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Where would Aston Villa be if they have appointed Dean Smith at the start of the season?

A calamitous start to the 2018/19 campaign under Steve Bruce saw the club’s supporters’ turn on their former boss as the Lions slipped to 12th in the Championship after a 3-3 draw against Preston North End in October.

This result proved to be the last straw for the club’s owners who replaced the former Hull City manager with Smith, who gave up his role at Brentford to move to Villa Park.

Since his appointment, the 47-year-old has adopted a more attacking style of play which has garnered a total of 39 points from his 25 games in charge of the Midlands-based side.

With Villa now eighth in the Championship and just two points behind Derby County who currently occupy the final place in the play-offs.

John McGinn is at the heart of the action.

The Scottish midfielder has been excellent for Smith’s side throughout the season and scored his third and fourth goal of the season in the Lions’ 3-1 away victory at Nottingham Forest. McGinn has also registered eight assists in the Championship with only Connor Hourihane providing more (10) for Villa during this year’s campaign.

Whereas Tammy Abraham’s 21 goals have been very important for the club, it can be argued that without McGinn the forward would not have received the necessary service to score anywhere near the total that he has achieved so far in England’s second tier.

Therefore, it is paramount that Villa keep the former Hibernian midfielder fit for the remaining fixtures if they are to launch a realistic challenge for promotion via the play-offs this season and achieve Wembley redemption after losing 1-0 to Fulham in the final last year.

Smith will be aware of McGinn’s involvement with his national team Scotland in the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Kazakhstan and San Marino next week and will be hoping that he can make it through the two fixtures without suffering an injury.

What do you think Villa fans? Who important is McGinn to your play-off hopes? Is he your most important player? Get in touch below.

[ad_pod ]Chelsea goalkeeper Jamal Blackman has provided an update on his recovery from a broken leg, which has sparked a reaction from the Leeds United fans.Blackman joined Leeds on loan from Chelsea last summer and made two appearances for the Whites in the first half of the 2018-19 campaign.The 25-year-old suffered a broken leg in an Under-23 fixture against Birmingham City in November, though, which ended his loan spell at the club, returning to Chelsea to recover.Blackman will not play again this season, but has posted a positive update on his recovery.The Leeds fans have been on Twitter reacting to the post and as expected, there were a number of kind messages for the goalkeeper.Pl>ymaker FC’s Theo Ogden found two rebelious Leeds fans in the home end at Loftus Road in QPR’s 2-1 FA Cup win. Find out what happened next in the video below…Some of the Championship club’s supporters even said that they were hopeful of seeing Blackman back at Elland Road once he has fully recovered from the injury.A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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According to Mundo Deportivo, via Sport Witness, Real Sociedad want to keep Sandro Ramirez at the club beyond the 2018-19 campaign.

Sandro has incredibly not found the back of the net for Everton in November 2017.

Since then, the Spaniard has played 18 times on loan at Sevilla, whilst he has made 20 appearances for Sociedad without scoring.

The 23-year-old joined Everton from Malaga in the summer of 2017, but only managed one goal in 16 games for the Toffees before joining Sevilla on loan.

Since netting 14 La Liga goals for Malaga during a very good 2016-17 season, Sandro has really struggled, which is a shock when considering his talent.

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

It would certainly be a surprise to see Sociedad sign Sandro on a permanent deal when considering his struggles, but the Everton fans are hoping that will indeed be the case.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the English club’s supporters can be seen below:

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Bournemouth might have suffered a slip-up of sorts in February – the Cherries conceded goals for fun and lost three games that month – but they still look on course to challenge for a top-half spot as we enter the run-in. With stars like Nathan Ake, Ryan Fraser and Callum Wilson, the Vitality Stadium outfit have the quality to make any teams’ lives difficult.

Unfortunately, though, for Bournemouth and the clubs below and just above them, keeping hold of your key men is always difficult when the top-six have near limitless funds to throw at the transfer market when the window opens.

Focus will soon turn to summer recruitment and the papers have already begun to churn out rumours and reports. Rumours that concern Bournemouth though are of no concern to boss Eddie Howe, who has shut down any talk of transfer speculation:

“We are in the middle of the season and it is not the time, especially with players who are very settled and in good form, for me to necessarily talk about transfer speculation regarding them.”

Ake has impressed since signing from Chelsea and is now regarded as one of the best young centre-backs in the game, while the aforementioned forwards have also been subject to speculation over the international break.

Bournemouth spent fairly well last summer, with additions such as David Brooks and Jefferson Lerma proving worthwhile purchases this campaign, and the Cherries faithful will be hoping that more players of that ilk come through the door ahead of the 2019/20 season.

Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!

The priority, though, for any team outside the top-six, is always to keep hold of your key players, of which Bournemouth have many – Howe will know that this won’t be the last time he is asked about the likes of Ake in the coming months.

It’s going to be a massive summer for Leeds United if they go up or not. With that in mind, they don’t need to be wasting millions on a new attacking midfielder when they already have Mateusz Klich ready to step up.

Football Insider 247 have claimed the Whites are preparing a £7m bid for Reading ace John Swift. They’ve reportedly been impressed by the 24-year-old’s improvements this season, but what about the strides made by Klich too?

He’s played 41 times in the Championship this season, netting eight and assisting the same amount, and that’s not a bad tally at all. He’s shown this campaign that he’s got the ability to nail down the number 10 role and be the creative spark in this Leeds side, no doubt.

John Swift has been impressive, of course. Particularly considering how Reading are struggling at the bottom end of the table again. However, it’d be a massive step up for him, whereas for Leeds it just wouldn’t be a signing worth their time considering Klich’s quality.

As an investment for the future, it could be sensible, with Swift four years younger than 28-year-old Klich. However, Leeds need players for the here and now, whether that be to stay in the Premier League or be promoted next season. They should buy players in their prime if they’re going to invest.

Klich has all the qualities to be Leeds’ perfect number 10. Spending unnecessary money, which could be put to better use on a centre-back, for example, would be careless.

Radrizzani should keep his hands in his pockets on this occasion.

Leeds fans, who do you want to see as your number 10 next season, and why? Join the discussion by commenting below.

Sunderland’s 20-year-old graduate of the Academy Of Light, Denver Hume, is out of contract in the summer, and despite manager, Jack Ross, insisting he wants the player to stay, no deal has yet been agreed.

The youngster has certainly had an up and down year, which saw him break into the first team, then suffer an injury nightmare, only to recover and play at Wembley.

Yet, despite Ross’s pleas to get a deal sorted for the Northumberland born full-back, none has been forthcoming, to which the manager admitted he was “frustrated” about.

He told the Newcastle Chronicle: “There’s no new news on that. I’m a little frustrated it hasn’t been concluded.

“From my side, it’s never been an issue because I’ve always wanted him at the club. It’s not as though it is just because he has come back into the team, all the way through his injury I have been pushing this.

“I’m not avoiding responsibility but it comes out of my hands to a degree, it’s other people at the club’s responsibility to get everything agreed and hopefully that will be done soon because he is a good player.

“I’ve spoken about him often enough and I would love him to be a part of what we are trying to do here.”

One factor could be that Hume, or his agent, is waiting to see how the season pans out, before committing his immediate future to the club.

Should the Black Cats fail to secure promotion, he may be thinking about testing the waters elsewhere, in a bid to get a move to a Championship or SPFL club.

If that is the case, then Sunderland face the prospect of losing another of their talented youth players, following hot on the heels of Josh Maja’s move to Bordeaux in January.

Of course, the club sold Maja, as they did not want to lose the player for nothing when his contract expired in the summer.

But, even if Hume had expressed a desire to leave — which Ross intimated he has not — Sunderland were not able to cash in on him, due to his injury.

It is precisely these types of scenario that make it so essential that Ross ensures promotion from League One at the first attempt.

However, it may be that negotiations regarding a deal are in the pipeline and just need the finer points ironed out.

The fans will not want to see another of their promising youngsters leave, and while it would not appear to be the end of the world if he did, it would continue a worrying trend.

What are your thoughts about Denver Hume’s future, Sunderland fans? Should the club be doing more to tie down your younger players? Let us know your thoughts…

It has been quite a turnaround in fortunes for Sheffield Wednesday over the last three months, hasn’t it Owls fans?

After appointing Steve Bruce as manager in January, the club have gone from strength to strength in the Championship and are still in with a glimmer of a chance reaching the play-offs in May with five games left to play.

However, their progress under the 58-year-old should be measured by their performances in their next two fixtures against Leeds United and Norwich City who are both fighting for automatic promotion to the Premier League. By entering these two clashes as underdogs, it wouldn’t be surprising if Wednesday are able to produce a shock which has a knock-on effect on the race for the top two.

Victories over both of these sides would illustrate that even if the Owls miss out on a top-six finish at the end of the season, they will be in great shape to launch a serious bid for promotion next year.

However, if they suffer consecutive defeats, the hype surrounding Bruce’s arrival may die down a little which is by no means a bad thing as it could identify key areas where the club need to improve in the transfer window.

