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Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, ex-Newcastle midfielder Rob Lee has praised Dean Smith’s transfer business this season, describing it as “smart”.

Having survived on the final day of last season by drawing at West Ham, Villa invested heavily in their squad last summer, with sporting director Johan Lange spearheading a spend of more than £70million in a bid to improve the squad.

Perhaps their biggest success story has been Emiliano Martinez, whose kept 14 clean sheets in 28 games in the Premier League this term following his move from Arsenal, leaving him in with a chance of winning the Golden Glove for the first time ever.

Meanwhile, former Brentford man Ollie Watkins has reached double figures in terms of league goals, whilst Matty Cash, Bertrand Traore and on-loan Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley have all had positive impacts at Villa Park this season to leave Smith’s team in touch with the European places.

Villa’s form has dipped in recent weeks following the injury to Jack Grealish, but Lee believes their fine campaign has been down to their transfer window.

He told Football FanCast: “They were smart signings. They bought players that I think had a good chance of doing well in the Premier League. Matty Cash, did well in the Championship for a long time.

“I think they spent wisely. They paid over the odds for a few players, but are reaping the rewards.

“Ollie Watkins, 30-odd million, but you know he’s strong, quick and will score goals, so let’s take a chance on him. They are players that are very good Championship players that want to prove they can be in the Premier League, or players that have been in the Premier League and we know they’re not going to fail in the Premier League.”

Whilst Villa’s campaign is somewhat petering out, the fact that a midtable finish might now be viewed as a disappointment is the biggest compliment you could pay Smith after last season.

They may not have secured all three points, but Nottingham Forest continued their recent good form with a 1-1 draw at Derby on Friday night.

Chris Hughton’s side have really picked things up in recent weeks, with their 1-0 loss to Swansea earlier this month their only defeat in eight Championship games.

And on Friday, Forest could, and probably should have, won the game after dominating the second-half. While James Garner may be the player in the headlines following his goal, it was Anthony Knockaert who arguably stole the show.

The Frenchman was at his supreme best, channeling his inner Lionel Messi with a couple of incredible tricks and skills with that wand of a left foot. But it wasn’t just the flashiness that made the £35k-a-week earning ace stand out.

His overall game carried a lot of substance and he was Hughton’s real star on the night.

As per Sofascore, he completed 100% of his attempted dribbles against the Rams, spinning left-back Lee Buchanan this way and that – the Derby ace would finish the game with the lowest match-rating of any outfield player on the pitch and it was no surprise why given how he struggled to cope with Knockaert.

The Forest gem also sent in six crosses and provided one key pass, while he showed his ever-improving work rate by making three tackles and two interceptions – both of which were comfortably higher than his season average.

The Athletic’s Paul Taylor simply dubbed him as “impressive” for his display, while The Nottingham Post gave him the second-highest match rating of any player on the pitch, with 8, saying: “A real livewire at times and produced an insane piece of skill in the second half when he beat two players with a neat turn. Such a classy player.”

While Garner may take the post-match plaudits for getting his name on the score-sheet, it was Knockaert’s energetic and skilful display that really saw Forest dominate proceedings against Derby.

Liverpool’s players are struggling with the physical demands expected of them at the moment, according to journalist Ian McGarry.

The Reds are going through a shocking run of form currently, losing their last six Premier League games in Anfield and falling out of the top four race.

It has ended up being a nightmare defence of the Reds’ title, having been top at Christmas and seemingly on their way to yet more silverware.

McGarry claims Liverpool’s players are tired

The Liverpool players look a shadow of themselves at the moment, and speaking on The Transfer Window podcast [via This Is Futbol], McGarry claimed they are flagging physically, following years of relentless work on the pitch and on the training ground:

“So, speaking to people close to the club; physically, some of the players are feeling the effects of this playing on the edge, training on the edge all the time.

“It’s been relentless for them for three seasons, because we shouldn’t discount when they lost out to Manchester City so narrowly in the Premier League title race two seasons ago, but won the Champions League.

“Then, of course, bulldozed the Premier League last year, but they’re now 36 points worse off than they were at this stage of the season in the Premier League last year, which is, by any standard, a very dramatic drop.

“I wonder if it’s not just a case of players feeling a little burned out, but the manager as well feeling a little burned out.”

