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Aston Villa have been handed a hugely exciting update about Emi Buendia’s move to the club, amid claims that Arsenal were also interested in signing him.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days and weeks had suggested that Dean Smith’s side were in a straight shoot-out for the Argentine, and in the end, it was Villa who clinched a big-money deal for the play-maker.

And now, writing for The Athletic, Norwich correspondent, Michael Bailey, said: “Make no mistake, Villa was the move the forward wanted. That had been made clear to Norwich and rival suitors Arsenal during a bidding process that began on the last day of May.

“Villa chief executive Christian Purslow and Norwich sporting director Stuart Webber have known each other since working together at Liverpool a decade ago, and that certainly helped the deal move swiftly.

“While Villa’s first bid was big enough to show they were serious, it was rejected by Norwich. Worried about getting into a bidding war with Arsenal, whose interest had been well documented, they put forward an improved bid by the middle of last week.

“That was also turned down by Norwich and followed by Arsenal’s opening offer, which matched their second one and was also met with a no from Carrow Road. Rather than top what Arsenal had put on the table, all Villa really needed to do was match Norwich’s valuation.”

Fans will be buzzing

Given that it was a battle between Villa and Arsenal, the fact that Buendia chose Smith’s side over the Gunners from the start of proceedings is a real momentum booster with the transfer window only just getting officially started.

Mikel Arteta’s side have been falling off in recent seasons and ended the last Premier League campaign outside of the European places for the first time in more than two decades.

And while Villa may have finished below the north Londoners, there’s no questioning that it’s the Midlands club who seem to be on the way up.

Had Jack Grealish not been injured for the closing weeks of the season, then a Europa League place may well have been their just rewards for what was a truly outstanding campaign, especially after only just surviving Premier League relegation the year prior.

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So, news that in a transfer tussle between them and one of the Premier League’s traditional ‘big six’, a main transfer target chose to move to Villa over Arsenal, will have fans absolutely buzzing and dreaming of some more high-profile signings as the transfer window remains open.

Meanwhile, Dean Smith is eyeing a move for this Premier League star…

Aston Villa look set to move on two longstanding scouts in a major reshuffle behind the scenes, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Villa’s major spending plans

Villa spent over £90m during the current campaign on five permanent transfers, and it looks as if another spending spree is on the way at Villa Park.

Owners Wes Edens and Naseef Sawiris have pumped around £400m into the club since taking over in 2018, and according to Football Insider back in March, they will spend big this summer in a bid to keep hold of club captain Jack Grealish.

The Latest: Friday meeting planned

According to Football Insider, Mick Brown and Alan Wood are set to leave the club.

A Villa source revealed that both Brown and Wood have been told to attend a meeting at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training headquarters on Friday.

The report described the likely parting ways of Brown and Wood as a surprise, with the pair working on potential signings under sporting director Johan Lange.

The Verdict: A bold move

It’s safe to say that Villa’s spending during the 2020/21 campaign has been a lot better than their 2019/20 business.

The likes of Ollie Watkins, Matty Cash and Emiliano Martinez have been revelations under Dean Smith, although the loan signing of Ross Barkley hasn’t really worked out.

However, a number of the arrivals in the 19/20 season have either been injured for large parts of their stay or struggled on the pitch – Wesley Moraes, Tom Heaton, Mbwana Samatta, Bjorn Engels and Jota spring to mind.

It seems as if Villa have their heart set on an off-field revamp, though, which could have real significance to Lange going forward.

In other news: Villa keen on Premier League international, many fans are delighted, find out more here. 

Southampton’s former vice-chairman Les Reed has revealed the reason behind Wesley Hoedt’s failure at the club in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

Saints paid £15m to sign Hoedt from Serie A club Lazio in 2017, with the Netherlands international signing a five-year contract at St Mary’s.

At the time, Reed said that the defender was “one of the most promising young defenders in Europe” but he struggled to make a real impact on the south coast.

Hoedt made 45 appearances for Saints in total, making 23 appearances under Mark Hughes and 22 under Mauricio Pellegrino.

