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Aston Villa are interested in signing Stoke City defender Moritz Bauer before the end of the week, according to the Birmingham Mail.

Bauer, 27, has already been linked with a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers this month.

The Austrian made 15 Premier League appearances for Stoke in the second half of last season, as per Transfermarkt.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

The right-back was effectively frozen out by Gary Rowett in the first half of the 2018-19 campaign, but has been recalled to the starting XI under new boss Nathan Jones.

There remains huge uncertainty surrounding the defender’s future, however, and according to the Birmingham Mail, Villa want a deal this week.

The Villa Park faithful have been offering their views on the situation.

And it would be fair to say that the majority are struggling to agree whether it would be a good move by the club, who are still hoping to secure a top-six position this season.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Jack Pitt-Brooke has revealed that Tottenham Hotspur are now eyeing four major signings this summer.

The Lowdown: Champions League uncertainty

Spurs are not guaranteed to finish in the UEFA Champions League places this season, given that they are currently three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand on their North London rivals.

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It would be more difficult to attract the calibre of player that they would want should they miss out, and they could also potentially lose some of their best players, with the likes of Harry Kane now being linked to big-spenders Newcastle United.

The Latest: Four signings eyed

Writing in his latest piece for The Athletic, Lilywhites journalist Pitt-Brooke has revealed that Antonio Conte’s team are now looking to make four major signings in the summer.

They reportedly want to bring in a new left-sided central defender, two wing-backs, and a back-up to Kane.

The Verdict: Exciting

It is certainly exciting for THFC fans that they seem to be looking to go on a spending spree this summer.

The likes of Omar Marmoush and Lautaro Martinez have been linked as striker options, while Ben Davies could become more of a squad member next season, meaning that a more natural centre-back will likely take his position on the left of a three-man defence.

Djed Spence has been strongly linked with filling in the right wing-back position at Tottenham, while at left wing-back, Sergio Reguilon has not always been in favour under Conte.

Nonetheless, it could be a new-look Spurs side built in Conte’s image by the end of the summer transfer window, which should surely excite the Lilywhites faithful.

In other news, find out who THFC have now held talks over signing here!

West Bromwich Albion have the chance to put their recent disheartening 1-0 defeat against Birmingham City behind them as they welcome AFC Bournemouth to the Hawthorns for their latest Championship clash.

A second-half goal from Birmingham’s Lyle Taylor was enough to secure the win for the Baggies’ Midlands rivals last time out, in a game that saw Steve Bruce’s side fail to register even one shot on target.

Now with West Brom back at the Hawthorns as they prepare to take on the Cherries in front of their home crowd, they have a great opportunity to give those fans something to shout about by beating tonight’s opponents.

In terms of what the starting XI could look like for the home team, here’s how we think Bruce could line up his side, with some big changes potentially on the horizon.

In goal, despite keeping just two clean sheets in his past eight league games, we predict that Sam Johnstone will still keep his place in the team on this occasion.

For a back three, we anticipate Bruce will once again stick with the trio of Semi Ajayi, Kyle Bartley and Matt Clarke to see if they can keep Bournemouth from finding the back of the net.

With the Cherries scoring 20 more goals than the Baggies this term, this will surely be a tough ask for these three defenders.

For the two wing-back positions, even though he gave the penalty away against Birmingham, we think Bruce will keep Conor Townsend on the left-hand side with Darnell Furlong on the right.

In the middle, the Baggies boss should make a change and take Taylor Gardner-Hickman out of the side, leaving Alex Mowatt and Jake Livermore in central-midfield.

Coming in for Gardner-Hickman, we predict that winger Grady Diangana will come back in to make his first start since February against Swansea City, to see if he can freshen things up from what was a dismal attacking display against Birmingham.

Having been praised for his “magnificent” form in the past by Lee Hendrie, this is exactly what he’ll need to be to not only help his side grab a win but also convince his manager he should be a regular starter from now on.

For the final two positions, we think Callum Robinson will drop out after being “non-existent” at the weekend, with Andy Carroll coming back in next to Karlan Grant.

In other news: Forget Grant: Bruce must brutally axe “dreadful” £18k-p/w WBA dud, he’s been “woeful”

Sky Sports News have shared the latest injury update on Tottenham Hotspur full-back Matt Doherty live on air.

