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Manchester City are now reportedly leading the race for Aston Villa star Jack Grealish ahead of the summer and should he join Pep Guardiola’s side, it could well be bad news for Raheem Sterling.

According to the Daily Mail, City are now favourites to sign the impressive 25-year-old this summer, despite Manchester United having been very keen on the Villa star last year.

The £54 million-rated Grealish has been the driving force behind Villa’s impressive season in the Premier League this season, with the England international contributing six goals and 10 assists in just 22 top-flight appearances, resulting in a superb 7.73 rating.

Although he signed a new five-year contract with the Villans last summer, his incredible performances this season, which have resulted in his call-up to the England side, make it seem likely that he could depart for a top-four club during the upcoming transfer window, with the Daily Mail suggesting that he is excited by the possibility of becoming part of City’s squad.

Considering the sort of fee that City would have to spend to bring him to the Etihad this summer, you would expect Grealish to be a regular in Guardiola’s side next season, which could have a serious impact on Sterling’s playing time under the Spanish manager.

The former Liverpool man, who reportedly earns £300k per week at City, has been out of favour for recent fixtures and has regularly found himself on the bench, before making a rare start in the 2-0 win against Everton at the weekend.

Although the 26-year-old has enjoyed another impressive season, contributing nine goals and five assists in 25 Premier League appearances, resulting in a 7.29 average rating, he has come under scrutiny for his finishing, most notably after the 2-0 defeat against Manchester United, where he missed a host of chances at the Etihad.

There is no doubting that when on form, Sterling is one of the very best in the Premier League but you can also argue that Grealish has significantly outperformed him this season despite playing in a poorer side, and therefore, he could become City’s first-choice winger should he join in the summer, which could cause problems for the “extraordinary” Sterling.

And, in other news… 13 duels won: Fernandinho produced a mighty display against Everton

In all aspects of Sunderland AFC, they have had a torrid few years. Once a regular in the Premier League, they’re now lingering in League One.

In two successive seasons, they have tried and failed to reach the Championship. This term, however, is starting to bring more positives. The Mackems are in the playoffs, have a new owner and are also in the final of the Papa John’s Trophy.

Under Lee Johnson, they’re also playing some eye-catching football. The previously maligned Charlie Wyke is the second top scorer in the division too.

With that in mind, promotion would surely be deserved for not only the hard work on the training ground, but also for the efforts behind the scenes in recent months.

It’s safe to say that proceedings at board level have been a shambles in recent years, though. Whether it was the £4m that Stewart Donald paid for Will Grigg or losing Josh Maja on the cheap, recruiting and selling has not been a strong point.

That was all too evident in 2019 when they missed out on boyhood Sunderland fan Marcus Maddison.

“Scoring goals is massive and Sunderland football club is where I started. Without them I wouldn’t be a footballer today,” he said after scoring against them in September of that very year.

Coincidentally, that came just months after the club failed to sign the attacker. Maddison was heading into the final year of his contract at Posh and as a result, the Black Cats wanted to take advantage of his club’s vulnerable situation.

That being said, the 27-year-old was still worth a pretty sizeable sum to Peterborough.

Richard Hill commented in the following months: “Yes, I had a conversation with Barry Fry and it was about all things football as our conversations are. On this occasion Marcus Maddison was mentioned and I was asked if there was any interest, and was informed that there was a buy out clause in his contract of £2.5m – I said that at that money he was not for me.”

Hill then admitted the club might try again if his contract did expire the following year. He didn’t join and instead he ended up at Hull. A move to Charlton followed and he’s now on loan at Bolton in League Two. Clearly, his career has not worked out the way he would have hoped.

For a period of time, Maddison looked like one of the best in the third tier – Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth supplemented that fact himself.

Although he’s now playing in the fourth tier, he would have been an incredibly valuable signing for Sunderland. After all, the creative maestro registered ten goals and 23 assists in the 2018/19 campaign.

It was a remarkable season for a man who would have been worth every penny to Sunderland. Just imagine a player of his quality feeding Wyke alongside Aiden McGeady. The latter has ten assists in just 14 matches this term so surely the goals will have flown in with the duo either side of Sunderland’s fearsome striker.

In the words of Bolton boss Ian Evatt, “Marcus is an extremely talented boy.” This is undoubtedly one that got away for the Mackems. Lee Johnson would have found him a dream.

AND in other news, Maja 2.0: Sunderland must rue losing 16-goal “top striker”, he’s shades of Harry Kane…

Writing for football.london, as shared on Twitter, reliable Lilywhites correspondent Alasdair Gold has shed light on a ‘huge’ Tottenham transfer decision Daniel Levy and Jose Mourinho have to make if they wish to have a busy summer window – with exits ‘needed’ to raise funds for signings. 

