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Crystal Palace will cut Jean-Philippe Mateta’s Selhurst Park loan spell short in the New Year, according to The Sun.

And, as to be expected, a number of Palace fans have been giving their thoughts to the transfer news on social media.

The Eagles brought in the Frenchman back in January from Mainz on an 18-month loan deal with an option to buy.

However, things haven’t worked out under both Roy Hodgson and Patrick Vieira, with the 24-year-old making just 10 appearances for the club, only two of which have come this season.

Alan Nixon of The Sun shared a story at the weekend, suggesting Vieira will clear a decision for Mateta to leave the club in the next window.

Doing so would give Vieira space to land an extra forward in the New Year, while also getting Mateta’s salary off Palace’s books.

Palace fans react

@cpfc_xtra relayed The Sun’s report regarding Mateta on Sunday afternoon. This is what some Palace fans had to say in reply, with one labelling it as ‘sad’.

“That’s shocking news, said no palace fan ever!”

Credit: @cmburns76

“Is this even true? Keen to see more of him after that Brighton goal”

Credit: @JOG25779189

“We’ll always have the Brighton goal. Sad still”

Credit: @Bunds_

“Dike, come on down?”

Credit: @CPFCSanDiego

“Shame, but Roy knew early on he wasn’t good enough.”

Credit: @michael03407099

“Free up a loan for January”

Credit: @AJThoma64729546

In other news: ‘This is nuts’ – Lots of CPFC fans buzz at ‘incredible’ off-field update. 

Aston Villa could look to initiate talks with Rangers manager Steven Gerrard in the coming days, according to The Daily Record’s Keith Jackson.

The lowdown

According to The Daily Mail, the 41-year-old has emerged as Villa’s first-choice option to replace the recently-sacked Dean Smith after impressing with his exploits in Scotland.

He is under contract at Ibrox until 2024, having penned an extension in December 2019, so Villa will need to agree a compensation package with Rangers if they are to secure Gerrard’s services.

Newcastle United had also shown an interest in the Liverpool legend in recent weeks but went on to appoint Eddie Howe instead.

The latest

A source told The Daily Record that there is a ‘great deal of mutual respect’ between Steven Gerrard and Aston Villa CEO Christian Purslow, who were at Liverpool at the same time for a couple of years during the former’s playing career.

Villa have not yet sought permission to open talks with their 41-year-old target but ‘that could happen later this week’, with Villa’s shortlist set to be finalised by ‘Wednesday afternoon’ or Thursday.

The verdict

If Rangers are approached for Gerrard and permission is granted for him to speak to Villa, the question is whether he will be keen to go.

The Daily Mail’s report claimed that he would certainly be ‘interested’ in learning more about the club’s ‘proposal’ and also alluded to his ‘frustration’ at Rangers’ inability to strengthen their squad to the extent that he would have liked.

Unlike at Newcastle, Gerrard probably wouldn’t fear walking into a relegation battle. Yes, Villa are currently 16th in the Premier League, but their previous boss Smith rightly thought their squad of top-half calibre. Also, the club are not afraid of backing their managers in the transfer market, as seen by some lavish spending in recent years, which Gerrard may view as a welcome contrast to the relative frugality at Ibrox.

In other news, some Rangers fans tore into this man for his display against Ross County. 

Leeds have had a far from ideal start to the Premier League season and are currently placed 15th in the table after 11 games.

The Whites have won two of their 11 matches, with five draws and four defeats, and are three points off the relegation zone as it stands.

Marcelo Bielsa was backed in the transfer market over the summer, with Daniel James, Junior Firpo, Jack Harrison and Kristoffer Klaesson all coming in on permanent deals.

Orta disasterclass

Leeds’ troubled form in the top flight this term suggests that the new arrivals are yet to have the desired impact on the results. One of the newcomers who has struggled to catch the eye is left-back Firpo, for whom the club reportedly paid Barcelona £12.8m in the summer.

The full-back joined the Catalan giants from Real Betis in 2019 and was valued by Transfermarkt at £22.5m at the time of the move. In his final season for Betis, he produced three goals and four assists from left-back in 24 La Liga outings, but failed to build on that as he was unable to force his way into the team at Camp Nou on a regular basis.

He made 41 appearances for Barcelona in two seasons, playing 24 times in La Liga, before they decided to cash in on him earlier this year. The defender only started three league matches in the entire 2020/21 campaign and Victor Orta swooped in to bring him to Elland Road despite his lack of minutes and form, whilst his value has also plummeted since his initial move to Barca in 2019.

