Aston Villa hold a strong interest in a “smart” midfielder who is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, according to a recent report.

Aston Villa transfer news

The Villans came from a goal down to beat Chelsea 2-1 on Saturday night, and they had January signings Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio to thank. Rashford grabbed two assists as he set up Asensio twice to make sure all three points stayed in the Midlands.

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Rashford is on loan from Manchester United, and it was reported over the weekend that Villa do have an option to buy the Englishman for £40 million, but the chances of him joining the club on a permanent basis are slim.

In further transfer news, Villa are interested in signing Samu Omorodion from FC Porto as a possible replacement for Jhon Duran, who left in January.

Omorodion has been an impressive force in Portugal, and the Villans are now interested in making a deal happen, with Porto looking to get around £41 million for his services. Signing a new centre-forward will be a key priority for Unai Emery in the summer, and they would be more willing to splash out such a figure on the 20 year-old due to his age and sell on potential.

Aston Villa hold strong interest in "smart" Angel Gomes

But it is not just strikers on Villa’s radar, as according to Give Me Sport, Aston Villa are monitoring Lille midfielder Angel Gomes and have a strong interest in doing a deal in the summer.

Gomes has been with the French side since August 2020, but his time at the club appears to be coming to an end, as his contract is set to expire at the end of the campaign. The 24-year-old is expected to become a free agent, and Villa are among the Premier League teams keeping an eye on his situation.

Tottenham, Bournemouth, Man United and West Ham are also interested in signing Gomes, but the report states that Villa could represent an appealing option to the player. That is because Villa may be able to offer European football in some capacity, which the others likely won’t. Furthermore, given how the likes of Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers have done under Emery at Villa, the England international may see the Midlands as somewhere he can really develop.

Apps

13

Starts

9

Goals

1

xG

1.71

Shots per game

0.7

Assists

1

xAG

1.55

Big chances created

4

Key passes

1.1

Passing accuracy per game

20.8 (82%)

Gomes, who has been described as a “smart passer” by analyst Ben Mattinson in the past, has been a key performer for Lille over a number of seasons now, and that has earned him recognition on the international stage. The midfielder may have his eye on a return to England and the Premier League to prove that he is more than capable of performing at this level, and it may improve his chances of success for England as well.

Tottenham Hotspur will attempt to sign an England star who Real Madrid were pushing to sign last year, with chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange showcasing some ambition already before the summer transfer window.

Ange Postecoglou praises Tottenham players despite Man City loss

Spurs’ brief winning streak came to an abrupt end against Premier League champions Man City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday evening.

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Erling Haaland’s eventual winner proved the difference between Ange Postecoglou and Pep Guardiola’s sides, but the former still found positives to take away from the 90 minutes, despite it being their fourteenth top flight loss of the campaign.

Bournemouth (home)

March 9th

Fulham (away)

March 16th

Chelsea (away)

April 2nd

Southampton (home)

April 5th

Wolves (away)

April 12th

“Yeah I think so. First half we were just a little bit too eager to get forward with the ball,” said Postecoglou on Tottenham’s positive second-half against Man City.

“I thought we were really wasteful and when you are (like that) against City it allows them to get into a rhythm of their game. They can pick you off at different times and we just didn’t handle that part of the game well. They scored and had a couple of good chances to get further ahead.

“I certainly felt second half we dominated the game and territory. We were pretty relentless. Much better with the ball and a lot calmer but just missing a goal and ultimately fell short.

“It did look more like us today. At least from my perspective. We were really relentless. We played aggressive football. We took it to a very good opponent. We never tapered off at all. If anything, like you said, bringing the guys on made us stronger towards the end of the game. Disappointing to lose but I think you see the benefit of us being refreshed and going into a game well prepared. That level of performance in the second half, if we can begin to get consistent with that then we will be able to push on.”

Overall, it’s been a disappointing second campaign in charge for Postecoglou, who is relying on a good run in the Europa League to end Tottenham’s 17-year trophy drought.

Preparations are already underway to bolster the squad ahead of next campaign, with Tottenham believed to be targeting a new centre-back this summer.

