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Manchester City fans are far from happy after it was revealed Liam Delap has a significant injury, although it is not sure when he will return to the action.

Delap is a highly-rated youngster at the Etihad Stadium. Last term, he scored 30 goals in all competitions for the club’s development squad (Transfermarkt) and, with the departure of Sergio Aguero on a free transfer, there was hope in some quarters that he could break into the first-team squad and pick up some serious minutes.

However, he is yet to play a single minute for the senior side this term under Pep Guardiola, and he has now been dealt a further blow. As per EDS Coach Brian Barry-Murphy, the 18-year-old is on a list of several players who have significant injuries and it is not sure when he will be available.

The news was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

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

“Pain”

Credit: @Cancelocityv3

“citeh’s strikers are cursed.”

Credit: @CityzeNish_

“So unlucky”

Credit: @alexpaolo9

“Shame. I really thought he’d break through”

Credit: @mcfcjosh9320

“Pain, this was his proper opportunity before we go and sign a striker”

Credit: @MCFCAJ10

“don’t tell me his bones are made of glass as well”

Credit: @aalexariton

In other news, Man City fans react to this transfer news.

Aston Villa have received a ‘massive bonus’ ahead of their trip to Chelsea with the news that the European champions will be without a number of stars.

That’s according to former Sheffield United and Leeds goalkeeper Paddy Kenny, who was speaking to Football Insider.

The lowdown

Chelsea, who have won two and drawn one of their first three Premier League games, won’t be able to call upon N’Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic (both injured) or Reece James (suspended).

Villa are dealing with absentees of their own, though. Argentine pair Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia are unavailable for the clash at Stamford Bridge because of quarantine requirements.

Dean Smith’s men picked up a point in this fixture last season after Anwar El-Ghazi cancelled out Olivier Giroud’s opener.

The latest

Kenny says Villa’s chances have now considerably improved, and he reckons Dean Smith ‘will love’ the fact that he’s not the only manager dealing with injuries.

“Any team that has got that many players missing, it’ll be a massive bonus for the opposition.

“They have got a better chance of beating Chelsea now, but it’s still going to be a very tough game.

“With that many players out though, they’ll think they’ve got a shot at getting something from the game.

“I think especially with the players that Villa have got missing themselves, Dean Smith will love to see it.”

The verdict

The issue for Villa is that Chelsea have so much strength in depth. Matteo Kovacic can come in for N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Callum Hudson-Odoi can slot into wide roles and Cesar Azpilicueta may move into James’ position.

And, crucially, Romelu Lukaku has been cleared to play after an injury scare. There are few more daunting opponents in the Premier League than the Belgian no. 9.

In other news, fans loved this footage. 

Many Wolves fans have been left fuming as an update emerged on their game at home against Brentford in the Premier League at Saturday lunchtime.

As per the official website of the Premier League, Stuart Attwell has now been appointed as the VAR official for the match.

He has already caused controversy in a game earlier on in the season involving the Midlands club, as he failed to give them a penalty in their 1-0 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur, which was heavily ridiculed by some members of the Molineux faithful.

Attwell has also given more yellow cards and yellows leading to reds to the Wanderers over any other side in his career so far (Transfermarkt), suggesting that they have not had the best of luck whenever he has been officiating.

Wolves fans on Attwell news

These WWFC supporters were left fuming as the update involving Attwell was shared by Talking Wolves on their Twitter page:

“Omg Attwell on VAR AGAIN”

Credit: @Pinhead1210

“Mad VAR decision incoming then”

Credit: @chayward_9

“The PL are trolling us hard with Attwell on VAR”

Credit: @UltimateJeffShi

“Might as well unplug VAR now as it won’t be needed with that clown”

Credit: @Johnboy42370177

“What is it with us and Attwell on VAR?”

Credit: @Wrightgal80

“This making me feel Att-unwell”

Credit: @Tom_Parker12

In other news, find out which ‘powerhouse’ Wolves could sign in January here!

West Bromwich Albion secured their first win of the Championship season, as well as Valerien Ismael’s first league victory in charge of the club, with a 3-2 triumph over Luton Town on Saturday afternoon.

An early Kal Naismith own goal and a 36th minute Callum Robinson strike got Albion off to something of a perfect start in the fixture, before Karlan Grant scored what proved to be the match-winner midway through the second half.

Indeed, following Grant’s goal, Ismael’s side then appeared to take their foot off of the pedal, with Harry Cornick pulling one back for the Hatters before Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu made it a nervy final few minutes by adding a second for the visitors late on.

However, the Baggies ultimately managed to drag themselves over the line, although what could have been a confidence-building result against an impressive Luton side once again highlighted a few frailties within the Frenchman’s team.

One such frailty was on the left-hand side of the pitch, with Conor Townsend having something of an afternoon to forget at left wing-back.