At the time of writing (13/11/21), Transfermarkt value Firpo at £10.8m. This is a huge £11.7m drop from the £22.5m at which he was valued in 2019, showing that he has been on a downwards trend over the past couple of seasons and is a player struggling to find his form.

On paper, it appears as though Orta has pulled off a disasterclass by bringing in Firpo. He has signed a player whose value is diminishing and has been lacking in form, which has shown with his performances on the pitch in the Premier League this season.

Firpo has averaged a dismal WhoScored rating of 6.29 in the top flight across six appearances, averaging 1.8 fouls conceded per game. This shows how poorly he has played for Bielsa this season and why, on the evidence provided so far, Orta has let him down in the transfer market by signing the left-back. There is still time for him to come good, but the signs are not great and it’s beginning to look like a disasterclass by the Whites chief…

AND in other news, Possession lost 103x: “Headless” Leeds flop who’s lost 62% duels has let Bielsa down…

Plenty of Everton fans have been reacting to transfer news which has emerged on Aaron Ramsey.

Writing in his latest piece for The Liverpool Echo, Phil Kirkbride has now revealed that Rafael Benitez is not considering a move to sign the Juventus midfielder in the January transfer window.

He stated that the Goodison Park club have been credited with interest in the Welshman, who wants to leave the Old Lady, but there have been no talks over whether to take Ramsey to Merseyside.

Of course, signing the Wales international would come with risks, given that he has been suffering from injury problems this season and, at 30 years of age, may well be past his best.

However, he does have a formidable record in the Premier League, with 40 goals and a further 51 assists for Arsenal in 262 games from the middle of the park (Transfermarkt), so he would offer some valuable experience to emerging youngsters at the club such as Anthony Gordon.

Everton fans on Ramsey transfer news

These Toffees fans seemed split as the transfer news was shared across Twitter, with some favouring a move for the experienced Ramsey and others doubting the logic of signing an ageing, injury-prone player:

“I was at the Wales game on Saturday and he is still a quality footballer. Not sure how he’d fit into the current shape though.”

Credit: @joewightman10

“I like Aaron Ramsey and I think he would be an excellent playmaker for Everton. Anthony Gordon would learn so much from him and should be a star of the future.”

Credit: @RogerWi33581994

“Fist pump”

Credit: @andyjsb

“Ouch”

Credit: @PeterFearns

“Just what we need, an always injured 30-year-old midfielder on a huge salary”

Credit: @robmor73

“Does he still play?”

Credit: @MartinPalmer57

In other news, find out what injury news has left these Everton fans buzzing

Wolves could hand academy youngster Luke Cundle a chance to prove his worth during the December period, journalist Liam Keen has hinted.

The Lowdown: Busy period ahead

Bruno Lage’s side have done impressively to sit sixth in the Premier League after 12 matches, overcoming an iffy start to find a strong run of form.

Wolves have seven Premier League fixtures to tackle in December, though, which is going to be a massive test of their squad, especially with injuries mounting.

Lage has hinted in press briefings that the Molineux faithful may see an unnamed new face take to the field in order to tackle the relentless run of games.

The Latest: Cundle could feature

According to Keen on Twitter, an ‘unnamed academy player’, potentially Cundle, looks set to be given an opportunity to excel in the first team. He tweeted: “Bruno Lage has some injury issues and a smaller than ideal squad, meaning he is anticipating a tough December. An unnamed academy player (suspected to be Luke Cundle) could get his chance too.”

The 19-year-old midfielder has a contract keeping him at Molineux until 2023 and he has shone for the club’s youth teams, registering nine assists in 43 appearances for Wolves’ under-23s.

He has featured twice for the first team (both in Carabao Cup matches) and has made the bench for all but two Premier League matches this season, although he is still awaiting his top-flight debut.

The Verdict: Big test of the squad

As mentioned, Wolves are in a good position right now, but the key is to stay amongst the big clubs and continue to kick on throughout a hectic December.

We may learn a lot about Lage’s squad in the next month, with legs tested amid so many games and the depth of the squad potentially coming into question.

It would be great to see someone like Cundle given a chance, though, and it is encouraging that Lage looks set to show some faith in youth.

In other news, one Wolves player has been linked with a move to a big club. Find out who it is here.

Antonio Conte maintained his unbeaten record in the Premier League as Tottenham Hotspur boss after his side defeated Brentford in north London on Thursday night.

