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Aston Villa must make a ruthless decision on Henri Lansbury’s future at the club, following his omission from their 25-man squad for the Premier League.

What’s the word?

The 30-year-old had yet to feature in the top-flight this season, with his sole appearances coming in the Carabao Cup. Last year saw him play just ten times in the Premier League, and it now appears that the end is near for the midfielder.

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The former Arsenal academy prospect was even tipped with a late deadline-day beating return to Championship side Nottingham Forest, but that deal failed to materialise.

And with him now missing from Villa’s Premier League squad, it’s unlikely that he will feature in the claret and blue anytime soon.

Time’s up

Having arrived from Forest in a £3m deal in 2017, things haven’t been plain sailing for Lansbury at Villa Park. The 30-year-old has suffered from numerous injury problems, and found it difficult to establish himself as a key part of Dean Smith’s side.

His lack of game-time has been rather frustrating for everyone involved given that the Villa boss was so open in his praise of the midfielder just last year, saying: “Henri is a really good player. The problem is he has been hampered by injuries.

“I told him he needed to go and look after himself in the summer and come back fighting fit and he has certainly done that. I saw enough of him when I first came into the building to see he was my type of player. He makes great runs into the opposition penalty box and that will come from playing as a No.10 at Nottingham Forest. He is a popular lad in the dressing room as well.”Now, with him missing from the Premier League squad, and his contract coming to an end at the finish of this season, January must surely see Villa take the ruthless decision to offload him before he leaves on a free.And in other news, David Ornstein reveals Aston Villa’s summer interest in this £30m star.

According to The Guardian, Aston Villa are one of the clubs interested in QPR starlet Eberechi Eze this summer.

What’s the word?

Eze’s performances in the Championship this season have naturally attracted attention from numerous Premier League sides, with The Guardian claiming that the likes of Villa, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Newcastle, amongst others, all interested in securing a transfer.

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The report claims that QPR are holding out for as much as £20m for the England youth international, and if Villa are to get their man, then they are likely going to have to beat stiff competition for his signature.

Potential successor to Jack Grealish

Having secured their Premier League safety on the final day of the season, their chances of keeping star man Grealish has risen considerably. In fact, according to Sky Sports, whilst clubs like Arsenal have registered their interest in him, Villa are now set to demand about £80m for the midfielder.

And whilst it seems unlikely, especially in these current circumstances, that a team will find the money to sign him this summer, it doesn’t take away from the fact Grealish is likely to move on eventually in order to win trophies.

That is exactly why a move for Eze this summer could prove to be such a shrewd signing. Described as “very special” by QPR manager Mark Warburton, the 22-year-old is very similar in profile to Grealish.

QPR’s former assistant manager Mark Bircham said: “In terms of his natural ability, he’s up there with one of the best I’ve seen. He’s exciting when he gets the ball. As he’s both footed, he can go both ways past people. He gets you off your seat. If he keeps getting the ball in dangerous areas, something will happen.”

Much like Grealish, Eze brings excitement, and his tally of 14 goals and eight assists in the Championship are testament to that. If Villa are on the look-out for a future successor to their talisman, then they could find him in the QPR prospect.

Lille have had a pretty busy couple of weeks. Their 22-year-old defender Gabriel has been making headlines and it seems he’s destined to move to the Premier League in the ongoing summer transfer window. However, we still have no idea where he might go as multiple clubs like Arsenal, Everton and Manchester United have been linked in the last month.Not only that but there has reportedly been some interest from Serie A as well as Napoli look to scoop the defender and snatch him away in front of their English rivals. Still, progress has been made and according to the latest update from Get French Football News, Gabriel is set to make his decision this week.

Of course, the update doesn’t exactly tell us who is in the pole position to land his signature but whoever that ends up being, they will have to pay at least €30m (£27m) to Lille to get their man. And that doesn’t include the potential bonuses that are likely to be inserted into the contract as well.

While the price tag itself is not outrageous, it is quite worrying for Everton that they might go head to head with the likes of Arsenal – who are currently the most likely destination for the defender – and Man United, both of whom might have more financial firepower and a great pull overall.

Whatever ends up happening, at least the transfer saga will finally be over by the end of the week. But of course, that’s only under the assumption Get French Football News’ report is indeed true.

Verdict

The Brazilian defender looks set to leave Ligue 1 this summer and following a rather successful campaign for Lille, it doesn’t surprise that the queue for his signature is only getting bigger.

