Speculation about surprise comeback had been rife, but ultimately Australia opted for discretion

Andrew McGlashan04-Dec-2025Pat Cummins became a genuine option for a recall in Brisbane over the past week as he surprised everyone with the speed of his recovery. However, Australia’s selectors ultimately decided there was too much risk attached in playing a bowler whose overs would still need to be managed, but are very confident in him being ready for Adelaide.Chair of selectors George Bailey said his panel had not been “playing silly buggers” in leaving Cummins out of the squad but refusing to officially rule him out of contention in the lead-up to the second Test. However, he did admit a hug between Cummins and Andrew McDonald during a pitch inspection on Wednesday had been “for laughs”.Bailey said that there had been no expectation of Cummins being available when the group was selected but it became a realistic prospect as he ramped up his training in Brisbane, which included two spells on Monday and his first bowls on back-to-back days.”We weren’t playing silly buggers with him not being in the squad and in the mix. But I think once we got up here, saw his training, got as much of the background medical information as well, it became a live possibility,” he said. “Then it was just working through the permutations of what would that look like in terms of the amount of overs, what would it look like going forward from that as well.Related

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“I don’t think we thought he was going to be as close, it really changed through the week. Then risk tolerance became the conversation around what could he take on. Yes, he could have played. There would have been some restrictions around the overs and then obviously just the permutations [around that].”There was also consideration into what bringing Cummins back for this Test could mean going forward, and the added pressure it could leave on the rest of the attack. “Being in a really controlled environment [in] the nets where you can be really structured around the breaks and how you want it, then it’s just that risk of maybe going into a game,” Bailey said. “There’s some things you can control and probably some things that do get taken out of your control.”Meanwhile, Bailey said that the selectors had not got to the stage of debating whether Usman Khawaja would retain his place for the Gabba because he had never been passed fit to play. Khawaja batted on Tuesday before being ruled out of the Test the following day, having not recovered from the back spasms he suffered in Perth. He returned to the nets on Thursday. Travis Head, who made 123 in Australia’s chase in the opening match, will continue in the opening role during the second Test.”He hadn’t got his back back to baseline,” Bailey said. “And if you’re not back to the starting point then it’s obviously a heightened risk. There’s obviously your own performance, but when you’re injured and you feel like you’ve let the team down, I think that was something he was just conscious of; if it happened again, it would be an awful feeling. So sitting this one out buys time.”For now, Head is not being locked in at the top beyond this Test, and there has even been discussion of having in-match flexibility to batting orders.”We’ve gone into this series so far very much with a Test-by-Test focus,” Bailey said. “I imagine we’ll get another look at it here and see what that looks like and see that combination. We can cross that bridge [and] make that decision as and when we need to make that decision, but it’s an interesting one. What’s the threshold now for it to be a specialist opener, what’s that look like?”

After two successive relegation campaigns, Sunderland have started the season in a much better fashion. 

With Stewart Donald installed as the new chairman and Jack Ross as the new manager, Sunderland seem to be beginning an era where they may be some positivity for the club.

Although we’re only seven games into the new season, Sunderland currently sit fourth in the league.

Crucially, Donald handed Ross a raft of new signings in the hope of securing promotion back to the Championship. The Black Cats signed 12 new players over the summer, including League One hotshot Charlie Wyke and Wycombe Wanderers’ talented midfielder Luke O’Nien.

Bringing in new players was always going to be key for the club but so was shedding some of the deadwood from the squad. Lamine Kone, Paddy McNair, Wahbi Khazri and John O’Shea all departed the club. The only long-term players who the club didn’t manage to ship off are Papy Djilobodji and Didier Ndong. In what will come as great news for Sunderland fans, the club is now exploring the possibility of suing both players.

The Breakdown

Djilobodji only returned last week but was scheduled to return to the club in August. Sunderland had tried to get rid of the centre-half over the summer but a move never materialised. Even more shockingly than his fellow teammate, Didier Ndong has failed to even return to the club.

Two years ago, this may have derailed a Sunderland side that was constantly fighting relegation. The mere fact that the club have taken such a strong stance against both the players and have continued to perform well on the pitch, shows that Sunderland are finally in reliable hands.

Do you agree Sunderland fans?