He never played a single minute under the management of Ralph Hasenhuttl and he is now back in Serie A, playing for Lazio on loan, the club from whom he joined the Saints.

Reed felt that the deal was a good one when he arrived at the club, but that a mistake early in his Saints spell ultimately destroyed his confidence.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “Wesley was on our radar in Ronald’s reign, although we bought him in Puel’s reign because Ronald wanted a left-sided centre-half and we didn’t have one. And he was playing for Lazio in the Champions League and was in the Dutch national team.

“At the day of purchase, he was a good buy.

“But having got in the building, Claude, who wanted a left-sided centre-half because of the way he wanted to play, he did make an incredible error that led to a defeat, and that was it, wiped off. Destroyed the player’s confidence and then it gets very difficult to pull that back.”

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Frank McAvennie refused to rule out Jose Mourinho becoming the new Celtic manager.

The Portuguese, who was sacked by Tottenham earlier this month, has recently emerged as a shock candidate to replace Neil Lennon at Parkhead.

Reports believe that almost straight after Mourinho was relieved of his duties in north London, he was approached by the Hoops about the vacant role in Paradise.

Mourinho endured a wretched campaign at Tottenham, although he was perhaps harshly sacked just six days before the Carabao Cup final, which they ended up losing 1-0 to against Manchester City last month.

It means that the Special One failed to win silverware for the first time in his career, but could the lure of trying to become top dogs in Scotland once again appeal to him?

McAvennie told Football FanCast:

“I know he likes Celtic – when Celtic played in the UEFA Cup final against Porto, he couldn’t believe the fans and said that night ‘it’s a club that I would love to manage’, but I think he meant with those kind of supporters, rather than to come to Scotland.

“Would I like Mourinho up there? God yeah. It would be a breath of fresh air into Scottish football. Do I think it will happen? No, but I would love it. Never rule anything out, I’ve been in football too long, because just when you say something you end up looking like a fool. “

Harvey Elliott’s hopes of featuring for Liverpool next season will hinge on their summer transfer business, according to The Athletic’s James Pearce.

The Lowdown: Elliott completes excellent spell at Blackburn

The 18-year-old has spent this season on loan at Blackburn Rovers, enjoying a brilliant campaign for the Championship club. On Saturday, Elliott played his last game for the Lancashire outfit, scoring in their 5-2 win at home to Birmingham City, meaning he finishes the campaign with seven goals and 11 assists.

The key question now is whether or not the teenager will stay at Liverpool this summer or head out on loan again, with Jurgen Klopp set to make that decision in the coming months.

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The Latest: Pearce provides key update

Speaking in a Q&A for The Athletic after Liverpool’s 2-0 win at home to Southampton on Saturday night, Pearce said he would like to see Elliott remain on Merseyside, but the decision will depend on potential summer arrivals and departures at Anfield:

 “I think it depends what happens this summer in terms of incomings/outgoings. I’d like to see him stay put next season. He’s such an exciting talent.”

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The Verdict: Keep hold of Elliott this summer

It is easy to get carried away about exciting young players – Rhian Brewster is a good example – but Elliott really does look like the real deal. The Championship is a tough league for a young player to make his mark, but he has taken it by storm and shown he can compete physically, also looking technically superior to those around him.

Elliott shouldn’t be a regular starter for Liverpool next season, but he should take up the role which will likely be vacated by Xherdan Shaqiri, if reports of a possible Anfield departure come to fruition.

Another loan move certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing, but the silky attacker is ready to be a squad option, maturing as a player at the same time and eventually becoming a star at Liverpool.

In other news, there has been another update on Liverpool’s pursuit of Ibrahima Konate. Read more here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Howey, who made 150 appearances for Newcastle United, believes even Steve Bruce would have thought he was about to be sacked after the Brighton defeat.

Newcastle suffered a 3-0 defeat against their relegation rivals last week and many players thought Bruce was about to be sacked that night or in the coming day, however, the next day Lee Charnley and Mike Ashley gave Bruce their full backing.