Amid the financial difficulties at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, coming as their state of the art £1.2 billion ground has sat largely unused over the last 12 months due to coronavirus, Gold has shed light on Spurs’ upcoming summer transfer window and the implications surrounding it.

Tottenham could be set for ‘huge’ transfer decision

In an article, the journalist has explained what he understands regarding any business Tottenham will do at the end of the season, explaining that any new signings will need to be funded by potential outgoings.

Harry Kane, who has been a star man for Tottenham this season, is at the centre of this dilemma – with Gold shedding light on the ‘huge’ transfer decision Levy and Mourinho have to make.

He says that what comes in the next few months is ‘likely to define’ whether the 27-year-old will ‘bankroll’ a summer spending spree, coming as clubs with financial power may look on Kane with ‘envious eyes’.

Due to the financial dilemma in north London, Tottenham face a big transfer call over the star striker and whether or not his exit would leave too big a hole – with Mourinho potentially wishing to reinforce his team for the 2021/2022 campaign.

Transfer Tavern take

Time will tell whether Kane makes way to assist Levy and Mourinho’s transfer budget for the summer, but Gold claims it will be a massive decision for Tottenham as the window looms.

Any new acquisitions will need to be funded off the back of exit deals, with Tottenham having to decide whether they stick or twist with Kane.

This will be determined over the next few months and how the Lilywhites finish 2020/2021 and it will certainly be an interesting development to watch over.

In other news: Tottenham are planning to unleash this ace over the last few months of the seasons, find out more here.

Heung-min Son is “really close” to signing a new long-term contract at Tottenham Hotspur, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

The Italian appeared on the latest episode of the ‘Last Word on Spurs’ podcast on Thursday evening and claimed that negotiations were going “so well.”

It comes ten days after the Telegraph’s Matt Law revealed that Spurs were confident that the South Korean sensation would sign a new deal despite negotiations rumbling on.

Romano believes that the delay has been down to the current lockdown guidelines in the UK, echoing those thoughts of Law.

Son’s current £140k-per-week contract doesn’t expire until 2024, but it’s thought that this extension would see him scoop a massive pay rise for his fine form over the past year or so.

The £81m-rated winger is set to pocket in the region of £200k-per-week, which puts him in a similar bracket to Harry Kane and Tanguy Ndombele, as per Spotrac.

But you can forget about Kane for now as Son has emerged as the greater threat in recent months – that’s not to undersell the England captain in any form as his new role has completely unshackled his prolific teammate.

Indeed, the duo have formed a lethal partnership in attack, combining for a goal a record-tying 13 times in the Premier League but with Kane often dropping deeper into the hole, it has allowed Son to act as an inside-forward.

The South Korean has currently scored one more goal than Kane in the top-flight this campaign, whilst he also ranks first in the Spurs squad for key passes (1.8) per game, meaning he’s their most creative influence too.

Former Spurs star Raphael van der Vaart also believes Son is of more importance than Kane, he told The Athletic:

“He is the main player for Tottenham. Yes, there’s Kane but I think he’s maybe more important. With his pace he’s such a threat, he creates for himself and his team-mates and can score. When he’s not playing, I believe that is a bigger miss than when Kane’s not there.”

That is exactly why he deserves every bit of that new contract and this news will surely leave manager Jose Mourinho just as happy as the Hotspur faithful.

The ‘Special One’ has lauded Son countless times since taking the helm in November 2019 – after thrashing Southampton 5-2, Mourinho claimed the attacker was “on fire,” whilst he labelled the duo “animals” after a north London derby victory.

Although the most glowing endorsement was in him lauding Son a “world-class” player.

The “untouchable” monster is set to be a Spurs player for the foreseeable future and in Mourinho’s quest to bring silverware to N17, that could prove to be a game-changer.

AND in other news, Levy can repeat his Reguilon masterstroke with another shrewd raid…

Cameron Carter-Vickers has gone from being a promising youngster at Spurs to something of a forgotten man in recent seasons, and with his latest loan spell not going to plan, Daniel Levy must ensure that he leaves the North London club this summer.

The centre-back is a product of Spurs’ youth academy and has gone on to make just four appearances for the senior side at Spurs, with his last appearance for the club coming in the 2016/17 season.

Since then, he has spent a lot of time on loan in the Championship, with a number of clubs including Sheffield United, Swansea and Luton Town.

After impressing with the Hatters last season, and helping them stave off relegation to League One, there was said to be a lot of interest in the former USA international during the summer.

However, instead of completing a permanent deal away from Spurs, he joined Bournemouth on a season-long loan, where has made just three appearances in the Championship so far this season.

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It was a perplexing decision to send the young defender out on loan when his contract with Spurs ends at the end of this season and was perhaps even more perplexing when they failed to recall him in January, despite his lack of game time with the Cherries.

