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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has warned his old side of the consequences that would come with selling star man Jack Grealish.

Grealish is currently being linked with a move to Manchester City, and Hendrie believes any potential sale would send the wrong message to summer targets, possibly detracting them from the club.

The 25-year-old attacking midfielder has been in scintillating form this season, scoring six goals and providing 10 assists in the current Premier League campaign. Furthermore, it is no surprise that a team like Manchester City are interested in his services.

On the potential ramifications of selling Grealish in the next transfer window, Hendrie told FFC:

“Grealish, you know, I’ve got to sit on the fence with. I don’t know whether he’ll stay, but if you’re keeping players like that, you’re attracting bigger players. If you’re selling Jack Grealish, you’re not going to get the players you want in through the door.”

Without a doubt, selling Grealish this summer really could be detrimental to Villa after a season where they have made an incredible amount of progress. Dean Smith’s men are in contention for European football next term and currently have the third-best defensive record in the Premier League.

Losing their best player could set them back while giving them an image of being a selling club, an image that may put off any ambitious transfer targets the Villans have for the next window.

Plenty of Southampton fans were far from happy with the performance of Takumi Minamino during their 2-1 defeat to Brighton on Sunday.

Despite playing at St Mary’s Stadium, the Saints were unable to pick up anything against the Seagulls. Lewis Dunk opened the scoring before Che Adams equalised, but Leandro Trossard scored the winner in the second half to give Brighton a huge three points. The defeat leaves the Saints seven points above the relegation zone (Sky Sports).

A number of Saints fans were particularly disappointed with the display of Minamino, who is currently on loan at Southampton from Liverpool. He landed just 79% of his passes, lost possession eight times (SofaScore) and looked like a passenger for the large majority of the time he was on the pitch. It was no surprise to see him taken off for Nathan Redmond – himself an oft-maligned figure – even though Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side were in search of a goal.

These fans were far from impressed with the 26-year-old loanee’s showing, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Minamino below

“Is Minamino Redmond in disguise today?”

Credit: @archie_sfc

“Minamino having a poor game… so far”

Credit: @NorwegianSaint2

“Sorry but Minamino does nothing”

Credit: @James_Dack

“Minamino is awful”

Credit: @rthomas95

“Just Google translated Minamino from Japanese to English…. ‘Minimal impact’.”

Credit: @crstig

“Can’t be worse than what’s been out there today. Minamino given it away 5000 times.”

Credit: @KingslandMush

In other news, some Southampton fans react to this FA charge.

Belgian side KV Oostende have opened talks with Celtic defender Jack Hendry over a permanent deal.

That’s according to a report from the Daily Record, who claimed that Oostende are looking to activate their clause of landing Hendry on a full-time basis.

Celtic’s minimal Hendry profit

The report claims that the agreement needs to be finalised over the coming weeks, so Oostende have opened negotiations with the 25-year-old as a result.

Celtic will reportedly receive just £1.75m for Hendry, should a deal go through, a £310,000 profit after signing the centre-back from Dundee back in 2018.

Despite the reports regarding a permanent move to Belgium, Hendry is actually thought to be keen on a move to England this summer.

Should they land Hendry, Oostende could then sell the Scotland international for £5m, resulting in an immediate £3.25m profit.

Transfer Tavern take

Celtic’s only hope is that Hendry snubs a permanent move to Belgium. Should that be the case, he would then return to Parkhead at the end of the current campaign with 12 months still left on his Celtic Park deal.

It seems as if Hendry, on £8,000-a-week, the same figure as Ryan Christie, is keen to move to the Premier League, but turning down Oostende could then allow Celtic receive a healthy profit, instead of the £310,000 they stand to make if he pens terms in Belgium.

In other news: Scot claims available manager has met with Celtic board, find out more here. 

Manchester City will be hoping to make it 16 wins in a row when they face Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad in Saturday’s late kick-off.

Pep Guardiola’s side are comfortable at the top of the Premier League after a superb run of recent form, but have struggled against Spurs in recent seasons, and suffered a defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this campaign.

The Spanish manager made plenty of changes for the game against Swansea in midweek and it seems likely that he will go back to full strength as he prepares to face his old rival Jose Mourinho.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects City to line up against Spurs on Saturday, with seven changes from the team that started against Swansea…

Ederson returns in goal, and the Brazilian could even end up on penalty duties for City should they be awarded a spot-kick against Spurs after Ilkay Gundogan’s miss against Liverpool recently.