The Magpies registered just three shots as well as completing just 393 passes, compared to Brighton’s 751, and they were just one place and point better off than Newcastle.

Speaking on what Bruce must have been thinking after the game and what was more concerning than the result itself, Howey told FFC:

“Football is all about results. So even he would have thought he could be in trouble here unless he’s had prior conversations with the owner.

“I think every fan thought Bruce would be in trouble and as I’ve said, it wasn’t just necessarily the defeat that was the issue.

“I think it was the all-around performance and the lack anything really to try and turn it around.”

Newcastle find themselves still sitting outside of the bottom three which has been down to Fulham’s ability to capitalise since reducing the gap to three or less.

The Magpies have nine games left, with their final two games against Sheffield United and Fulham, two teams they failed to beat earlier this season.

Celtic are currently without a manager but that hasn’t stopped the Bhoys from considering new recruits ahead of the summer window.

What’s the word?

One player Celtic have been linked with on a frequent basis in the past is Aaron Hickey.

The teenager left the Hoops when he was still an academy player, joining Hearts in 2018. However, the Bhoys seemingly hold regret and have been keen to bring him back.

In a recent interview, Hickey admitted there was a heavy interest from his boyhood club last summer before he joined Bologna for a fee of £1.8m.

The 18-year-old commented: “I’m a Celtic supporter and it was massive for me, but I just didn’t think it was the right time to go there,”

In light of this, Celtic pundit Frank McAvennie gave his thoughts on the left-back when speaking to Football Insider: “It sounds like a come-and-get-me plea. He’s a good left-back the young boy, I would take him.”

Ideal Tierney successor

Ever since Kieran Tierney left for Arsenal in the summer of 2019, Celtic have been trying to find a solution.

They signed Diego Laxalt on loan from AC Milan but his future at the club is in doubt with the defender only on loan in Glasgow.

With Boli Bolingoli frozen out after his pandemic-related mishap last summer, the Hoops are in desperate need of finding another full-back.

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In letting the likes of Tierney and Hickey go, Celtic are obviously full of regret but they could make a huge step towards correcting their decision by bringing the latter back.

He has developed excellently in recent years and a move to Serie A is a testament to that. He sparkled on his debut for Bologna, earning rave reviews from the Italian press.

Gazzetta dello Sport wrote: “Debuted at 18 as if he’d always played here. In the first half he showed personality and quality, a player who was bought for almost nothing.”

Hickey is evidently wise beyond his age and like Tierney, possesses attacking qualities in abundance. In a scout report on the player, The Footie Analyst wrote: “One of Hickey’s key strengths is his ability to run with the ball at speed, utilising the space available to drive his team forward.”

That is near identical to Tierney, a player who is often so rampant down Arsenal’s left-hand side.

What sets him apart, however, is his versatility. The youngster is capable of playing on the right-hand side too. Having also featured centrally, Hickey has been compared to one of the finest to grace the game.

Former Hearts man Austin MacPhee once said: “He’s so young he could play a lot of positions. He could end up being like Busquets.”

With defensive solidity to his game too – he has made 1.4 interceptions per game this season – he would be an excellent addition.

Celtic should consider reviving their interest in Hickey when the time is right.

AND in other news, Celtic hero sees value soar by 257% after leaving, Rodgers called him a “big talent”…

There were high hopes when Southampton signed Jordy Clasie from Feyenoord for £8 million in 2015 but the Dutch international would endure a nightmare spell on the South Coast before leaving on a free transfer in the summer of 2019.

Executive sporting director at the time, Les Reed, parted with the funds to bring him to St Mary’s, with Clasie having already worked under manager Ronald Koeman with the Eredivisie side.

Whilst he was a regular in that first season in the Premier League, making 22 appearances, he failed to set the world alight – as he averaged a 6.71 rating in the top-flight with no goals or assists to his name.

When Koeman departed for Everton the following summer, the midfielder’s Southampton career was perhaps destined to fail, and he made just 16 appearances in the Premier League, in which he averaged a pretty shocking 6.40/10 rating for his performances.

