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Kevin Phillips has exclusively told Football FanCast that he thinks Jack Grealish will leave Aston Villa this summer.

Having scored the crucial goal at West Ham on the final day of last season which kept Villa in the Premier League, Grealish has continued his outstanding form this term to put Dean Smith’s team on the cusp of the European places.

Grealish has contributed to 18 goals Premier League – with his brilliant performances not only making him a strong favourite to be named in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the European Championships, but he’s attracting attention from Manchester City, who’ve been heavily linked with the attacking midfielder.

Villa’s captain is currently out injured having missed their last five games with a leg problem, and Phillips, who played for the Villa Park outfit himself, thinks that his former side are resigned to losing the England star this summer.

Phillips told Football FanCast: “I actually see him wanting to stay because I live in the area, and I know people that know him – he absolutely loves Aston Villa, a bit like Stevie G at Liverpool.

“He’s Villa through and through, but from a footballing perspective, I think someone will come in with a big bid, and the club will probably find it hard to turn down. Villa have done very well this season, but my suggestion would be ‘go and win trophies’. And he’s good enough to do that, he’s shown that.”

But exactly how confident is Phillips that Grealish will be tempted by a move away from the West Midlands?

He added: “If I had to put my head on the block, I think Grealish will probably move in the summer.”

حصل الكاميروني فينسنت أبو بكر على جائزة أفضل لاعب في مباراة الكاميرون وبوركينا فاسو التي أقيمت اليوم في افتتاح كأس أمم إفريقيا 2021.

وفاز منتخب الكاميرون على بوركينا فاسو في المباراة الافتتاحية بهدفين مقابل هدف.

واستطاع فنسنت أبو بكر أن يقلب تأخر الأسود بهدفٍ نظيف إلى فوز بثنائية بعد نجاحه في تسجيل هدفين من ركلتي جزاء.

يذكر أن المباراة الثانية بالمجموعة الأولى بين إثيوبيا وكاب فيردي ستقام الليلة في تمام الساعة التاسعة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة. أهداف مباراة الكاميرون وبوركينا فاسو

West Ham United host Tottenham Hotspur at the London Stadium on Sunday looking to claim a first win at home to their rivals since 2017.

And in a boost for David Moyes, could have Michail Antonio leading the line again.

The Hammers boss is hopeful that the striker will be passed fit to feature in the London derby after sitting out his side’s last two fixtures across all competitions with fatigue, having appeared exhausted against Fulham in his 16th and most recent appearance of the season so far.

The Irons will still be without Angelo Ogbonna against Spurs as he continues to recover from the high ankle sprain sustained against Manchester United in the FA Cup, which ruled the Italian out of Monday night’s 3-0 Premier League win over Sheffield United.

But, with Antonio possibly back to lead the attack, here’s a potential line-up Moyes could name against Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham on Sunday…

Lukasz Fabianski recorded his ninth clean sheet of the season across all competitions when he kept the Blades at bay earlier this week, marking his fourth back-to-back top-flight shut out this term.

The Poland international is yet to register three on-the-bounce and will hope to do so against a Spurs side that has only scored twice in their last four league games with an unchanged back five from Monday night.

Ben Johnson returned to left-back against Chris Wilder’s relegation-threatened Sheffield United, as Aaron Cresswell joined Issa Diop and Craig Dawson at centre-half in Ogbonna’s absence. Vladimir Coufal featured at right-back for his 20th Premier League outing since joining the Hammers from SK Slavia Prague last summer for what now appears a modest £5.5m.

Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice, the only other West Ham players than Cresswell to have featured for all 2,160 minutes of Premier League football on offer this term, will expect to again anchor the engine room on Sunday.

The pair operated behind a front-three of Jesse Lingard, Manuel Lanzini and makeshift striker Jarrod Bowen against the Blades, yet would see the line rotated with Antonio making his return to the sole centre-forward position.

Lingard will expect to continue his run of starting all top-flight matches in claret and blue since joining West Ham on loan from Manchester United, after taking a game-high five shots and making a team-high three successful dribbles from a game-high six runs on Monday, per WhoScored.

No West Ham player has now taken a higher average number of shots per game in the league than Lingard (3.7), who further ranks first for dribbles attempted (4.3) and is second for successful efforts (1.7).

Bowen and £70k-per-week playmaker Lanzini may both find their positions at risk on Sunday to free a space for Antonio to return, while also being at risk for Ryan Fredericks to earn only his seventh start of the season across all competitions.