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has praised Arsenal equivalent Arsene Wenger ahead of the respective sides clashing in the Premier League this weekend.Pressure is building on the long-serving Gunners boss after consecutive defeats in the Champions League and a loss to Chelsea recently.Jose Mourinho has been vocal in the fact that Wenger has not won the Premier League title in 11 years, but Van Gaal has refused to criticise the Frenchman in the same way.The Old Trafford supremo has stressed that the former Monaco chief is doing a great job at the Emirates Stadium and his long reign at the club is testament to his abilities.“I think that he’s doing great work,†The Guardian quote Van Gaal as saying.“When you can, like Sir Alex Ferguson, stay in a club for such a long period of time, you have to be very good, otherwise you shall not succeed.“So I think Arsene Wenger is one of the best coaches of this world, and the same thing with Sir Alex, who I think is the best, because he won the most titles, for example.Arsene Wenger, when you are with one club for such a long time, and everyone is satisfied – the fans, the board, the players – then you are very good, believe me.â€United enter the clash on top of the Premier League table and will hope to cement their place at the summit with three points against the Gunners.Arsenal have been inconsistent so far this season but will know that victory will throw them right back into the mix this weekend.

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Nothing excites the average Premier League fan more than reports linking their club to a prodigious transfer target, heralded as ‘the next Lionel Messi’, ‘the next Cristiano Ronaldo’ or in Anthony Martial’s case ‘the next Thierry Henry’.

Indeed, such comparisons are often inaccurate and premature but they do inspire the imagination – compelling fans to consider what their team might look like a few years down the line with one of world football’s brightest young talents at its core.

With that in mind, Football FanCast are running the rule over some of the beautiful game’s most exciting prodigies recently linked to the Premier League’s top clubs.

This article focuses on Arsenal, a club who pride themselves on their ability to make rather than buy superstars and boast a sensational record when it comes to nurturing future world class players. The likes of Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Patrick Vieira and the aforementioned Thierry Henry are but a few examples.

So which of these FIVE prodigies, all reportedly on the Gunners’ transfer radar, would you like to see join the Emirates ranks? Let us know by commenting below!

DANIELE RUGANI

Italian football is renowned for its ability to consistently produce top class defenders and Juventus starlet Daniele Rugani has been heralded as the latest off the conveyor belt.

The 21-year-old officially joined the Old Lady in summer 2013 but continued his development at boyhood club Empoli over for two more seasons, last term featuring in every minute of their league campaign to help the Stadio Carlo Castellani outfit secure a 15th place finish in the top flight.

In the process, he averaged an impressive 1.3 tackles, 0.9 interceptions, 6.9 clearances and 2.8 aerial duels per match, but that hasn’t been enough to convince Massimo Allegri of a regular first team role since returning to Turin during the summer.

His senior action for Juve thus far has been limited to a minute-long substitute stint against Sevilla in the Champions League.

Arsenal reportedly saw a £13million bid for the 6 foot 2 centre-half rejected during the summer and will be expected to revive their interest if Rugani continues to struggle for game-time – but Manchester United are also known admirers.

LEROY SANE

Amongst the ones to watch in the Bundesliga this season, Leroy Sane’s reputation is growing by the game at FC Schalke.

Indeed, the 19-year-old winger has claimed four goals and two assists in eleven Bundesliga outings this term, whilst his 3 successful dribbles per match is the joint-fourth best average throughout the division.

That form combined with an impressive return of three goals in four outings for Germany’s U21 string since the turn of 2015 has generated plenty of interest in the 6 foot attacker.

Gunners scouts reportedly ran the rule over Sane as he bagged a late equaliser against Sparta Prague last month but Tottenham are also keen on the teenager and Liverpool saw a €15million bid rejected during the summer.

YOURI TIELEMANS

The top end of the Premier League is overflowing with Belgium internationals at the minute, which is perhaps why all of England’s top clubs are keeping one eye on Anderlecht prodigy Youri Tielemans ahead of summer 2016.

The midfielder is only 18 years of age but has already claimed back-to-back Young Player of the Year awards in the Belgian top flight and amassed a potent 14 goals in 23 outings for Belgium across the youth levels – ranging from U15 to U21.

Having started the current campaign in similarly stong form, netting four times in 17 appearances, the common theory is that Tielemans will leave Constant Verdan Stock stadium for a major club at the end of the season – most likely after picking up the Jupiler League’s Player of the Year award.

Rumour has it Chelsea and Manchester United have already held negotiations with the teenager’s representatives over a move next summer but Arsenal have been linked with Tielemans for some time and will be expected to rival any offer from their Premier League competitors.

SERGI SAMPER

Arsene Wenger has a knack for plucking frustrated starlets from Barcelona’s academy and the latest reportedly on his radar is midfielder Sergi Samper.

