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Manchester United have reignited their interest in Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish as a deal for Jadon Sancho is nearing completion.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has identified Sancho as the signing he needs to rebuild Man United’s midfield. From Solskjaer’s point of view, Sancho and Grealish remain his top targets in the summer.

According to The Independent’s Miguel Delaney, the Norwegian wants to sign Grealish even if Sancho arrives at Old Trafford, although the Aston Villa captain has been told he may have to fight for a place in the starting lineup.

The Red Devils are ready to raid Villa Park for the 24-year-old, who has scored eight goals and supplied six assists in the Premier League this season.

United beat Leicester City at the King Power Stadium to clinch a place in the Champions League, which has allowed Ed Woodward to resume his chase for Sancho, while Solskjaer intends to make further additions to his squad to increase quality and depth in preparation for the challenges ahead.

The club legend remains interested in signing Grealish, who reportedly wants to move to the Theatre of Dreams.

However, there is an added catch, as Villa’s survival means they are under no pressure to sell their star player in the summer, so can demand a higher asking price in excess of £50m. This could have an impact on negotiations between the two sides.

Interest in Grealish had cooled in recent months, although sources close to the situation confirmed Solskjaer has now resumed his pursuit of the former England U21 international , as he has serious concerns about the lack of the depth in his squad since the Premier League restart.

As Delaney adds, United are expected to reach an agreement with Borussia Dortmund for Sancho in the coming weeks, even though the clubs remain poles apart on their respective valuations.

With a busy summer ahead, it is an exciting time for the Old Trafford faithful, as the Red Devils are set to embark on more ambitious transfer plans before the start of next season.

United fans, do you want Woodward to sign Sancho and Grealish? Let us know down below!

A number of Manchester City fans have given their approval to a claim made about Sergio Aguero – by a player from one of their Premier League rivals.

As per Football Daily in a clip shared on Twitter via @City_Xtra, Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk was asked by Jamie Redknapp to name the toughest opponent he has encountered in England, with the Dutchman replying that Aguero is the best striker he has faced in the Premier League.

Van Dijk’s high praise for the Manchester City forward reciprocates comments that Aguero made to Argentine media outlet El Chiringuito last week [via Goal.com], when the 31-year-old hailed the Liverpool man as “one of the best centre-backs in the world”.

The two players have strong claims to be among the foremost players in their respective positions in the Premier League. Aguero is the league’s joint-third highest scorer this season with 16 goals and the fourth-highest scorer in the division’s history on 180 goals, while Van Dijk is the reigning PFA Player of the Year and has been ever-present in a Liverpool side with the best defence in the league this term.

These Manchester City fans on Twitter appreciated the Dutchman’s glowing praise of Aguero:

Man City fans, did you like Van Dijk’s remarks about Aguero? Share your views in the comments section below!

Tottenham Hotspur have been linked to plenty of big names as the transfer window draws near but no moves have materialised as of yet.

However, this may be all about to change as Tottenham are interested in Atalanta goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini. According to Italian newspaper Tuttosport, as relayed by Sport Witness, Spurs are keen to sign the Serie A star as he looks set to leave the Gewiss Stadium in the summer.

Jose Mourinho is eager to find a keeper who will be an eventual replacement for Hugo Lloris. The club captain has arguably struggled for consistency this season as he has only kept two clean sheets in the Premier League so far.

With that in mind, Mourinho is considering a move for Gollini, who previously played for Aston Villa. In fact, the Italian started his career at Manchester United but never made a senior appearance for the Old Trafford outfit.

However, Atalanta are reportedly ready to play hardball, which could leave room for Daniel Levy to work his magic.

Indeed, it is worth remembering that, after a year of stagnant negotiations, Levy wasted no time at all and jumped on a plane to convince Luka Modric to sign for Spurs, famously telling Damien Comolli that the Croatian had signed the contract at 3am (The Independent).

The Italian outlet claims that the Nerazzurri are demanding somewhere in the region of €25m and €30m, which roughly equates to £27m, for his signature. Levy faces stiff competition from Roma as Gollini could replace Pau Lopez, who has attracted attention from a number of Premier League clubs.

