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Aston Villa's ten-game unbeaten run in the Premier League came crashing to an end last weekend as they were beaten 1-0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Bruno Fernandes' goal was enough to secure all three points for the home side on the day and Unai Emery's men now have an opportunity to return to winning ways this afternoon as they travel away to play Wolverhampton Wanderers.

They are up against Julen Lopetegui's team after a 6-0 drubbing against Brighton and should be wary of a strong reaction from their opponents.

Keeping this in mind and the result against the Red Devils last time out, Emery may look to make some changes to his XI to keep the competition for places strong and avoid complacency.

Will Jhon Duran start against Wolves?

The Spanish head coach should start young forward Jhon Duran as the boss could unlock an exciting partnership with Ollie Watkins at the top end of the pitch.

Jacob Ramsey and Emiliano Buendia lined up behind the England international last time out and both struggled – recording Sofascore ratings of 5.9 and 6.5 respectively.

The latter has one goal contribution in his last five starts and his lack of involvement in the final third indicates that it could be time to give another player the opportunity to prove their worth in that position behind the number nine.

This could open up the door for a change in the set-up behind Watkins and Emery must finally unlock the rarely-seen Duran, who is yet to start a match in the division, ahead of Buendia.

The Colombian international, who was once hailed as "powerful" and an "aerial threat" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has not had the chance to showcase his ability at Villa yet, due to being restricted to substitute appearances, but impressed in the MLS for Chicago Fire last year.

Duran scored eight times and provided three assists in 14 starts, averaging a Sofascore rating of 6.91, in the division in 2022 and these statistics show that the potential is there for the forward to make a big impact in the final third.

The teenager, albeit in another country, has shown that he has the quality to score and assist goals in a professional environment in spite of his young age and the marksman could provide Watkins, who has scored 14 top-flight goals this term, with the support that Buendia has been unable to in recent weeks.

Now, imagine the £18m gem and the Englishman lining up against Wolves this afternoon and causing their troubled defence constant problems with their goalscoring threat.

أبدى طارق يحيى لاعب ومدرب الزمالك السابق، رأيه في موقف إدارة القلعة البيضاء من تجديد عقد الظهير الأيسر للفريق أحمد فتوح بعد أزمته الأخيرة.

وكان الزمالك قد أعلن عن تجديد التعاقد مع أحمد فتوح لمدة 3 سنوات، وذلك بعد أزمة اللاعب الأخيرة بشأن ترك معسكر الفريق قبل مباراة زد بالدوري.

وقال يحيى خلال تصريحات عبر برنامج “اللعيب” المذاع على قناة “إم بي سي مصر”: “طالما اعتذر لا أعتقد لا أنه يوجد شيء آخر، القصة تمت بشياكة واحترافية من إدارة الزمالك”.

وأضاف: “قرار مجلس إدارة الزمالك بعرض فتوح للبيع وإيقافه قلل من فرص انضمامه إلى أي نادي أخر، وقلل من قيمته التسويقية”.

وأكمل: “كان هناك نوع من العقاب القاسي جدًا من إدارة الزمالك تجاه أحمد فتوح”.

وتطرق للحديث عن لاعب الأهلي إمام عاشور، أوضح: “لم أُصدم من انضمام إمام عاشور للأهلي، طبيعي نحن في عصر الاحتراف، جمهورنا عاطفي، هو قدم مباريات عظيمة مع الزمالك لذلك الحزن كان على قدر المحبة”.

وأتم حديثه: “إذا استطاع نادي الزمالك حل أزمة إيقاف القيد، من الوارد أن يلحق بالمنافسة ويحقق بطولات”.

Leeds United looked to have uncovered another potential gem when Ian Poveda joined from Manchester City back in 2020 but his lack of appearances at Elland Road since suggests that he has rinsed the club of a salary.

How has Ian Poveda performed at Leeds?

The winger, who had previously spent time at Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona, joined the Yorkshire outfit on a four-and-a-half-year deal in January 2020, having failed to make the grade in Pep Guardiola's side.

He would go on to make just four appearances in Marcelo Bielsa's Championship title-winning side that season, which perhaps did not bode well for his chances of making it as a Premier League regular in the future.

However, he did muster 16 appearances in all competitions the following campaign but failed to contribute a single goal or assist, averaging a woeful 6.23 rating from WhoScored across his 14 substitute appearances in the Premier League.

In fact, Poveda has managed just one league start in his three-and-a-half-year spell at Elland Road, as he has spent the last two seasons out on loan in the Championship, where his performances have done little to suggest that he could still make it at Leeds.

Last year saw the young winger manage one goal and two assists in just ten second-tier outings for Blackburn Rovers, while he has two goals and two assists in all competitions this season for struggling Blackpool.