Spurs can thank visiting midfielder Sergi Canos for giving them the lead after just 12 minutes before Sergio Reguilon found Heung-min Son with a delightful cross to double the advantage just after the hour mark, and that was enough to seal all three points.

It means the Lilywhites remain within touching distance of the European spots.

There were several standout performances from several of Conte’s players, notably Oliver Skipp, who earned the praises of many, ranging from the supporters to club legend Glenn Hoddle and even the manager himself.

“It was the best game that I have seen him play for Tottenham. He is growing as a player,” claimed the former Spurs manager during punditry duties for Amazon Prime, whilst the Italian told reporters after the game:

“Skipp played a really good game. This player is very young, he has a lot of space for improvement. He played with great passion and heart. It was important. We are talking about an important prospect.”

Of course, the England U21 dynamo played an integral role but it was Ben Davies who arguably stole the show at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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It was the Wales international, playing as a left-sided centre-back, who was majorly at hand for their opener as the ball cannoned off him, onto Canos, who then turned it in past his own goalkeeper.

In that role alongside Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez, the 28-year-old gets license to bomb forward to contribute in the final third.

He’s quite lucky that he’s the only left-footer in defence but he took his chance with aplomb, also managing 37 successful passes and a whopping 73 touches. the second-most of any Spurs player, which shows just how much play was running through him.

Elsewhere, Davies registered two clearances, two interceptions and one block, per SofaScore, as he was just as solid defensively as in the attack.

Alasdair Gold of football.london was also impressed by the £14.4m-rated defender after grading him an 8/10 in his post-match ratings column, adding: ‘Forced the own goal that put Spurs ahead early in the game and sent another looping header at goal that Fernandez grabbed in the air. Made a number of important interceptions at the back and he looked good on the left of the back three, combining strong defending with getting up the pitch.’

Conte clearly trusts Davies, having started him in all three of his Premier League games in charge and he is certainly repaying him with reliable and solid displays.

Players like Son and Skipp will take the plaudits but this under-the-radar display from the £93k-per-week star might’ve just been the best of the bunch in N17 this week.

AND in other news, “I think…”: Journalist drops big Dele Alli claim at Spurs, fans will be buzzing…

Steven Bergwijn could leave Tottenham Hotspur this January…

What’s the word?

That’s according to reliable Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge, who recently dropped an intriguing claim about the Dutch winger to GIVEMESPORT.

“I know he’s maybe going to Ajax in January, I don’t know, has someone said something? Very good sources in Holland are saying that Ajax will look to get him in January or does Conte genuinely see something in him?” he said.

It comes after reports emerged earlier this week linking the 24-year-old, who cost Spurs around £25m from Ajax’s rivals PSV Eindhoven in January 2020, to the Eredivisie champions.

Out of favour

It’s no secret that Bergwijn is heavily out of favour under manager Antonio Conte, having played only 13 minutes since the Italian’s arrival at Tottenham last month.

There were even claims at one stage that the 52-year-old had barely spoken to the £19.8m-rated winger, suggesting that he just isn’t the man for the new Lilywhites boss.

“That interest in Bergwijn has been made known. Conte does not see it in him at all,” claimed journalist Mike Verweij on De Telegraaf’s football podcast (via Sport Witness). “Conte is also the one who opposed Bergwijn’s transfer from PSV to Italy. Inter were an interested club at the time, but Conte did not need him. “Conte has only said two words to Bergwijn in two weeks at Tottenham Hotspur.”

If Ajax do hold a genuine interest, then Conte could be buzzing as he would be able to offload a player that he simply does not want, and at the same time help boost the club’s finances to bring in his own targets.

Truth be told, it has never gone to plan for Bergwijn in north London – across 62 appearances, he has only scored four goals and provided nine assists, meaning he averages a direct contribution once every 244 minutes, via Transfermarkt. That isn’t great.

Only last month, club insider John Wenham blasted the Netherlands international for being “terrible all season”, whilst his introduction from the bench against Manchester United even drew boos from the Spurs faithful.

If Bridge’s claim is true, then Conte and many around N17 will surely be delighted.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Ndombele: Conte eyes “devastating” £25m-rated beast, won’t cost Spurs a penny…

Leeds United have been boosted in their efforts in sign Feyenoord midfielder Orkun Kokcu, according to a fresh report which has emerged.

