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Aston Villa fans want the club to make another offer for Caleb Chukwuemeka after they had an initial offer rejected for the striker.

The Villans have already completed a couple of deals this summer, with Emiliano Buendia joining from Norwich City in a club-record deal (Sky Sports) and Ashley Young returning to the club from Inter Milan on a free transfer (avfc.co.uk).

Dean Smith and co are also looking to bring in James Ward-Prowse as they aim to move up the Premier League table next term (Football Insider).

It seems they are also planning for the long-term as well. As per journalist Adrian Kajumba, the Midlands-based outfit have made a bid for Northampton Town forward Chukwuemeka, but is was unfortunately rejected. Caleb is the older brother of Carney, who is already a part of the Villa Park side’s academy.

The news was shared on Twitter by @villareport, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Chukwuemeka news below

“I think it’s a bit of keep Carney settled but Caleb is a decent forward in his own right from the bits I’ve seen. Raw talent.”

Credit: @S1ngh32

“Bring him in!”

Credit: @AshyOG_VillaFan

“I hope this goes through so we can sing the Chucklevision theme tune.”

Credit: @cratesofhippos

“Go back in lads x”

Credit: @VillaVisionBen

“This sauce will be unreal”

Credit: @Villal_

“Please please sign this guy, we absolutely need a song about the chuckle brothers”

Credit: @SteveJones88

In other news, several Serie A clubs want this Villa man.

A major update has emerged on £3k-p/w ace Liam Millar, it could lead to Charlton re-igniting their interest in an exciting attacker.

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic, as relayed by Football League World this week, Liverpool could look to offload Millar in the summer transfer window to raise funds for signings of their own. Millar spent the second half of last season on loan to Charlton in League One and could now be sold by the Reds as they look to cash in on his recent form for the Addicks.

Earlier this year, Charlton boss Nigel Adkins labelled Millar as a talented player and said that he is still learning and working on his decision-making in the final third. He told London News Online:

“He’s a young player learning his way. What we’re trying to do is get good, talented players in the final third of the pitch. From a game point of view, we’ve achieved that. Then it’s can we win some more corners, throw-ins, free-kicks, get at him drive into the penalty box. And then it’s final delivery, put the ball in the box.

“All part of his learning and development. As a team we’ve tried to put him in that area of the pitch, so we’ve achieved that. We’re trying to get talented players the ball and they’ve got to make the decisions and go and do that bit of magic. I’m sure we’ll sit down and reflect on it, talk about some of the different things and just help him so when we get in them positions again he can just keep improving.”

Get it done

Charlton must aim to complete a deal to bring Liam Millar back to the club. He is already accustomed to Charlton’s style of play and knows what Adkins wants from his side, because of his stint at The Valley on loan, and this means that he could be able to hit the ground running next season. So, Charlton should join the race to sign Millar permanently and attempt to win the battle for his signature, taking advantage of Liverpool’s stance.

If Charlton have the opportunity to bring Millar back on a long-term contract then they need to act now and secure his services. Millar impressed during his spell at the club on loan, with two goals and six assists from the wing for Adkins’ team. He averaged a WhoScored rating of 7.37 in eight starts as a left midfielder and 7.06 in 10 starts as a left forward. This shows that he was able to shine within Adkins’ system and that he could be an excellent player for Charlton in League One next season.

Millar, £3k-per-week ace, arriving for a second spell with Charlton could also be a huge boost for Adkins. The former Saints boss admitted in the aforementioned quotes that he wants to work with Millar to improve his game. This move would afford Adkins time to coach Millar over the course of several seasons to personally oversee his development and make sure that he fulfils his potential. Therefore, Adkins would love it if the club could go back in for Millar and Charlton should look to strike an agreement with Liverpool.

AND in other news, Charlton must act quickly to land “confident” £2.4k-p/w beast, fans would be buzzing…

Following Sunderland’s demise in the play-off semi-finals on Saturday, Lee Johnson will now be turning his attention to building a team capable of going on to secure promotion from League One next season.