Indeed, the 28-year-old failed to impress going forwards, completing just 55% of his passes, one of his two crosses, none of his six long balls whilst he took no shots at goal over his 90 minutes on the pitch.

The £14k-per-week man’s defensive statistics do not make much better reading, winning just four of his 10 duels – a percentage of just 40% – committing three fouls and losing possession of the ball a whopping 24 times.

These metrics saw the £1.8m-rated left-back earn a SofaScore match rating of 6.5, which was the worst of any West Brom player to start the fixture.

As such, with Ismael having signed Adam Reach this summer, a player who would appear more than capable of operating from left wing-back, should Townsend wish to keep his starting spot in the 45-year-old’s side, he will certainly have to up his game against Blackburn Rovers next week – if the 45-year-old sticks with him.

In other news: West Brom in the running for “phenomenal” £5k-p/w goal-machine, he’d be a huge coup

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore is keen on signing Nathaniel Mendez-Laing this summer, according to Dom Howson.

The Lowdown: Great summer for Sheff Wed

The Owls may have suffered relegation from the Championship last season, but there is real positivity in the air at the moment.

Not only do Wednesday top League One after four matches, winning three games and drawing the other, but they have also enjoyed a hugely productive summer, signing a host of new names.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

The Latest: Mendez-Laing interest confirmed

With deadline day approaching looming on Tuesday, the Owls’ business may not be done just yet, with Howson confirming Moore’s interest in free agent Mendez-Laing, in a Q&A for Yorkshire Live:

“I know he is someone that was mentioned to Wednesday earlier in the summer. I am led to believe that Moore likes him as a player. “The difficulty with all free agents is how long it will take to get them up to match speed. Mendez-Laing, for instance, has not got a pre-season under his belt so you could be looking at anywhere between six to eight weeks to get him fully fit and firing.”

Mendez-Laing spent last season at Middlesbrough, making just two Championship starts, and the 29-year-old may be desperate for a new challenge.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Another exciting addition

While Wednesday aren’t necessarily in desperate need of any more signings, bringing in Mendez-Laing can only help increase competition for places in wide areas.

The Englishman has a wealth of Championship experience, not to mention making 20 Premier League appearances for Cardiff City back in 2018/19.

It could be a shrewd addition, especially as no fee would be required to sign him.

In other news, one Sheff Wed player has been tipped to join the Owls on a permanent move. Find out who it is here.

Sam Inkersole insists that West Ham United want to sign a striker with Premier League experience this summer.

The Hammers have yet to bring in a new forward this summer, with Michail Antonio the only senior striker in the squad.

With David Moyes’ side preparing for a campaign that will include Europa League football, one has to imagine that the club will be desperate to bring in a new striker.

They have been linked with a number of potential acquisitions up front, including Slavia Prague’s Abdallah Sima, and Barcelona forward Martin Braithwaite.

But Inkersole, who covered West Ham for Football.London and now covers Chelsea, believes that the club will want to bring in a player of the ilk of Tammy Abraham and Danny Ings, who have scored goals in the English top-flight.

However, he is unsure if either player, of Chelsea and Southampton respectively, would be willing to make the move to the Irons this summer.

Speaking to Football FanCast, Inkersole said: “I think West Ham would ideally like to bring in a striker that knows the Premier League and has scored goals in the Premier League, like Tammy Abraham, Danny Ings, someone like that.

“Whether they would move to West Ham, I don’t know.”

Alan Nixon has provided an update on Sunderland’s pursuit of Dennis Cirkin. 

What’s the talk?

The Sun’s Alan Nixon has revealed when Sunderland are expected to finalise the signing of Dennis Cirkin from Tottenham. Nixon has claimed that the Black Cats will complete a deal for the young defender on today.

This comes after Football Insider reported earlier this week that Cirkin has agreed a four-year contract with Sunderland ahead of a permanent switch from the Premier League club.

Fans will be delighted

Supporters should be excited by the prospect of this signing. At the age of 19, Cirkin is not arriving at the Stadium of Light as a ready-made League One superstar, who is guaranteed to be the best right-back in the division. He is, however, coming in with the promise and the potential to develop into that type of player.

The full-back once earned high praise from Jose Mourinho, who claimed that he has a ‘lot of quality’ and admitted that he wanted to work with him on the training pitch. He said:

“OK, he’s 17, but he’s a kid with a lot of quality, and I look forward to bringing him to train with us and to help his development.”

This shows how highly he was thought of at Tottenham, suggesting that there is untapped potential in Cirkin. It will now be down to Lee Johnson to ensure that he can unlock that to maximise the quality he can provide.

AND in other news, Forget Pritchard: Sunderland dynamo with 85% pass accuracy stole the show for Johnson…

It’s ‘by no means a certainty’ that Andre Gomes will leave Everton in this summer’s transfer window, The Athletic’s Greg O’Keeffe reports. 

