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Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has confirmed that Morgan Sanson has been ruled out of Sunday afternoon’s clash against West Ham in the Premier League.

What’s the story?

The 27-year-old was caught losing his cool in the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal nine days ago, seemingly annoyed by Smith’s preference to use Anwar El Ghazi as his final substitute, which prompted him to rip off his warm-up top and aim a kick at the nearby water bottles.

It appears that he won’t be in contention to face West Ham, although not for a disciplinary reason.

The Villa boss confirmed in his pre-match press conference ahead of the match against the Hammers today that the Frenchman would be missing from action due to illness.

Fans will be frustrated

After seeing Sanson’s mini-tantrum at the Emirates Stadium last week, the Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece delivered his verdict on the Frenchman in recent days.

He said: “A very interesting and worthy point to make this, Dean. The body language amongst the group on the pitch was telling against Arsenal. A lot of bickering and finger-pointing as opposed to, ‘Right lads, let’s stick together and get it right.’ It does point to a lot of frustration that’s been boiling over in the last three weeks. Are they happy with the system that’s being implemented?

“As for Sanson, he wants a crack. He’s returned earlier than scheduled from his hamstring strain so I didn’t expect to see him involved. He’s fit now and will want a chance to play – especially given the performances of those ahead of him of late.

“Ramsey and then El Ghazi got the nod over him and he lost it. I don’t mind it. He needs to get his head right, though, and it’s something I’ll ask the boss about on Friday.”

The fact that Sanson has only played ten times in all competitions since arriving from Marseille back in January must be a massive frustration for Villa fans.

The 27-year-old’s inability to stay fit for any period of time, and his current illness, niggling injuries and whatnot, is sure to have supporters fuming with one of their marquee signings from only a few short months ago.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has delivered his verdict on Aston Villa’s recent Premier League struggles…

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton believes that the race for the Scottish Premiership title is far from over as he worries that ‘I don’t know’ how long Giorgos Giakoumakis will be out. 

The lowdown: As things stand

The Hoops currently sit six points clear of Old Firm rivals Rangers at the top of the Scottish top-flight with five games remaining.

Ange Postecoglou’s side, therefore, are seemingly on the brink of lifting the title for the 52nd time.

However, one ex-Celtic Park favourite thinks that the situation is more precarious than the table suggests, especially after the absence of Giakoumakis at Hampden Park left the Hoops without a focal point…

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The latest: Sutton not convinced

Speaking to The Monday Club on BBC 5 Live Sport (as relayed by Football Scotland), Sutton has stated that the race is far from a foregone conclusion and cited a ‘big’ injury concern that could haunt the Bhoys.

“I thought Celtic missed Giakoumakis and his physical presence. They couldn’t get up the pitch. I think Rangers played on that. I don’t know how long he is out for.

“I think that is a big deal Celtic getting him back. But the next game is so important.

“I still think there is a title race on.”

The verdict: No panic

Losing the league from this position would require a monumental collapse and one a manager of Postecoglou’s ilk would be devastated to oversee.

With 13 goals and one assist to his name so far this season across all competitions, missing a player of Giakoumakis’ quality at a vital stage of the campaign is undoubtedly a huge blow.

However, Postecoglou has somewhat of an embarrassment of riches in the goalscoring department having welcomed back top scorer Kyogo Furuhashi to the fold over the last fortnight.

Should Giakoumakis remain sidelined for a prolonged period, albeit the hamstring issue is reported to be minor, then a rotation of Liel Abada, Daizen Maeda, Jota and Kyogo should easily be enough firepower to see the Hoops over the line.

In other news, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has been left fuming. Read more here.

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has been tipped to pursue a deal for a new Hoops midfielder from one of the club’s Premiership rivals…

What’s the talk?

The Herald journalist James Cairney has urged Celtic to make a move for St Mirren midfielder Jamie McGrath in the January transfer window.