Tottenham set to attempt move for Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite

According to CaughtOffside, Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite is on their transfer shortlist in that regard, following the Lilywhites’ repeated shortages at centre-half throughout 2024/2025.

Tottenham are ready to rival Man United in the race for Branthwaite this summer, as per this report, and it is believed even Real Madrid were once pushing to land the England international, though a move failed to materialise.

The 22-year-old will apparently command a price tag of around £70 million, though, so Levy will need to invest heavily in his acquisition. That being said, he currently stands out as one of the country’s most promising centre-backs.

“Branthwaite has been outstanding,” said Jamie Carragher last year. “I think this lad is pretty special. He’s a big part of why Everton in my eyes have a good chance of staying up, him and his partnership with [James] Tarkowski.”

The father of one Celtic transfer target has launched a jab at Scottish football, labelling it an “intermediate” step for his son.

Celtic miss out on late deals

Brendan Rodgers side may well be well clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, but they remained active in the January transfer window.

Kyogo Furuhashi departed to join Rennes, which left the Scottish giants needing to replace the forward before the window slammed shut. After failing with several offers to sign a new forward, they ultimately opted to re-sign Jota, with the 25-year-old joining from the same side that Kyogo joined.

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He has already marked his return with two goals and an assist in three Scottish Premiership outings, hitting the ground running at his former stomping ground and beginning to pay back his transfer fee at Celtic Park. But that move hasn’t gone down well in all quarters.

Strelec's father reacts to failed transfer

Before they signed Jota, one player that Celtic made a move for was Slovan Bratislava talent David Strelec, who has found the net 11 times in 19 games so far this season and who had caught the eye of Rodgers’ side.

They made an offer to sign the forward, but it was knocked back by the Slovakian side as it was deemed to be too low, and Celtic ultimately moved onto other targets before landing Jota.

Appearances

19

Goals

11

Assists

3

Minutes per goal involvement

83.5

And now Strelec’s father has revealed just what happened, and how it left both him and his son fuming.

“You know, when I heard about Celtic’s interest, I was thrilled”, he explained. “I was there at Slovan’s first match in the Champions League, whole families were sitting there, old and young, amazing atmosphere. I would have loved to see him there. He has made great progress since the Euro, he is doing well, he is scoring goals. But the decision about his transfer was made higher up.

“Celtic’s bid of 9.5m Euros? [£7.9m] That didn’t help either. Unfortunately, that’s how it is. But none of us knows the exact details of the contract or how the installments or bonuses were set. Maybe Slovan wanted to get it all at once, that’s why the club decided against it. It’s probably pointless to get into it.”

However, his further comments will not go down well with fans either side of the Old Firm divide, with Strelec adding that Scotland was just a two-team league and an “intermediate step” for his son.

“I watched the Celtic game over the weekend, everyone knows that the Scottish competition is about two clubs, but it could have been a good intermediate step for David. But there are things you simply can’t influence. It turned out the way it turned out. We’ll see what happens in the summer. My son will continue to perform well, I’m sure of that.

“It was beyond my control. They have invested a lot in David over the years, although some would say he’s already paid it back. I guess they know what they’re doing. My son will continue to perform well and be professional and in the summer… who knows?”

If Celtic go back in for the Slovakian, he will have some work to do to win over the Parkhead faithful.

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Virat Kohli on the MCG Diwali miracle, part 1

Big picture: Will India give the fringe players game time?

