Roy Hodgson has made positive progress in the transfer window in recent days by completing deals for the highly-regarded prospect Max Meyer and combative midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate, but a recent report from the Daily Mail suggests their most exciting summer deal could be on the horizon.

According to the report, Palace are in talks to sign Red Bull Salzburg’s Munas Dabbur before the window slams shut in order to resolve their issues at centre-forward.

Following a season of struggle in attack with Christian Benteke leading the line, the Palace supporters will be hoping to see Dabbur arrive at Selhurst Park before the new season gets underway if his return last season is anything to go by.

Dabbur plays his trade for Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga, and he managed to notch a mightily impressive 22 goals last season from 32 appearances.

Those questioning his ability to transfer that form to the Premier League would be wise to take note of his record in the Europa League in which he scored 5 goals and provided 3 assists from 14 appearances during his club’s run to the semi-final.

His form on the European stage by no means guarantees that he will become a clinical striker at Palace, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that he will adapt to his new surroundings and fire the Eagles to safety; prior to his move to Salzburg, Dabbur netted 56 goals and provided 28 assists from 105 total appearances.

Clearly, finding the back of the net on a consistent basis has formed the backbone of his career so far and, although there’s no doubt it would be difficult for him to immediately solve Palace’s goal-scoring problems, he has done more than enough to justify an opportunity to step up to the Premier League.

FootballFanCast General: Subscribe and never miss what matters Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Palace’s upcoming season will certainly test their limited resources as they bid to retain their top-flight status, but the arrival of the Israel international before the deadline passes could well prove to be the difference between survival and relegation.

Crystal Palace fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has made a major claim about Carney Chukwuemeka and his future at Aston Villa.

What’s the story?

The 17-year-old was a revelation for Villa’s youth side last season, scoring seven goals and providing two assists in just six FA Youth Cup games as the club’s young guns went on to lift the trophy.

Preece has now revealed that Chukwuemeka will not be going out on loan and instead is likely to be eased into first team action like Dean Smith has done with Jacob Ramsey.

The journalist reported: “Smith has said himself he’ll have a cluster of academy players in with the first-team this pre-season. I’m expecting Kesler, Chukwuemeka, Philogene-Bidace, A.Ramsey, Louie Barry and others to step up and to be involved in first-team pre-season games. Then, when season begins, Smith will make a call on those players. Chukwuemeka, though, will be around the first team.

“Carney’s not going out on loan. He’s going to be eased in but what’s stopping him from looking really good this season? He’s still a bit of an unknown as he hasn’t been tested at the highest level. He could well be a superstar but Smith will ease him in like he did with Jacob last season.”

Villa fans will love it

At 17, there’s no doubting that Chukwuemeka is one of the brightest young talents at Villa, if not the brightest. The teenager netted a hat-trick in Villa’s 6-1 win over Newcastle to reach the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup last season; a performance which had Preece absolutely raving.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for the Birmingham Mail, he said: “This was a Carney Chukwuemeka masterclass. It was a clinic in how to play an advanced midfield role with the 17-year-old oozing confidence and swagger. The hype’s real surrounding this kid who, as supporters know, has been around Dean Smith’s first team for a long time now. Villa’s No.10 started almost every attack and looked to hurt Newcastle at every opportunity.

“European clubs are hovering looking to take Chukwuemeka and Villa could do with reassuring him that his future’s at Villa Park. He’s ready for some Premier League minutes. A scary talent who assisted Reddin as well. Unreal. He’s got everything.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/aston-villa-dean-smith-transfer-window-premier-league-villa-park-emi-buendia-gregg-evans-gossip-rumours-update-news” title=”Read the latest Aston Villa transfer rumours and news!”]

The teenager made his first team debut for Smith’s side in the closing weeks of the Premier League season, coming on as a late substitute away at Spurs, before getting a more prolonged runout on the final day against Chelsea (Transfermarkt).

FootballFanCast General: Subscribe and never miss what matters Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Given the superb displays he has produced at youth team level, it would only be natural for Villa fans to be rightfully excited about what Chukwuemeka could do if given the opportunity in the first team.