Moyes enjoyed great success from the full-back operating a wide right position against Aston Villa, and may look to replicate that at home to Tottenham.

Fredericks offered two successful tackles – a personal best for the season – at Villa Park, along with two key passes and three accurate crosses. Bowen, the only West Ham player to have made more than one appearance at right-midfield in a Premier League game this term, has averaged 0.8 successful tackles, 0.9 key balls and 1.2 accurate crosses a game thus far.

So, Bowen could find that he not only makes way for Antonio but also Fredericks, as Moyes looks to orchestrate West Ham’s first home victory over Spurs since 2017.

AND in other news, West Ham face a Premier League tug-of-war to retain a £60k-p/w David Moyes favourite this summer…

Many Crystal Palace fans are reacting to a tweet from the club in which they have announced that Sam Woods has headed out on loan.

Woods has joined League One side Plymouth Argyle on loan until the end of the season. The club wished him good luck as he looks to play consistent football and prove to Roy Hodgson that he has the potential to be a Premier League player. One fan called the transfer update ‘superb’, as the Selhurst faithful are clearly hopeful he can strut his stuff in the lower leagues.

The player is a product of the South London side’s academy, but is now 22, so needs to be playing at a senior level to grow as a footballer. The defender featured 12 times in Premier League 2 this season (Transfermarkt), picking up an assist along the way and he has made four senior appearances for the Palace first team.

This loan feels like a huge moment in Woods’ career, he either cements his place in the League One side whilst on loan and shows that he has the quality, or he struggles. If the latter is the case, it will probably be very likely that Palace will look to sell him sooner rather than later.

Here is what Palace fans had to say following the news:

“Great move for him and I’m very happy for the opportunity that he’s going to get with Plymouth as he tries to help them push for the promotion playoffs! Good luck Sam!”

Credit: @alex_westry

“Great Loan for him. Good luck Sam”

Credit: @PeterHoward01

“Great experience, good luck to him. Are we freeing up a space in the squad for someone?”

Credit: @e_crystalpalace

“Good move for him. Really happy with this”

Credit: @Sumo08112

“An excellent opportunity for the lad…. Good luck, Sam!”

Credit: @TCPalace_Pod

“This is a superb loan move for Sam Woods. Great opportunity for him”

Credit: @PalaceYouth

In other Palace news, have a read of a bizarre statistic about the club which fans aren’t happy with here!

رد الاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم “كاف” على أنباء إلغاء بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا 2021 التي خرجت خلال الساعات القليلة الماضية من قبل إذاعة “مونت كارلو” الفرنسية.

وزعمت الإذاعة أن كاف بصدد إلغاء البطولة التي ستبدأ يوم 9 يناير وتنتهي في 6 فبراير 2022 بسبب انتشار فيروس كورونا والتخوف من متحور أوميكرون الجديد.

هناك تخوف من قبل الأندية الأوروبية من إصابة لاعبيها وعلى رأسهم الإنجليزية خاصة مع وجود نجوم مثل محمد صلاح، ساديو ماني، حكيم زياش ورياض محرز وغيرهم مع منتخبات بلادهم.

طالع .. بيان مشترك | كاف والاتحاد الكاميروني يؤكدان إقامة كأس أمم إفريقيا في موعدها

وكشف رئيس العلاقات والعمليات الإعلامية في كاف، لوكس سبتمبر، عن حقيقة التفكير في إلغاء البطولة وذلك خلال حواره مع صحيفة “iDiski Times” الجنوب إفريقية، وقال: “أحضر جميع اجتماعات كاف، إذا تمت مناقشة هذا الأمر في بعض الاجتماعات، كنت لأفهم سبب هذه الأنباء، لكن لم نناقشها مطلقًا”.

وتابع: “كأس أمم إفريقيا ستكون في الكاميرون من الألف إلى الياء، وستبدأ في يناير وليس هناك شك في هذا، لا يوجد حتى مناقشة حول هذا الموضوع”.

وأضاف في النهاية: “يبدو أن هناك من لديه أجندة خاصة، ولديهم مصلحة في تلك الشائعات، كما أفهم”.

Of course these are LIES…..
There has not been a single meeting where this was discussed.

