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Arsenal fans have taken to Twitter to react after the club was linked with a move for Sevilla midfielder Ever Banega, as reported by The Mirror.

The Argentina international worked under Unai Emery during their time together with the Spanish side, winning the Europa League, and now the Gunners boss is keen to be reunited with the 30-year-old yet again – Emery also coached Banega at Valencia.

Banega reportedly has a £17m release clause and is the north London-based club’s preferred choice to replace Aaron Ramsey – a deal could not be struck in January, however, due to a lack of funds in north London (as per the aforementioned report).

Arsenal are in need of a new midfielder after losing Welsh international Ramsey to Juventus. However, with Banega turning 31 in June, perhaps the ageing midfielder is not the right solution for the Gunners.

Let’s see how Arsenal supporters reacted on Twitter to the news concerning Banega…

Sunderland took the ultimate smash-and-grab from their match against Gillingham this afternoon, winning 1-0 and taking all three points as they now go unbeaten in their last five games, climbing back into the play-off positions in League One, one point ahead of Oxford United.

Despite having 80% possession, 25 shots, eight corners and three big chances, the Black Cats could not convert any of their opportunities against their stubborn opponents at the sunny Stadium of Light this afternoon within the regulation 90 minutes.

It was only when 69th-minute substitute Nathan Broadhead nodded the ball past the Gills goalkeeper from a cross delivered into the box by Elliot Embleton in the fifth minute of added time that Sunderland finally broke their stalemate, stealing all three points and an important win in their pursuit for promotion this year.

One player who had one of his worst performances in a Sunderland shirt this season was the current League One top scorer Ross Stewart, who dropped an absolute stinker in front of the home fans and almost cost Alex Neil’s side an important win with his complete lack of attacking output against the Gills.

According to SofaScore, Stewart was rated the worst player on the pitch (6.0) and with good reason, considering that his team had 25 shots and he didn’t have a single one on or off target throughout the day. He also lost 89% of his ground and aerial duels combined, failed with 100% of his dribbles and only had 25 touches of the ball.

The 25-year-old – who was hailed a “handful” by former Ross County boss Stuart Kettlewell – has scored 22 goals and contributed four assists in 39 appearances for his team in League One this season, so it was clearly just one of those off-days for the forward, who has scored more than anybody else in the league and recently earned his first call-up to the senior Scotland side for their international friendlies.

Sunderland are now in a great position to secure a second chance at promotion into the Championship after moving up to sixth this afternoon, just two points behind Sheffield Wednesday, and Alex Neil will be hoping that his side can continue their unbeaten run over their last six games of the season. Stewart will quickly need to put this uncharacteristic off-day behind him, though.

In other news: Sunderland will have nightmares over “surprise” 18-year-old, he’s the new Harry Kane

As per reliable club insider ExWHUemployee, it appears West Ham United are eyeing a Championship raid as he shares news on Derby County defender Lee Buchanan.

The Lowdown: West Ham take to January?

Manager David Moyes has confirmed that he wishes to be active in the January transfer market amid a defensive injury crisis at the London Stadium with both Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma sidelined.

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The Scotsman, casting one eye on the winter window, also says that he’s already been receiving offers from agents concerning players with the club and new head of recruitment Rob Newman potentially set to get searching.

England’s second tier could be one fruitful source of incomings, with 90min claiming that West Ham have sent scouts to watch Middlesbrough defender Dael Fry, QPR mainstay Rob Dickie and Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly.

As per ExWHUemployee, it appears the Irons could also turn to Derby specifically amid their financial problems.

The Latest: West Ham eye Buchanan…

According to his information, as shared on the West Ham Way website, there is a ‘firm interest’ from Moyes and co in defender Buchanan alongside Jason Knight and Max Bird.

The Rams’ financial situation means Derby are ‘likely to offload players’, leading to West Ham eyeing a move for Buchanan as well as Knight and Bird.

The Verdict: Move for Buchanan…

The 20-year-old defender arguably sticks out among this crop of Derby players when it comes to potential and how he could thrive at West Ham, so we would strongly advise the club to make a move.

Wayne Rooney has already waxed lyrical over the Englishman, calling him ‘one of the best young left-backs in the country’ who can ‘go to another level’ (Ryan Conway).

Also calling the player ‘incredible’, Rooney believes Buchanan is destined for a senior international call up within a couple of years – lofty praise from a Premier League legend.

As current left-back Aaron Cresswell slowly approaches the twilight phase of his career at 31, we believe the Rams ace could be a tailor-made replacement.