The Lowdown: Doherty’s rise to prominence

The 30-year-old has risen to prominence at Spurs in recent weeks, having become a key player in Antonio Conte’s starting XI. The Irishman has recently produced two goals and three assists in  the space of six league matches, which has added to the Lilywhites’ push for a fourth-place finish in the Premier League table.

However, Doherty’s contributions for the current campaign have now seemingly come to an end after the defender sustained a knee injury against Aston Villa on Saturday, forcing Conte into an unwanted substitution in the 21st minute.

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The Latest: Sky Sports News drop on-air Doherty update

Reporting live on air, Sky Sports News have revealed that Doherty is out for up to 12 weeks following the injury he sustained against Villa, which means that he will now miss the remainder of the Premier League season.

With the on-air clip shared via Twitter, Sky reported: “BREAKING: Tottenham’s Matt Doherty is out for up to 12 weeks.”

The reporter delivering the update referred to it as “bad news for Tottenham”, with the Irishman having “really found form lately”.

The Verdict: Huge blow for Conte

Conte has struggled with finalising his starting options at wing-back this season. However, Doherty has made the step up in recent weeks and has since featured in the starting XI in Tottenham’s last seven Premier League games.

Consequently, this news will come as a huge blow to the Spurs manager, who will now have to rely on Emerson Royal as the only fit right wing-back available for selection for the remainder of the season. It’s a cruel blow for Doherty, too, who was just hitting his stride after a difficult start to life in north London.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano drops Dejan Kulusevski transfer claim

According to a report from 90min, Wolves are among the clubs interested in signing Brentford striker Ivan Toney in the summer transfer window.

The lowdown: An interesting rise to stardom

Signed by Newcastle United from Northampton Town as a youngster, Toney struggled to make the grade in the North East and after a string of loan moves was eventually sold on a permanent basis to Peterborough United in 2018.

From there, the powerful frontman made his name, scoring 49 goals in 94 appearances before making the switch to a then Championship Brentford side.

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Following on from a stunning 31 strikes and ten assists last season, helping the west London club earn promotion, Toney has made a successful start to life in the Premier League, including a dominant performance at Molineux – the Englishman scored and assisted in a 2-0 win, earning Whoscored’s Man of the Match up against the game’s lowest-rated player, Max Kilman.

The latest: Report cites major interest

As per the report from 90min, Wolves, Arsenal, West Ham, Everton and Newcastle are all keen on the 26-year-old.

It’s claimed that despite Toney wanting to sign a new deal to stay at Brentford, the Wanderers are ‘keeping a watchful’ eye on the situation.

The report also states that the were the London club to sell their talismanic frontman, they are likely to hold out for a bid in excess of £50million for the man hailed as ‘special’ by manager Thomas Frank.

The verdict: Priced out

Albeit Toney has taken to life in the top flight with impressive ease, scoring 12 times so far in the league this season, shelling out the suggested £50million plus for a man in his first elite-level campaign is not a deal worth pursuing at Molineux.

Whilst manager Bruno Lage and executive chairman Jeff Shi will almost certainly be hoping to add more senior support to Raul Jimenez during the summer transfer window, this move at this price seems farfetched.

Clearly fitting a certain profile of striker as a powerful presence, Wolves may well be in the market for a direct Jimenez understudy. To that end, when using FBref to find players with closely matching attributes to Toney, Athletic Bilbao ace Raul Garcia and Alaves’ Joselu make up the top two, as Jimenez himself is actually the third-closest likeness.

In other news, a journalist has discussed a possible shock summer exit at Wolves. Read more here.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Dean Jones of Eurosport has dropped a big update on Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger.

The Lowdown: Spurs working on agreement?

As per reports in the media over these last few weeks, Tottenham are very much in contention to sign the Germany international as a free agent despite him plying his trade across London for one of their biggest rivals.

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Rudiger’s current contract at Stamford Bridge expires this year with no extension in sight as things stand, alerting some of Europe’s top clubs alongside Spurs.

The likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris-Saint Germain and Barcelona are all in the race to sign Chelsea’s star defender, according to Sky, and the fact that overseas clubs can formally secure him to a pre-contract this month puts Antonio Conte’s side at a disadvantage.

Nevertheless, Spurs transfer chief Fabio Paratici has apparently been in constant contact with Rudiger’s entourage as he attempts to seal an agreement for the player ahead of next summer (Football Insider).

Sharing news on the situation, Jones has dropped a significant update.

