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With 25 strikes conceded in the Premier League so far this season, Aston Villa have let more goals in than Burnley, Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Taking this into account, the upcoming January transfer window could provide the Midlands club and Steven Gerrard with the opportunity to bring some reinforcements into the club, particularly in the defensive areas.

One deal that the club could look to do to strengthen the squad up at the back is by signing Rangers centre-back Connor Goldson, who Villa are reportedly in the frame to sign in January according to journalist Peter O’Rourke.

It was previously reported that Goldson had rejected the chance to sign a new deal with the Scottish club in an effort to join a Premier League club, which could pave the way for Gerrard to reunite with the defender after the 29-year-old made a total of 182 appearances under the current Villa boss at Rangers, scoring 17 goals and providing five assists in the process.

Labelled as a player with “incredible leadership” on and off the pitch by Gerrard, signing Goldson in January could be a dream move for the Villa manager to help give some guidance to Villa’s younger defenders such as Ezri Konsa, Kortney Hause and Axel Tuanzebe.

Since joining Rangers back in the 2018 summer transfer window from Brighton in a deal worth a reported fee of around £3m, Goldson has gone on to make 188 appearances for the club across all competitions, showing how vital he has been for the team since his arrival and why they would presumably prefer to keep hold of him for the remainder of the season.

This season has seen the defender, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £27k-per-week according to Salary Sport, play in all but two of Rangers’ games across all competitions, completing the full 90 minutes in all of them, highlighting him importance to the club.

With Villa also linked with a move for Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez, Goldson could be a much cheaper alternative than the England international.

That’s when you take into account his advanced age and the presumption that the Reds would want more money for their player than Rangers would want for their asset, especially with his contract set to run out at the end of the season.

In other news: Lange must avoid transfer catastrophe at AVFC over “magnificent” £28.8m-rated machine – opinion

Aston Villa have had a second bid of around £30m for Emile Smith Rowe rejected by Arsenal, as relayed by The Athletic.

Already active in the transfer window, the Villains have brought in Emiliano Buendia for a club-record transfer fee from Norwich alongside free agent Ashley Young [Birmingham Mail].

Nonetheless, there looks to be no sign of Dean Smith halting his summer recruitment drive. The Midlands club received a firm rebuttal from Arsenal just over a week ago after their initial attempt to land the 20-year-old [Sky Sports].

After having their reported second offer turned down, there seems to be little chance of Aston Villa letting up in the chase for Smith Rowe’s signature. Uncertainty over his contract continues to loom large, with his deal set to expire at the Emirates Stadium in 2023 [The Athletic].

In light of this news, loads of Villa diehards took to Twitter in reaction to their continued attempts to unsettle their divisional rivals Arsenal, from whom they signed Emiliano Martinez and who they beat in the race for Buendia’s signature.

Villa fans react:

Replying to popular Aston Villa fan outlet villareport, here is how some fans summarised the recent developments surrounding Smith Rowe, with one supporter enjoying the “comedy value” from this update:

“Hahahaha they’re gonna hate us even more and I love it”

Credit: @NickRedV”Can Arsenal afford to turn down £33m though?”Credit: @TheVillaPodcast”Keep going, for the comedy value. #AVFC”Credit: @iamVilla”Mad”Credit: @_JackAvfc”Can’t believe Arsenal are stopping him joining a big club”Credit: @GW_94″hahahaha”Credit: @catrinedwards18In other news, these Aston Villa fans react to reports of a potential Villa Park return for one man

Former England defender Danny Mills believes that Celtic fans could turn on managerial target Eddie Howe if he makes the move to Parkhead amid talks with Crystal Palace.

Howe spoke with the Eagles over possibly taking over from Roy Hodgson after reportedly having second thoughts on the job at Celtic Park.

However, the former Bournemouth manager is now behind Burnley’s Sean Dyche in the Palace pecking order, and it seems as if a move to Glasgow could be back on, with reports suggesting the Englishman is finalising his Hoops backroom staff.

Mills was talking to Football Insider following the news of Dyche overtaking Howe as the front runner for the Palace job and what that means for the latter and the Hoops.

This is what the 43-year-old ex-Leeds defender had to say, believing that Celtic supporters may turn on Howe should he hit some troubling form in his Hoops tenure.

“Maybe he’s holding out for another job but if he holds out for too long and Celtic appoint somebody else then he doesn’t get the job he’s hoping for, suddenly you’re way down the list.

“It’s a little bit of a game of cat and mouse. You have to be careful.

