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Aston Villa have confirmed a major injury boost over Leon Bailey ahead of their Premier League encounter with Arsenal on Friday night.

Dean Smith’s side have been without the summer signing for the past three games in the Premier League after being forced off in the second half against Everton back in mid-September.

However, speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Mikel Arteta’s side at the Emirates Stadium, the Villa manager said: “Leon Bailey and Bertrand Traore have both trained over the last couple of days and both will be available for the squad down at Arsenal.

“But we have to be aware that Bailey’s had a thigh injury for four weeks so we have to assess how much of a risk we take with him. We are building up their fitness, they will be in the squad, but we’ll have to assess where they are. They have both been out injured for a few weeks, so they are lacking minutes.”

The Jamaica international has had an injury-disrupted start to life at Villa Park, playing just 85 minutes of football in the Premier League, but even in that limited amount of game-time, he has shown exactly why Villa fans should be excited about their summer signing.

After coming off the bench to great effect against Watford on the opening day – he marked his Premier League debut for the club by setting up John McGinn’s goal and almost sparking a late comeback – the Jamaican flier showed just what he can bring to the table when he delivered another barnstorming cameo against Everton.

Having come on as a substitute once again, Bailey whipped in the corner which was turned in by Lucas Digne, before firing in a superb goal of his own to seal an impressive 3-0 win for Villa.

Speaking before the Midlands club officially confirmed the deal to sign the winger, Alan Hutton threw his backing behind a move for the Jamaica international.

He said: “I’m so excited to see this one. I’ve heard a lot about him over the past two or three seasons. He’s obviously still very young but he’s electric, he gets people off their seats. That’s what you want in a player.

“But what’s more impressive, 15 goals and 11 assists from wide areas in the German league. That’s unbelievable. It’s the kind of consistency you want from your wingers.”

The fact that he’s now back in the frame to play against Arsenal tonight is sure to have fans absolutely buzzing, especially at a time when Villa have fallen into a bit of a slump.

Meanwhile, Villa must start this £7.2m-rated gem against Arsenal…

Speaking live on air to Sky Sports (via Football Daily), reliable transfer journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has shared some Tottenham Hotspur transfer news involving Juventus forward Dejan Kulusevski.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye Kulusevski…

According to numerous reports out of Italy, both transfer chief Fabio Paratici and Spurs boss Antonio Conte are big admirers of the Sweden international as they target a move.

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TUTTOmercatoWEB say that the two Lilywhites figures see Kulusevski as a ‘gem’ with real potential as he enters Tottenham’s transfer target list.

Meanwhile, other reports suggest that Paratici could take him to Tottenham as Conte personally green lights a move for the 21-year-old (La Gazzetta dello Sport).

Now, sharing what he knows, Di Marzio has made a claim live on Sky.

The Latest: Di Marzio makes Kulusevski claim…

Speaking to the broadcast giant (via Football Daily), the Italian reporter says that Spurs do indeed hold an interest in Kulusevski – citing both Paratici and Conte’s personal fondness for the player.

“I know that Antonio and Fabio Paratici they like Kulusevski,” he explained.

“He’s a Juventus player that Fabio got at Juventus, bought him from Atalanta, it’s not easy, but he is one of the names.”

The Verdict: Get it done?

Lauded as an ‘athletic phenomenon’ by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, we would advise Spurs to move for Kulusevski given he could plug many holes in Conte’s squad.

He is able to operate as an advanced playmaker as well as on the wings and further forward, with his best season for ex-club Parma indicating he could do a job in north London.

According to WhoScored, he averaged a very impressive 2.2 key passes per 90 over the 2019/2020 season for Parma – more than any Spurs player has managed in the Premier League this season.

Still young, Kulusevski also has plenty of room for improvement and it is believed Juve are open to selling for around €35 million-€40 million (£29.3m-£33.5m).

Indeed, he could actually come as a brilliant option for Spurs.

In other news: ‘I’ve been told this morning’…Sky reporter also shares ‘breaking’ Spurs transfer news on live TV, find out more here.

Lee Ryder has been left buzzing over some comments that have now emerged from Newcastle United left-back Matt Targett in the build-up to the clash against Crystal Palace.

The Lowdown: Permanent deal?

It has been reported that the St. James’ Park faithful are now ‘poised’ to make their loan deal for Targett permanent in the summer.

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The whole deal would cost around £15m plus the initial loan fee, which includes a bonus for if the Magpies avoid getting relegated from the Premier League, something that seems inevitable ahead of tonight’s clash with the Eagles.