The Latest: Jones drops big Rudiger to Spurs update…

According to the reporter’s sources, Tottenham are making a ‘very attractive’ offer which has ‘definitely’ turned the 28-year-old’s head.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, he explained: “From a financial standing, the offer Spurs are making to Rudiger is very attractive. It has definitely turned his head but he has to be convinced of the football side of things.”

The Verdict: Promising…

With half the job seemingly done in terms of convincing Rudiger with their wage package, Spurs fans will be hoping that the player could decide to join Conte and be part of the Lilywhites’ rebuild.

Currently in his prime and playing well, signing the centre-back would come as one of Paratici’s best possible coups if he can manage to convince the 28-year-old to make the move across London.

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan certainly agrees, going as far as to claim he would be ‘one of the biggest signings ever’ if he joined Tottenham (Football Insider). Ex-Sunderland front man Kevin Phillips is also a big fan, stating that Rudiger has been ‘amazing for a number of years’ and any club would be ‘lucky to have him’ (Football Insider).

Bypassing his £31.5m valuation and signing him for nothing would be nothing short of a Paratici masterstroke, and perhaps Conte’s ‘big-name’ manager status could further tempt Rudiger.

In other news: Bid made: TV broadcaster shares news as Spurs lodge offer to sign ‘extraordinary’ £66.8m man, find out more here.

West Ham United will make the short trip to west London to take on Chelsea this afternoon as the Hammers look to boost their chances of a top-six finish in the Premier League.

The Blues already look set to finish third in the league whilst the Irons’ fate is still uncertain with Wolves and Manchester United also in the hunt for sixth place.

David Moyes’ men will take confidence from the fact that they beat Thomas Tuchel’s side 3-2 in the reverse fixture with every remaining game now vital for the east London club.

With a crunch first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Frankfurt on Thursday, will the Scotsman prioritise Europe and look to make changes against Chelsea? Here is how Football FanCast expects the Hammers to line up.

West Ham XI: Fabianski, Johnson, Dawson, Alese, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Lanzini, Benrahma, Antonio

As expected there’s no change in goal as Lukasz Fabianski continues his role as league goalkeeper whilst there’s a major change in the defence with Issa Diop now ruled out with an ankle injury.

With Craig Dawson the only fit senior centre-back, we expect Moyes to finally give an opportunity to exciting youngster Aji Alese.

The 6 foot 3 Nigerian has been excellent for the Hammers’ U23s this season and was described as “gold dust” by Tom Edwards on the We Are West Ham Podcast.

Moreover, the 21-year-old is a left-footed centre-back so should slot in next to Dawson perfectly as he gears up to make a potential Premier League debut.

Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice are set to continue their partnership in front of the back four whilst there is another change in the attacking midfield trio with Moyes playing his usual 4-2-3-1 set-up.

Nikola Vlasic was handed a rare league start against Burnley last weekend and failed to deliver once again, therefore we expect the Croatian to be replaced by Said Benrahma to add much-needed creativity to the side and support for striker Michail Antonio.

The £69k-per-week 24-year-old has endured a tough first season in claret and blue, scoring just one goal in all competitions.

Despite playing a London rival in Chelsea, this afternoon’s match is crucial if West Ham are serious about securing a top-six finish, with other sides in the hunt breathing down their neck.

AND in other news, Moyes can axe “superb” £50m ace with WHU swoop for “one of the most exciting talents”…

An update has emerged on Rangers and their efforts to make further additions to their squad at Ibrox in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

According to TEAMtalk, the Gers are among a number of clubs who are keen on a deal to sign Manchester City midfielder James McAtee before the end of the month, with Southampton, Leicester, Brighton and Aston Villa among the other teams eyeing him up.

The report claims that Giovanni van Bronckhorst is hoping that his friendship with Pep Guardiola will give the Scottish giants a leg-up in negotiations.

Kent 2.0

The Gers could land the new Ryan Kent in a deal to sign McAtee on loan from the English champions this month, as he is an exciting, talented young forward who could have a big impact at Ibrox.

He has 19 goals and five assists in all competitions for Man City this season, playing for the under-23’s and the first team. The youngster has featured for Guardiola’s side in the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup and the Premier League, although he is yet to make his Champions League bow.

McAtee’s 24 goal involvements in 23 games means that he has directly contributed to a goal every 0.95 matches on average.

City academy coach Brian Barry-Murphy once dubbed the forward a “very intelligent player” and his emergence at first-team level suggests that Guardiola has also seen that in him. His sensational record in terms of goals and assists also proves that he knows how to make an impact in the final third, much like Kent does for the Gers.