It’s exactly why Preece’s update will surely have Villa fans grinning from ear to ear.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has dropped a Villa transfer update…

Many Wolverhampton Wanderers fans have been delighted on Twitter, following footage released by the club showing new signing Trincao scoring his first goal in training.

Enduring a mixed 2020/21 season, the Portuguese winger recorded five goal contributions in 42 fixtures for parent club FC Barcelona [Transfermarkt].

Excitingly moving to the West Midlands to join Wolves earlier this month, the 21-year-old seems to have wasted no time at all settling into his new surroundings.

Picking up the ball in the session on the half-turn, he turned his man twice before slotting a clinical strike low into the net.

Seeing their first glimpses of his quality in the video, the Molineux faithful will be praying that he can produce these exploits on a competitive platform come the start of the Premier League campaign.

In light of the footage, it is perhaps no wonder loads of Wolves diehards took to Twitter to rejoice about the talented attacker.

Wolves fans react:

Replying to the Wolverhampton Wanderers FC Official Twitter account, here is what some supporters had to say about the footage:

FootballFanCast General: Subscribe and never miss what matters Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

“He’s breaking ankles this season. Exciting signing”

Credit: @BC1877″Trincao up front with Jimenez? That’s just not fair….”Credit: @AshJonB”Trincao and Neto on the wings with jimenez in the middle”Credit: @Mowiiiiiii”Gonna terrorise defences with Pedro, Raul and Adama”Credit: @MitchPhillips28″Cannot *wait* to see this boy play”Credit: @andyroden”NEXT SEASON IS GOING TO BE GREAT AND I AM GLAD I LIVE NEXT DOOR TO WOLVES”Credit: @kingkevg1In other news, Wolves fans have been reacting to a training update.

An update has emerged about Sheffield Wednesday target Sam Cosgrove, regarding his thinking heading into the final weeks of the window.

What’s the talk?

According to The Sun’s Alan Nixon, via Examiner Live, Sheffield Wednesday transfer target Sam Cosgrove is ‘yet to decide’ on his future with three weeks left of the transfer window to go.

Examiner Live provide their own line on the story, stating that Cosgrove is a player who the Owls are targeting. Fellow League One side Wycombe are also chasing a deal for the Birmingham hitman.

Decision time

With the clock ticking down and clubs beginning to finalise all of their transfer business with the season getting underway, we are entering crunch time when it comes to decisions on moves. If a player is indecisive and still contemplating whether or not they want to join the Owls, Darren Moore may have to make a big call and exit the race to pursue another player in order to not risk leaving his business too late.

This means that Cosgrove is going to need to make a decision about his future sooner rather than later. The report stating that he is ‘yet to decide’ is rather ominous for Wednesday, as it shows that he is not fully convinced that a switch to the League One club – or to Wycombe – is the best next step for him.

Owls supporters should now be anxious about what he is doing to do, with the club unable to do anything on that front until he makes up his mind. They cannot pull the trigger on a deal with Birmingham unless the player is on board.

Cosgrove could be an excellent addition to the Wednesday squad if they are able to get it over the line. He is a young forward who has experience of scoring goals regularly in Scotland, but he has not been able to find his feet in England as of yet.

Earlier this year, Birmingham boss Lee Bowyer said that the 24-year-old is improving and that he could be their first-choice striker in a year’s time if he can continue developing. He told Birmingham Live:

“Sam is a player that is young and learning the game, I would say. I see him as a replacement for Jutkiewicz, as in a like-for-like player and he is learning.

“He is improving, even in the time I have been here I have seen him improve every day. His movement is getting better, his hold-up play is getting better, his finishing is getting better so he is improving.

“Maybe in a year’s time or maybe next season step in, step up and then take over from Jukey? Then he be the No. 1 and Jukey come off the bench? I don’t know. I don’t know what the thinking was.”

This shows that he is on the right track and if he can start hitting the numbers he was managing in the Scottish Premiership then Owls fans would love him.

FootballFanCast General: Subscribe and never miss what matters Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Between the 2018/19 and 2019/20 campaigns, Cosgrove scored a whopping 44 goals in all competitions – averaging at 22 a season.