Nevertheless, whether or not the Spurs chairman decides to splash the cash remains to be seen, as he has developed a reputation for penny-pinching in the past.

Tottenham fans, should the board sign Pierluigi Gollini in the summer? Let us know in the comments below!

Sunderland’s abysmal run of form continued with the FA Cup exit on Tuesday, and Phil Parkinson is quickly losing the confidence and patience of the fans.

Change is needed, whether that is in playing personnel or the approach taken in matches, otherwise the run of not scoring and not picking up wins will in all likelihood continue.

The new boss has seen 11 goals scored in the nine games he’s managed, with the 5-0 win over Tranmere papering over the cracks in that department.

For a manager who was meant to oversee a change in fortunes not only in terms of results but in making Sunderland more exciting to watch, he has failed so far, yet it is likely he will continue to operate with the same style that has let him down previously.

Parkinson has operated with a 4-2-3-1 formation in every league game so far and in those matches in has mostly been the same players on the pitch, with often the only change being who is chosen to play on the wing.

He has mixed things up in recent cup matches though, operating with a 4-3-3 formation against Scunthorpe and a 3-5-2 against Gillingham, but considering that only yielded more failure he will probably return to basics and stick with his stubborn approach.

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As a result, here is the predicted Sunderland starting line-up to take on Coventry.

It is understandable if Parkinson chooses the XI above, as on paper the likes of Will Grigg, Aiden McGeady and Duncan Watmore can be matchwinners.

Unfortunately for the Black Cats, they have displayed their best football all too scarcely this season, and against a Coventry side flying high in third place with only 19 league goals conceded, it promises to be another difficult outing.

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That is mainly because Grigg has scored just one league goal this term, yet looks set to start once more after Parkinson came out and publicly backed him to start performing.

Such a decision should be questioned if he continues to underperform, though it may not prevent Sunderland from picking up a result as their defence has often looked dependable.

A makeshift backline kept a clean sheet for more than 90 minutes against Gillingham and with Joel Lynch and Jordan Willis returning to the side – as well as George Dobson who will add protection in front – the Black Cats should be difficult to break down.

After all, they have conceded two or more goals just twice under Parkinson, and that foundation could allow his side to sneak victory, especially if they get a moment of magic from the returning Aiden McGeady.

Manchester City star Sergio Aguero is immortalised in the club’s history books having established himself as the club’s all-time top goal scorer.

The diminutive Argentine announced himself to the supporters in a manner that suggested something special was in the making.

He came off the substitutes bench to make his debut in a home fixture against Swansea City on the opening day of the 2011/12 Premier League season, scoring two goals and providing an assist in a breathtaking 31 minute cameo.

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

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Two away day victories at Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur followed before Aguero was handed his first start at the Etihad Stadium against Wigan Athletic.

And if his debut hadn’t already set the tone, then what happened next marked the birth of a future legendary striker in the English game.

Named alongside Carlos Tevez in attack, Aguero scored his first hat-trick for the club in a comprehensive victory for the title-chasing hosts.

A video showcasing all three of his goals can be seen below.

What becomes immediately apparent, particularly for the third goal, is David Silva’s input.

El Mago provides two of the assists on the day and the mesmerising footwork which precedes his through ball to Aguero for the third is simply a thing of beauty.

And the contribution from Silva, rather intriguingly, marked the beginning of the most potent partnership Aguero has forged during his esteemed career.

According to Transfermarkt, Aguero and Silva have combined to goal scoring effect on 44 occasions, with Diego Forlan a close second having achieved 39 joint goal participations.

The Spanish wizard has provided his Argentinian teammate with an assist 35 times in the 275 games they’ve played alongside one another.

Perhaps supporters could sense the emergence of something special during the comfortable 3-0 win over Wigan, but even the most optimistic of minds may have doubted whether a striker of Aguero’s pedigree would stick around for as long as he has.

Stick around Aguero has, though, and now he and Silva can look back on his first hat-trick as the beginning of an incredible journey they have been on together.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Darren Bent is worried that Tottenham Hotspur could lose Paulo Gazzaniga if Hugo Lloris is restored to the starting XI after his injury, per Football Insider.

What’s he said?

The former Southampton goalkeeper has been deputising for the Frenchman in recent games, with Lloris ruled out until 2020 with an elbow injury.