But we all know the source of misinformation from some “lobby” groups.
They always undermine Africa…. We know them. https://t.co/jmdd2Z37hM — Lux September (@Lux_September) December 15, 2021

وهو ما أكده سبتمبر عبر حسابه الرسمي على “تويتر”، وكتب ردًا على تغريدة من صحيفة “ديلي ميل” البريطانية تتحدث عن إلغاء البطولة: “بالطبع، هذه أكاذيب لأنه لم يكن هناك اجتماع واحد تمت مناقشة هذا الأمر فيه”.

طالع أيضًا.. كاس أمم إفريقيا 2021 | كل ما تريد معرفته عن منتخب مصر.. رحلة الفراعنة لفرض الهيمنة على القارة

وأتم: “لكننا نعلم جميعًا مصدر المعلومات المضللة من بعض مجموعات اللوبي، هم دائمًا يقوضون إفريقيا، نحن نعرفهم”.

MatériaMais Notícias

Para a partida deste sábado fora de casa diante do debutante Novorizontino, o Santos terá apenas uma novidade em relação à equipe que vem jogando o Campeonato Paulista. Sem Paulinho, que foi poupado pois ainda se recupera de febre sentida na última terça-feira, Dorival Júnior confirmou o argentino Patito Rodriguez como titular do ataque.

Como opção no banco de reservas, o comandante terá Neto Berola como substituto imediato de Paulinho, além do camaronês Joel e de outros meias que podem eventualmente fazer a função.

RelacionadasSantosApós pichação, Santos decide refazer imagem de Robinho nos muros do CTSantos12/02/2016SantosPatito festeja titularidade no Santos: ‘Não importa a posição, quero ajudar’Santos12/02/2016SantosSem Robinho, Dorival não crê em nova contratação no SantosSantos12/02/2016

Entretanto, além de Paulinho, outros jogadores seguem sem condição de atuar. São os casos dos zagueiros David Braz e Paulo Ricardo, do lateral-direito Daniel Guedes e do volante Valencia, que ainda busca sua melhor condição física após cirurgia no ligamento do joelho realizada em meados de 2015.

Confira abaixo a lista dos relacionados do Santos:

Goleiros: Vanderlei e Vladimir
Laterais: Zeca, Victor Ferraz e Caju
Zagueiros: Lucas Veríssimo e Gustavo Henrique
Volantes: Renato, Thiago Maia e Alison
Meias: Lucas Lima, Vitor Bueno, Rafael Longuine, Ronaldo Mendes, Elano, Léo Cittadini e Serginho
Atacantes: Gabigol, Ricardo Oliveira, Patito Rodriguez, Joel, Neto Berola

Leeds United put in a solid shift to come away victorious from Goodison Park with a well-earned win over Everton. The Whites jump up into 11th place with a crucial three points to see them into strong territory. Their recent dip in form has been rectified with this win and their draw against Arsenal last weekend.

Richarlison had a goal chalked off to deny the Toffees an opener, only for Marcelo Bielsa’s side to dig deep and come up with the winner late into the second half. Raphinha was the man on song just before the 80th minute to put Leeds ahead and give them the win.

Despite the match-winning performance from the Brazilian winger, it was Mateusz Klich who stole the show with his solid balance between attacking and defending contributions.

Klich vs Everton

According to Sofascore, the midfielder made a total of two key passes, created one big goalscoring opportunity and put in a impressive four tackles. Klich also completed 50% of his dribbles and 100% of his long balls.

Marcelo Bielsa recently identified the Poland international as one of his key players. The £45,000 per week midfield man was lauded for his influence in the engine room, with the boss saying that he simply “cannot do better” on the pitch. Indeed, he has been an ever-present member of the Leeds squad so far this campaign.

Klich has started every Premier League match for Leeds this season and has notched up two goals and three assists so far (via Transfermarkt). He has proved to be imperative to this club as they look to survive their first season back in England’s top flight after 16 long years.

In other news, Radrizzani must accept it’s time to sell this forgotten Leeds man…

According to freelance Liverpool correspondent David Lynch, via Watch LFC, Thiago Alcantara is facing a lengthy wait on the sidelines and will not be returning to Jurgen Klopp’s starting line up until January – prompting many Reds to discuss the ‘very sad’ update. 

Thiago, who was signed as a high-profile acquisition in the summer from Bayern Munich, has been on the treatment table after suffering a knee injury after a poor challenge from Richarlison in the Merseyside Derby – with Klopp recently stating that the impact sustained on his knee was not good. 

Now, as relayed by Lynch, Thiago faces a recovery on the sidelines and won’t be back until after the New Year – prompting many Reds to flock as their injury list was just starting to ease.