While he has caught the eye of manager Mick McCarthy, Poveda is 23 now and looks unlikely to displace the likes of Jack Harrison or Luis Sinisterra at Elland Road, while young talents such as Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto have clearly progressed far quicker than the 2020 signing.

McCarthy said: "I think he wasn’t that consistent and I don’t think he’d been that good and it can be difficult with loan players.

“They come in and if they’re not playing, they think ‘why should I be here?’ and it affects the performance. I think when they went to Spain, he’s really knuckled down and what I’ve seen of him in training is different class He really is a good footballer. He’s got a lot to offer us.”

While he might be starting to find his feet in the Championship, one league start in nearly four years speaks for itself, and Gracia should look to sell the £8.2k-per-week Poveda permanently this summer rather than allowing him to continue rinsing chairman Andrea Radrizzani.

Journalist Ross Gregory has claimed that Newcastle United "rate" Bristol City midfielder Alex Scott ahead of a possible summer transfer.

What's the latest on Alex Scott to Newcastle?

With the Magpies making the League Cup final this season and pushing for a spot in the Premier League top four, their growth under the new ownership has been swift.

No doubt, though, they'll want to keep on this upward trajectory and will likely aim to do so with some big spending in the summer – just like they did last time when players like Alexander Isak were signed for notable transfer fees.

With that in mind, you can expect a number of players to be linked with a move to St James' Park over the coming months. And Bristol City's Scott is one name that could come in and add some depth to the Newcastle United midfield if the latest rumours are to be believed.

Indeed, while talking about the player on NUFC Matters, Gregory explained: "I suppose that Newcastle will be looking for, like we said, some midfield reinforcements in an attacking sense – whether that's a James Maddison or whoever it may be. Alex Scott at Bristol City is another one that they rate."

How much will Alex Scott cost for Newcastle?

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has already helped drum up the hype for the 19-year-old midfielder as he called him "an unbelievable player” after his team beat Bristol City 3-0 in the FA Cup.

On top of that, it sounds as though Newcastle won't find it easy to land Scott as a number of other top English teams are likely to be in the race for his signature too.

Indeed, as per Fabrizio Romano, there is "big interest" from Premier League sides and the Robins will be asking for "at least" £20m-£25m for their key man.

With all that in mind, it's not hard to see why Eddie Howe and co may well rate the teenager, but they certainly aren't alone in that. Consequently, this could be a rather interesting saga to watch develop when the summer market opens.

However, last summer the Magpies saw a bid in the region of £50m reportedly turned down for long-term target James Madison. And if the Leicester City ace is unreachable once more, perhaps Scott could be a cheaper alternative even if they do have to outbid other interested parties.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Chelsea could be in with a chance of signing Jeremie Frimpong this summer, but top-flight rivals are also keen on the defender.

What’s the latest on Jeremie Frimpong and the Chelsea rumours?

Even though the Blues agreed to pay £26.3m plus add-ons for Lyon right-back Malo Gusto in January, it seems as though the club may be in the market for another fullback in the near future.

To be fair, Reece James has struggled for fitness of late and Cesar Azpilicueta isn’t getting any younger at 33 years of age, so 22-year-old Frimpong may be viewed as a good long-term prospect.

However, it sounds as if the Bayer Leverkusen ace is a wanted man with Premier League rivals Manchester United also “keeping an eye on” the right-back.

That’s what has been reported by Romano recently anyway. Indeed, while speaking on his YouTube channel, he explained: “Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen. He’s doing very well.

“We know also Chelsea appreciate the player. In the summer, he could have the possibility to move, but Manchester United are keeping an eye on him.”

Will Jeremie Frimpong join Chelsea?

Despite his young age, Frimpong has already established himself as a regular both in Germany with Leverkusen and in Scotland with Celtic, having initially come through the Manchester City academy.

That experience will no doubt make the player an attractive prospect for both Chelsea and United, while he would also count as a homegrown player due to his ties with the English game as a youngster.

Seeing as Chelsea already have three players who can play right-back, it remains to be seen if Frimpong would feel as though he would have a pathway to regular first-team minutes under Graham Potter.

Still, the Blues evidently “appreciate” the player, so perhaps Todd Boehly has a plan to fit him into the Blues’ already bloated squad. It’ll certainly be interesting to see if a bidding war happens for the player this summer with Man Utd also in the mix.

Presenter Joe Wainman has expressed his concern that Nuno Espirito Santo may not be interested in a short-term role as Leeds United manager.

Could Espirito Santo join Leeds?

The former Wolves and Spurs manager has been linked with the vacant role at Elland Road as a replacement for the recently sacked Jesse Marsch, and he is currently head coach of Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia.

Leeds may turn to the Portuguese coach as a short-term solution to help keep them up before looking at long-term targets in the summer, but this may not be desirable for the 49-year-old.

However, Alfred Schreuder is in serious contention to become the Leeds head coach.