The following season saw the Dutchman loaned to Club Brugge, where he would make 25 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal and providing two assists, before he returned to his old side Feyenoord on loan for the 2018/19 season.

His performances on loan were not enough to convince Southampton that he was worth keeping, however, as he was allowed to move back to the Eredivisie in the summer of 2019, joining AZ Alkmaar on a free transfer.

Things are not going well for the 29-year-old this season, as he has managed just two substitute appearances in the Dutch top-flight, which begs the question, why did Southampton ever think that he was good enough to be a regular in the Premier League?

Certainly, it was something of a disaster move by the Saints to bring him in for £8 million and then lose him for nothing four years later, as he would only manage 49 appearances in his four contracted years at the club, which represents terrible value for money.

It’s something they should keep in mind when assessing targets for the upcoming summer transfer window.

And, in other news… Hasenhuttl effect: Saints beast is now valued at £25.2m, Semmens is licking his lips

Sunderland have had a horrible habit in recent years of letting their academy gems walk through the exit door for not very much money.

Sam Greenwood was one of the first to start the trend. He departed Sunderland for Arsenal in 2018 and is now on the cusp of senior football with Leeds United.

Josh Maja is the most high profile case. His agent convinced him his future lay elsewhere and he left for Bordeaux in January 2019. Now playing at Fulham in the Premier League, there seems to be a familiar trend here.

Other young prospects like Joe Hugill, Bali Mumba, Luke Hewitson, Morten Spencer and Logan Pye have also all departed.

Though, if you cast your mind back to 2014, there is a name who is arguably doing better things than any of those mentioned above.

That happens to be John Egan. The centre-back never made a first-team appearance for the Mackems before being released seven years ago.

He subsequently joined Gillingham on a free transfer, before moving to Brentford and then Sheffield United.

The Irishman has been a wonderful presence in the Blades’ backline, very rarely missing a game. He played 44 matches during their promotion-winning campaign from the Championship in 2018/19 and since they were promoted, he’s been absent for only two games.

During that time, the 28-year-old has become an established international, earning 12 caps for his country, the Republic of Ireland.

Egan has very much become a classic case of one who got away. The defender is Premier League proven and was part of a backline that proved one of the best in the top-flight last term.

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The former Sunderland academy graduate helped Sheffield United to the fourth-best defensive record in the entire division. They conceded 39 times, a better tally than Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea.

Egan has come on leaps and bounds over the last few years, being described as “rock-solid” by Chris Wilder.

It’s unsurprising, therefore, that his value has risen so dramatically. Released on a free transfer by Sunderland all those years ago, he is now rated at an eye-catching £9m by Transfermarkt.

That kind of fee is one to bulk at, especially for a club now plying their trade in League One. As the Black Cats tumbled down the leagues, it would have been difficult for them to keep hold of him.

That being said, they got rid of him at a time when they were in the Premier League. He has since proven he is up to the challenge of performing at that very level.

AND in other news, Rarely-seen 18 y/o could rival Diamond at Sunderland, he’s a “talented lad”…

Wolves are set to take on Aston Villa on Saturday evening in what is a crunch clash for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

Lawrenson reacts

The Black Country club are currently 12th in the Premier League table with just two wins from their last five outings and will look to react after their 4-1 defeat to Manchester City last time out.

Villa are three places above them in the standings but have two games in hand – as well as three more wins to their name this season.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Lawrenson believes that their performance at the Etihad will galvanise them into gaining three points against their Midland rivals.

He said: “Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were well beaten in the end by Manchester City in midweek but they were still hard to break down. They didn’t get much of a chance to attack against City but, apart from that game, they have had a bit more bite recently too.”

Lawrenson went on to predict that Wolves would beat Dean Smith’s side 1-0 in a closely-fought contest.

Transfer Tavern Verdict

Wolves definitely illustrated glimpses of promises last time out as they went toe-to-toe with the league leaders, which shows why the scoreline was harsh on the visitors.

They can temporarily move into the top 10 with a win as they will have played more than the teams around them, and there is no reason why they can’t do just that.

In other news, Tim Spiers speaks out on future of “outstanding” Wolves gem.