Transfer Tavern take

This is certainly a worrying suggestion, with Liverpool famed for their lung-busting energy throughout Jurgen Klopp’s time at the club.

There is always a risk that players can burn themselves out eventually, though, and there are indications that that could be the case with the Reds currently, given the flat nature of their performances.

Hopefully, it is no major issue and is one that will eventually go away, but with the squad not getting any younger as a collective, it further heightens the need for reinforcements this summer.

In other news, a number of Liverpool fans have been reacting to Steven Gerrard’s comments about replacing Klopp. Read more here.

Aaron Cresswell was David Moyes’ true hero as West Ham United beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Goals from Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio either side of half-time proved the difference between the two clubs in east London, after the Irons saw their lead struck out by Matheus Pereira shortly into the second period.

It was the second winning effort that Antonio has netted in just four days, after scoring his fourth goal of the season so far to beat Burnley on Saturday for his first Premier League strike since October following two hamstring injuries.

A 2-1 victory over Sam Allardyce’s Baggies, buoyed by their first win under the former Irons boss at the weekend, extended West Ham’s unbeaten start to 2021 featuring four-straight wins across all competitions for the first time this season.

Cresswell has now started each of West Ham’s 19 Premier League fixtures so far this season and impressed greatly against West Brom, despite Moyes seeing his side’s run of three successive top-flight clean sheets come to an end.

The £6m-rated full-back was involved in each of the Hammers goals on Tuesday night, with his partnership with Said Benrahma allowing the Algerian to deliver a deep cross into the visitors’ penalty area, where Vladimir Coufal redirected his pass to find Bowen to open the scoring on the stroke of half-time.

Cresswell’s eye for a cross again led to West Ham finding a route past Sam Johnstone in the 66th-minute, when the 31-year-old’s delivery finding substitute Andriy Yarmolenko at the back post, who headed back across and Antonio hooked the ball over the line.

An early pass to Declan Rice moments earlier almost saw Cresswell earn what would have been his fifth assist of the season, too, having caught the Baggies defence sleeping only for the England midfielder to marginally beat the post, as well as Johnstone, from an acute angle.

Cresswell was by far West Ham’s biggest attacking threat during the first-half, with West Brom seemingly unable to come up with any answers to prevent his forward vision and willingness to push on to join Benrahma and offer width on the wing.

He had far more defending to do in the second-half after the Baggies came out from the break with their tails up, yet accepted the challenge without much fuss to prove himself as Moyes’ true hero at both ends of the pitch.

West Ham never shied away from relying on Cresswell, either, with the £50,000-per-week ace – who Moyes claims has “really stepped up” this season – taking far more touches (116) than any other player for either side, with Tomas Soucek (82) a distant second, per WhoScored.

Cresswell further led the charts for total passes (81) and key balls (3), with numbers far above his season averages of 48.8 passes and 1.5 key balls a game. He also made one successful dribble from two attempts, rounding off a strong night from the man who the Irons rarely see progress play on the ground, with just 0.3 dribbles a game to his name this term.

The three-time England international also offered one of West Ham’s mere five successful tackles, was never dribbled past, made the joint-second most clearances (3) by Hammers players and won each of his two aerial contests.

Cresswell has not been as productive defensively for a number of weeks, with just one successful tackle recorded in his previous four Premier League games combined, while last offering more clearances in October’s 2-1 defeat at Liverpool with five.

His volume of crosses attempted (10) was further higher than his average six per game, though finding teammates with just 20% compared to his usual 30%. Cresswell also produced 14 long passes to his usual 8.4 a game, albeit with a 28% success rate to his usual 39%, per SofaScore.

AND in other news, a £22.5m-rated West Ham man will not be a part of David Moyes’ plans for the rest of this season…

Steve Bruce must recall Christian Atsu, with Newcastle United forced to turn back to one outcast when the St. James’ Park outfit resubmit their 25-man Premier League squad.

According to The Shields Gazette, the Magpies will be forced to offer one of Atsu, Henri Saivet or Achraf Lazaar a mid-season reprieve, or call up a player from the Under 23s, when they issue their readjusted teamsheet for the remainder of the term.