Standing at 6ft 3in, the towering defender made a total of 34 appearances throughout the 2019/20 campaign and even has Champions League experience under his belt, having played every minute of Lille’s European campaign as well.

Needless to say, he seems like a great scoop with a bidding war also be on the cards.

Newcastle United are reportedly interested in signing the highly-rated 16-year old prospect Ilyes Zouaoui from Olympique Marseille as the French club are looking to secure him on a new deal, according to The Daily Mail.

As per the outlet, Zouaoui is out of contract in the summer and is in danger of being snapped up for free in the upcoming transfer window.

However, he has also attracted interest from several European giants with Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Olympiakos among the teams thought to have scouted the youngster.

They had apparently been impressed with his ability to cut in from the left-hand side and score off of his right foot.

Zouaoui had scored 15 goals and made 14 assists in just 16 games for Marseille’s under-18s side prior to youth football being suspended due to the global pandemic, and he is also an established U17 international for France.

These are highly impressive stats at any level, and the fact that Zouaoui is still so young and other big heavyweights are chasing his signature should give NUFC at least some incentive to consider signing him up.

In addition, the Frenchman will already have a mentor to learn from in fellow countryman Allan Saint-Maximin. The 23-year old was also signed from French football and plays in a similar position.

ASM has averaged the highest rating (7.18) in the Premier League so far out of his teammates this season, and also averages 4.4 dribbles per match, the most by far (via Whoscored).

Signing Zouaoui on a free transfer would be low-risk and he still has so much time in front of him to grow into a potential fans favourite.

Geordies, would this be a good signing? Comment below!

Glasgow Rangers are said to be interested in Andreas Skov Olsen, according to a report from Italy (via Rincon Escoces).

Denmark under-21 international Olsen currently plays for Bologna in Serie A after making the switch from Nordsjaelland last summer. Whilst he may have only been playing in the Danish top flight previously, he was in absolutely stunning form, scoring 26 goals in 46 matches whilst also providing six assists in 2018/19.

That convinced the Italian side to part with £5.4m to sign him, although things have not quite gone to plan with his current employers – he has managed just one goal in 19 matches to date. That could see him leave the club and the ‘Gers have been mentioned as a potential destination.

The news has reached the ‘Gers fans, and it is fair to say that many are absolutely delighted to hear that they could be in with a chance of signing the 20-year-old, with one fan hailing him as “the next Brian Laudrup” in reference to the Danish legend who graced Ibrox in the 1990s.

They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below:

‘Gers fans, would you like to have Olsen at Ibrox? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

Liverpool’s Neco Williams has been one of the most outstanding young players to emerge during the 2019/20 season and James Pearce has been thoroughly impressed by what he’s seen.

What’s the word?

Indeed, The Athletic’s Liverpool correspondent was recently speaking on the Red Agenda podcast (31st March, episode 20) with Simon Hughes and host Steve Hothersall, and the club’s academy was at the heart of the discussion.

Pearce delivered a gushing verdict on Curtis Jones and labelled him as “the pick of the young crop” at the club, but he was also eager to highlight the development of Williams in what has been a breakthrough campaign for the budding Wales international (39:55).

“Behind Curtis (Jones) Neco Williams, in terms of someone who is making rapid, rapid progress. He was someone who wasn’t really a part of the conversation at the start of the season and now he’s quite rightly regarded as someone who Jurgen Klopp can turn to as a reliable deputy for Alexander-Arnold, especially with Nathaniel Clyne leaving the club over the next few months.

“I think Neco Williams has performed at such a level in the cup games that I don’t think you’d have any concerns about starting him in the Premier League if Klopp felt that Trent needed a breather.”

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Alexander-Arnold or Jon Flanagan?

While Williams’ rapid development is certainly worth shouting about, Jon Flanagan’s fall into obscurity shows how quickly fortunes can change in football.

Flanagan is currently no more than a bit-part player at Rangers having failed to impress since Steven Gerrard brought him to the club in 2018. The fact he has been left out of the senior squad in six of Rangers’ last eight league games speaks volumes about his standing at Ibrox.

At the other end of the spectrum is Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose success needs little introduction to Liverpool supporters.

Williams remains a relatively unknown entity and it’s difficult to predict which direction his career will head in. But, regardless of what the long term future holds, there is no doubt that his impressive displays in the cup competitions have merited a Premier League opportunity, as Pearce suggests.

It may be some time before he gets that chance, but he is well placed to establish himself as Alexander-Arnold’s deputy on recent evidence.

In other news, Liverpool are eyeing a bargain summer swoop for serial trophy winner…

This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.