In other news: Moyes dealt worrying news as ‘another big injury blow’ comes out of West Ham, find out more here.

Reliable transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed the latest on Everton left-back Lucas Digne’s future at Goodison Park with the Frenchman heavily linked with an exit this window.

What’s the story?

Romano has confirmed that Digne will be leaving the Merseyside club this month, tweeting: “Lucas Digne will leave Everton, never been in doubt. Three Premier League clubs interested, next week will be key.”

Digne has been linked with a handful of Premier League clubs, including the aforementioned Newcastle and Chelsea, after falling out with Everton manager Rafa Benitez.

The quarrel has meant that the 28-year-old hasn’t played a minute of football for the Toffees since their 4-1 home derby defeat to Liverpool on 1 December.

The left-back has also reportedly requested for the Merseyside club to allow him to leave Goodison Park this window.

Everton fans will be sweating

Since arriving in the North-West three-and-a-half years ago from Barcelona, Digne has become a fan favourite on the blue side of Merseyside and Everton fans will be gutted to see him depart if a move is able to materialise.

Benitez has been able to bring a replacement in already with 22-year-old Ukrainian left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko joining from Dinamo Kyiv last week.

However, Toffees supporters haven’t been pleased by the breakdown of the manager and Digne’s relationship, with Everton columnist Michael Ball making his feelings towards the situation known after Everton lost 3-2 to Brighton last weekend, stating:

“One of the most baffling decisions Rafa Benitez made for Everton’s defeat to Brighton was selecting Lucas Digne as an unused substitute.

“We’ve got a current international for world champions France in the squad but he’s not in the team.

“Rafa’s stubbornness has once again backfired on him. It’s not the first time it’s happened, he’s done this at previous clubs.

“He’s putting his own pride above the health of our football club. I think from this moment, the fans have now lost trust in him.”

This decision, among many others made by the Spaniard since being appointed in the summer has led to discontent among the Goodison faithful.

Digne’s imminent exit is made all the worse by Mykolenko’s shaky first showing this weekend, being dribbled past twice, losing possession 22 times and completing just 67% of his passes on debut.

As a result, the club’s fanbase will undoubtedly be sweating over the situation even more.

In other news, Everton have been linked with this well-known forward…

Glasgow Rangers simply got the job done at home to Livingston on Wednesday night with a 1-0 win at Ibrox thanks to a late goal from Scott Arfield.

It was enough to give them all three points in the end, thus keeping them firmly in the driving seat for another Premiership title.

Some of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team may have been left disappointed with their own individual performances though, and The Transfer Tavern have used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst performers (to have played at least 45 minutes) were for the hosts on the night:

Glen Kamara (6.9)

Admittedly jointly-rated with Calvin Bassey, James Sands and Alex Lowry in terms of rating (6.9), Kamara ranks in third here as Sands did not finish the game, Bassey ultimately kept a clean sheet as a central defender, and Lowry is an 18-year-old who made his first appearance in the Premiership.

As for Kamara, he did not boss the midfield as he usually does, losing out on eight of his duels in total – the joint-highest out of his team-mates – while he also made no clearances or interceptions.

The Finland international was also guilty of losing possession of the ball 14 times, the fifth-most out of any Rangers player, as per SofaScore.

Scott Wright (6.8)

Wright ranks second with a 6.8 rating given by SofaScore.

The winger lost five duels and failed to record a single successful dribble, while he was also unsuccessful with three of his four crosses and lost possession 13 times in total.

On top of those figures, some members of the Ibrox faithful were particularly critical of his performance on the night.

Cedric Itten (6.7)

With a 6.7 overall rating, Itten was ranked as the Light Blues’ worst player of those who featured for 45 minutes or more.

The striker was beaten in four of his six duels and never managed a shot on target, while he also gave the ball away six times, as per SofaScore.

With the likes of Kemar Roofe on the bench and Alfredo Morelos to come back, he may now find his starting place under threat.

In other news, find out what team news was lauded by these Gers fans

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst must avoid a major transfer mistake as no fewer than nine of his players are set to leave Ibrox for free in the summer upon the expiration of their contracts, one of these being goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

What’s the story?

The Gers have nine first-team players with contracts that are set to expire next summer, including first-choice goalkeeper Allan McGregor. Should any of these players fail to sign a contract extension before January, they will be allowed to speak to other clubs and sign a pre-contract agreement before joining for free in the summer.