The trio found themselves omitted from the list when Bruce submitted his original squad for the 2020/21 campaign, but Bruce is now left in the potentially embarrassing position of returning to their services following the exit of DeAndre Yedlin to Galatasaray on Deadline Day.

Premier League clubs must name a full 25-man squad for the second half of the season and while United signed Joe Willock on loan from Arsenal, the 21-year-old will not fill the place vacated by Yedlin due to his age.

Newcastle are claimed to have left the spot vacant for the potential signing of Hamza Choudhury, though saw his proposed loan move from Leicester City collapse, despite having terms agreed and the midfielder being keen on a temporary switch to Tyneside.

Bruce is now expected to decide between Atsu, Saivet and Lazaar for the Toon’s remaining spot, despite deeming the trio all surplus to requirements last summer ahead of becoming free agents at the end of the current term.

Clubs have to issue their readjusted squads ahead of the next round of fixtures, starting this weekend when Aston Villa host Arsenal for the 12:30 kick-off on Saturday lunchtime.

Atsu and Saivet are noted to have recently been reintroduced to first-team training sessions having previously been told to work away from the senior group, while Lazaar remained at St. James’ Park after failing to see his contract terminated to secure a return to Italy last month.

But Atsu is the only answer to Newcastle’s crucial decision, as the Ghanaian forward should be able to offer far more than either of Saivet or Lazaar and will surely have felt hard done by to have missed out on a place last summer.

Atsu entered the off-season on the back of his most creative Premier League campaign in black and white, having contributed three assists, despite playing just 739 minutes all term. Only Allan Saint-Maximin (4) and Andy Carroll (4) created more goals for the Toon in 2019/20.

The Magpies have continued to be starved of creativity this season, with Callum Wilson not only the top-scorer with 10 goals but also the lead assist maker with five – Joelinton (2) is the sole additional Newcastle player to have created more than one in the top-flight.

With Willock also joining Matty Longstaff, Sean Longstaff, Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden and Jeff Hendrick on Deadline Day, the engine room is packed to the rafters already without the potential addition of Saivet.

Saivet has never achieved anything of worth for United, either, with the 30-year-old having made the last of his mere eight first-team appearances in January 2018. The same goes for Lazaar, who has made just 10 outings for the club after being overlooked heavily since joining from Palermo for £2m in 2016.

Atsu may not feature much between now and the end of the season if the £3.5m-rated winger is chosen to make up the numbers, given Bruce’s stance in the summer. But he is sure to be a more worthwhile addition than Saivet, Lazaar or an unproven youngster in a potential relegation fight.

AND in other news, Newcastle United faced late enquiries over a £15m deal to sell a Steve Bruce outcast…

Kyle Walker-Peters has established himself as one of the first names on Ralph Hasenhuttl’s teamsheet this season and the Austrian manager will surely be delighted with the decision to bring him in on a permanent deal.

The 23-year-old was originally signed on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in January 2020 before joining on a permanent deal in the summer, having impressed Hasenhuttl with his performances for the South Coast club.

Last season saw the right-back average a solid 6.86 rating for his displays in the Premier League with Southampton but he has stepped it up a level this season, having averaged a superb 7.01 rating across his 16 appearances in the top-flight.

His recent performance against Fulham, where he made the most tackles of any Premier League player this season, and the most of any Saints player in over six years, emphasises just how important he has become in Hasenhuttl’s side, as he is showing maturity beyond his years in the right-back role with the South Coast club.

If his current form continues, it might not be a surprise to see him earn a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad in the near future, although the Three Lions do boast an extraordinary amount of talent in that position, with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Reece James to name just a few.

Earlier this season, Walker-Peters earned the praise of teammate Theo Walcott, who said:

“I’ve only trained twice because of the mini lockdown we have had. I have had my eye on a couple of the other players too but it’s Kyle who has really stood out to me.”

The defender was solid once again in the Saints’ stalemate with West Ham on Tuesday night, helping Hasenhuttl’s side to their seventh clean sheet of the Premier League season, with puts them well on track to surpass last season’s tally of just nine in the Premier League, which reflects the impact Walker-Peters has had in this Southampton side.

Hopefully, he can continue his impressive form throughout the season, with the £12 million deal to bring him in during the summer looking more and more like a brilliant decision by Southampton.