There are four changes to the defence as Ruben Dias and John Stones resume their partnership at centre-back, replacing Eric Garcia and Aymeric Laporte.

Joao Cancelo comes in for Kyle Walker after being rested at Swansea, whilst Oleksandr Zinchenko replaces Benjamin Mendy at left-back.

Phil Foden returns in midfield in place of Ferran Torres, although he will likely interchange with Bernardo Silva on the wing throughout the match, who keeps his place in the side.

Finally, Riyad Mahrez replaces Gabriel Jesus, with Raheem Sterling moving up front, with Guardiola having enjoyed a lot of success with a strikerless system in recent weeks.

And, in other news… Bye-bye Fernandinho: Txiki should swoop for £36m-rated beast this summer

Liverpool are reportedly interested in bolstering their attack with the signing of Leeds United winger Raphinha.

That is according to The Mirror who suggest that the Brazilian is on the Reds’ ‘radar’, with Manchester United also thought to be interested.

Raphinha has been in exhilarating form for newly-promoted Leeds this season and should he complete a move to Anfield, he could be the perfect replacement for Mo Salah, who has, in recent days, been linked with a move to Real Madrid.

The winger, valued at £16.2m by transfermarkt, only joined Marcelo Bielsa’s men in the summer from Ligue 1 outfit Stade Rennais and alongside Patrick Bamford, has been one of the main catalysts for an excellent season back in the Premier League. He has so far contributed five goals and assists in the top-flight alone.

Speaking recently to Football FanCast, Dean Windass praised the 24-year-old for his displays, labelling him an “unbelievable talent”.

That praise is hugely justified with the 24-year-old having caught the eye with his terrific skill and creativity, all aspects that could see him thrive at Anfield.

Predominantly played on the right, which is perfect should Salah elect to leave in the near future, Raphinha is also adept at taking up a position on the left flank so could well interchange with Sadio Mane – versatility that would come in handy as Liverpool attempt to challenge once again in both the Premier League and UEFA Champions League.

His arrival at Anfield would also see Klopp further bolster his depth in attacking positions. Whilst the usual front three of Salah, Mane and Roberto Firmino are first-choice, Diogo Jota when fit makes a strong case for his inclusion.

Should Raphinha replicate or even better his current numbers in a Liverpool shirt, then there is no reason why he too could not become a key member of the Reds’ attacking triumvirate.

Under contract at Elland Road until the summer of 2024, it could be tough to convince Leeds to sell one of their current stars. However, should Michael Edwards seal Raphinha’s signature, the Reds will have a ready-made Mo Salah heir, for when the Egyptian does eventually move on

AND in other news, Liverpool are interested in signing Raphael Varane, a player they must beat Manchester United to.

Cast your minds back to July 2019 and you may recall Wolves had big ambitions.

Nuno Santo’s team had just qualified for the Europa League and they were planning to follow that up by making some big-name signings.

Tim Spiers reported at the time that one player on their radar was Ruben Dias. The link certainly made sense. He was Portuguese and his agent is Jorge Mendes, the intermediary in charge of not only Nuno but a plethora of players on Wolves’ books.

If anyone could lure a player of Dias’ calibre to Molineux it was Mendes. Ultimately, Wolves were put off by Benfica’s £50m asking price.

That, however, would have been a mere snip. The centre-back stayed in Portugal that season but eventually signed for Manchester City a year later in a deal costing them £64m.

Since coming to English football, he has been breathtaking. Pep Guardiola’s defence was a huge reason for concern last term. They had repeated injuries and had failed to replace the departed Vincent Kompany.

Yet, in 2020/21, Dias has turned them back into title contenders. City are top of the table and they owe much of that to their new central defender. He has helped the club to keep 13 clean sheets in the Premier League from just 19 outings. It’s an astonishing record and it’s hardly a surprise that Guardiola’s waxed lyrical about the 23-year-old.

He said in January: “He is a guy that can play every three days. He recovers immediately and his ability is incredible, as is his understanding of the game.”

How Wolves could do with a player like that now. Their defence has been nothing short of shambolic this term. The Old Gold have kept only a solitary clean sheet since October and club captain Conor Coady is enduring a rough time.

His ability to play in a back four as opposed to a back three is questionable and that was evident when he gave away a penalty against West Brom. What followed was Nuno substituting him for the first time in his Wolves career.

It was a landmark moment for Coady, someone whose England aspirations are surely taking a hit. Though, had they signed Dias, it’s hard to suggest Wolves’ defence wouldn’t have improved.