The lowdown

The Liverpool Echo claimed last week that Liga NOS outfit Benfica had enquired about the possibility of signing Gomes. For Everton, it’s a move which could ‘help free up vital space in the wage bill’.

According to Spotrac, Gomes is the third-highest earner on the club’s books, taking home just over £112,000 per week. Only Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne, two other former Barcelona players, earn more.

Everton paid £22m to sign Gomes permanently at the end of a loan spell in 2018/19. He still has three years left on the deal he penned.

The 27-year-old played 28 Premier League games under Carlo Ancelotti last season and averaged 1.3 tackles, 1.1 dribbles and two accurate long balls per match (via WhoScored).

The latest

O’Keeffe says that Ancelotti’s successor Rafael Benitez is keen to ‘give everyone a fair chance’ to prove themselves and, as such, has yet to reach a verdict on whether he wants Gomes to be part of his squad.

However, the report does caution that more ‘high-earning low contributors’ will have to be sold during the window following the departure of Bernard. At present, Gomes’ value stands at £15m.

The verdict

If Everton truly want to become consistent qualifiers for Europe, the revolution must start from within. They need to shed the players who simply haven’t delivered, and Gomes – who has just one goal from 81 appearances for the club – is among them.

These sales could then fund genuinely impactful additions, building on the success the Toffees enjoyed last summer with Ben Godfrey, Abdoulaye Doucoure, James Rodriguez and Allan.

If Benitez wants to leave a bigger mark than his predecessors in the Goodison Park dugout, than he’ll have to be ruthless in trimming his squad.

In other news, many Everton fans lauded this significant Denise Barrett-Baxendale news.

Many Crystal Palace fans are excited after the club tweeted comments from Steve Parish detailing the plans that he, sporting director Dougie Freedman and new manager Patrick Vieira have in terms of signing players this summer.

Relief will likely engulf large parts of southeast London following conformation that former Arsenal captain Vieira is the new manager at Selhurst Park [BBC], coming almost two months after Roy Hodgson stepped aside [cpfc.co.uk].

Looking ahead, the Palace recruitment team will have a job on their hands building a successful team ahead of the new season, owing to the departure of 22 first team players detailed within the Eagles’ retained list at the start of June [The Sun].

Nevertheless, Crystal Palace chairman and part-owner Steve Parish has whetted the appetite of many supporters as he looks to positively influence transfer proceedings.

As per the club’s Twitter channel, he outlined: “We have a lot to do to prepare in the coming weeks and I look forward to working closely with Patrick and Dougie in bringing in some new faces to help us all to a successful season.”

In light of these comments, loads of Palace supporters took to Twitter to express their delight at what Parish had to say.

Crystal Palace fans react

Taking to Twitter, here is how some supporters reacted to the chairman’s promise:

“Tell Steve I am still willing to buy everything in the club shop including the wireless speaker (currently on sale), if Palace re-sign Bolasie.”

Credit: @RomfordRoger”This could be really exciting”Credit: @Cklar”We have some exciting youngsters at the club hoping at least 3 make the squad”Credit: @Vinceeagled”And here we go”Credit: @TalkCPFC”Major changes were needed, nice work Steve.”Credit: @SelhurstJon”Faith in Parish, once some decent signings come in the positivity will come back”Credit: @CPFCLomadzIn other news, these Crystal Palace fans react to their 2021/22 away kit launch.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered a new update on Leeds United’s transfer plans for the rest of the summer window.

What’s the story?

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have already clinched the permanent signings of Junior Firpo and Jack Harrison this summer to strengthen the first team, along with the addition of Amari Miller to help reinforce the academy.

Taking to Twitter, Hay has now outlined:

Leeds fans will be excited

Having quickly addressed the most glaring issue of bringing in a natural left-back – a position made all the more pressing given Gjanni Alioski’s departure from Elland Road this summer – Leeds have made a good start to the transfer window thus far.

Bielsa’s side enjoyed a superb first campaign back in the Premier League in 2020/21, finishing in the top ten, and will no doubt be looking to take another step forward when the new season rolls around next month.

Hay’s update that the Whites still view bringing in a new central midfielder as a “priority” is welcome news, especially when you consider that Leeds may be without Kalvin Phillips for the opening few of the new season given his Euro 2020 exertions with England. You only have to look at last year’s record of just two wins in the eight Premier League games that he missed to see how influential he is.

Add to that, the prospect of bringing in a winger later on in the window, just like they did last year with Raphinha, is equally exciting, especially if they can land a bargain like the Brazilian.

It’s exactly why Leeds fans may well be excited with this update from the reliable Hay.

Meanwhile, Adam Pope has dropped an exciting Leeds United update…