If he can score 22 goals in League One for Wednesday then that would be a terrific addition, but it is now down to him to figure out what he wants to do.

And in other news, the The Owls keen on securing this other signing this summer…

Rangers made it back-to-back Premiership wins as Gio van Bronckhorst’s side came away with a 2-0 win at Ibrox on Wednesday night.

They brushed Hibernian off with relative ease as James Tavernier and Alfredo Morelos scored the goals either side of half time. Ryan Kent won a penalty to tee up his captain to score from 12 yards before the right-back delivered a sublime ball through to Morelos for him to smash into the roof of the net.

The Gers remain one point off Celtic at the top of the table as the race for the Premiership title looks set for a tasty run to the finish line this season.

Forget Tavernier

Whilst Tavernier impressed at right-back with a goal and an assist to show for his efforts, his teammate Connor Goldson is deserving of applause for a pivotal display on his 200th appearance for the Gers.

Defensively, he was almost perfect. As per SofaScore, he won an outstanding 85.7% (6/7) of his individual duels on the pitch. He also completed five clearances and made two blocks and interceptions combined, whilst he was not dribbled past a single time – showing that he was rock solid throughout.

The centre-back did all of this whilst losing his partner Leon Balogun to injury after just 15 minutes, with the defender adjusting to a new pairing with ease and coasting through the match.

He was faultless throughout and pivotal to stopping Hibernian from offering a threat on the counter as his strength in his individual battles allowed him to dominate the match.

On the ball, the defensive machine was reliable. He won four fouls for his side and played the pass, albeit relatively simply, to Tavernier in the build-up to Morelos’ goal. Gio van Bronckhorst will not be expecting his centre-back to create four chances a game, but he was solid in his work in possession to go along with his fantastic performance at the back.

FootballFanCast General: Subscribe and never miss what matters Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

His strength and positioning were key to Rangers keeping a clean sheet and securing the three points, which is why the Dutch head coach will be buzzing with the former Brighton man’s showing.

Hopefully, he will continue to produce similar performances between now and the end of the season so that he can leave the club on a high by securing a second successive title, should he decide to depart at the end of his contract.

AND in other news, Rangers pulled off dream swoop for gem whose value has soared 700%…

Everton have been linked with a move for Kim Min-Jae for a while, and now a new update from a reliable source has emerged on the player’s future.

What’s the latest?

Italian journalist and transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Napoli are close to signing the Fenerbahce defender this summer.

Romano tweeted:

“Napoli are pushing to get Kim Min Jae deal done as soon as possible. Negotiations in progress on final details, as Napoli want Kim to replace Kalidou Koulibaly.”

Lampard will be fuming

Min-Jae is just another player on a long list of Everton transfer targets who have gone on to make moves to different clubs over this summer, so Frank Lampard will surely be fuming that another potential signing has slipped through the net with less than two weeks until the Premier League returns.

So far, Everton have only made one signing with James Tarkowski joining the ranks at Goodison Park, however, if the Toffees want to improve upon the outcome of last season where the side found themselves in a relegation scrap, they will need to start signing some more players.

The relationship between the supporters and the board at the Merseyside club has never been more fragile, with many of the Goodison Park faithful protesting outside the ground this weekend against Farhad Moshiri and his associates.

Despite the owner making a statement claiming that signings will come and requesting patience from the supporters, it appears that the wait for new additions is wearing thin following Richarlison’s exit and a 4-0 preseason defeat to Minnesota United over in America.

Lampard spoke out following the preseason defeat about the plans ahead and what Everton need to do to ensure they don’t suffer another season of disaster (via The Mirror):

“The players have to work and understand we were in a relegation battle for a big portion of last season,”

“And if we don’t want to be in that situation again, they have to better and I have to be better.

FootballFanCast General: Subscribe and never miss what matters Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

“As a club, it [the Minnesota game] reinforced the situation in terms of what we need to do with the squad because it has to be stronger than what we saw tonight.”

With all considered, there is still plenty of time for Everton to make improvements but the powers at Goodison Park now need to start making serious moves in the transfer market and commit to signings if Lampard has any chance of delivering a better outcome for the Toffees next season.