“If somebody wants you, they want you. You have to make up your mind ‘Do I really want to go or not?’ Make that decision and stick with it.

“It puts you on the wrong foot with the fans because they’re thinking ‘He doesn’t really want to be here. He wants to be somewhere else.’

“The moment you have a couple of bad results they start going ‘Well, he didn’t want to be here in the first place, we were second choice. He’s only come here for the money.’

“You don’t really want to start like that.”

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Transfer Tavern take

We don’t agree entirely with Mills on this one. Howe’s representative admitted that the 43-year-old has attracted significant interest but wouldn’t return to the dugout until the summer at the earliest. Yes, he held talks with the Hoops and a deal is yet to be announced, but it seems as if Howe wanted certain assurances before putting pen to paper on a Parkhead move.

We’re sure the majority of Celtic fans would be delighted if Howe made the move, as many made clear last month.

A string of bad results early in his tenure may place him under pressure from some Hoops fans, but we’re not so sure they’d feel like he wouldn’t want to be there purely on the basis that he spoke with Palace.

As Howe mentioned back in November, his next job would have to be one which ‘really motivated’ him, so if he signs with Celtic, that tells you all you need to know about his feelings towards the Parkhead job.

In other news: Hoops still keen on £50,000-a-week midfielder, find out who it is here. 

Aston Villa transfer target Geoffrey Kondogbia looks likely to stay at Atletico Madrid this summer, according to journalist Jacque Talbot.  

The Lowdown: Gerrard scouting trip

Steven Gerrard is making preparations ahead of his first full season in charge in the Midlands, with midfield reinforcements seemingly high on his wish list.

The Villa manager personally made the trip to the Wanda Metropolitano earlier this month to watch Kondogbia in action against Manchester City.

Villa view the 29-year-old as a serious target and the club are thought to be confident of getting a deal over the line, but a worrying update has now emerged.

The Latest: Talbot’s post on Kondogbia

Talbot took to Twitter on Monday to share an update on Kondogbia for TEAMtalk, revealing that it seems probable that the midfielder will stay in Spain unless Villa were to come forward with ‘a massive offer’.

The reporter tweeted: “Have been told Geoffrey Kondogbia will likely remain at Atletico Madrid unless Aston Villa come in with a massive offer.”

The Verdict: Kamara is an alternative

Kondogbia isn’t the only midfielder Gerrard has recently watched live, with the Villa manager, Johan Lange and Christian Purslow all looking at Marseille’s Boubacar Kamara.

The 22-year-old is out of contract at the end of June, so Villa may well look to secure his services on a pre-contract agreement after this update on Kondogbia.

Kamara is primarily a defensive midfielder who can also line out at centre-back and is valued at £22.5m, so a free transfer to Villa Park could be a shrewd move given the concerning update from Talbot on Kondogbia.

In other news: Gerrard and Villa chiefs eyeing move for new defender with same agent as four AVFC players

After joining AC Milan on loan at the beginning of the 2020/21 season, not many Man United fans would probably have expected right-back Diogo Dalot to have enjoyed such a profitable campaign.

The young Portuguese defender has enjoyed an excellent season at the San Siro, racking up 24 appearances in all competitions for the Italian giants.

In that time, he has played a role in seven separate clean sheets, as well as getting himself on the scoresheet twice and providing a further two assists.

It is form that has seen Milan express an interest in signing him permanently, with The Metro reporting that they have submitted an informal offer of £12m.

Whilst it could be tempting for Ed Woodward to sell considering that Dalot is only valued at £9m at the current time, the club should do everything they can to keep hold of him once he returns from his spell in Italy.

Whilst Aaron Wan-Bissaka has consistently been the Red Devils’ starting right-back, United could find themselves in a precarious position should the former Crystal Palace man sustain an injury.

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Other than him, there is no other natural right-back in the squad at Old Trafford, meaning Dalot could certainly have a vital role to play upon his return.

Meanwhile, whilst the club are blessed with a number of talented left-backs in the form of Luke Shaw, Alex Telles and Brandon Williams, the Portuguese can also deputise on the left-side, again seeing him become an excellent option for squad depth.

At just the age of 22, Dalot also has plenty of time to improve, so he could become even better than his spell in Milan suggests he currently is.

Even United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has laid out his intentions for the right-back to return to Old Trafford, stating he was “looking forward” to reintroducing Dalot to the squad following the Red Devils’ recent clash with AC Milan in the UEFA Europa League.

He will be hugely disappointed then to see Dalot allowed to depart on a permanent basis following his temporary exit and excellent season with Milan.