The 20-year-old is highly rated at the Nou Camp and made his senior debut for the Catalans at the start of last season but has failed to become a recurring fixture in Luis Enrique’s first team plans.

Even amid injuries to the likes of Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta this season, the Spain U21 has received just one start at senior level – a Copa del Rey outing against third-tier side Villanovense.

Famed for his Pirlo-esque playmaking qualities, Samper seems like a natural suitor to the Gunners’ technically demanding style of plaY.

Furthermore, his contract includes an £8.5million release clause. But since rumours of an Emirates switch first spouted last month, Manchester United have also emerged in the race for the Spaniard’s signature.

BREEL EMBOLO

Breel Embolo may only be 18 years of age but he’s already helped fire FC Basel to a Super League title, netting ten times in 26 appearances last season, and represented the Swiss national team on seven occasions.

The 6 foot 1 teenager’s defining trait remains his physicality, blessed with penetrative pace, height and strength, which has seen him compared to the likes of Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o.

He’s not simply a centre-forward however; that lankiness and netting prowess has proved equally useful during occasional bouts in central midfield since his debut in March 2014 and it remains to be seen which position truly suits Embolo best.

Also the sixth-youngest goalscorer in Champions League history, a number of major clubs have been tracking the Cameroon-born prodigy for some time, not least including Manchester United and Bayern Munich.

But Arsenal have also been mooted as potential suitors, in no part due to the limited depth of their current strikeforce, and were linked with Embolo back in September.

Yesterday evening, Ed Chamberlain, Jamie Carragher and guest pundit Craig Bellamy proved that there is life in Monday Night Football after Gary Neville – the pundit who stole our hearts before breaking them by jetting off to Valencia.

I’ll never quite forgive the Spanish club. Most are probably sick of the never-ending-Neville-loving in the media since he took the Mestalla job last week, but I feel obliged to stress in no uncertain terms that the former Manchester United defender is a monumental loss to the Premier League as probably it’s greatest ever pundit.

Neville had a knack of teaching you something new and changing your opinion on a player, a manager, a referee or a club with practically every viewing. Although Mark Lawrenson and Alan Hansen remain the indisputable kings to many, Neville’s whiteboard analysis took the meaning of the phrase to a whole new level whilst the MOTD old guard’s steady decline resulted in the summarisation of every match as ‘brilliant’ or ‘terrible’.

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Nonetheless, the show must go on, and Bellamy’s debut in the MNF studio showed unexpected signs of promise – although Sky Sports intend to rotate guest pundits until the end of the season and the former Newcastle United man started proceedings by insisting he’s still intent on entering into the world of management as soon as possible.

For an attacker whose natural talent, speed and aggression was seen as his defining traits during his playing days, the depth of the Welshman’s tactical knowledge was incredibly surprising. His discussion of Jamie Vardy, which evolved into a discussion of his career and how the role of the centre-forward has changed in the Premier League since the emergence of Jose Mourinho and Didier Drogba, was fascinating and passionately argued.

Perhaps more impressively, it’s not a subject former right-back Gary Neville could have conversed with such anecdotal detail; more than anything else, it was a sign that Bellamy brings something new to the table and can put a fresh perspective on age-old Carra-Nev debates.

No doubt, Bellamy is still a little rough around the edges. His body language was more welcoming of his former Liverpool team-mate than the camera and his delivery was a little dry. Yet Neville suffered similar issues when first thrust into the MNF studio and Carragher’s scouse accent was almost inaudible for his first few episodes; confidence on camera will improve naturally, whilst elocution can be learnt.

And dare I say it, there were eerie similarities between Bellamy and Neville that caught me off-guard. Lest we forget, Neville too was seen as an unexpected and underwhelming appointment when he took over from Andy Gray in 2012. Most viewed him as little more than one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s ever-obedient children, but the obvious intellect behind Neville’s punditry work has almost rewritten the history of his playing days into something more calculated and sophisticated.

Most enlightening, in that respect, was Bellamy’s story of how he became a winger at Manchester City after initially arriving as a striker. He feared for his Etihad future as a centre-forward following the costly arrivals of Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez, but saw left winger Robinho as a weak link he could force out of the starting Xi. He not only auditioned himself for that position to Mark Hughes, but relentlessly studied the leading left wingers at the time – Frank Ribery in particular – and adapted his game accordingly.