AND in other news: Lampard can unearth his own Son as Everton eye bid for “extraordinary” £59k-p/w talent

Tottenham midfielder Oliver Skipp’s return from injury before the north London derby clash with Arsenal could be a ‘big help’, according to club insider John Wenham.

The Lowdown: Skipp back in action

The 22-year-old is yet to feature in the Premier League this season after being absent through injury, coming as a blow for Antonio Conte.

Thankfully, Skipp made his comeback for England’s under-21s last weekend, starting for the Young Lions in their 2-0 win over Italy.

With Saturday’s mouthwatering clash against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium edging closer all the time, it looks as though the youngster will be likely to feature in the matchday squad now that he is back playing.

The Latest: Wenham delighted with Skipp return

Speaking to Football Insider, Wenham reacted positively to the news, describing Skipp’s return as ‘perfect timing’ for Tottenham.

He said of the 22-year-old:

“I want him to play all of the England Under-21s games. He looked great in the training kit the other day, great to see him back on grass. For Skipp, it is all about game time at the moment.

“I expect Skipp, when he is let back into the side, won’t let Conte down. It will then be difficult to remove him from that side. It has been a long time since we have seen him now and him coming back right now is perfect timing, it’s a big help to the midfield.

“We have this run of games in October, it’s three games a week and we need a full squad to get through that without any concerns.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-3/” title=”Tottenham latest news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Important for squad depth

Skipp may not be the first name on Spurs’ team sheet but he has become a hugely valuable squad player, once being described as ‘perfect’ by former Norwich City manager Daniel Farke, who managed him during a loan spell at Carrow Road.

With a match average of 1.8 tackles per game putting him in the squad’s top five for 2021/22, the observation about him being a player who doesn’t let his manager down is a fair one.

FootballFanCast General: Subscribe and never miss what matters Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

The 22-year-old is unlikely to start at the Emirates, given his lack of match fitness and the ferocious nature of the match against Spurs’ arch-rivals and the current league leaders, but a substitute’s role certainly isn’t out of the question.

Skipp has prior experience of this fixture and won’t be daunted by being thrown back into the fray, so it will be interesting to see if Conte uses him for Spurs’ biggest match of 2022/23 so far.

Aston Villa registered their third Premier League defeat of the season this afternoon as they were beaten 1-0 by West Ham United at Villa Park.

It took the away side 74 minutes to break the deadlock as Pablo Fornals fired past Emi Martinez with a shot from outside the penalty box, which not only gave the east London club their first goal of the campaign but their first win as well.

Despite having more shots at goal than the Hammers (9 vs 7), Steven Gerrard’s side were not able to find the back of the net to help them avoid defeat.

In terms of individual performances, one figure that didn’t have a particularly good day at the office for was Danny Ings.

With 78 minutes on the pitch, the £120k-per-week striker had 21 touches of the ball in total, which is 20 fewer than Martinez had in goal and the lowest out of any Villa player that started the game.

Completing just ten of the 13 passes he attempted, Ings misplaced the one cross and one long ball he attempted, as well as only having one shot at goal, which ended up being off target.

Things weren’t much better for him off the ball either, as the striker was caught offside twice and failed to make even one tackle or interception for his side.

This display ultimately earned the centre-forward an underwhelming overall match rating of 6.7/10 from SofaScore, making him one of the lowest-rated Villa players on the day, even lower than Leon Bailey (6.9/10) who came on for Ings in the second half, which shows just much he let his manager down.

FootballFanCast General: Subscribe and never miss what matters Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

After being left out of the starting XI for last weekend’s defeat against Crystal Palace, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not Gerrard thinks the 30-year-old did enough in this game to warrant a place in the team for their next league fixture against Arsenal in midweek.

Villa have lost three of their four league games and are set to take on the only side who are yet to taste defeat in the division next, so Ings and the rest of his teammates will be under immense pressure if results don’t start going their way soon.

Chelsea right-back Reece James won't be joining Barcelona in the next transfer window despite the rumours of a summer exit, according to an update from journalist Fabrizio Romano.

