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Aston Villa confirmed on Friday that COVID-19 spot checks will be in place for Saturday’s game against Wolves.

Reliable reporter Ashley Preece relayed the news on social media, which, as to be expected, received plenty of interaction at such short notice from a number of Villa fans.

Villa return to action at home against their Midlands rivals on Saturday afternoon, looking to get back to winning ways following a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham prior to the international break.

Fans attending the Villa Park clash may now be asked to provide proof of a valid NHS vaccination pass, alternative proof of a vaccine or a negative lateral flow test 48 hours before kick-off.

Spot checks will be increased, however, Preece claimed that no fan will be refused entry as certification is not yet mandatory.

Villa fans react

This is what these fans had to say in reply to Preece’s post, with a selection of responses to view below.

“This is a shocker from Villa so last minute I get no one will be refused so why do it”

Credit: @SamBrogan3

“Villa Park 4G about to cause utter chaos”

Credit: @JamesLIoyd

“Shambles”

Credit: @MisterGuilbert

“Will cause chaos as there’s no signal for anyone to get on the NHS site .. you can guarantee most people won’t know beforehand”

Credit: @FowlerLegend

“Absolutely pointless then what is the point in doing it? ‘excuse have you got your covid status?’ No ‘Ok go on through’”

Credit: @KBK_DJ

“What is the point if no one will be refused entry?”

Credit: @ChristopherSS76

In other news: ‘Makes a lot of sense’ – Many AVFC fans buzz at Gregg Evans’ ‘exciting’ transfer news. 

West Bromwich Albion’s transfer business in recent years has been far from exemplary, but there’s one deal for which the club’s hierarchy will gain praise for many years to come.

Back in the summer of 2015, the Midlands outfit turned down multiple bids for star striker Saido Berahino after the youngster had bagged an incredible 20 goals in all competitions throughout the previous campaign.

Fellow Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur were desperate to secure the forward’s signature in the run-up to the August deadline, but no deal could be agreed between the two clubs.

Berahino, who had cost West Brom nothing in transfer fees having come up through the youth academy, reacted badly after learning that his dream move had been blocked, tweeting that would never play for chairman Jeremy Peace again before going on strike.

Tony Pulis was appointed as the Baggies’ new manager midway through the speedster’s breakthrough season at The Hawthorns and attempted to bring him back into the fold before slowly losing patience.

The Welsh tactician later claimed that Berahino’s fitness and mental levels were not right after West Brom managed to secure a very healthy £12.51m fee for his services courtesy of Stoke City in January 2017. 

It was later reported that the Burundi international served an eight-week FA suspension at the end of his time at The Hawthorns for failing a drugs test, capping off a terrible final few years at his boyhood club. 

Berahino’s career offered so much promise in its early stages, with 10 goals in just 11 outings for England’s under-21s illustrating his truly top-class potential, but several bad decisions in a short space of time ensured that he never reached the heights which once seemed inevitable.

It took him 35 appearances to register his first goal at Stoke, by which time they had been relegated from the Premier League, and he would score just four more goals for the club before being released in June 2019, a month after being convicted for drink driving.

The now 28-year-old spent time in Belgium following his Stoke exit, featuring for Zulte Waregem and RSC Charleroi, before returning to English shores with League One outfit Sheffield Wednesday over the summer.

However, he has never shown the form which almost earned him a move to Spurs six years ago, proving that West Brom struck gold over his transfer by earning themselves a sizeable fee for a player who was already in decline.

In other news… Signed for free, now worth £6.3m: West Brom struck gold over “special” maestro

AS Roma may reignite their interest in Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz in the future, says Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield.

The Serie A side were linked with a move for Luiz during the summer transfer window, with Calciomercato claiming that the 23-year-old was a target for Jose Mourinho.

Nothing materialised, though, with Luiz remaining at Villa Park. The £31.5m-rated Brazilian is an important player for Dean Smith, starting two of Villa’s first three Premier League fixtures in that holding midfield role.

Hatfield, however, would not be surprised if Roma showed interest again in the future and tried to make a move for Luiz.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if Roma kept tabs on him over the next couple months and see how he’s doing at Villa and then maybe reignite their interest,” Hatfield told TT.