It’s the kind of attention to detail, ruthlessness  and in some senses obsession that made Neville such an acute and effective pundit – the ability to study intricate aspects of the game before working tirelessly to apply them in reality. If Bellamy can devote that same level of drive to his punditry work, Sky Sports may have just unearthed another gem.

Likewise, there is something refreshing about a pundit who isn’t instantaneously associated with a major club. Bellamy has represented nine teams throughout his career, albeit including Liverpool and Manchester City, and his loyalty belongs to nobody in particular except perhaps the Wales national team.

Infamous skirmishes with Alan Shearer and John Arne Riise add further kudos to a character who quite literally isn’t afraid of swinging punches (or golf clubs) at popular individuals. When Bellamy says something, such as Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez being head and shoulders above the rest of the Premier League this season,  it is because he believes it to be true.

But of course, there are still question marks over Bellamy’s durability in MNF’s high-intensity arena of debate. He struggled to provide a clear-cut answer, as if aware he would have to slightly contradict himself, when Carragher probed the practicalities of his preference of  speed over power in a centre-forward, and his assessment of Aaron Ramsey as a better No.10 than Mesut Ozil was laden with inevitable bias.

The fact of the matter is that it can only take one point ruthlessly dissected by Carragher or one argument of clear favouritism to completely destroy a pundit’s credibility at the impeccably high level the Carra-Nev partnership have maintained over last few years.

Whether Bellamy is offered the role full-time after his impressive debut, misses out to another planned guest pundit – Frank Lampard is in line for next week – or rejects it to take up a role in management remains to be seen.

But obsessive viewers of MNF will have exhaled a sigh of relief at the end of last night’s episode; although things might never be quite the same again without Gary Neville, the future of Premier League punditry doesn’t look quite as bleak as this time last week.

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Not many clubs have changed quite as drastically as Stoke City in the last few years and the signing of Giannelli Imbula is another step that the Potters have taken to becoming a regular top half force in the Premier League.

The French midfielder joins a hugely talented squad and is likely to slot into central midfield along side Glenn Whelan or Ibrahim Afellay. Mark Hughes smashed the club’s record transfer fee to secure the ex-Porto man and it was the biggest transfer of any club in Europe during this January window.

Considering the pedigree of this midfielder, this is one of the biggest transfer coups of the last couple of years and see the former Marseille man link up with Xherdan Shaqiri and Bojan – two of Stoke’s other remarkable transfers.

If there was ever a sign of a club going in the right direction, this is the sort of addition that firmly makes it clear of the intentions of the Potters.

Here are FIVE things you absolutely must know about Imbula…

Award winner at Guingamp

The youngster won player of the season in Ligue 2 during his time with Guingamp, before making the move to Marseille.

Mark Hughes has had his eye on this star for some time and he has finally got his man.

CL experience

During his brief stay in Portugal, Imbula has featured in the Champions League and would be more than up to the standard if the Potters make it into the Europa League.

Dribbling monster

Imbula completed more dribbles than anyone in Ligue 1 last season and is sure to add a direct running option to Stoke’s deep midfield role.

Where van Ginkel failed and Charlie Adam is far more static, Imbula can be a great launch pad for counter attacking football.

Engine like a Beemer

Much like Ramires or Matuidi, Imbula can play the box-to-box role in any midfield.

His impressive engine means you will often see him come into his one in the last quarter of a game.

Built like a wall

Imbula, as mobile as he is, is an incredibly strong man.

The 23-year-old midfielder will have no issues with adapting to the physicality of the Premier League and he is likely to dominate many opposition midfielders.

Whether its Kouyate or Yaya, Imbula can hold his own.

Jamie Vardy, the man who is having a party and who was the player at the end of 2015, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of scoring in 10 consecutive games by scoring in 11.

What followed was England caps and legend status for the Leicester striker. However, it may also have made clubs think; should they be turning to non-league more for more players like Vardy?

Many clubs have been linked with Vardy this January due to his pace and his goals. Yet rather than focus on a man near the end of his peak, should they be looking at fresh talent with the same, non-league roots as the 29-year-old?

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As early as last week, Tottenham were linked with Ebbsfleet wonderkid Shilow Tracey, and it illustrates a shift from looking overseas to looking down the leagues for talent. With the recent success of players like Vardy and Charlie Austin, the big teams are looking at cheaper options to fill their squads, players who know English football well and are well suited to the conditions.

You only have to look at the price Leicester paid for Vardy – £1million – to see just how much belief there is in the non-league system to produce such players.