How important is James to Chelsea?

The Englishman has already matured into a vital player for the Blues, despite still only being 23 years of age, with few players in Europe arguably better than him in his position. Granted, he has had a stop-start season because of injuries, but there is no denying that he is an invaluable part of the team moving forward.

James has been limited to just 14 starts in the Premier League in 2022/23 to date, and this lack of availability has no doubt played a part in Chelsea's well-documented struggles throughout the campaign. He has actually been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge recently, with Barcelona reportedly set to make an attempt to sign him this summer.

The £250,000-a-week defender's current Blues deal runs until the summer of 2028, however, so only a huge amount of money would give another club any chance of prising him away.

Could James leave this summer?

Taking to Twitter, Romano completely shrugged off the claim, saying that James won't be moving away from Chelsea once the summer window arrives:

"There’s nothing between Barcelona and Reece James despite recent rumours as English fullback is considered a crucial player at Chelsea. James signed new long term deal last year. Barça won’t go for Reece in the summer and he’s untouchable."

Frankly, James is one of the most valuable assets Chelsea have currently, and the idea of him leaving any time soon doesn't bear thinking about. He has been hailed as "amazing" by Ian Wright in the past, not to mention the "best right-back in the country" by Robbie Savage, and the hope is that he remains a Blues player for the rest of his career.

FootballFanCast General: Subscribe and never miss what matters Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Selling him would make no sense whatsoever, at a time when a new manager will hopefully take the west Londoners to fresh new heights after a disappointing season, and there is no reason why his game can't reach new levels moving forward, with his best years still potentially ahead of him.

The fact that Barca have supposedly shown an interest in signing James is a testament to what a special talent he is, and Chelsea's focus now has to be on helping him improve his fitness record and ensuring he is a rampaging figure down the right flank for another decade or so.

Chelsea will face title-chasing Arsenal in a hugely tricky encounter at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday Evening.

The Blues arrive in north London in perhaps the club’s most challenging and demoralising circumstances since the turn of the century.

The Blues are winless in their last six top-flight outings and have only scored once in their previous five fixtures.

In recent games, caretaker manager Frank Lampard has opted for heavily defensive setups that have only seen one recognised attacker start the match.

For example, in Chelsea’s 2-0 loss to Brentford, the 44-year-old deployed N’Golo Kante and Conor Gallagher as the support to Raheem Sterling, but this frontline lacked any threat or cohesiveness.

This approach was quickly abandoned at half-time when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mykhailo Mudryk were introduced to afford the Blues some more momentum.

Although it didn’t come to fruition in that second half, Lampard should persist with the Ukrainian, who still has much to offer.

Should Mykhailo Mudryk start vs Arsenal?

It has been revealed that several Chelsea players are looking to leave the club in the summer transfer window. Therefore, the reins should be handed over to the club’s newest signings, who have committed their long-term future to the club.

The winger began his career in England with an extremely promising cameo when he came after 55 minutes against Liverpool back in January.

The 22-year-old terrorised veteran James Milner with his electric pace and completed two successful dribbles. Then-manager Graham Potter praised the youngster’s debut and said: “I think you can see his quality. I thought he had a good impact on the game.”

This vibrant display of impudent dribbling contributes to a wider and impressive picture that places the former Shakhtar Donetsk star in the top 1% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for progressive carries, as well as the top 4% for successful take-ons.

In recent games, Lampard’s decision to start Gallagher, who lacks attacking impetus, pace, and dynamism has been a bizarre decision when such an explosive force is available on the bench.

FootballFanCast General: Subscribe and never miss what matters Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

With the futures of other attackers including Aubameyang, Hakim Ziyech, and Christian Pulisic hugely uncertain, it would be logical to give a player intended to be Chelsea’s future a substantial portion of game time.

Although it has been an extremely underwhelming start for the £100k-per-week star in west London, he has still shown glimpses of his world-class talent, with the "frightening" attacker – as per Josh Bunting – potentially set to haunt a side who he so famously wanted to join in January.

Therefore, a big performance in a derby to derail a rival’s title charge would endear the nine-cap international to the Blues faithful.