AND in more news, take a closer look at Luke Shaw’s fantastic England return…

Celtic’s transfer window is hotting up with Ange Postecoglou already welcoming two new faces at Parkhead.

Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide have both arrived from south of the border but the Hoops must press on ahead of an important European qualification phase.

What’s the word?

One player on Celtic’s radar at the moment is Sheffield United defender George Baldock.

The wing-back was relegated with the Blades last term and could be on the move early in the window.

Baldock has attracted the interest of the Bhoys since 2019 but they are now stepping up their pursuit.

Sheffield Star reported last week that Celtic were willing to put £8m on the table after the transfer was sanctioned by Postecoglou.

However, in a fresh update from journalist Alan Nixon, he claims that Baldock might not come at a hefty price.

Responding to a supporter who was querying the price tag, he said; “it’s not fortunes.”

Exciting news

This is a double whammy of good news for Celtic supporters. The Hoops desperately need a right back and they need to find a way of saving funds.

Last week, the Star suggested that an £8m bid from the Glaswegian club would fall way short of the evaluation necessary before the Yorkshire club even contemplated doing business.

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However, Nixon’s claim appears to contradict the previous report. Celtic’s record transfer was the arrival of Odsonne Edouard for £9m from PSG back in 2018 and it would be difficult to see a deal usurping that.

Baldock to Celtic would surely surpass that fee and for a defender, it would be surprising if they made that outlay.

Possessing Premier League experience, the thought that he won’t cost a great deal should make fans excited.

At the moment, the club’s only right-backs to choose from would be Lee O’Connor, who spent last term on loan at Tranmere, or Anthony Ralston. He only played once in the entirety of 2020/21, meaning he shouldn’t really be first choice.

Baldock, on the other hand, would surely thrive in the Premiership. During his first campaign in the top-flight of English football, he contributed to five goals which built on an impressive Championship promotion-winning season.

Strong in the tackle, Baldock has completed 1.8 successful tackles per match throughout his career. That tally tops every player at Celtic last season excluding the tough-natured Ismaila Soro.

On that evidence, this should be stirring news for supporters. He is evidently an upgrade on the current options they have at their disposal.

AND in other news, Forget Griffiths: Ange must unleash “powerful” rarely-seen Celtic beast next season…

Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield does not think Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish is a priority for Manchester United anymore.

United recently confirmed that they had agreed a deal with Borussia Dortmund to sign another attacker in Jadon Sancho.

Meanwhile, their rivals Manchester City continue to be linked with a move for the £58.5m-rated Villa captain, with Sky Sports reporting that a bid could be launched after the Euros.

The Red Devils have registered an interest in Grealish in the past. Last year, The Sun reported that the club were ready to offer the player a big contract as they looked to prize him away from Villa Park.

However, in the end, nothing materialised, and Hatfield is expecting a similar theme this summer.

“I think City are the big one at the moment just because reports have kind of surfaced that they are interested in him,” the Aston Villa journalist told FFC.

“Man United was obviously the big one last season. It looks like they’ve kind of changed their tack a little bit. Jadon Sancho looks to be coming through the door there.

“He plays a similar position, obviously on the wing, normally on the other side for Dortmund.”

Indeed, with Sancho seemingly in the bag, you would expect United to perhaps look at other areas rather than at another wide man or attacking midfielder.

And they look to be doing just that, with reports emerging about interest in Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane.

As is often the case for Tottenham Hotspur this season, it was another game in which they dropped points from a winning position.

Jose Mourinho has seen his Spurs side now drop a whopping 18 points having led in 21 of their 31 Premier League outings after they were defeated 3-1 by Manchester United in north London.

In an attempt to put a stop to the frequent mistakes in his backline, the Portuguese turned to Eric Dier, in what was his first appearance in the top-flight for six outings.

The England international came in for Davinson Sanchez, who was at fault for Newcastle’s late equaliser a week ago.

Dier simply failed to repay the faith put in him by his manager, and as a result, he badly let Mourinho – and Spurs – down with a shocking performance.

He was awfully lucky that Edinson Cavani’s first strike was ruled out through VAR as the lethal United striker had beaten him all ends up with sublime movement.

That was a recurring theme for the 27-year-old midfielder-turned-defender as he never really knew where the opposition was – he was again caught napping for the second, leaving the Uruguayan once again, and for the third goal, he was far too static as Mason Greenwood rounded off a calamitous afternoon.

