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Aston Villa boss Dean Smith could land a superb teammate for Jack Grealish in Wales and Juventus star Aaron Ramsey in the summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

A report from Italian outlet Tuttomercato suggests that Villa have got their eye on the former Arsenal man, who is currently on international duty at EURO 2020 with Wales.

It’s suggested that Smith’s side are the front-runners for the midfielder, who has scored 91 career goals for club and country thus far in his career.

Imagine him and Grealish

Arsene Wenger raved about Ramsey’s ability to get into the box and find himself on the end of moves, saying: “In my head, Ramsey was going to be a player between 10 and 15 goals a year. He is a Frank Lampard type. He is (about) getting in the box and he has a huge capacity to run. Physically, he has a combination of stamina, power and his capacity to repeat high intensity is certainly the best in the league.”

Described as an “outstanding technician”, Ramsey would offer that same knack of getting into the box at the right times and scoring those poacher-type goals. In fact, Lampard himself wrote in a column for The Evening Standard: “It will probably come as no surprise to people that I like Ramsey. Like me, he makes late runs in the penalty area and he showed that with aplomb for the second goal at AC Milan last week.”

And, after a superb goal-scoring performance in the win over Turkey at EURO 2020, former Wales international, Danny Gabbidon, said: “I love Gareth Bale massive amounts but when Aaron Ramsey gets Hulked up he is my favourite Wales player! There’s nothing he can’t do.”

Having Ramsey in the side could be a huge boost for Grealish. The Villa talisman would have a runner from deep in Ramsey to pick out, rather than just having Ollie Watkins to run in behind the opposition defence.

It would give Grealish a second man to pick out, and given his ability to spot a pass – he averaged 3.1 key passes per game last season in the Premier League, which was almost double that of any Villa player – you would back him to find Ramsey more often than not.

It could be a superb little double-act that would take the weight off Watkins’ shoulders in terms of goal-scoring, and give Grealish another partner in crime.

AND in other Villa news; pundit warns Smith to avoid a move for reported Villa target

Former Rangers ace Michael Ball believes that Harry Wilson deserves a move to the Scottish champions in this transfer window.

Steven Gerrard’s side have been linked with a swoop to sign the winger from Liverpool in the summer transfer window.

He has spent the season on loan at Cardiff City, making 37 appearances in the Championship, scoring seven goals and registering 12 assists.

The 24-year-old has struggled for minutes for Liverpool, making just two senior appearances.

But Ball believes that his performances for Cardiff and his other loan clubs – Crewe Alexandra, Hull City, Derby County, and AFC Bournemouth – have earned him the right to make the move north of the border to link up with Gerrard’s Scottish champions.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, Ball said: “It does seem like a similar situation to Ryan Kent.

“If he goes up there, he probably deserves his move to a big football club. He’s done the hard yards now, he’s developed, and he’s had a great season.”

Kent, of course, moved to Rangers for a fee of £7.5m after finding minutes hard to come by at Liverpool and he has developed into a star, playing a key role in their Premiership triumph this term, with eight goals and nine assists in 33 games.

كشفت شبكة “سكاي سبورتس” عن إمكانية مساعدة نادي أتلتيكو مدريد لنظيره في الدوري الإنجليزي أستون فيلا من أجل ضم صانع الألعاب، فيليب كوتينيو، نهائيًا من برشلونة في الميركاتو الصيفي المقبل.

وانتقل كوتينيو إلى صفوف أستون فيلا على سبيل الإعارة في يناير وحتى نهاية الموسم من برشلونة، بسبب عدم مشاركته المستمرة في المباريات تحت قيادة، تشافي هيرنانديز.

اقرأ أيضًا.. مرتضى منصور يرد على أنباء القبض عليه بسبب محمود الخطيب

وبحسب متخصص الانتقالات، فابرزيو رومانو، أن نادي أتلتيكو مدريد يريد تدعيم مركز الظهير الأيمن واتجهت أنظاره نحو لاعب أستون فيلا، ماتي كاش، خاصة بعد رحيل كيران تريبير إلى صفوف نيوكاسل يونايتد.

صفقة كاش لن تكون بسيطة على إدارة أتلتيكو مدريد حيث من المفترض أن تكلفهم مبلغا ماليا يصل إلى 35 مليون يورو، ولكن إذا قرر النادي الإسباني دفع هذا المبلغ سيكون ميزة لأستون فيلا.

حيث يريد أستون فيلا التعاقد مع كوتينيو نهائيًا من برشلونة بعد تألقه الكبير بقميص النادي الإنجليزي منذ انتقاله في يناير الماضي.