The Latest: Targett comments

Speaking to The Chronicle, Targett has now admitted that he ‘hopes’ that he can stay in the North East permanently, as he is ‘enjoying’ his time on Tyneside.

The Aston Villa loanee recalled when he first signed, claiming that it was a ‘massive challenge’ to impress new manager Eddie Howe and help get the club out of the relegation zone.

Sharing the article on Twitter, journalist Ryder was buzzing over Targett’s claim, saying that it is a ‘huge positive’ for the Toon Army that he wants to stay.

The Verdict: Big boost

With Targett set to feature tonight when the Magpies play Palace at home in the top flight, another three points would take them onto 40, meaning that they will surely be safe.

Thus, they could then look to sign Targett from Villa this summer for the fee mooted.

The Englishman currently ranks as their fourth-best performer in the Premier League so far this season, and ranks highly among his teammates in terms of average tackles, interceptions, clearances, key passes, and crosses per game (WhoScored).

Nonetheless, he has certainly made a good impression in his short time, and so the fact that he wants to stay is a big boost for the club.

In other news, find out whose agent NUFC have now contacted over a potential move here!

An update has emerged regarding the Ibrox future of Rangers dud John Lundstram…

What’s the talk?

Journalist Pete O’Rourke has suggested that the Gers could sell the midfielder this month in order to make a quick profit on him.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “Obviously he was signed by a different manager, in Steven Gerrard.

“So for Rangers, they might decide to cash in on Lundstram right now and they make a bit of money out of it after getting him on a free transfer.”

This comes after The Daily Record claimed that Chris Wilder is interested in signing Lundstram for English Championship side Middlesbrough. The pair worked together at Sheffield United in the Premier League and a reunion could be on the cards in the coming weeks.

Fans will love it

Rangers fans will surely love this update from O’Rourke, as Lundstram has struggled since his move to Glasgow, so selling him for an instant profit could be a great move for the club from a footballing and financial perspective.

In terms of the off-field benefits, it would mean that Ross Wilson managed to bring a player in for nothing before selling him for a profit just six months later, handing him more funds with which to improve Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad.

On the pitch, it just has not worked out for the English midfielder, and fans could well love to see him being moved on. He has been unable to nail down a regular starting spot and has only started twice since Van Bronckhorst took over from Steven Gerrard, suggesting that the Dutchman is not a fan of his style of play.

Last month, Frank McAvennie has suggested that the end to Lundstram’s Blades career foreshadowed what has happened at Ibrox this season, saying: “He’s dropped off the map. Rangers made a big fuss of signing him in the summer and to me, it seems like he never gets a game.

“I know he’s scored a couple of goals so clearly he can hack it up here. I remember Sheffield United fans being happy he was leaving, that was never a good sign.”

This highlights how much of a disaster the last 12-18 months have been for Lundstram, as he seemingly had a poor end to his spell at Bramall Lane and could now be dumped by Rangers. Hopefully, if he does leave Ibrox, he is able to find his feet and enjoy a good run of form to rejuvenate his career.

AND in other news, Van Bronckhorst could land the new Prso as Rangers submit offer for “groundbreaking” January transfer…

A major update has emerged on Newcastle United and their plans for left-back Jamal Lewis…

What’s the talk?

Daily Mail reporter Craig Hope claimed on deadline day that the Northern Ireland international has been omitted from the club’s list of players heading into the second-half of the campaign.

He Tweeted: “Also understand Ciaran Clark & Jamal Lewis have turned down moves away from NUFC despite not being in the 25-man squad to be submitted to Premier League.”

D-Day clanger

Whilst fans may want to focus on transfers the club missed out on, such as the deal for Hugo Ekitike collapsing, this decision on Lewis’ future represents a huge clanger from Eddie Howe.

Forget missing out on the French striker for now, the call to brutally axe the former Norwich defender from the squad appears to be a baffling one on paper.

Howe has seemingly decided to pick Matt Ritchie, 32, among others, ahead of him in the 25-man list. The 24-year-old is still a prospect and could have benefitted from battling with Matt Targett for the left-back spot over the next few months.

Meanwhile, Ritchie is well into his 30’s and has been poor this season. He has averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.43 across 16 Premier League appearances, showing that he has been far from good enough over an extended period of time.

Lewis, on the other hand, showed signs of promise prior to picking up an injury in December. In the 1-0 win over Burnley, he was given a WhoScored rating of 7.00 as he made four tackles, four clearances, one interception and one block.

Ex-England striker Darren Bent previously lauded the £50k-per-week flyer’s talents, saying: “Jamal Lewis, when you think about it, defensively I think he’s a little bit better than Max Aarons. I think going forward and defensively he’s very good, and underrated as well.