The non-league has also become the “graveyard” for players who were once great but have dropped down for game time, meaning  players at this level are gaining from their valuable experience. You only have to look at Salford, where players like Danny Webber have dropped down, providing Premier League experience to his current teammates.

Staying on the subject of Salford, the Class of’ 92 have made non-league football more popular, by buying the club. This has been further strengthened through their FA Cup success and TV exposure. The same can be said of Eastleigh, who drew against Bolton in the FA Cup, gaining a replay which will help the club financially.

But it allows for the players at these clubs to have their talents televised and a huge chance to show bigger clubs what they’re all about. Sadiq El Fitouri benefited from Phil Neville’s close ties to Manchester United by gaining a trial at Old Trafford and, with a contract soon following. It just goes to show that if the teams pay more attention and more support to the leagues, it can help promote the fresh talent.

An awful lot of players end up playing non-league football after having unsuccessful trials at Premier League or Championship clubs, and many argue this can lead to a lot of good footballers slipping through the net and never achieving their full potential.

However, they should look to players like Sadiq and Tracey, knowing that they can do better and can make the jump up to the big leagues if they are spotted.

The likes of Jimmy Bullard, Gary Hooper, Troy Deeney, Ian Wright, Chris Smalling, Les Ferdinand, Rickie Lambert, Grant Holt and Kevin Phillips all did it, and it highlights the fact that there is a real pool of talent within the lower leagues.

It might take a few more years, but the country’s big clubs need to try and avoid another Vardy-like situation of letting the player slip through the net before it’s too late for them to make a real career-long impact at the highest level, rather just for one or two seasons.

With the right tools they could not only help non-league football, but also promising players make the cut.

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Rafael Benitez has arrived in Newcastle, presumably in order to take over from Steve McClaren at the Magpies, but I guess it’s possible he’s just meeting a few mates for a furious weekend of lager and vindaloo.

Whatever the reason, it’s that sort of cayenne spice that Benitez will be bringing back to the already chilli-infused Premier League. Spiky, fiery and not a man disposed to making a lot of friends amongst the managerial fraternity. Or at least, a man with a fair few enemies. We’re certainly excited for his return. It gives an already interesting league just that little bit extra. Nando’s chicken may already be spicy, but Benitez is, today at least, the footballing equivalent of a dash of peri-peri sauce.

After all, we now have a Tyne-Wear derby in a few weeks between a Newcastle-led Benitez and a Sunderland-managed Sam Allardyce – as if the derby wasn’t tasty enough, it’s now become a relegation scrap and a street fight between two managers who hate each others’ guts independently of the clubs they work for. Like the Power Rangers, the Tyne-Wear derby is already cool, but bringing in this extra narrative sees that entire rivalry morph into some sort of hypable Premier League Power Ranger megazord.

And that’s far from the only Premier League fixture that will receive the Sky treatment if Benitez is installed in the Toon.

Next season, if he manages to stay in the Premier League (far from certain, though, I might add) the league could have Pep Guardiola, Arsene Wenger, Claudio Ranieri, Antonio Conte and possibly even Jose Mourinho as well as Benitez himself. Which would make for hype and narrative at every turn. A little slice of rivalry to go on top of the rivalry already created by the fact that two opposing football teams are playing a game against each other.

But this is the Premier League, dear friends, everything is sensationalised, hyped beyond recognition and probably to stratospheric levels of ridicule and hyperbole. And why not? After all, the football’s still there, the sporting achievements are still valid, so why not have a bit of fun along the way?

Benitez’s arrival will certainly do that. Whether or not this is the right appointment for Newcastle is deliciously irrelevant to the Premier League hype machine. We crave the storyline running through the matches, transcending and arching over the season, like a Hollywood TV series or professional wrestling. Every game from here on in takes on that extra dash of spice, morphs into something bigger than one game of football.

Are we moving to an era of football Sports Entertainment? Who cares? The relegation battle just got very tasty indeed.

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Regardless of where the Red Devils ultimately finish in the Premier League this season – whether that be among those all-important top-four slots or completely out of the picture for European qualification altogether – the upcoming summer transfer period looks bound to be a rather telling one for Manchester United one way or another.

Louis van Gaal is largely expected to step down at the end of the current season, with Jose Mourinho set on becoming the next high profile manager to try his hand in the famed Old Trafford dug-out, and several big-name players have subsequently been linked with an illustrious switch to the Red Devils.