His contract at St Mirren expires at the end of the season and Cairney believes that the Hoops could benefit from snapping him up on a cut-price deal in the winter market to improve their options in the middle of the park.

Armstrong 2.0

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou could land Stuart Armstrong 2.0 by completing a deal to sign McGrath in the January window.

Mo Elyounoussi was the only midfielder or wide player to hit double figures for goals in the Premiership for Celtic last term, with David Turnbull’s eight the next most by a player from those positions.

Coincidently, Elyounoussi has now returned to Southampton to play alongside another player who knows a thing or two about scoring goals for Celtic – Armstrong. In his last two seasons in Scotland, Armstrong produced 22 goals and 13 assists in all competitions for the Hoops, including 18 goals in the league, and was then sold to the Saints in 2018 for £7.16m.

McGrath showed last season for St Mirren that he has the quality to come in and be Celtic’s next goalscoring attacking midfielder, just like Armstrong was during his time at the club. He scored 17 goals and provided six assists in all competitions last term, including ten goals in the Premiership.

St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin previously lauded the player and claimed that his bravery in possession of the ball is second to none, saying:

“He had been pigeonholed as a No 10 at Dundalk and people looked at him as a luxury player, but I had a very good conversation with Jamie and his representatives and explained that I saw there was more to him than that.

“My belief was that he could become a No 8 and be a box-to-box player and I think he’s shown he can do that.

“He’s not one to fly into tackles, but he gets close to opponents, he’s fit, he’s quick and his composure on the ball is incredible. His creativity and bravery when in possession is second to none.”

This highlights the level of quality he could bring to Postecoglou’s side and why they should act upon Cairney’s advice and make a swoop for him in January. The Australian head coach could unearth the next goalscoring central midfield sensation, Armstrong 2.0 if you will, by snapping McGrath up from St Mirren.

AND in other news, Ange must ruthlessly axe 26 y/o dud who left Celtic “livid”, he’s not good enough…

Fabian Delph could leave Everton this summer, but Dean Windass has ruled out the 31-year-old returning to Leeds.

The midfielder left Manchester City to join the Toffees two years ago, but his short stay on Merseyside has been overshadowed by injuries.

Delph has missed 39 games across all competitions for Everton with several muscle problems preventing him from making any real impact on the pitch.

According to the Liverpool Echo, Everton are open to selling him this summer after making just 30 appearances in a Toffees shirt.

Following their promotion back to the Premier League 12 months ago, Leeds were plotting a move to bring Delph back to Elland Road as reported by the Daily Star to add experience to their squad.

Delph began his playing career with Leeds and made 50 appearances before he left for Aston Villa when the Yorkshire giants were still playing League One football.

But Windass exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that he doesn’t expect to see the midfielder return to his former club this window.

“I don’t think he’s a Bielsa type. He’s always injured.

“The one thing about football now is all on stats, they want to see how many games you’ve played, what you’re good at, what you’re not good at. How many games has he played for Everton? So, I can’t see that.”

Crystal Palace will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run to eight games when they host Aston Villa in the Premier League over the weekend.

The Eagles were held to a 3-3 draw against Burnley last time out as Christian Benteke’s brace was cancelled out by a resolute performance from the home side.

However, with Palace returning to their own patch on Saturday, Patrick Vieira must be brave and make the bold decision to field an attacking line-up.

Against the Clarets, Vieira opted for the hard-working Jordan Ayew on the right-hand side of his attack in the knowledge that the 30-year-old would get back diligently to do his defensive work.

The tactic worked a treat against reigning champions Manchester City a few weeks ago and it almost had the same effect at Turf Moor.

However, in order for the capital club to keep making progress and climbing the top-flight table, Vieira will need to be bold enough to drop the defensive forward in games where three points are there for the taking.

Villa may have stopped the rot with a victory in Steven Gerrard’s first game at the helm, but the Midlands outfit are still vulnerable, especially away from home.