In two of his Championship appearances, Bournemouth would suffer a 1-0 loss against struggling opposition in Luton Town and Derby County, whilst his most recent performance was in their 3-2 win against Birmingham City, so he has failed to keep a single clean sheet this season.

Therefore, it seems clear that Carter-Vickers is never going to be good enough to play regularly for Spurs, so whilst it might be disappointing for Daniel Levy to not receive a fee, the Spurs chairman should ensure that the 23-year-old outcast isn’t offered any new terms and leaves the club on the expiry of his contract at the end of this season.

And, in other news, £80k-p/w Spurs man showed he still has a key role to play under Jose with WBA performance…

Christmas is here, which means 2020 is quickly drawing to a close, and what a year it has been for West Brom.

The Baggies clinched promotion from the Championship after a two-season absence from the Premier League, though since, things haven’t really gone to plan…

Captain of the ship Slaven Bilic received his P45 earlier this month with Albion second from bottom on just seven points.

The West Brom hierarchy have turned to Sam ‘the firefighter’ Allardyce in their time of need for yet another survival bid despite the 66-year-old being out of the game for two-and-a-half years.

In his first game in charge, the Midlands outfit were thrashed 3-0 by arch-rivals Aston Villa, so Big Sam has it all to do if they are to remain a top-flight team in 2021.

But forget those worries for now, and take a look back at some finer moments with this tricky quiz.

We bet only die hard Albion fans will get close to 75% on this one! Go on, give it a go…

AND in other news, West Brom Exclusive: Sam Allardyce tipped to sign former star in January swoop…

Leeds United registered their third consecutive loss last night after Brighton and Hove Albion scraped a 1-0 win at Elland Road. The home defeat is their sixth in their last ten games, creating a worryingly inconsistent streak.

It was a disappointing game overall for the Whites, who remain on 23 points in the league table. Frustrations will be rising, especially after Crawley Town shockingly dumped them out of the FA Cup last weekend.

One player who was disappointing yesterday is Stuart Dallas, and his sub-par performance is starting to become a concerning pattern for Leeds.

Dallas vs Brighton

For a forward-thinking full-back, the 29-year-old’s chance creations have left a lot to be desired recently. According to Sofascore, Dallas failed to complete a single attempted cross against Brighton and was dribbled past once. Similarly, he couldn’t find a teammate with any of his crosses against Spurs and he was dribbled past twice.

Even when playing against West Brom in Leeds’ stunning 5-0 win, he picked up an assist but struggled with his connections from out wide. The versatile left-back also struggles with duels, losing a total of 13 duels in his last three appearances.

Whilst Dallas is undoubtedly a crucial part of Bielsa’s team, his performances have been rather average recently. The £35,000 per week defender’s pattern of struggling to play from out wide is worrying considering Bielsa has been experimenting with playing him at left midfield recently.

He is needed more than ever right now as Leeds are without both Robin Koch and Diego Llorente. With Pascal Struijk also far down the pecking order, Dallas and Luke Ayling are having to step up to plug the gaps in defence.

The 29-year-old needs to improve both the attacking and defensive aspects of his performances or Leeds risk slipping into dangerous territory near the bottom of the table.

In other news, Bielsa must make ruthless call on Helder Costa…

Michael Obafemi enjoyed a breakthrough season with Southampton during the 2019/20 campaign as he made 22 appearances in the top-flight, but this season has been a lot less fruitful for the 20-year-old and Ralph Hasenhuttl should consider loaning him out.

In his 22 Premier League appearances last season, the striker was able to contribute a fairly impressive three goals and two assists (per WhoScored), so it was perhaps expected that he would continue to feature for the Saints this season.

However, this season has seen him manage just 13 minutes of Premier League action, as well as just six minutes in the Carabao Cup, suggesting that the Austrian manager currently has no plans to give him a starting berth in his squad.

Considering the form of both Danny Ings and Che Adams this season, this is perhaps unsurprising, whilst the loan signing of Theo Walcott means that it was also perhaps unlikely that he was going to be a regular for the South Coast club this season.

That being said, fellow academy prospect Dan N’Lundulu has also featured in the top-flight this season and has been on the bench for two other fixtures (per Transfermarkt), suggesting that he may well have moved above Obafemi in the pecking order.

As a result, the Ireland U21 international should perhaps be sent out on loan, as to ensure that his progress isn’t stifled too much by sitting on the bench for the Saints.

Considering he has already made 29 appearances in the Premier League in his career, there would surely be no shortage of interest in the striker from sides in the Championship, and perhaps a loan to the second division would help him realise his potential.

Hasenhuttl admitted earlier this season that:

“The problem with Michael was always he would play one good game and then fall back a little bit and was not professional enough to force or keep his position in the team or in the squad.