And, in other news… Boufal 2.0: “Super talented” Hasenhuttl buy risks following failed path at Southampton

West Brom have been linked with a move for Stade Rennes midfielder Clement Grenier, and he’s just shown why Sam Allardyce should be rushing to complete a deal.

According to The Sun’s Alan Nixon, the 66-year-old ‘firefighter’ is keen to add the five-cap Frenchman to his ranks as he’s free to leave the Ligue 1 outfit before the expiry of his current contract at the end of the season.

It’s claimed that the Baggies’ officials are seeing if they can work out a move with Big Sam wanting him as part of a major overhaul. It is also thought that Grenier is on wages of around £57k-per-week.

Whilst Albion were busy being embarrassingly dumped out of the FA Cup at the third-round stage by lower league Blackpool, the 30-year-old was impressing in Rennes’ draw with league leaders Lyon.

Indeed, Grenier scored their opener from a deep-lying playmaking position alongside Eduardo Camavinga and Steven N’Zonzi.

SofaScore graded his performance a 7.2, whilst he also delivered 89% of his 62 passing attempts, had 71 touches and won three free-kicks.

He has now contributed towards three goals in his last four outings and is averaging 1.1 key passes, 1.1 tackles and 2.5 long balls per game, via WhoScored.

This makes him a candidate for that box-to-box role behind Matheus Pereira, and really, it’s something the Brazilian needs to get back to his creative best in the no.10 role.

After notching eight goals and a whopping 20 assists last erm, the enigmatic talisman has struggled with just five goal contributions this term, three of which being assists, via Transfermarkt.

Grenier could unshackle his influence further forward, more so than Romaine Sawyers or Jake Livermore, who both are averaging shocking ratings of 6.21 or worse this term.

Former Albion boss Alan Pardew once tried to sign the Frenchman for Newcastle United, citing his “tremendous creative technical ability” as a key attribute to the Daily Express.

The Athletic’s Gunnerblog claimed Grenier would have been a “typically astute signing” at the time. Clearly, his experience at the very top is reason to why he’d be a massive upgrade on someone like Sawyers.

Just imagine him and Pereira, the latter could finally thrive in the top-flight amid claims he’s unhappy at the club.

AND in other news, £40k-p/w signing can become West Brom’s next Zoltan Gera…

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to bounce back from their first defeat since the opening game of the season when they host Brighton and Hove Albion at home later this evening.

Jose Mourinho’s men saw their ten-game unbeaten streak end in Belgium at the hands of Royal Antwerp on Thursday night as they lost 1-0 in the Europa League.

The visitors head to N17 looking for their first win in four, so we’re in for an interesting encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

What sort of side will the Special One select? Here’s the starting XI we’re predicting tonight…

There could be as many as nine changes as Mourinho looks to tinker across the board.

Only Hugo Lloris and Sergio Reguilon remain from their defeat in midweek.

In defence, there are returns for Eric Dier, Toby Alderwiereld and Matt Doherty. All three started against Burnley and helped contribute to their first clean sheet in the Premier League this season.

It means there are no places for Ben Davies, the £40.5m-rated Davinson Sanchez and Serge Aurier in the starting lineup.

Both Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Moussa Sissoko come back into the fold at the base of the engine room whilst Tanguy Ndombele is preferred to Giovani Lo Celso, who was one of four players hauled off at half-time in Antwerp.

£100k-per-week hero-to-zero Dele Alli could be axed entirely once again. He was not involved against Burnley whatsoever and clearly didn’t impress his boss in a rare start, and the same goes for Steven Bergwijn who was another hooked early.

On the wings, Lucas Moura could be preferred to Gareth Bale, who is still getting up to full match fitness with Heung-min Son a shoo-in to start.

As is Harry Kane, who takes his place up top over Carlos Vinicius.

The likes of Erik Lamela, Joe Rodon and Jack Clarke may settle for places on the bench.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Gary Mabbutt believes Mourinho has uncovered Dembele’s true successor…

Mike Ashley must accept a mammoth transfer loss in the January window and offload Newcastle United outcast defender Achraf Lazaar.

What’s the word?

While speaking with Passione Inter, Lazaar has revealed how he cannot wait to secure a new challenge away from St. James’ Park having struggled for playing time under Steve Bruce.