“Of course it depends on his performances as well because if he steps up his level, obviously Villa will be expecting more money for him.”

Luiz was not the only Villa player who was linked with a move to the Stadio Olimpico. According to Football Insider, Roma were also keen on Anwar El Ghazi and tried to sign the 26-year-old.

An ex-Premier League manager, it is not a shock to see Mourinho trying to tap into the English market.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been gushing over some recent news involving their B team.

As per the club’s official website, the team managed to win the first leg of their UEFA Youth League tie away at Septemvri Sofia 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon, thanks to a hat-trick from Tony Weston and another goal from Cole McKinnon.

The Bears had to come back from 2-1 down, levelling the score at 2-2 before the half-time break, and then going on to clinch victory ahead of the second leg at home.

It was a result which brought a lot of joy to Light Blues supporters after the disappointment of the first team losing their Scottish League Cup semi-final 3-1 at home to Hibernian on Sunday.

New manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst would have kept a close eye on what happened during the game to see if any young Gers are ready to make the step up to his first team squad.

Rangers fans on B team’s win

These Rangers fans gushed as the result was shared on Twitter, with one describing it as ‘outstanding’:

“Fantastic stuff!!!”

Credit: @zander_staff

“Sensational result.”

Credit: @Wilf1872

“Outstanding”

Credit: @GazBernard02

“Wow. Some effort that from the young”

Credit: @waynefawcett

“Brilliant, looking forward to the home leg.”

Credit: @thechosenfew12

“Cracking result Rangers!!!”

Credit: @speedy430

In other news, find out whose performance in particular had lots of Gers fans buzzing

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a huge blow to their chances of keeping Harry Kane this summer…

What’s the word?

According to the Telegraph’s Mike McGrath and John Percy, the 28-year-old striker will insist on joining England teammate Jack Grealish at Manchester City, with talks planned with the North London side this week.

It’s thought that the Aston Villa captain is close to sealing a £100m switch to the defending Premier League champions and that Kane would like to follow him to the Etihad Stadium.

The £108m-rated talisman is due to return to Hotspur Way for pre-season training on Monday and is expected to request talks with chairman Daniel Levy, where he will reinforce his desire to join Manchester City.

Nuno blow

This will come as a massive setback to new Spurs boss Nuno Santo as he’s heading into the new season – his first in charge of the club – with a player who wants to be elsewhere.

And it’s not just any player, it’s Kane.

The 28-year-old forward is integral to Spurs’ chances of success on the pitch. For instance, Kane accounted for 54.4% of their 68 goals scored in the top-flight during the 2020/21 campaign, whilst he’s bagged at least 20 goals in five of the last seven campaigns, as per WhoScored.

If you take him out of the side, Nuno will then be left without a senior striker, with last season’s backup option Carlos Vinicius returning to parent club Benfica following an indifferent loan spell in the capital.

However, it’s no surprise that the Lilywhites academy product wants to leave his boyhood club after so many years. They have still not won a trophy since 2008, despite making the Champions League and Carabao Cup finals in recent seasons.

He has made it no secret that he wants to compete for Europe’s top trophies and that isn’t happening at Spurs anytime soon as they’ll be competing in the third-string UEFA Conference League this term.

Kane pressing ahead with his intentions to leave the club leaves the Spurs hierarchy in a sticky predicament because, if they do not listen to his wishes, they risk handing Nuno an unhappy player, and that’ll do him no favours in the dugout.

This situation will undoubtedly leave the Lilywhites faithful fuming. Will Kane play in a Spurs shirt again? That very much remains to be seen right now.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano drops big Cristian Romero update…

Manchester United are willing to sell rumoured Leeds United target Daniel James this summer, acting as a potential boost for the Whites.

The Lowdown: Leeds linked with James move

Marcelo Bielsa could be looking to bring in another wide player in the transfer window, with Leeds arguably light in that area currently.

One player who has been linked with a move to Elland Road is James, who only managed 11 starts in the Premier League last season.

Jadon Sancho’s move to United is likely to send the Wales international further down the pecking order, meaning he could move on, and he was of course close to swapping South Wales for Yorkshire back in January 2019.