With a large number of the Black Cats’ first team playing squad being out of contract this summer – including the likes of Lee Burge, Luke O’Nien, Conor McLaughlin, Denver Hume, Callum McFadzean, Max Power, Grant Leadbitter, Chris Maguire, Aiden McGeady and Charlie Wyke – Johnson and Kristjaan Speakman appear to have a busy transfer window ahead of them in rebuilding the Sunderland squad.

However, one player who it would seem essential for the pair to bring back to the Stadium of Light prior to next season is not mentioned above – Rangers loanee Jordan Jones.

Having joined Sunderland on a temporary deal back in January, the 26-year-old winger impressed over his 20 League One appearances for Johnson’s side, scoring three goals, registering four assists and creating two big chances for his teammates.

Furthermore, Jones also took an average of 1.6 shots and made 1.9 key passes per game, with these metrics culminating in a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.08 – ranking him as the club’s fifth-best performer in the third tier.

With it being reported back in February that Jones would be keen on a switch to England permanently this summer, as well as Rangers thought to be willing to discuss a deal regarding the winger for a fee of around £600,000, the door would very much appear to be wide open for Johnson to make a move for the Northern Ireland international.

However, whether or not Sunderland’s failure to secure promotion to the Championship has an impact on Jones’ decision over a return to the Stadium of Light remains unclear at present, but this should not stop the Black Cats doing all they can to secure the services of one of their stand out players this season – one whom Kris Boyd claimed is a “nightmare” for defenders to play against.

In other news: Kyril Louis-Dreyfus could be on the verge of making his biggest Sunderland mistake yet – opinion

Mark Douglas has shared some enticing insight into the Premier League and what they may do with Newcastle United’s anti-competition case.

The Lowdown: Ashley against the Premier League

Mike Ashley has launched an anti-competition lawsuit against the top flight with regards to their decision-making process in the failed takeover at St. James’ Park by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

This is a separate case to arbitration, which is set to take place between the two parties in July.

If the North East club are successful in the arbitration hearing, then the anti-competition lawsuit would no longer need to be launched, but it does provide a safety blanket for Ashley if the results do not go his way.

The Latest: Premier League insight

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Douglas has shared that it is expected that the division will apply to have the anti-competition case either thrown out or delayed, because it duplicates a lot of aspects of the separate arbitration claim.

The journalist also adds that they now have less than a week to respond to the anti-competition claim, which is seen as an explicit pressure tactic by the chief executive of Sports Direct in order to push the PL into a compromise on the takeover bid.

The Verdict: Anti-competition a nice safety blanket

If the results of the arbitration case do not go in the favour of the Tyneside club, then the separate anti-competition lawsuit is certainly a nice card to have up Ashley’s sleeve, and would still give him hope of a sale.

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However, the ideal scenario for the businessman would surely be that he wins the arbitration hearing, and so the anti-competition claim would no longer be needed.

Nonetheless, arbitration will paint a much clearer picture over the direction of where the takeover is heading, and a positive result for the Magpies would surely bring its potential revival one step closer.

In other news, find out what insight Mark Douglas has dropped from sources close to the potential takeover here!

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Championship midfielder David Norris believes Manchester City could easily have lost Phil Foden.

Foden was a revelation for Manchester City last season, scoring nine goals in 28 appearances as Pep Guardiola’s side went on to win the Premier League title.

The PFA Young Player of the Year, however, has not always been a regular at the Etihad, and Norris thinks a lack of starts in the past could have forced him out of the club.

Discussing City’s track record with youngsters, such as Jadon Sancho and Eric Garcia, the ex-Leeds United star said:

“It’s hard to keep everyone happy and when you’ve got the younger players coming through, they’re potentially still seen as a little bit of a risk.

“Man City, they need big names, players who are going to come in and do it straight away.

“It could easily have happened with Foden. They obviously wanted to really keep him. A couple of years ago when he was a bit part and everyone was saying he should go out and get games, they stuck with it and it’s paid off.”

Indeed, in the end, staying at Manchester City instead of going out on loan or leaving the club was the best decision.