The fact that they have only lost once in their first thirteen outings under the guidance of the former Hull City manager suggests that they are clearly on the right path and so by giving him the chance to bring in his own players in the summer, Wednesday could set themselves up to achieve success over the coming seasons.

On an individual basis, Bruce will be wanting to illustrate that he still has what it takes to compete at the highest level and so by creating positive headlines against the likes of Norwich and Leeds, he will be sending a clear message out to his detractors.

What do you think Owls fans? Will the next two fixtures show just how far your side has come since the arrival of Bruce? Are there any areas in particular that the club need to strengthen in the summer? Let us know below.

Chelsea have been a mixed bag in the Premier League this season as they’ve struggled to perform against some of the big sides, which has put their top four hopes in doubt.

The Blues have encountered a number of problems in the current campaign and one of their biggest has been at the pinnacle of the attack, as Gonzalo Higuain has failed to live up to expectations since moving to Stamford Bridge.

But, it appears as if fans may not have to witness his poor performances for much longer, as according to The Mirror (via Calciomercato), Chelsea are not going to extend Gonzalo Higuain’s stay at Stamford Bridge.

Sadly, the Argentine has produced a disappointing three goals in 13 games for the Blues which certainly hasn’t helped their push for a top four spot, so it’s about time they started looking at replacements.

Interestingly, Maurizio Sarri actually already has the perfect replacement at his fingertips at Chelsea in the form of Tammy Abraham.

The Englishman has established himself as one of the deadliest strikers in the Championship this season having produced an impressive 24 goals and two assists. He has everything you could want in a striker with the pace to cause problems and the finishing ability to make the most of promising positions.

He deserves his shot in the Premier League next season and Higuain’s potential exit could provide him with the perfect opportunity. Indeed, the 21-year-old is a very exciting attacker who will no doubt be hungry to showcase his talents after an impressive spell at Villa Park, so the transfer ban shouldn’t be an issue.

Chelsea fans, would you like to see Abraham lead the line next season? Join the discussion by commenting down below!

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Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s battling performances at right-back for Crystal Palace have earned the 21-year-old plaudits and admirers all over Europe, although his displays have always been deemed not quite enough when it comes to recognition from the likes of Gareth Southgate’s England and now the PFA.

The defender narrowly missed out on a call-up to the last senior Three Lions squad, with Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker and Trent Alexander-Arnold named instead, and now the latter has returned to take some shine off of Wan-Bissaka’s stellar season once again.

The Liverpool man has had a fantastic campaign, make no mistake, but his inclusion in the shortlist for the PFA Young Player of the Year award means there is no room for the Eagles’ tackling king. The omission has raised eyebrows but none are more bemused than Alan Shearer, who went so far as to claim Wan-Bissaka should actually be picking up this season’s award (BBC’s The Premier League Show via Football London):

“I think his improvement has been incredible. I think that the pressure a young player is under is hard enough anyway, but to go into a team and stand out when, for a lot of this season he has been playing in a relegation battle; when you put all of that together, for him to be the standout player in that team, and what they have had to go through, and for him to keep getting better and better, and offer so much to that team, I think he deserves it. I think he has been absolutely magnificent.”

High praise indeed from the BBC pundit and comments that should somewhat ease any frustration regarding the controversial omission on Wan-Bissaka’s part.

Which player with “no potential” has just been named Crystal Palace’s worst ever January signing? Find out in the video below…

It seems unlikely that the number 29 will be bothered by his overlooking, though, and will continue to operate with outstanding consistency in the shadow of those performing arguably at a lower standard but for a top six club.

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John Obi Mikel is not known for his goal-scoring but in Middlesbrough’s 2-1 win over Rotherham on Sunday he scored his first goal in English football for five years.

The goal itself was a fine left-footed strike from the penalty spot that flew into the roof of the net and the Nigerian captain looked to be sending his new team to the playoffs.

Sadly, however, Derby beat West Brom 3-1 which meant that they finished sixth and Boro seventh. In truth Boro made very hard work for themselves when they lost six in a row between March and April.

Form though picked up in recent weeks, winning five out of their last six, and Derby drawing with Swansea City in midweek gave the Teesiders hope that they would make the playoffs.

For a period of time they were finishing sixth, after Stefan Johansen had equalised for the Baggies at Pride Park, but Derby scored a quickfire double. They will now play Leeds in the playoffs.

Boro were disappointing for most of the season but Mikel proved to be an inspired signing as his vast experience and calmness on the ball steadied the midfield.

Middlesbrough fans may not want Tony Pulis to stay but they certainly want the 6 foot 2 midfielder to, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.

One fan said “Don’t go John” whilst another added “Sign him up.”

See the best of the Boro fans’ reactions down below.