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The Latest: Man United willing to sell

According to ESPN, United are happy to let James leave for the right price in the coming weeks, giving Leeds the opportunity to swoop.

The exact amount isn’t specified, although the 23-year-old is valued at £16.2million by Transfermarkt.

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The Verdict: Snap him up, Marcelo

James could be a shrewd addition by Bielsa this summer – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has claimed he has an ‘X-factor’ – possessing the kind of attributes that could be lethal in this Leeds team.

The Welshman has electrifying pace that can be deadly on the counter-attack, but he also works incredibly hard for the team. He averaged one tackle and 0.9 fouls per game in the Premier League last season, implying he could fit right into Bielsa’s intense pressing system.

James might not play regularly instead of Raphinha and Jack Harrison, but improved squad depth is vital and he could provide exactly that, allowing Bielsa to rotate more often and keep players fresh.

In other news, a pundit is delighted with the situation surrounding one Leeds player. Find out who it is here.

Heading into the ongoing transfer window, it looked a rather bleak situation for Celtic.

The Hoops didn’t have a permanent first-team manager until last week while Parkhead was faced with a number of senior departures.

What’s the word?

After appointing Ange Postecoglou as their new boss, the future of Celtic football club looks a little more vibrant.

The Australian has already welcomed two new players to the club in Liaw Shaw and Joey Dawson but he now needs to crack on with first-team recruitment.

A move for Sunderland forward Charlie Wyke appears to be in the pipeline but he might not need to replace Odsonne Edouard.

That’s because Leicester’s apparent £15m deal to sign the Frenchman is falling through after a disagreement in fee led to the Foxes turning their attention to RB Salzburg attacker Patson Daka.

As a result, Edouard is weighing up his options and according to The Daily Mail, is considering staying at Celtic this season and seeing out the rest of his contract.

Huge boost

This might not be a welcome sight for Celtic’s finances but in terms of their chances next term, it represents a colossal boost for Postecoglou’s chances.

The 55-year-old has walked into a mess at Paradise but if Edouard remains in Glasgow, it will give the new manager a huge helping hand in their bid to overthrow Rangers.

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Towards the end of last season, it looked as though the Frenchman had downed tools. He was a shadow of his former self and ended 2020/21 with just three goals in his last ten matches.

Those initially looked to be his final outings in the famous green and white hoops but a stay would do Celtic the world of good.

After all, the 23-year-old has been the club’s top scorer for a number of years now.

His form in front of goal led the club to consecutive title wins in 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 while despite Celtic’s shoddy form of late, he still racked up 22 strikes last term.

Edouard is one of the greatest strikers Celtic have had in the modern era, something a tally of 83 goals in 168 matches testifies.

A bustling ball of energy, there are very few defences in Scotland capable of stopping him.

If Celtic did receive a fee for him this summer then it’s likely they will have spent that on funding a replacement. As such, they aren’t particularly losing out on much.

This feels like a win-win situation for the Bhoys. Postecoglou will be over the moon if he gets a chance to utilise his talents.

AND in other news, Celtic can rectify Toney howler by signing 41-goal gem who’s like “ice in the box”…

Taking to Instagram, Tottenham Hotspur defender Joe Rodon has dropped a four-word message in a possible boost for Lilywhites boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

The Lowdown: Rodon yet to feature…

The Wales international impressed for Tottenham last season when given his sporadic chances under both former manager Jose Mourinho and interim coach Ryan Mason.

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Over his 12 Premier League appearances, the starlet averaged a cool and composed 88.1% pass accuracy out from the back with only Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg racking up a higher success rate (WhoScored).

He also turned heads at international level, with Wales Online journalist Ian Mitchelmore branding him a ‘special player’ and ‘flawless’ after his performance against Belgium in March (Twitter).

The 23-year-old is still yet make his debut under Nuno due to a thigh injury picked up at the start of the season, but going by his Instagram post, the Portuguese could soon be able to call upon him.

The Latest: Rodon drops four-word message…

Taking to his social media, the centre-back has published a four-word message as he returns to the training pitches for Wales following successful rehabilitation.

After his most recent setback, Rodon simply stated ‘good to be back’ as he drops an Instagram update for both Spurs and Welsh supporters.

The official account for Wales’ national team also posted their own update on Twitter confirming his return from injury.