If we compare the duo this term, the Portugal international is streets ahead. Dias has won 2.5 aerial duels per game while Coady has won just 1.2 duels in the air.

Critically, the former is also dribbled past on fewer occasions. The Man City defender is beaten by an opponent 0.43 times per 90 minutes. Coady, on the other hand, is surpassed 0.72 times.

Dias has very quickly become one of the biggest defensive forces in the Premier League and has unquestionably been worth the money City paid.

He could have been Wolves’ in 2019 if they coughed up the money. It’s easy to say in hindsight that Shi should have invested but it’s growing increasingly evident that this was a massive howler from the Old Gold owner.

AND in other news, Wolves could finally axe Moutinho by signing “intelligent” £13m gem Keogh once bullied…

January is undoubtedly one of the biggest months of the year for speculation and 2021 is no different at Celtic.

The Hoops are in a spot of bother and having won just seven of their last 21 outings heading into their clash with Livingston on Wednesday, they were over 20 points behind Rangers.

Of course, they have games in hand, but it would take a major miracle for the Bhoys to beat their rivals to the SPFL crown.

Consequently, Neil Lennon’s job is under threat with supporters even gathering outside Parkhead in protest.

Eddie Howe has been touted with taking over from the Northern Irishman while former Celtic midfielder Stiliyan Petrov threw another of their ex-players into the hat this week, suggesting Roy Keane would be a good move.

The 49-year-old hot-headed pundit led Sunderland to Championship glory in 2006/07 in one of his 16 honours as a player and coach, but he has been out of management since 2011. Keane rejected the chance to return to Glasgow in 2014 and very rarely do second opportunities like that come about.

Though, if majority shareholder Dermot Desmond viewed him as a suitable replacement for Lennon should he be sacked then the Manchester United legend could help to create a fearsome duo.

That’s because the Glaswegians have been linked with making a move for Preston midfielder Ben Pearson, someone available on a free transfer next summer.

Preston boss Alex Neil has already given the green light for him to leave, and if both Keane and Pearson arrive at Celtic, it would be a full-blooded partnership.

In many senses, Pearson embodies the player that Keane was. The 26-year-old is one of the most aggressive around and in the last four and a half years alone, he has picked up 52 yellow cards.

Like the television pundit was during his playing days, the 5 ft 9 Pearson loves to throw in a tackle and nothing sums that up more than his poor disciplinary record. Keane, for instance, picked up an alarming 31 red cards in his career.

His cut-throat nature has continued since he retired and he’s known to be a particularly demanding individual as a coach. Described as “unbelievable” by Michael Chopra for the way he took him under his wing at Sunderland, a similar sort of relationship could be established between these two Celtic targets.

Keane has made a living from being bad-tempered and hostile in the challenge. Pearson is proving exactly the same in the English Championship.

Just imagine how destructive the midfielder could be under a manager who despite being so argumentative, harnessed that to win a plethora of titles in the process.

This could be a dream combination for the Bhoys.

AND in other news, Hammond could deal fatal blow to stalwart’s Celtic career by signing £8.5k-p/w warrior…

When it comes to Wolves’ academy it’s a particularly tough gig to make the jump to senior level.

Their small squad means that a number of younger players do end up training with the first-team squad but it feels rare they actually get minutes on the field of play.

So far this term, players under the age of 19 have achieved just five starts. That’s hardly a fair reflection either when you consider the two players in question here are summer signings Fabio Silva and Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Owen Otasowie, Oskar Buur and Ki-Jana Hoever have all made appearances from the bench but that says a lot that there isn’t exactly a clear path to the senior squad.

Nuno Santo very rarely tinkers with his starting XI and few can blame him. Wolves are doing just fine as they are.

However, there will come a time where the players themselves have to start making the jump themselves. One player who has been seeking more regular senior action in the last few years is Dion Sanderson.

The defender has only ever played for Wolves on one occasion and spent last term with Cardiff. He’s now with Sunderland and hasn’t exactly had much action, playing just five times in League One while on loan.

Yet, there are supreme qualities within Sanderson that lead us to believe that he could make the grade at Wolves. If he does indeed do that, he could be Wolves’ natural successor to Conor Coady.

Of course, that’s a stretch at the moment but he has plenty of abilities that match Coady’s. He is versatile – possessing the ability to play as a centre-half and as a full-back but it’s his ball-playing skills that bear the greatest similarities.

In 2020/21, he has completed over 88% of his passes and saved his most impressive performance for a 1-1 draw with Wimbledon this week.