Speaking on the Just Joe Football Show, Wainman claimed that if Espirito Santo was to join and help Leeds survive, that he would want to stay at the club beyond the summer.

“It’s just difficult right now. That’s what I’m mean, if Nuno keeps you up, you have to keep him,” he stated.

“You have to keep him. I don’t know if he’d agree to an 18-month deal, he might want a longer one.”

A poor fit?

Although he was an overall success at Wolves, helping them get promoted and even reaching a Europa League quarter-final, the style of play he employed is a heavy contrast to the high-energy football Leeds played under Marcelo Bielsa, and Marsch.

Leeds have averaged the eighth-highest possession in the league this season, with an average of 50.3%, whilst Wolves came 13th in this regard in Espirito Santo’s first Premier League season with Wolves in 2018-19, with an average of 47.4%.

Leeds focused a lot of their recruitment in recent windows on players suited to Marsch’s style, with the likes of Brendan Aaronson and Tyler Adams arriving having previously worked with the American, and Espirito Santo may provide too much of a stylistic clash to have a positive impact with their current squad during this season.

Leeds United had reportedly made a move to sign a new player earlier in the window and could reaffirm that now to secure one last transfer this deadline day…

What’s the latest?

That’s according to CBS reporter Ben Jacobs, who spoke to GIVEMESPORT late last night on the Whites’ pursuit of Ayoze Perez.

The Leicester City forward has been well out of favour at the King Power and could be handed a new lease of life with a move to Yorkshire.

Jacobs claimed:

“Leeds actually made an inquiry early in the window but didn’t follow up on it. And it’s again a classic example of a club that perhaps just leave something on the back-burner and then maybe is persuaded to move late in the window.”

That notion at the end of his claim is what suggests there is still life in this potential deal for director of football Victor Orta, having already taken one look at him this month.

Imagine him and Rutter

Having already secured the signing of Georginio Rutter earlier in this window, it is highly unlikely that the arrival of Perez would see him take precedence in the starting lineup.

The Spaniard has struggled of late for the Foxes and has seen his chances diminish with each passing season. This is particularly surprising given how the £45k-per-week dynamo started life after his £30m move from Newcastle United, with a respectable eight goals and four assists in the league.

However, it was on Tyneside where he truly excelled, especially in a strike partnership with Salomon Rondon.

The two quickly formed a deadly dynamic and terrorised plenty of Premier League defences with their physicality, work rate and clinical finishing.

As such, across 195 games for the Magpies, he scored 48 goals and assisted 17.

He could strike up a similar relationship with Rutter, who looked incredibly lively as he was welcomed to English football in the FA Cup. Against Accrington Stanley, he was successful in two of his three attempted dribbles, completed one key pass and, although he missed them, did well to fashion openings for two big chances (via Sofascore).

To add a tireless finisher like Perez beside the creativity of Rutter could be just as effective as the 29-year-old’s old partner in crime.

Always capable of producing something “special” – as lauded by Alan Pardew – his link-up with Rutter could be legendary in Jesse Marsch’s bid to ensure top-flight safety.

Newcastle United are believed to be leading the race to sign Everton forward, Anthony Gordon, with the Englishman seemingly trying to engineer an exit from Goodison Park before the end of the window.

What’s the word?

The Magpies have been chasing the 21-year-old in recent weeks – alongside Premier League rivals Chelsea – with the Toffees academy graduate having since irked his current club after failing to report for training in recent days.

CBS reporter Ben Jacobs – speaking in a Q & A on Twitter – has now provided his verdict on the youngster’s decision to try and force a move, with the respected journalist also stating that it is currently the Tynesiders who are at the front of the queue.

The transfer insider revealed: “Newcastle frontrunners at the moment. It’s a shame he’s missing training and trying to exit in this manner. He’s been frustrated in the past by Everton putting such a high price tag on him and now Lampard is gone he clearly wants to force a move.”

This comes amid a report from the Telegraph that suggested the Merseysiders may well be forced to lower their asking price to around £40m due to the player’s antics, with that figure seemingly set to be closer to the St James’ Park outfit’s own valuation.

Fraser 2.0

The one-time Preston North End loanee has clearly warranted such interest due to his on-field displays over the past year or so, having notably been dubbed “frightening” by pundit Paddy Kenny in the recent past.

That being said, despite the attraction of bringing in a figure who has three top-flight goals to his name this season, Eddie Howe and co may well be concerned at Gordon’s behaviour at his current club, having arguably shown a level of disrespect to take such drastic action in a bid to seal move elsewhere.

That may spark fears regarding the player’s attitude among those at Newcastle, with it far from ideal circumstances to secure the signing of a player who is enduring what appears to be a sour end to his time on Merseyside.