He has impressed in that time, too, as he made 12 saves at Anfield as Spurs lost 2-1 to Liverpool and also kept a clean sheet in Serbia during their 4-0 thumping of Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.

In total, Gazzaniga has made eight appearances in all competitions and Bent fears that he could look to leave if he is immediately benched once the World Cup winner returns to full fitness.

He said: “I get Lloris is his first choice, he’s been a great goalkeeper for many years now but at some stage, you start to get over the hill. If he’s at that point, I’m not sure, but his form, the mistakes he’s been making, would suggest potentially yes.

“I’m sure that’s a worry for Pochettino because yes, he likes Lloris, but you don’t want another team to come and get Gazzaniga because there are several teams in the league at the minute that would love a goalkeeper like him.”

Nail on the head

Bent is spot on here and Pochettino has potentially sleepwalked into something of a conundrum.

Of course, the entire top six has a first-choice goalkeeper and a back-up, but it becomes difficult when the latter becomes the former purely because circumstances have changed.

It has to be said that Gazzaniga has been excellent since his introduction and has done exactly what he has needed to do to retain the shirt; his performance against Liverpool alone was world-class.

There is, obviously, a lot of football still to be played in 2019 and Pochettino could well reach a point in January where the reintroduction of Lloris makes sense.

But in his performances at the start of the season, he made two errors leading to goals; only Southampton defender Jan Bednarek has made more. Gazzaniga has yet to make one.

On that basis alone, he should keep the shirt, even when the Frenchman returns to contention. Should that fail to take place, Gazzaniga jumping ship to a Premier League rival is a distinct possibility.

Concern is growing at Real Madrid over Jesus Vallejo’s time at Wolves according to a report from Defensa Central.

Reports in Spain suggest they are unhappy with the amount of game time he’s received during his stay in the Premier League, with the possibility of recalling him very much on the table.

It’s news that has left Wolves fans absolutely elated as they took to Twitter to discuss the report and whether they’d be keen to see him go.

A number of supporters were simply buzzing as one called him a poor man’s Danny Batth, urging Madrid to recall him when the winter transfer window opens in just over a months time.

A further individual said it looked as though the Spaniard had come through the youth academy at Wimbledon in the 1990s, as opposed to one of the greatest clubs on the continent.

Since entering the Midlands, Vallejo has started just one Premier League game and has even found himself behind Leander Dendoncker and Romain Saiss in the defensive pecking order.

He’s accumulated just 162 top-flight minutes in what has been a rough time for the 22-year-old.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Dwight Gayle.

There’s a large section of the Nottingham Forest fan base that believe he will be the answer to their lack of options in front of goal and just recently, the future of the striker has been thrown in the air again.

What’s the word?

Whilst there have been no concrete links suggesting that the Reds are set to make a bid for the 29-year-old, Paul Taylor of The Athletic believes that Forest will look to put themselves ‘at the front of the queue’ for his services come January.

However, they might find themselves looking at a locked door when they get to the front if Steve Bruce has anything to say about it.

The Newcastle boss recently spoke about the situation and says that Gayle still has a role to play at St James’ Park this season, thus handing a blow to any potential plans the Midlands outfit may have.

He said:

“I am delighted that he’s around us because he is a very, very good player. And I am delighted he’s here. He can knuckle down now and fight for his chance. I have tried to sign Dwight three times but could never afford him. It’s vitally important that he stays fit because he reminds me of why I have tried to buy him that many times.”

Time to look elsewhere?

Judging by that last sentence, it looks as if he isn’t going to be going anywhere if Bruce has anything to say on the matter.

Whilst it is always possible that Gayle hands in a transfer request in order to get more playing time having only played four minutes this season, Forest could be better served looking elsewhere.

There are plenty of forwards out there for them to choose from, so it’s not as if this update is the end of the world.

It’s obvious that Forest need to start looking for a backup for Lewis Grabban, as he can’t be expected to carry the load on his own all season, as the display against Wigan Athletic showed. Indeed former Forest great Kenny Burns has suggested that the position should be their number one priority.

But judging by Bruce’s comments, Forest’s job of finding someone to fill that role just became that little bit harder.