Foden has developed into a fine player under Guardiola, and quite quickly one might add given that he is still just 21 years of age, evident from the individual awards he was won this year.

Newcastle United are set to be restricted in this summer’s transfer market because ‘the club remains in limbo’.

That’s according to Chris Waugh, a journalist for The Athletic.

The lowdown

A £300million deal involving Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben brothers was agreed with Mike Ashley in April 2020 (via BBC Sport).

But the group pulled out after running out of patience with the Premier League’s lengthy scrutiny process.

Ashley, described as ‘desperate’ to move on by sources close to the 56-year-old, has not given up on the deal and hopes to resurrect it.

An arbitration panel will now assess the validity of the league’s concerns in what could be a decisive battle.

The latest

The report states that, because ‘reluctant custodian’ Ashley remains in his post and is still waiting on the takeover, the club’s transfer budget will be limited.

As a result, a ‘much-needed squad overhaul’ will have to wait, so Steve Bruce – or whoever else may be in charge – will be forced to deal with a quiet summer window.

It appears Ashley has the perfect excuse not to spend money this summer.

The verdict

It’s dispiriting news for Newcastle fans. The Magpies flirted with relegation this year and, though recent form suggests they’re too good to go down when Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson are fit and available, they looked completely out of touch with the rest of the league when those two star men were out.

You can understand why Ashley wouldn’t want to commit huge sums when he sees his future elsewhere, but the Toon is desperately short of squad depth.

On the other hand, he did sanction a £20million deal for Wilson last summer in the aftermath of the takeover’s apparent collapse, so maybe one or two exciting signings could still be made.

In other news, read finance expert Kieran Maguire’s reaction to this Mike Ashley development.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Marlon Harewood, who scored 54 goals for West Ham, was full of praise for the Hammers’ recruitment over the last few seasons.

In the last 12 months, West Ham have brought in players such as Craig Dawson, Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek and Jesse Lingard, who have all been mainstays in David Moyes’ side during their push for the top four.

Despite not playing a single minute of Premier League football this season before January, the Hammers signed Lingard on loan when many clubs were put off, however, their scouting and judgement has paid off massively with the midfielder scoring nine goals in just 11 games.

Speaking on how West Ham have recruited smartly over the last few seasons and what he hopes for the future of the Irons, Harewood told FFC:

“The recruitment of West Ham over the last couple of years has been absolutely fantastic. Obviously, they’ve signed some of the best players of the season in Tomas Soucek and Coufal who have been unbelievable signings.

“Hopefully the recruitment will continue to do the same sort of thing to sign players who can complement others such as Declan Rice.”

West Ham may have a fight on their hands to keep hold of their top players such as Declan Rice and Soucek who have both been linked with moves away this summer.

David Moyes has previously admitted that the club will have to listen to offers for their midfield duo this summer, even if they manage to qualify for the Champions League.

A journalist has claimed that Newcastle United are ‘ready’ to change manager, with Gennaro Gattuso named as a potential successor to Steve Bruce.

Writing in his latest piece for Calciomercato, Marco Giordano has claimed that both the St. James’ Park faithful and Wolves are looking to bring a new coach into their respective clubs, with the North East club’s interest in Gattuso only just coming into fruition.

Newcastle should be wary over Gattuso

While Bruce’s time on Tyneside could be up in the eyes of some members of the Toon Army, the Magpies should be wary over appointing Gattuso should the former end up leaving.

There is no doubt that the 43-year-old had a glittering playing career, in which he won the FIFA World Cup with Italy and two UEFA Champions League titles with AC Milan to name just a few major honours (Transfermarkt).

However, his time as a manager has not always been successful, having being sacked at both FC Sion and Palermo as well as underwhelming spells at Milan and his current club Napoli, with the latter currently at risk of failing to qualify for the UCL as they sit outside of the qualification spots at the moment.

Although a change of boss may be the way forward at NUFC, perhaps they should think twice before moving for a maverick like Gattuso.

In other news, find out which Magpie Liam Kennedy has slammed for his displays so far this season here!