“This makes it too easy for others to go above him. I think this is what he must learn.

“Once he is in the squad, don’t give it away so easily and try to be aggressive and dangerous in front of the goal.

“I think this is something he misses, but he’s young, he still has to learn a lot and this is a kind of mentality but is also a kind of quality.” (per Hampshire Live)

Therefore, it seems clear that the Austrian manager is not fully convinced by Obafemi and a positive loan spell could be just what the Irishman needs to regain his confidence and put him back into Hasenhuttl’s good books.

Manchester United will want to get back to winning ways following their defeat to Paris Saint-Saint Germain on Wednesday night when they travel to the London Stadium to take on West Ham.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side saw their four-game winning streak snapped after they slumped to a disappointing defeat to the French Ligue 1 defending champions at Old Trafford.

Marcus Rashford faces a race against time to face the Hammers having been forced off during the midweek defeat to PSG with what looked like an side-effect of the shoulder injury he sustained whilst away on international duty last month.

However, the England international is expected to return, although Saturday’s game may come too soon for Luke Shaw, who is working his way back to fitness. Otherwise Solskjaer has close to a fully-fit squad to choose from, with Eric Bailly and Jesse Lingard also available for selection.

Here is our predicted line-up for Manchester United this afternoon, which sees Solskjaer ring four changes to the team that lost to the French giants.

Maybe Dean Henderson could come back in, but United’s undisputed No. 1 goalkeeper David de Gea has been in such fine form in recent weeks that we reckon Solskjaer will stick with his first-choice stopper this afternoon having been trusted for every single Premier League game so far this season.

Not only was Victor Lindelof lightweight, he was also largely anonymous against Paris Saint-Germain, so Axel Tuanzebe may be pushing for a recall to reunite with Alex Telles, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire to form the rest of the back four.

The 23-year-old is available once again after missing the Champions League clash with PSG due to suspension so could be in contention to start alongside the club captain.

Donny van de Beek could be handed a rare start next to Scott McTominay after Fred disgraced himself in the midweek defeat, which means Paul Pogba looks set to miss out.

Solskjaer will likely turn to Edinson Cavani to lead the line once more as Anthony Martial has suffered from an inconsistent run of form, so switching Rashford back to the left wing and bringing Juan Mata in on the right could be a tempting option for the club legend, who can also call upon Daniel James if required.

AND in other news, Amad Diallo could be Solskjaer’s ideal heir to Juan Mata at Manchester United…

Manchester United made a mess of the transfer window. The Red Devils had made a bright start by bringing in Donny van de Beek from Ajax at the beginning of the summer. Alex Telles joined Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side from FC Porto. But a last-minute swoop for former Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani has caused controversy.

And could Ed Woodward already be regretting the decision not to sell Sergio Romero?

What’s the word?

According to ESPN, a number of first-team players are angry with the Argentine’s treatment at Old Trafford. Romero has fallen down the pecking order after Dean Henderson’s return and his hopes of joining Everton on deadline day were dashed due to United’s demands of a £10m transfer fee.

It’s claimed that the Toffees were unwilling to meet United’s asking price and decided to sign Swedish international Robin Olsen on a season-long loan from AS Roma instead.

Major mistake?

Despite the fact the free agent didn’t cost the club a single penny, it seems the Red Devils have made a major mistake. Henderson has made a phenomenal start to life at Old Trafford, keeping two consecutive clean sheets in the Carabao Cup.

Solskjaer confirmed Romero was “disappointed” to lose his place prior to the Europa League semi-final against Sevilla but heaped plenty of praise on the goalkeeper for his professionalism. However, he has also been left out of the Champions League squad in favour of Lee Grant, which suggests he has fallen even further down the pecking order.

Henderson seems to have seized the opportunity to become the backup option for Solskjaer’s first-choice shot-stopper David de Gea after a successful spell at Sheffield United. And Romero is reconsidering his options as a result. The former 96-cap Argentina international is interested in a move to Major League Soccer.

Per SofaScore, the 33-year-old played nine Europa League games last season, and kept seven clean sheets, whilst he averaged 1.2 saves and only conceded 0.2 goals per game, which shows he has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The last thing United need is a bloated squad, so you can only imagine the money they would have made if they’d sold him in the summer. With all of their latest acquisitions, they will need to balance the books and it makes no financial sense to be paying £70,000-per-week on a goalkeeper who it seems is unlikely to play at all this term.

And the MLS Secondary Transfer Window stays open until October 29th for transfer, trades and loan deals, which has left them with ample time to find a potential buyer. Get him gone, Ed, and do the right thing.

AND in other news, Forget Solskjaer: Facundo Pellestri could benefit most from Bruno Fernandes at Man United…