Such an acquisition could well evoke memories of the capture of Ryan Fraser back in the summer of 2020, with the Scotsman joining on a free transfer following an acrimonious climax to his seven-year stay at Bournemouth.

The former Aberdeen speedster had opted not to sign a short-term contract extension to help the Cherries – then managed by Howe – in their bid for survival during that Covid-disrupted 2019/20 campaign, having been fearful of sustaining an injury with his existing deal nearing its expiry.

As the player himself admitted, he got “battered” by fans and pundits alike as a result of the decision not to partake in that relegation dogfight at the Vitality Stadium, having been branded “disgraceful” by Dorset Live’s Daniel Davis.

Although it is difficult to determine whether that scenario had any bearing on Fraser’s subsequent struggles on Tyneside – with the 28-year-old currently tipped for a departure after scoring just three goals in 59 games to date – it was no doubt far from the ideal manner in which to end one club stint and begin another.

The fear will be that any negativity surrounding Gordon’s possible exit from Goodison could feed into his performances at St James’ Park if he is to seal a move before deadline day, with the Magpies hoping that the dynamic gem does not follow in Fraser’s footsteps and fail to make his mark at the club.

Arsenal are interested in a deal to bring Dusan Vlahovic to the Premier League in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian media outlet Calciomercato.it, who claim that, after being heavily linked with the centre-forward prior to his move to Juventus back in January of 2022, Mikel Arteta is once again interested in the Serbia international, with the Spaniard believed to be keen to bring the 22-year-old to The Emirates at the end of the current campaign.

However, the report goes on to suggest that Arsenal are not alone in their pursuit of the striker, with Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain also believed to be keeping a close eye on the situation of the forward – who the Bianconeri are thought to value at a figure in the region of €115m (£102m) to €120m (£106m).

Edu must move

Considering just how impressive Vlahovic has been in Italy in recent campaigns, the argument that the 22-year-old would be an unreal signing for the Islington outfit is an easy one to make.

Indeed, over his 36 Serie A appearances last season, the £80m-rated hitman was in breathtaking form, scoring an astonishing 24 goals, registering three assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 3.3 shots – 1.5 of which hit the target – making 0.8 key passes and completing 0.9 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the former Fiorentina attacker average a rather remarkable Sofascore match rating of 7.23, not only ranking him as Juve’s third-best performer in the league but also as the 17th-best player in the top flight of Italian football as a whole.

It has been a similar story over his ten league outings in the current campaign, with the £222k-per-week talent having already bagged six goals and provided one assist, as well as taking an average of 3.1 shots – 1.2 of which have been on target – making 1.1 key passes and completing 0.5 dribbles per match.

These metrics have seen the Serb who journalist Raj Chohan dubbed “unreal” and Carlo Garganese labelled a “monster” average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.15, not only ranking him as his club’s joint seventh-best performer in the division but also as the 31st-best player in Serie A as a whole.

As such, with Vlahovic undeniably being a centre-forward who knows how to hit the back of the net on an incredibly regular basis, should Arteta wish to maintain Arsenal’s position towards the top of the Premier League table in the seasons ahead, it would indeed appear wise for Edu to do everything he can to beat the likes of United, Chelsea and PSG to Vlahovic next summer.

Indeed, the devastating forward could just be an unreal addition to their ranks as the Londoners go in search of their first title triumph since 2004.

Manchester United are among the ‘main contenders’ to sign Atletico Madrid star and Arsenal target Joao Felix in January, reliable journalist David Ornstein has claimed.

The Lowdown: Felix linked with United move

The Portuguese superstar has fallen out of favour under Diego Simeone this season, being limited to only six starts in La Liga, despite his obvious talent.

Felix has been linked with a move to United in order to earn more minutes elsewhere, with Erik ten Hag potentially seeing him as an ideal January addition, given the ability to play up front or in various positions across the attack.

With the transfer window now open, it looks as though the Red Devils could be tussling with a Premier League rival for the 23-year-old’s services.

The Latest: Ornstein drops fresh update

Taking to Twitter on Monday, Ornstein claimed that United and Arsenal are the front-runners to snap up Felix:

“Atletico Madrid ready to loan Joao Felix – Man Utd & Arsenal main contenders at present. Both expressing firm interest in 23yo forward but at nowhere near €21m package Atleti currently want (€15m fee + €6m wages for 6 months).”

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The Verdict: Snap him up

While Felix isn’t necessarily the out-and-out striker that United are crying out for in January, the chance to sign him until the end of the season is still too good to ignore.

The youngster is a past winner of the European Golden Boy award, such is his quality, and he has been described as a ‘special’ player by Alvaro Morata and adored by Bruno Fernandes for both his ability and attitude.

Felix would add a sprinkling of magic to United’s attack, enhancing their top-four chances, and he is still perfectly capable of taking up a central role in between Marcus Rashford and Antony, even though he often plays as a No.10.