead and, after they conceded late on in normal time, won after converting three spot-kicks.

Of course there have been other giant killings, with York City taking victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford and Swindon Town lifting the trophy in 1969, beating Arsenal.

Moving on the next ingredient we add to our mixture is youngsters getting their chance to impress. The hectic nature of the English fixture schedule sees games coming thick and fast, with many players still attempting to find full fitness. This causes some managers to shuffle their pack and throw new players into the mix. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but occasionally some real gems are unveiled to the footballing world, think Arsenal’s conveyer belt of talent which flourished in the League Cup.

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To complete our now mouth-watering dish we have goals, and lots of them. With only the semi-finals taking place over two legs in the modern competition, a winner on the night is guaranteed, which encourages teams to go for broke in search of an all important equaliser or a goal to ensure their passage into the next round. There have been a number of thumping victories in this season’s competition such as Swindon Town’s 4-3 win over Stoke, Crewe Alexandra’s 5-0 mauling of Hartlepool and Chelsea’s 6-0 demolition job against Wolves. Whilst fans of the side on the wrong end of result may not enjoy the ball nestling in the net, neutrals love goals, and goals are loved by the League Cup.

The final whistle at the end of the final always marks then end of a tough, but rewarding, process that has been enjoyed by almost everybody who loves the sport. Unlike some competitions the Capital One Cup rarely disappoints, with a no holds barred mentality and mixture of some great ingredients, a footballing feast is almost always served.

As reported by The Daily Mirror, Watford are set to cash in on Abdoulaye Doucoure this summer, with Tottenham Hotspur one of the teams in hot pursuit of his signature.

What’s the story?

The paper say that the Hornets could feel forced into making a significant profit on the midfielder, who was signed for just £6m in 2016.

That’s despite positive financial results across the 2016/17 season, with the club looking to ensure their finances stay in the black going forward, reckon The Mirror.

The report states that selling Doucoure ‘looks inevitable’, with Tottenham Hotspur one of the teams mentioned that is monitoring the £40m-rated talent.

Is he the kind of signing Mauricio Pochettino needs to make in the upcoming transfer window?

A good move?

Spurs have a vast array of attacking talent and a solid first-choice defensive line too. In midfield however it could be argued they lack depth beyond the ageing Mousa Dembele in their efforts to compete at the very highest level.

It’s a central midfield that can often lack energy and dynamism too, with Abdoulaye Doucoure being a player that could certainly help in that regard.

With seven goals in the Premier League this season, he’s shown an ambition to support the Watford attack and a bravery to get on the ball to effect play in the final third.

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Could Doucoure be the missing piece of the puzzle, replacing the likes of Eric Dier to partner Dembele and eventually replace the Belgian long-term?

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After just 73 seconds, Arsenal took the lead at the Emirates against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League thanks to Yaya Sanogo’s first competitive goal for the club.

In truth, ever since then, Arsene Wenger’s side haven’t looked troubled with their recent problems seemingly behind them, and the desire to do nothing but attack curtailed, somewhat.

As always, summer signing Alexis Sanchez has been leading from the front, hustling and harrying the Bundesliga outfit’s defence, chasing lost causes and terrifying the back four of the German’s with his tricky footwork.

Sanchez always looks in the mood for 90 minutes of football, and it was no surprise when the former Barcelona ace bent home an absolute beauty to make it 2-0 to the Gunners and, without jinxing the north Lond0n-based club, looks to have sealed all three points for Arsene Wenger’s side and qualification through to the next round – where they will inevitably be knocked out by Bayern Munich.

Take a look at Sanchez’s beauty below

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Reading manager Brian McDermott has distanced himself from a move for Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck.

The Royals are believed to be on the lookout for reinforcements this month, with a forward player said to be a top target.

A meagre tally of only 23 goals has contributed to the club’s haul of just 13 points, which leaves them level with QPR at the foot of the table.

With Welbeck behind the likes of Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez in the pecking order at Old Trafford, it has been speculated that he may be able to leave on a temporary deal.

However, McDermott dismissed these rumours, claiming that there has been no approach made and that it is likely to remain that way:

“I can’t see Sir Alex Ferguson sending Danny out to any club. I don’t know where this has came from, it’s got nothing to do with me.” He is quoted by The Metro.

“Welbeck’s a great player and I’m sure Sir Alex Ferguson thinks he’s a great player too. Everyone in the country thinks that.”

Although he has ruled out a move for Welbeck, McDermott is hoping to add to the arrivals of Hope Akpan and Daniel Carrico, who have moved to the Madejski Stadium this month:

“We’re still looking for an experienced player and if we can find one who has played some games in the division that would be good for us,

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“It’s never easy to find a player like that, but it’s definitely on the agenda.”

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He was supported by half-centuries from debutant Ben Curran and Sean Ervine, as Afghanistan clearly missed Rashid Khan

Sreshth Shah26-Dec-2024With his family and well-wishers watching along from the Queens Sports Club balcony, Zimbabwe’s veteran batter Sean Williams celebrated his fifth Test ton in Bulawayo to give the hosts the upper hand in the Boxing Day Test against Afghanistan, as they finished on 363 for 4.Williams not only negated Afghanistan’s spin challenge comfortably but also dominated the other bowlers to finish unbeaten on 145. His control percentage of 90 on a surface that offered decent turn right from the start of play displayed just that, with the inexperienced Afghanistan bowling attack – the visitors were missing Rashid Khan for the Test owing to personal reasons – looking both deflated and bruised by the end of it.Walking in at the start of the second session to face his first ball with Zimbabwe at 92 for 2, Williams relied on his footwork to get on top of the bowling. Usually a frequent sweeper, Williams, on this occasion, took to the cuts, drives and pulls to shepherd the Zimbabwe innings. With Afghanistan not offering anything too full knowing Williams’ love for the sweep, he countered the bowlers’ lengths by rocking back or going on to the front foot with equal ease.When Williams charged down the track, he lifted sixes over long-on and long-off. When he hung back, he created the time to slap boundaries through the off side. Williams’ enterprising batting earned him a half-century off 58 balls, and a century off 115.But Williams’ innings wasn’t the only one to help Zimbabwe finish the day on a high. Opener Ben Curran, one of three Zimbabwe debutants and one of six across the two XIs, set the tone early with 68 off 74 balls. He welcomed fellow debutant Azmatullah Omarzai into Test cricket with a boundary off the allrounder’s first ball in the format, before unleashing ten more boundaries.Curran was the majority contributor in a 43-run opening partnership with Joylord Gumbie (9), and a 49-run second-wicket stand with Takudzwanashe Kaitano (46), but fell to teen debutant AM Ghazanfar in the last over before lunch after a wrong’un sneaked through his defence to knock his stumps back.