A club from England are reportedly eyeing an ambitious move to sign Rangers ace Jermain Defoe once the summer transfer window opens.

The Lowdown: Defoe not signed new deal

Defoe has still not put pen to paper on a new deal in Glasgow, leaving his future at Ibrox in doubt.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United striker remains in talks with Steven Gerrard’s team over a new contract, as his existing one is about to expire, but while that has not been signed, other clubs are swarming over the Scottish Premiership champions in order to try and pinch him away.

The Latest: Ipswich eye Defoe

As per Football Insider, Ipswich Town are reportedly eyeing a swoop for Defoe should he not sign a new deal with the Light Blues.

A source from the EFL League One side have claimed that they are ready to make an ambitious move to sign the 38-year-old, and offer him a big-money contract to fire them to promotion next term.

The Verdict: Rangers should let Defoe go

While it would no doubt be a tough decision by the Gers to let Defoe go, logically it would make a lot of sense.

Currently earing £30,000-per-week at Ibrox, one of the highest wages out of the entire squad, it is simply too much to be paying a player who is not first choice, giving that he has only played in a mere 20 games in total over all competitions over the course of the 2020/21 term (Transfermarkt).

Those wages saved can be used to invest elsewhere in the squad, as Gerrard’s men look to kick on from such a great season.

Defoe has certainly been a great servant to the Gers and British football as a whole, with Kevin Campbell recently describing the striker as ‘amazing’ over the course of his career.

However, the Light Blues need to be ruthless in this situation, and so it should be time to say goodbye to the Englishman.

In other news, find out what Gerrard update has left Gers buzzing here!

Flocking in response to ExWHUemployee’s tweet, which explained how West Ham could only potentially sign a free agent as an emergency addition to cope with Michail Antonio’s injury, plenty of Irons supporters erupted in discussion on social media.

Antonio has suffered a hamstring injury which could see him miss the rest of the season, coming after scans revealed it is much worse than first feared by club doctors (The Guardian).

Given West Ham’s failure to sign a striker in January, supporters are understandably concerned over the lack of forward options – with one Hammer asking Ex if there is any way the club can acquire a striker from outside the Premier League on loan until the end of the season.

In response, the club insider relayed the only thing West Ham could potentially do is bring in a free agent – which has prompted discussion from Irons.

Many theorised who is available, including Diafra Sakho, whilst others implored the club against it as a possible option.

Find all of their verdicts down below.

ExWHUemployee tweet has many West Ham fans talking

“Signing a player that’s still out of contract would be desperate and pointless IMO. They wouldn’t be match fit or know our system. Bowen can step up “

Credit: @jmitchell0811

“We have to sign someone it’s just ridiculous that’s we’d be challenging for champions league but won’t go out & get a striker!

This decision shows how serious we are”

Credit: @rickwhufc

“Oh no, cue the Eidur Gudjonsson rumours all over again…”

Credit: @banterhammer

“Diego Costa for me would be awesome. Give him a bonus if we qualify for CL.”

Credit: @andyroots75

“Bowen is perfectly capable of playing the role and if he got injured as well we could use benrahma in that front 3 with Jesse and Fornals and have them interchange. People suggesting getting a player in on a free don’t realise that by the time he’ll be match fit it’ll be too late”

Credit: @Si_23Q

“Tbh, I think Bowen playing upfront is not the end of the world just to get us to the end of the season. With Lingard, Benrahma and Fornals all playing off him it would be a very fluid, mobile forward line and he’d certainly get some decent service.”

Credit: @deanashtonsfoot

“I see Diafra Sakho is available…”

Credit: @richard_dubourg

“Daniel Sturridge, Diego Costa, Diafra Sakho, Wilfred Bony, Lacina Traore all free agents…surely just as back up, it’s worth getting someone in, even to sit on the bench for 2 or 3 games until match fit. Massive motivation for them to score a couple to get us into the CL!”

Credit: @NeilOsborne19

In other news: West Ham fans flock to official club post, find out more here.