Indeed, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Naby Keita are nearing a return, as confirmed by the Reds boss, but Thiago’s reintroduction looks to be a while off yet.

Find all of these supporters’ verdicts on the update down below.

Liverpool fans react as Thiago news emerges

In other news: Liverpool could lose this ‘very important’ star in January, find out more here. 

Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed a busy and productive summer transfer window but the north Londoners could live to regret missing out on one man…

What’s the word?

According to Get French Football News, Ligue 1 outfit Lyon rejected a bid from Spurs for their striker Moussa Dembele in the final week of the window.

It’s claimed that Daniel Levy offered a similar deal to that of Giovani Lo Celso, an initial loan with an obligation to buy, and the 24-year-old’s agent Pini Zahavi was keen to make the move.

However, it was quickly rebuffed by Lyon boss Rudi Garcia, who then axed him from their Sunday night game with Marseille. Spurs were left frustrated and instead signed off a loan-to-buy for Benfica frontman Carlos Vinicius.

Willian 2.0?

Should Spurs have tried harder to clinch the prolific Frenchman? Going by history, the answer is probably yes.

In a weird reversal of the situation, this move could bear similarities to that of Willian back in 2013.

The Brazillian winger was on the verge of signing for Tottenham before a late change of heart saw him end up at local rivals Chelsea and whilst Dembele is remaining at Lyon for now, that could quickly change after another good campaign.

Dembele bagged 16 goals whilst averaging 2.1 shots, 0.9 dribbles and 0.8 key passes per game, via WhoScored, it’s no wonder he’s been lauded as the “perfect no.9” before.

“He is an exceptional player,” once said Man City boss Pep Guardiola whilst former Celtic teammate Leigh Griffiths described the 24-year-old as “one of the top young talents in Europe,” adding that he’s “unplayable” at times.

Spurs could well be onto a winner with Vinicius, something that only time will tell but you can’t help but feel they may have missed a trick with the £36m-rated Lyon talisman.

The Willian saga has haunted N17 for many, many years so hopefully, Dembele doesn’t come back to hurt Spurs in the future whether that be in Europe or if he clinches that move to the Premier League

AND in other news, Mourinho favourite dubbed “amazing” could be running out of time at Spurs…

Southampton were linked with signing Manchester United left-back Brandon Williams on loan before the summer transfer window shut and following the injury to Ryan Bertrand recently, it could be argued that the Saints made a mistake in not bringing him to St Mary’s.

Sky Sports suggested that Southampton made an enquiry for the 20-year-old towards the end of the transfer window, but a deal could not be concluded.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has subsequently lost regular left-back Ryan Bertrand to injury after he went off in the 4-3 win against Aston Villa recently with natural centre-back Jack Stephens filling in there in the recent 2-0 win against Newcastle United.

Williams has made just two appearances for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side this season, both of which came in the League Cup, which suggests that his progress at United is being stifled and a loan to Southampton would have benefitted both parties.

The defender was praised heavily by his manager following United’s 3-1 defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup last season, with him saying:

“You saw Brandon [Williams] and the character he showed. He played a square pass into Mount [which led to their second goal] and he probably felt a bit responsible, but for the rest of the half, he was absolutely outstanding. The kid has been out for a while and not played, and had the eye injury, but his character and personality out there was great, he kept going and kept going,” (per Manchester United).

Both of the games the 20-year-old full-back played in have resulted in 3-0 wins for the Red Devils, with the academy graduate earning impressive 7.37 and 7.22 ratings for his performances against Luton Town and Brighton respectively.

This shows that when the Englishman has played, he has impressed, so perhaps he would have been an excellent option for Hasenhuttl to have in his Saints side, especially when you consider the lack of options available to the Austrian manager in that position.

Sam McQueen is currently out injured with a cruciate ligament rupture, whilst 20-year-old Jake Vokins has just three senior Saints appearances to his name, so is perhaps not ready for a starting role in the Premier League.

Therefore, it would have been sensible for Hasenhuttl to recruit another left-back with slightly more experience, such as Williams, and it could be argued that Southampton chief executive Martin Semmens may have let his manager down by not securing a loan deal for the Manchester United man.

However, with United having recruited fellow left-back Alex Telles during the summer transfer window, you would imagine that Williams’ game time won’t be increasing any time soon, so perhaps we will see the Saints return for the 20-year-old in the upcoming January transfer window.