So then, as the Man United hierarchy are reportedly ready to point a staggering £40 million in the direction of Benfica’s 18-year-old midfielder Renato Sanches this summer, are the determined Red Devils about to embark on yet another ill-conceived transfer quest? Or could this up and coming Portuguese talent actually help transform the sleeping giants back into genuine title contenders?

Well, based on the midfielder’s undoubted flashes of brilliance throughout the domestic campaign thus far, this is one player who could set the Premier League alight next season.

The rapidly emerging 18-year-old may indeed fail to offer the greatest goal threat we’ve ever seen, but when it comes breaking forward with sheer tenacity, displaying a truly wonderful ability to shield the ball in even the most testing of circumstances and simply helping his team-mates to make something happen, Sanches definitely looks like one to keep a close eye on over the coming seasons.

Manchester United’s recent interest in the Portuguese youngster therefore arrives as very little surprise with all things fairly considered. Whenever an exciting up and coming talent suddenly crops up on the European footballing circuit with a vast amount of potential locked firmly under his belt, the Red Devils are always waiting in the wings, ready to blow the rest of their competition out of the water with yet another sizeable offer.

The Old Trafford faithful could certainly do with an added sense of flair in their first choice starting XI. A player of Sanches’ growing class would most probably fit into Jose Mourinho’s desired course of action down at Manchester United that’s for sure, and as both Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger clearly aren’t getting any younger, perhaps the current Benfica star could become something of a necessity.

But is he really worthy of the £40m price-tag? Even the most unrealistic of Red Devils supporters would have to raise an eyebrow or two over such a hefty valuation, especially as the club have been heavily criticised for wasting large sums of cash on several ill-fated transfer schemes in the past.

Unless Manchester United can negotiate a more suitable asking price for the Portuguese midfielder throughout the upcoming summer transfer window, then perhaps the Red Devils should ultimately look to point their hard-earned resources elsewhere. It’s not as if there aren’t any other equally talented alternatives out there to choose from after all…

Although Renato Sanches certainly looks like a really promising talent at this particular stage in his career, he has nonetheless failed to prove his ability for a sustained period of time, and on the basis of such a conclusion Manchester United must think twice before deciding to shove the vast amount of their summer budget in the direction of yet another inexperienced teenager…

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It’s been the most awful of seasons for Aston Villa, but finally the supporters have had something to cheer about in the last couple of days. Dr Tony Xia has agreed to buy the Claret and Blues for around £75m and the deal is now waiting for Football League approval.

But with potential new owners comes the potential for new summer signings and Dr Xia, who is a massive football fan, has promised Villa a serious transfer kitty, which if you believe the Chinese investor, could transform the fallen giants.

It’s good news for Villa fans and after the season they’ve just had they could do with some good news. So with money on the very close horizon, here are FIVE names Villa could do with bringing in ahead of the Championship season…

Joey Barton

A slightly controversial one, but Joey Barton could be an excellent signing by any potential new manager. He’s battled and scrapped in the middle of the park with Burnley this season and his quality ensured the Clarets were automatically promoted back to the Premier League. He’s been linked with a move to Rangers though, so Villa might have to get in there quick if Barton is in fact on the agenda.

Roberto Di Matteo

Di Matteo is the man that has been linked with the vacant managerial hot-seat at Villa Park, and what a signing that could turn out to be. The Italian has had good spells at both West Brom and Chelsea, and was most recently at FC Schalke in Germany. The Italian has a gentle giant approach about him, and this may be what Villa need after years of turmoil.

David Faupal

David Faupala is one of Manchester City’s real gems. He’s come through the academy and was given his first taste of first team action when City travelled to Chelsea in their FA Cup fifth round replay. They lost the game 5-1, but he was one of a handful of young stars that caught the eye, and some first-team action at one of the biggest clubs in the Championship would be excellent for his development.

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Jordon Ibe

Jordon Ibe is widely expected to leave Liverpool at the end of the season due to a lack of first team opportunities, but his destination is yet to be decided. He’d be a real coup for Villa too – he’s quick, has excellent vision and is willing to chase down loose balls. Whether he’d drop down a level to the Championship is yet to be seen, but he’s one Villa should keep an eye on.

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Abel Hernandez

It’s taken him a while, but Hull City striker Abel Hernandez is finally showing the form he was renowned for at Palermo. 22 goals in 44 appearances for the Tigers this season have helped them on their way to a play-off final at Wembley, and should Steve Bruce’s side fail to get back to the Premier League, Villa should make a move. He’s ridiculously quick and knows where the goal is – they’ve missed that this season.

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