The Moroccan was omitted from the Toon’s Premier League squad and told to train with the club’s Under 23s upon his return from a loan spell with Serie B side Cosenza Calcio this summer.

Cosenza passed on the chance to purchase Lazaar at the end of his year on loan, leaving Bruce to inform the player and his agent that now is the time he finds a “new home” after just 10 outings for Newcastle since joining from Palermo in 2016 for £2million.

No deal was struck, leaving Lazaar – whose £32,000-per-week is due to expire next summer – to look fondly on a winter move with his Tyneside future as good as over already.

“It’s true, it’s not easy and I’m not finding space with the first-team, but I have many reasons not to give up. I still have one year on my contract and I still have a lot to prove,” he said.

“Italy is my home and I miss my family, I don’t know what will happen in January, if maybe I will go to Italy or elsewhere: the only thing that matters to me is to go to a team that allows me to play with continuity and confidence. My agent [Mohammed Sinouh] is taking care of it.

“I would like to take back everything I have lost in the last few years. I know I have lost something, but I have also gained a lot, I have learned a lesson in life and experience. And I can’t wait to start a new challenge.”

A mammoth loss incoming

If Ashley is to avoid a total loss on the £2m investment he made in 2016 and the £7.1m spent in wages, the Newcastle owner must sanction a January move despite knowing full well that he is set for a mammoth hit with Lazaar now valued by TransferMarkt at just £315,000.

Lazaar’s value is a mere 15.6% of the fee Ashley offered Palermo four years ago, but any hopes of avoiding a loss have been thrown out of the window by the 28-year-old failing to feature regularly at St. James’ Park.

He could not establish himself with Italian second-tier outfit Cosenza, either, with just nine outings to his name across all competitions last season of which Lazaar started only four, ensuring Bruce saw fit to omit the 18-cap Morocco international from his 25-man squad.

Ashley will find it impossible to argue the reasons behind demanding any substantial fee in the winter if he is to avoid losing the flop for free at the end of the campaign, which is the only eventuality guaranteed to happen after limited interest this summer.

AND in other news, Mike Ashley can hand Steve Bruce and Newcastle an ideal upgrade in January with a lethal £2m hitman.

Sky Sports pundit David Prutton has claimed that Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips faces a challenge to continue proving his doubters wrong.

Phillips initially broke into the Leeds first team back in 2015 and the talented midfielder has since gone on to become a key member of the Whites’ squad, helping them to promotion to the Premier League this summer and ending the club’s 16-year wait for top-flight football.

A consistent starter under Marcelo Bielsa, Phillips has made 185 appearances in a Whites shirt during his career and his performances at domestic level have seen him gain international recognition, featuring for England twice. He came in for widespread praise following his display in Thursday’s 3-0 win over Wales.

Phillips, who has played alongside Harry Winks in a two-man holding midfield unit thus far for England, normally plays on his own in that role for Leeds.

What did Prutton say about Phillips?

Prutton, who was writing in his column for Yorkshire Evening Post, has now offered his opinion on whether or not the Leeds man could regularly play a lone holding role in England’s midfield. The ex-Whites midfielder wrote:

‘It’s funny that people are looking at a game like that and saying he was good but we could have had more out of him. There were no goals conceded and three scored at the other end which is a pretty good game for England.‘The only way that you will find out if Phillips is good enough to play the holding midfield role for England on his own is by committing to it and taking the plunge.‘But as good as Kalvin is, I think it’s a huge step to say that as he has done it over the course of several seasons in the Championship and for less than double figures games in the Premier League we should say well England should obviously build a team around him. I think it’s a bit early for that.’ How has Kalvin Phillips performed so far this season?

Phillips has thus far started all four of Leeds’ Premier League games and the defensive midfielder has offered one assist so far this term.

Gaining an impressive average WhoScored rating of 7.15 out of 10 in those games, the midfielder’s standout performance came against Fulham in a 4-3 win, when the website rated his performance as 7.71/10.

After gaining England recognition of late, the future seems bright for the 24-year-old, but Prutton is right to plead caution about Phillips making the Three Lions’ holding midfield role his own, as he is still inexperienced at international level.

Do you think Phillips will become a regular England international? Let us know your views in the comments section below…