The Lowdown: Leeds looking for midfielder

The Whites have experienced a tough start to the season, sitting 15th in the Premier League and having to make do without injured key players such as Luke Ayling and Patrick Bamford.

Leeds have looked light in midfield, with Adam Forshaw being relied upon after a two-year injury absence and Kalvin Phillips not always available.

It looks likely that a new midfielder could come in during next month’s transfer window, and an update has emerged regarding Kokcu.

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The Latest: Whites linked with move

According to Feyenoord Transfermarkt [via Sport Witness], Leeds could be able to sign the 20-year-old if they pay at least €20m (£16.9m) for his services.

The report claims that Kokcu has rejected a move to Hertha Berlin, despite them making a ‘generous proposal’.

The young 13-cap Turkey international has started 15 Eredivisie games this season, scoring once and providing five assists so far, while last month he was hailed as the ‘young star’ of his national team by Turkish newspaper Fanatik.

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The Verdict: Solid January signing

Kokcu is generally considered a defensive midfielder, so he could be an ideal man to come in as an understudy for Phillips moving forward.

Not only has he averaged 2.6 key passes per game in the Eredivisie this season – Phillips has only averaged 0.6 in England’s top flight – he has also chipped in with one tackle per match, showing that he can impress both on and off the ball.

At 20, it would be unfair for Bielsa to throw Kokcu straight in as a key player, but he could give Leeds the much-needed squad depth that they crave.

In other news, a journalist has confirmed Leeds’ interest in one player. Find out who it is here.

Everton will travel to Selhurst Park today to face league position rivals, Crystal Palace, with both teams desperate to take three points from the game.

If Everton can seal the deal with a second consecutive win over Patrick Vieira’s side today, they have the chance of climbing back into the top half of the table, however, if they lose the game, Crystal Palace can leapfrog Everton and gain a spot in the top half, so it should be an interesting game for both sets of fans on Sunday afternoon.

One player who will more than likely make a return to the side for his eighth appearance for the Toffees this season is Mason Holgate.

The 25-year-old should start in the side today after Yerry Mina sustained yet another injury in Everton’s victory over Arsenal. That saw the defender subbed off in the 33rd minute with Rafa Benitez confirming that Mina will not be available for Everton’s Premier League fixture away from home this weekend.

Holgate has never been able to take himself to the next level but the defender was highly thought of by Carlo Ancelotti, who once said:

“He has the quality to be at the top as a defender. He is fast, strong physically and good with his head.

“He is really competitive. He is a fighter. But to be a fighter, you have to use this quality in the right way.”

There is currently a real window of opportunity for Holgate to establish himself in the defensive line by putting in important performances in the coming games ahead, with Mina injured and Lucas Digne reportedly entrapped in a feud with the manager, there has never been a better opportunity for the defender to prove he deserves to be in the starting eleven more consistently.

With 3.8 aerial duels won per game this term – more than any other Everton defender – he’s certainly got what it takes to bully Crystal Palace this afternoon.

Thus, £18m-rated gem could have a real impact on an important win that is needed for the Toffees today.

It could also be a career-defining moment for him as to whether Benitez believes he has what it takes to become a long term solution for an injury-plagued Mina, or whether he must go into the upcoming transfer window to find a defender who can improve upon the current situation for Everton.

In other news: Rafa Benitez must unleash Andre Gomes against Crystal Palace

Merry Christmas, City fans!

Following a historic 2021, Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues are soon set to draw the curtain on what has been a thoroughly entertaining year at Eastlands.

City clinched a fifth Premier League title and third under Pep Guardiola, enjoyed yet another Carabao Cup win and played in a first-ever Champions League final, all whilst dazzling supporters with enthralling football and breaking even more records. Off the pitch, the Sky Blues and sporting director Txiki Begiristain smashed City’s transfer record by signing England star Jack Grealish for £100m.

It’s also been a phenomenal year for the academy as even more more top talent emerged following Phil Foden footsteps, with many of them making their senior debuts at the back end of the year.

As a thank you for reading our content as The Transfer Tavern aims to report only the most engaging news possible for Citizens, we’ve prepared a City-related quiz to break up your festivities.

Are you good with ex-players’ nationalities? If so, this challenge will really put your trivia to the test.

We’ve given you four options for each question in a multi-choice format – you just have to correctly select the home country of each of the following ex-Man City players. Starting off fairly easy and becoming harder and harder, some will make the hardcore Cityzens stand out.

Good luck and remember to share your score!