Admirable fighting qualities on a wearing pitch earned Barbados a draw against England ‘A’ yesterday, but other results around the region left them in sixth place after the halfway stage of the Busta Series.Confronted by a pitch on which the bounce became increasingly low and bombarded by a series of boisterous appeals, Barbados could take some satisfaction from losing only five wickets on the last day to deny the visitors victory.Adrian Griffith’s 84 and support from Ryan Hinds and Courtney Browne, along with a defiant unbeaten half-century stand between captain Ian Bradshaw and Dave Marshall during the last hour-and-a-half, allowed Barbados to reach 229 for six when the match was called off with two overs remaining.When it was over, Barbados finished second best for the third successive home match, but they were still upbeat and admitted they were able to learn a few things from the international opposition.”We didn’t get the most points in this game. Sometimes that happens, but one of the important things was that we are playing against a good English `A’ team and they have taught us a lot about preparation, mental attitude, performance and professionalism,” said Barbados coach Hendy Springer.It was a view shared by skipper Bradshaw, who won the Man-Of-The-Match award, mainly for his unbeaten 109 in the first innings. He finished 18 not out in the second innings to add to his three wickets.”We have learnt from the disciplined approach that the English guys took,” Bradshaw said. “They were very consistent in terms of their line and length. That is something our bowlers have got to look at and try to emulate. They batted very patiently and that is something we have been trying to stress to the batters. You can learn from these guys. They are professional cricketers.”The three points carried Barbados to 21, 15 behind front-runners Jamaica with three round of matches remaining.England ‘A’ slipped to joint-third on 27 points, but their captain Mark Alleyne was pleased about the performance in spite of their inability to gain maximum points.”We played well enough to deserve an outright victory, but Barbados showed a bit of resilience today and we couldn’t quite force it,” Alleyne said.”But we will take a lot from this game into the next match, knowing we are good enough to force an outright victory against Jamaica.”The one thing that disappointed Alleyne was to find a pitch that was of the same quality as those he had encountered in St. George’s and Port-of-Spain.”In terms of pace, it was very similar very slow. It didn’t spin that much off the straight. We had to use the bowler’s footmarks a little bit,” he said.Barbados, resuming yesterday on 27 for one still 167 runs behind suffered an immediate setback when Sean Armstrong gave a bat/pad catch to silly-point after 20 minutes.They, however, would have been satisfied that Griffith and Hinds were able to survive until the lunch break.Hinds overcame an uncertain start and was able to keep England at bay for almost two hours before the visitors gained an important double-strike quickly after lunch.Afzaal finally won a decision for lbw when Hinds (30) was pinned on the back foot, and there was a similar verdict in the next over for fast bowler Jonathan Lewis who trapped Holder as the experienced batsman was trying to push forward.By then, Griffith had passed his second half-century of the tournament. Browne joined him, but the wicket-keeper/batsman had to contend with the uncomfortable spin directed outside the leg-stump in the rough.It was a ploy that brought England no success, and Griffith and Browne were taking Barbados to the tea interval when their sixth-wicket partnership of 60 was ended by a loose stroke from Griffith five minutes before the break.For most of the day, England depended heavily on their spinners, but the second ball did the trick. Alex Tudor, rested all day, induced Griffith into a half-hearted drive that lacked footwork.The ball took the edge of the bat and went to second slip where Vikram Solanki accepted his 16th catch of the season to end an important innings that lasted five hours and included four boundaries off 238 balls.When Browne was run out for 29 by a direct throw by Mike Powell from mid-wicket to the bowler’s end in the first over after tea, Barbados were behind by 15 runs and only four wickets remained.Bradshaw and Marshall had their early problems, but managed to stay together to add 50 before the match ended.

Brian Deane has exclusively told Football FanCast that goalkeeper Sam Johnstone would be a good signing for West Ham.

With the Baggies’ relegation back to the Championship now confirmed, Johnstone already has a number of Premier League sides interested in his signature, with the Hammers one of them.

And recent reports believe that they’ve now moved ahead of Tottenham in the race for the England shotstopper, who was rewarded for his outstanding form this season with his first call-up by Gareth Southgate for March’s World Cup qualifiers.

The 6 ft 4 Johnstone, who former England manager Glenn Hoddle labelled as ‘outstanding’ earlier this year, has not only made the most saves in the Premier League this season but has managed six clean sheets and even an assist from his 35 appearances.

West Ham have three senior goalkeepers currently at the club, but number one Lukasz Fabianski has just one year left on his contract and has been short of form of late, whilst his back-up, Dave Martin, will become a free agent this summer having failed to make a single first-team appearance this season.

And the former Hammers striker Deane told Football FanCast that he’s been impressed with Johnstone’s form:

“He’s saved more than anyone else in the league and certainly when I’ve seen him, he’s looked a very good player. I think he would be a good candidate.

“He’s not let anybody down at West Brom and that could be a good move.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Quatro jogos sem fazer gols. O Botafogo, desta vez contra o líder do Campeonato Brasileiro, passou em branco novamente e vai se complicando na luta para ir à próxima Taça Libertadores. Após o jogo deste domingo, os jogadores reiteraram a importância de melhorar a finalização nos jogos finais da temporada.

– Não aproveitamos as oportunidades. Buscamos o resultado desde o início e fizemos um jogo estratégico. Temos que aproveitar as oportunidades – entende o atacante Rodrigo Pimpão.

Mais do que nunca, voltar a fazer gol e vencer virou uma obrigação contra a Ponte Preta, no sábado, na Arena Botafogo. Para isso, o time precisa melhorar o desempenho na criação e na finalização. O meia Camilo acredita que é preciso melhorar o poder de concentração.

– Precisamos fazer o dever de casa, agora. Vamos nos concentrar, fizemos um grande jogo. Até sair o gol, estávamos jogando de igual para igual. Agora, temos que nos concentrar. Foi um jogo nervoso, truncado e difícil, mas temos condições de conseguir a vaga – afirma Camilo.

O mais desconfiado torcedor do Botafogo já começa a duvidar da capacidade de a equipe alvinegra se manter no G6 até o fim da competição. O volante Dudu Cearense, porém, segue otimista de que os maus resultados recentes não vão pesar quando a competição terminar.

– Não tenha dúvida (de que dá para ir à Libertadores), mas precisamos pontuar – alerta o meio-campista, que foi titular neste domingo, mas deve voltar ao banco de reservas no próximo duelo, com os prováveis retornos de Bruno Silva e Airton.

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