They’ve been occasionally tested, but otherwise, India’s World Cup run has been nothing short of magical. Now on the day of the auspicious Indian festival of Diwali, they have a chance to gift their fans another dose of entertainment, and even though we know that anything can happen in sport, a defeat for the hosts is extremely unlikely.That’s because India have been absolutely dominant during their 8-0 run at this World Cup. Coming into their final league game, they face the least-fancied team of the tournament, Netherlands, even if they have performed better than expected. With a semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday their next big game, Sunday also offers India a chance to rest key personnel should there be a need for it.According to India head coach Rahul Dravid’s press conference, India are not looking at “tactical” changes, but they may yet be tempted to give some game time to the likes of Prasidh Krishna, who is playing his first World Cup, or R Ashwin, who hasn’t played since the first game against Australia last month.Someone who is unlikely to be rested, though, is Virat Kohli, who is chasing a century that will put him where no man has ever gone before – 50 ODI tons. Both Kohli, and India, will hope that a hundred on Sunday brings a close to all the chatter about records being broken, and by the time the semi-final comes along, the collective focus of the Indian side is on that elusive knockout win and not on milestones that, on some occasions, have taken importance over the ruthlessness of victory in this tournament.Netherlands will have their own statement to make. They’ve been in India longer than any other visiting side this World Cup, and despite the highs of two terrific wins, they wouldn’t want to finish rock-bottom on the points table. They wanted to desperately play the warm-up game against India that got washed out, but here is another chance to shine in what will most likely be their team’s most-watched game of international cricket. It will be excruciatingly difficult though, as eight other teams have already learnt.Bas de Leede played a brilliant game against Pakistan but has not hit those same high notes since•AFP/Getty Images

Form guide

India: WWWWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
Netherlands: LLWLL

In the spotlight: Shubman Gill and Bas de Leede

Before the World Cup, Shubman Gill was the unanimous choice among fans and experts as the one player most likely to succeed at the World Cup. But it hasn’t been so. A case of dengue made him lose muscle mass and weight, he wasn’t at full fitness at the start of the tournament, and a run of only two half-centuries in six innings has meant his overall performance has been below the lofty stands he has himself set. With Rohit Sharma and Kohli churning out the runs, Gill’s scores have gone under the radar, but India would want a big score from the opener ahead of the big semi-final in Mumbai.He has the most wickets for Netherlands at this World Cup (14) but he also has the worst economy (7.10) among his team’s quicks. For Bas de Leede, this competition promised a lot of highs but all that followed after his all-round effort against Pakistan has been disappointment. He’s leaked runs, he’s failed to score crucial runs from the lower-middle order, and the bottom line is that he has not lived up to his potential. Here’s one last chance for him to make a mark, and you never know… a strong performance against hosts India could be the perfect finish with an IPL auction also looming next month.

Team news: Bumrah to rest?

Dravid said the team will not “experiment” tactically, but the odd change cannot be ruled out.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Kuldeep Yadav / R Ashwin, 9 Jasprit Bumrah / Prasidh Krishna, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammed SirajShubman Gill was in good spirits during India’s training session•ICC via Getty Images

Netherlands should field the same side from the England defeat.Netherlands (probable): 1 Max O’Dowd / Vikramjit Singh, 2 Wesley Barresi, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Sybrand Engelbrecht, 5 Scott Edwards (capt), 6 Bas de Leede, 7 Teja Nidamanuru, 8 Logan van Beek, 9 Roelof van der Merwe, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Paul van Meekeren

Pitch and conditions: Big score galore

Runs, runs and more runs shall be the theme at the last World Cup game scheduled for the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. Australia scored 367 against Pakistan here while New Zealand thumped 401. If India bat first, their aim will be for a score in that region.

Stats and trivia: India chasing history

• India and Netherlands have played each other twice in World Cups previously (2003 and 2011). In 2003, Bas’ father Tim de Leede was the Player of the Match.
• Roelof van der Merwe is the only Netherlands bowler who has previously bowled to any of the Indian batters (Kohli and Rohit) in ODI cricket.
• India’s 8-0 streak at this World Cup is the third-best streak in this tournament, behind only the 11 consecutive wins achieved by Australia in 2003 and 2007.
• Fifteen years ago, Sybrand Engelbrecht played for South Africa against Kohli and Jadeja in an Under-19 World Cup final in Kuala Lumpur.
• No Dutch batter has reached a century at this World Cup.

Quotes

“We had a balance. We’ve structured the whole thing around certain things. But when that hasn’t happened, we’ve had the ability, the skill, and the mental fortitude to be able to bounce back, and to be able to still compete and do really well. So yeah, I think credit to the guys, credit to, like I said, I think even the NCA for all the work that they do.”