The warning signs were there pre-game, too, as Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane told supporters in the build-up to kick-off that Dier is “not good enough” to play centre-back.

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His subsequent figures would back that up.

Alasdair Gold was particularly scathing in his post-match ratings for football.london, ranking Dier amongst Spurs’ worst performers with a 5/10. No other home defender was given worse.

Whilst, as per SofaScore, the £22.5m-rated disaster has a big influence on how this side plays, managing the third-highest number of touches with 67 throughout the 90 minutes but from that, he lost possession 16 times, the second-most of any Spurs player.

It means Dier effectively gifted possession back to a rampant United side once every four touches, and once every five-and-a-half minutes.

Similarly, he was equally wasteful with the ball at his feet, making just 74% of his 53 passing attempts, which is below his season average of 82%. Not only is that underwhelming but instead of playing it out from the back to good effect, he made just four of 14 long balls (28.5%).

It’s no wonder the Red Devils dominated possession (54%), particularly in the second half (59%).

There is a reason Dier was axed from Mourinho’s starting XI for six straight league games and now the Spurs boss will be thinking again before trusting him.

That performance saw his faith completely betrayed. Perhaps it’s time to throw the dice to Toby Aldwereireld, who must be wondering what he must to do garner a start in this side.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Gary Mabbutt claims Spurs miss one man after huge transfer decision…

Many Southampton fans are far from happy after they were linked with a move for out-of-contract midfielder Robbie Brady.

With the Premier League season now over, the Saints can prepare for the 2021/22 campaign. With Ryan Bertrand leaving on a free transfer (southamptonfc.com) and plenty of interest in striker Danny Ings (Sky Sports), it is likely to be a busy summer at St Mary’s as the south coast outfit look to get their squad ready for August.

According to the Daily Mirror (Thursday 15:27 in live blog), [via Football FanCast], Southampton are interested in signing Brady.

The 56-cap Republic of Ireland international has had a solid career but he made just 19 appearances in the Premier League for Burnley last term and managed only one goal and one assist (Transfermarkt), so he would hardly seem an inspired signing. He has also been plagued with injuries in recent years since starring at Euro 2016.

The news was shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from Saints supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the transfer speculation, and they were less than impressed.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Brady links

“We really are at a low”

Credit: @saints_josh2

“Oh dear”

Credit: @SfcHarveyy

“Wow, we really are going down aren’t we”

Credit: @OliWren_

“What a tinpot signing that would be. Odds on we go for Danny Rose now he’s been binned by Spurs”

Credit: @James90044529

“I joked to myself today when I saw he was being released and thought I wouldn’t be surprised if we became interested. Laughable”

Credit: @Taylor1993White

“This time last week we were being strongly linked with Thomas Delaney, 1 week down the line and it’s Robbie Brady, this club never fails to amaze me…”

Credit: @MRankin8_

In other news, Southampton are interested in this ace who was previously compared to Lionel Messi.

Flocking to Twitter, many Tottenham Hotspur fans slammed the first half performance of midfielder Harry Winks as they take on Crystal Palace this afternoon.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men are aiming to maintain their 100% start to the Premier League season with a fourth victory on the trot at Selhurst Park, but they’re trying to do so without a number of players.

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Son Heung-min, Steven Bergwijn, Davinson Sanchez, Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso are unavailable, with defender Eric Dier now also limping off in the first half of this Palace encounter.

Upon their team’s return to action in the English top flight after a torrid international break, many Lilywhites supporters are are less than impressed with midfielder Winks after his first half display.

Having had minimal involvement throughout the first 45 minutes and given away possession on several occasions, many believe he just hasn’t been effective alongside Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in Spurs’ three-man midfield.

Here’s what they had to say about the 25-year-old on Twitter, with one angry supporter calling him an “awful, awful footballer”.

Spurs fans slam Winks…

“Get Winks off my team forever”

Credit: @ManLikeGinola

“Winks makes me so sad as a player”

Credit: @king_thfc

“Winks already dropping a stinker”

Credit: @Spurswich

“Winks is an awful, awful footballer.”

Credit: @FingalTottenham

“Winks should’ve been axed this summer man”

Credit: @levxlz

“Why do we still have Winks”

Credit: @norflondon_thfc

“Please for the love of god sell Winks”

Credit: @Graemejoy1

“Harry Winks is useless.”

Credit: @Mihlz_G

“Winks is giving me a migraine”

Credit: @ChristinaZandes

In other news: Spurs source: Rising starlet could now be out for at least nine months after big injury blow, find out more here.