The ex-Liverpool winger has 29 goals and 35 assists in 149 games for the Scottish giants. This shows how impressive he has been over the years under Steven Gerrard and now Van Bronckhorst, with McAtee potentially able to follow in his footsteps at Ibrox.

If Rangers are able to get a deal over the line for the Cityzens maestro, he could be a fantastic addition to the squad. His goals and assists for City at youth level suggest that he has the potential to be a key player for Van Bronckhorst in Scotland if he is able to translate some of that form over to the Premiership, which is why he could be the new Kent for Rangers.

AND in other news, Van Bronckhorst must now sign “exciting” £1.8m-rated gem who was “almost certain” to join Rangers…

Manchester United have not made any moves in the transfer window so far in terms of new additions but have been linked with a host of players in various positions, with the appointment of Ralf Rangnick building hope of a change in direction for the club as they seek their first trophy since 2017.

The club have had another disappointing season, struggling to get comfortable in the top four, winning just nine of their first 19 league games, but they have had a good run so far under Rangnick since he joined the club in November.

The German went unbeaten in his first five Premier League games and the team picked up 10 points out of a possible 15 in their last five games prior to this evening’s clash at Aston Villa. That has put them in a more competitive position for the remainder of the season as they chase a Champions League qualifying place.

The squad has shown weaknesses during disappointing performances this season, most recently in their 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford earlier this month, and Rangnick will need to identify the areas which can be improved over the coming months within his squad.

One player who has been linked with the Red Devils during this transfer window is Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger, who has been an outstanding performer for the Champions League holders this season, and now it seems that he has attracted the attention of the Manchester club.

Rio Ferdinand 2.o

The German defender, who is out of contract in the summer, has won 78% of his aerial duels and helped Chelsea to keep eight clean sheets this season, with the 6 foot 2 beast also scoring three goals and providing four assists in all competitions so far, proving he is effective both defensively and offensively.

This diversity in his play from the centre-back position is similar to that of United legend Rio Ferdinand, who also used his pace and ability to read games and dictate play both in his defensive and progressive actions, as well as leadership qualities in the backline which earned him legendary status at Old Trafford.

If the £31.5m-rated Chelsea gem were to join the Red Devils, Ferdinand would definitely approve too, as the ex-United star claimed that Rudiger “isn’t getting beaten” in his position. Speaking on his podcast last year, the 43-year-old gushed: ‘He isn’t getting beaten by no one at the moment the way that he’s on it and he’s concentrating.’

Rangnick will have a challenge on his hands if he plans to sign the defender from Stamford Bridge this summer, as many other clubs are interested in securing his signature – including Chelsea themselves, who have also opened contract talks with the player and his agent over the last few days.

It’s clear from the praise and statistics above that Rudiger is a sublime defender, so the United boss must do everything he can to bring the 28-year-old to Old Trafford.

In other news: Alex Crook gives an update on this potential Man Utd signing

Patrick Bamford missed Leeds United’s FA Cup defeat to West Ham with a fresh hip problem, according to reliable journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Leeds dumped out of FA Cup

The Whites were beaten 2-0 away to the Hammers on Sunday afternoon, exiting the cup at the third round stage.

A weakened Leeds team never really got going at the London Stadium and their focus turns solely to Premier League commitments between now and May.

Bamford was one of numerous key players not present in east London, but it turns out that he was due to feature until a late setback emerged.

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The Latest: Fresh Bamford injury

Taking to Twitter after the game, Hay confirmed that the striker was in line to face West Ham after another injury absence, only to be ruled out with a hip problem. The severity of the injury remains unknown, so Bamford could be set for yet more time on the sidelines.

The journalist revealed: “Bamford was due to start today but had a problem around his hip. Bielsa still waiting to find out the full extent of it.”

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The Verdict: Potential big blow

Bamford has been an enormous loss for Leeds for much of this season, with the entire attack blunted without him leading the line and proving to be a reliable source of goals and assists, like he was last term.

The 28-year-old has been limited to just five starts in the current Premier League campaign and Marcelo Bielsa desperately needs him back as his side look to pull clear of the relegation zone.

Aside from Raphinha, the Whites have been rather short on reliable scorers this season, so if Bamford’s latest injury is a long-term one, Leeds must look to bring in a striker in the January transfer window. Otherwise, they risk getting themselves into real trouble in the league.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly eyeing up a move for a young British player. Find out who it is here.