Therefore, Vieira would be wise to drop Ayew, who hasn’t scored a Premier League goal in over a year, in favour of a more clinical attacking option.

Summer signings Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise have both made tremendous starts to their Palace careers, providing a combined six goal contributions in the opening weeks of the current campaign.

Ayew has received much criticism in recent weeks and months due to his extended drought in front of goal, including from Thierry Henry, and tomorrow’s clash could be the ideal time for the £32,500-per-week flop to take his place on the bench.

What’s more, even his international form is being criticised, with the Ghanaian’s displays being described as “worrying” by Dan Quaye.

Clearly, he has not been up to scratch this term, so Vieira must ask him to sit it out this weekend.

In other news… Palace set for big boost on “phenomenal” £55k-p/w maestro, fans will be elated

As per Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur managing director Fabio Paratici has made an exciting transfer plea to club chiefs involving Juventus star Matthijs de Ligt.

The Lowdown: Conte eyes Serie A upgrades…

As widely reported, Conte may turn his attention to Serie A as he seeks to bolster his Tottenham options and transform his new side back into a force.

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It has been two-and-a-half years since Mauricio Pochettino guided the Lilywhites to a Champions League final against Liverpool, and the new manager is tasked with returning Spurs to those lofty heights.

According to Calciomercato, the Italian top flight could be a fruitful transfer pool for Conte and Tottenham, and one of the stars they’ve been tipped to target is Juventus defender De Ligt.

The Netherlands international is one of many players currently on Conte’s radar (Calciomercato.it), with Football Insider now bringing an exciting update involving Paratici.

The Latest: Paratici makes exciting plea…

As per their sources, Tottenham’s transfer chief has told fellow club officials that a ‘deal can be done’ to sign De Ligt from Juventus.

Indeed, the 22-year-old centre-back is ‘on the radar’ of Paratici as he aims to seriously strengthen Conte’s defensive options. As such, Spurs have now ‘set their sights’ on De Ligt ahead of the January transfer window.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Of Tottenham’s defensive targets, which includes Inter Milan mainstay Stefan de Vrij, it is clear that De Ligt stands out as the most ambitious signing of them all.

Spurs would need to smash their transfer record to sign the player going by his £63m valuation according to Transfermarkt, nearly £10m more than the fee they paid to sign Tanguy Ndombele (BBC).

It would signal a real statement of intent by Paratici and the north London club, as evident by the notion that De Ligt ‘can’t be stopped’, according to the player’s representative Mino Raiola.

Likened to an ‘oil tanker’ by his agent, the £200,000-per-week star averaged an impressive 92.5% passing accuracy out from the back over 25 Serie A starts last season – a higher rate than any Spurs player managed (WhoScored).

This sums up his class and composure at such a young age, but if Paratici really does believe that a deal can be done, he may need to pull out all the stops.

In other news: Tottenham tell rising star he is free to leave as they green light surprise exit from N17, find out more here.

New Fulham manager Marco Silva has already made a bright start to the transfer window, and Football FanCast’s EFL spy reckons John Swift would be another shrewd addition for the Cottagers.

The Whites boss recently made two impressive coups in Liverpool attacker Harry Wilson and goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga following his release from Tottenham.

And despite suffering their third relegation in the space of eight seasons, Fulham are yet to lose any of their best players as they go in search of a third promotion in six years.

Swift has established himself as a goalscoring midfielder in recent seasons, netting 28 times in his Championship career.

In 2019-2020, Swift served up six goals and 10 assists for Reading but was unable to replicate that form last season after missing no fewer than 39 matches with an ongoing hamstring problem.

Swift has since recovered from that long-term issue, featuring in all the Royals final five league matches.

With that in mind the EFL insider exclusively told FFC that he could add plenty to the Fulham midfield next term, when asked who they could target after the additions of Wilson and Gazzaniga.

“John Swift at Reading is a high end Championship player. He’s technically very good and has proven his worth year after year.”