“I’m telling you, if he keeps progressing at Newcastle, he might be a dark horse. He could turn out to be one of the best left-backs in the country this season.”

This highlights the player’s potential and why Howe has dropped a clanger by refusing to include him in his squad for the rest of the campaign. He is a young talent with potential and he is now set to waste away on the sidelines until the summer.

Lewis will be forced to play for the U23’s or simply work hard in training for the next five months, unless he is able to secure a move to a country where the transfer window remains open. For example, the Turkish market does not slam shut for another week and it could be an avenue worth exploring for the full-back instead of stunting his development with no competitive football for months.

AND in other news, “I heard a slight whisper”: Downie drops big NUFC claim on live TV, Howe surely gutted…

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Following the 3-0 win over BATE Borisov on Thursday night, which saw Arsenal progress into the Europa League last 16, Alex Iwobi was quizzed on what the out-of-favour Mesut Ozil brings to the side.

The game against the Belarus-based side was only the second time the German playmaker had started in 2019, and was the first time he had completed 90 minutes since December.

There seems to be somewhat of a rift going on between Ozil and Gunners boss Unai Emery, but Iwobi’s latest comments suggest that some of the players are on the former Real Madrid star’s side – or at the very least, aren’t fully backing their manager over the midfielder’s regular exclusion.

What did he say?

The Nigerian international said: “We know what Mesut is like because we see him in training every day.

“He’s world class. We scored three goals as a result of him playing. I know if I make a run he has the vision to find me. Hopefully he can keep on playing.”

What do Iwobi’s words suggest?

Well, for a start, the fact that Iwobi credits his side’s goals to Ozil and not to the management and tactics of Emery speaks volumes alone.

Arsenal have won four and lost four of their last eight games across all competitions, struggling for form and looking devoid of any attacking identity or creativity in Ozil’s absence.

If Iwobi is feeling this way, the chances are a few more Arsenal players share the same opinion. Whilst the Gunners don’t seem like the sort of club to have the players capable of a dressing room revolt, such as we’ve seen Chelsea do in the past, the situation could worsen unless Emery finds a speedy solution.

The former Paris Saint-Germain boss has told Ozil that he ‘needs to be consistent in training and for matches, without injury or being sick’, implying that the 30-year-old’s Arsenal future is in his own hands and that he must be more professional.

However, the fact that Iwobi said ‘hopefully he (Ozil) can keep playing’ suggests that the squad feel the decision lies with Emery, and that Ozil should be more involved in the first-team right now. Iwobi, at least, appears a little bemused that the German playmaker isn’t taking a starring role at the moment.

According to journalist David Ornstein for The Athletic, Dean Smith has been offered the job at Carrow Road and is set to be announced as Norwich manager in the next 48 hours.

The Athletic have also reported that the plan is also to secure Craig Shakespeare, who has previously worked as assistant manager at Leicester and Aston Villa, as Smith’s second in command.

Norwich are said to be confident in appointing both men over the next 48 hours, giving the pair plenty time to settle into their new roles and begin working on the huge challenge of pulling the Canaries from the grips of relegation in the Premier League this season.

Smith knows what it takes to keep teams up

Smith is familiar with relegation battles in his previous role with Aston Villa and will surely offer some invaluable experience and insight at Norwich as they try to drag themselves out of the bottom three over the next few months. The manager famously saved Villa from relegation on the last day of the 2019/20 season with a draw at West Ham.

The 50-year-old will be hoping to emulate his success of transforming Villa into an established Premier League club at Carrow Road, with a squad of hungry young players desperate to make an impression with hopes of staying in the top flight next season.

Norwich have only managed to take five points so far from a possible 33 and are currently bottom of the Premier League table, five points shy of 17th-placed Watford.

Daniel Farke was sacked shortly after the Canaries secured their first win of the season last weekend away to Smith’s former club Brentford, ending his four-and-a-half-years in Norfolk.

Smith became the frontrunner for the job and accelerated to being offered the Norwich head coach role after former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was ruled out of the job yesterday afternoon.

The 50-year-old is already familiar with Premier League relegation battles and, as stated above, came out the right side of the line with Villa a couple of seasons ago. Ornstein’s claim that Smith is on the brink of getting the Norwich job several days before their next match against Southampton should have Canaries fans buzzing, as a proven top-flight operator will have time to implement his ideas on the training ground by the time the Saints come to Carrow Road.

In other news: Norwich may beat the drop by unleashing “world-class” talent who’s in a ”rough patch”