The 21-year-old completed 93% of his passes and won a combined six ground and aerial duels. He was absolutely tremendous at carrying the ball out from the back and found himself in the right place at the right time on a regular basis.

He does possess an element that Coady doesn’t, though. It’s a stand-out quality too.

Speaking about Sanderson in October, Birmingham Live’s Alex Dicken said: “He has lots of pace which enables him to get up and down the flank, while he’s also good in the air and strong in the tackle.”

Having such speed is supremely useful for a defender. It allows them to get out of sticky situations and if he can keep improving other areas of his game while employing that pace, he’ll be very well set.

Nuno has let Sanderson train with the first-team regularly but his contract expires in 2022. He’ll need to make a better impression on the manager soon.

In other news, Move over Moutinho: Wolves artist with 94 touches will have left Nuno jumping for joy…

Southampton winger Moussa Djenepo looks set for an extended spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury in the Saints’ 1-0 win against Liverpool recently, and his setback could prove to be the making of 21-year-old Nathan Tella.

The young winger replaced Djenepo in the win against Jurgen Klopp’s side and was close to scoring his first professional goal when his curled effort went just wide of Alisson’s post.

It has been something of a breakthrough season for Tella thus far, having made six appearances for the Saints first-team in all competitions after impressing Ralph Hasenhuttl with his performances for David Horseman’s ‘B’ team.

The former Arsenal youngster was recently shortlisted for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month having scored four goals against Leicester City U23s in December.

Horseman was full of praise for the youngster after this announcement, saying:

“Nathan is a player and person we are proud of, who stays the same in terms of attitude no matter if he is with the first team or B team.

“He plays with pace and energy with and against the ball and is direct when it comes to his thinking and actions.”

However, it seems unlikely that he will be making too many appearances for the ‘B’ team, as he looks to be on the brink of establishing himself as a regular in Hasenhuttl’s first-team squad.

Certainly, with Nathan Redmond and Moussa Djenepo both sidelined at the moment, Tella looks like the obvious replacement in the Saints first-team.

It could be a long absence for Djenepo, with Hasenhuttl having described the Malian’s injury problem as a “horrible” one, with the former Standard Liege man in tears as he left the pitch against Liverpool.

There could be a silver lining from this, however, as it could well allow Tella the opportunity to impress in this Southampton side and show Hasenhuttl that he can compete with the other wingers and attackers at the South Coast club.

The FA Cup fixture against Shrewsbury Town would have perhaps been the ideal opportunity for the 21-year-old to be handed a start before it was unfortunately postponed, so it will be interesting to see if Tella features in the Saints’ next scheduled fixture, which sees them take on Leicester City away from home in the Premier League.

AND, in other news, Southampton signing “brave” beast will be the nail in the coffin for forgotten 25 y/o dud…

Whilst Southampton have enjoyed an excellent start to the 2020/21 Premier League season, it could be argued that things might be looking even better for them had they not missed out on the loan signing of Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher in the summer.

Football.London suggested back in August that the Saints were one of 12 clubs vying for the youngster’s signature, following impressive loan spells with Charlton Athletic and Swansea City in the Championship.

The 20-year-old managed six goals and eight assists during his time in the second division and earned very solid ratings with both clubs, managing a 6.88 average rating with Swansea, and a 6.93 rating with Charlton (per WhoScored).

In the end, Gallagher opted to join West Brom, following their promotion back to the top-flight, and despite the Baggies’ poor start to the season, he has continued his impressive performances at the highest level of English football.

In four appearances for Slaven Bilic’s side, the young midfielder has averaged a very solid 6.93 rating, which ranks him as their joint-best performer in the top-flight so far (per WhoScored).

His performances last season were also enough to earn him praise from Chelsea legend Claude Makelele, with the Frenchman suggesting in a documentary, as per the Daily Star, that:

“He has a lot of qualities. Physically, [technically], you can see a lot of progress in just six months. He is becoming a leader in the starting team.”

Therefore, it seems as if those at Chelsea have high hopes for Gallagher and Southampton may have missed out by failing to secure his loan signing.

With James Ward-Prowse having picked up a knock recently ahead of the international break, having someone like Gallagher available as back-up would surely have been beneficial to Ralph Hasenhuttl, as the Austrian is arguably lacking natural central-midfielders in his side.

Perhaps, if Gallagher continues to impress with West Brom in the Premier League, he can be a transfer target for the Saints in the future.