The Verdict: Boost for Nuno…

Amid the plethora of unwelcome international news regarding Tottenham players, this Rodon update arguably comes as a breath of fresh air.

As explained by Alasdair Gold, it’s hard to remember a worse international break than this one with Ryan Sessegnon, Son Heung-min and now Oliver Skipp all succumbing to injury issues.

Davinson Sanchez, Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero are also stuck abroad and must complete a ten day training camp in Croatia before their expected return to London around September 16 (Dan Kilpatrick).

Indeed, it appears Nuno and Spurs are in need of a much welcomed positive update.

In other news: ‘So excited’, ‘Start him against Palace’…Many Tottenham fans wowed by another ‘generational’ talent, find out more here.

After a string of poor performances on the pitch and controversial actions off the pitch, it seems like Oli McBurnie’s time and reputation at Sheffield United is damaged beyond repair and he should look for a move away, according to Sheffield United legend Brian Deane.

£20m man McBurnie has been linked with a sensational move across the border to play for Steven Gerrard at Rangers for a cut-price fee of £15 million, and this is all despite failing to register one goal in the Premier League this season.

Rangers will know that they need to be active in the transfer market this summer if they are to maintain their advantage over Celtic for next season and someone like McBurnie, who would have a point to prove, could be a smart signing.

McBurnie has struggled to gain any kind of momentum at Bramall Lane this season as well as being caught up in an altercation with Blades fans in the street earlier this year.

Asked about the Rangers rumours, Deane believes it is best for both parties to go their separate ways as he told The Transfer Tavern:

“I think he’s got past that stage now where he could pull it back at Sheffield United because he’s been there two years now and he’s had injury problems but we’ve not really seen the best of him.

“I think that he probably wants to move on as well. So, I think it would be a good opportunity for him to move on for both him and the club to cut their losses, and perhaps the Premier League was just a little bit too much of a hurdle for him.”

The Blades will be looking to cut down some of their wage bill and offload some of their high earners after splashing the cash relatively poorly during their two seasons in the Premier League, and will be hopeful of an immediate return to the top flight under Slavisa Jokanovic.

It was a quite horrendous season for Sheffield United as they finished rock bottom and had to wait until January for their first league win as they beat Newcastle United 1-0, managing another six victories after that.

Sunderland maintained their spot in the play-offs with a 1-1 draw at home to Rotherham in League One on Tuesday night.

The Black Cats are fifth in the table and one point ahead of seventh, as it stands, and know that a win on the final day of the season against Morecambe, who are battling against the drop, will seal their place in the top six.

It was an eventful night for Michael Ihiekwe at the Stadium of Light as he went from hero to zero for The Millers. He opened the scoring in the 17th minute before turning the ball into his own net in the 88th minute to gift Alex Neil’s team a point.

Sunderland did not register a single shot on target in the match as they struggled to break Paul Warne’s well-structured side down.

The home side were, therefore, a tad lucky to come away from the game with a point to show for their efforts as they did not trouble the opposition goalkeeper at all. Neil’s attackers struggled on the night and one player, in particular, who let the head coach down was centre-forward Nathan Broadhead.

Off the ball, he was a lightweight. As per SofaScore, he lost four of his six (66.6%) individual battles and this shows that he was dominated from a physical standpoint. He made one tackle in the match whilst failing to make a single interception, clearance, or block as he failed to help the defence out when Rotherham had the ball.

On the flip side of the game, he offered no attacking quality. As per SofaScore, he did not register a single key pass or shot on goal, whilst also failing to complete a single dribble. He only had 19 touches of the ball, with goalkeeper Anthony Patterson having 32, and completed just nine passes.

Broadhead struggled to get into the game in the final third as he let Neil down on and off the ball throughout the match. The Everton loanee has been sublime this season, with nine goals in 14 starts, but this was a performance to forget from the Welshman.

He must now dust himself down and work hard in training ahead of the crunchtime clash with Morecambe on Saturday. Neil will need the striker at his clinical best to ensure that the Black Cats are competing for a spot in the Championship via the play-offs next month.

AND in other news, Speakman howler: SAFC may now be on the verge of repeating brutal Hugill disasterclass…