The likes of McGregor, Steven Davis, Connor Goldson, Leon Balogun and Scott Arfield are all players with deals due to finish in June 2022.

It’s a major issue for the Dutch manager who will have to make a decision on the immediate futures of nine players, particularly ‘keeper McGregor who has been instrumental at Ibrox.

Rangers must keep McGregor

Despite being 39-years-old, McGregor is still one of the Scottish champions’ key players, having kept eight clean sheets in 21 appearances across all competitions this season.

Furthermore, the £13k-per-week Scotsman was instrumental in the Glasgow club’s title charge last season, keeping 16 clean sheets in 24 Premiership appearances – 67% of his games.

The goalkeeper has received plenty of praise whilst at Rangers, particularly of late when Livingstone manager David Martindale labelled McGregor as “fantastic” after the Scotsman had made a “game-changing save” against his side.

If McGregor, who was dubbed a “great servant” by Kevin Phillips, was to leave Ibrox after joining from Hull City in 2018, then 34-year-old back-up Jon McLaughlin may be given a look in, or the Gers would look to purchase a new first-choice ‘keeper. Regardless, Rangers will need to buy a new goalkeeper if the 39-year-old was to leave.

A pivotal member of van Bronckhorst’s squad, the Scottish champions should look to keep McGregor on the books for at least one more season and then seek out a suitable replacement. Losing him now, especially when he’s still so important, would unquestionably be a blunder by the club’s Dutch manager.

AND in other news, “Pretty sure”: Athletic journo drops big Rangers transfer update that’ll delight fans…

With Southampton losing their two previous league games and conceding six goals in the process since the last international break, it seems as though the Saints could be forced into doing some business in the January transfer market to see if they can strengthen their squad.

Taking into account how Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have games coming up against Leicester City, Arsenal, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur coming up in December, if the Saints continue to struggle to pick up points, January could be their chance to bring in a player that could turn their fortunes around.

With this in mind, it seems as though the south coast club already have their eye on someone that has the potential to make a big difference at St. Mary’s.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from The Sun, Southampton are interested in signing Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton Diaz.

However, the report also claims that it may not be quite so simple for the Saints to sign the Championship star with Spanish club Sevilla apparently leading the race to sign Brereton Diaz, who Blackburn would reportedly want a fee of £20m for.

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Armstrong 2.0

Brereton Diaz originally joined Blackburn on a loan deal from fellow Championship club Nottingham Forest in the 2018 summer transfer window before signing on a permanent deal in January 2019.

Overall, the 22-year-old, who is currently valued at £9m according to Transfermarkt, has made 109 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 25 goals and providing ten assists along the way.

Labelled as an “elite” player by Forest’s director of football development Gary Brazil, Brereton Diaz has shown this season why the likes of Sevilla and Southampton are after him, by scoring 16 goals in 20 Championship appearances.

With only Norwich City (7) having managed to concede fewer goals than Southampton (11) so far this term it seems that the club could do with someone with Brereton Diaz’s goalscoring prowess in their side to make sure they don’t fall into a relegation battle during the second half of the season.

January would be a great opportunity for Gao Jisheng to replicate the same sort of transfer deal Southampton managed to complete in the summer when they signed Adam Armstrong from the same side, Blackburn, to give Hasenhuttl some extra firepower in his squad.

The former Rovers striker signed for the south coast side after his own goalscoring exploits in Lancashire, bagging 29 last campaign.

In other news: Ralph can unearth Southampton’s new van Dijk in £9m-rated tank, he’s a “big talent” – opinion

Flocking to Twitter, lots of Manchester City fans are buzzing over reports that Ajax manager Erik ten Hag is one of the names in the frame to succeed Pep Guardiola when the latter’s contract expires.

City fans will be struggling to picture life without Guardiola following the most successful period in the club’s history. During his five-and-a-half year stay at the Etihad Stadium, the Catalan native has lifted 10 trophies, having won every domestic competition on offer in England.

Therefore, it is undeniable that Guardiola has created a legacy in City’s history, and he will duly go down as one of the greatest managers of the Premier League era, having won the division three times and currently on course for a fourth title.

However, the possibility of him leaving the club could soon become a reality, as the 51-year-old’s contract is set to expire in the summer of 2023. With Guardiola’s contract now into its final 18 months, City have been drawing up a list of potential successors to replace him.

Man City fans want Ten Hag

Independent fan page City Xtra shared the news from Simon Mullock of The Mirror, which claimed that one of the names being spoken about as a potential successor to Guardiola is Ajax boss Erik ten Hag.

The Dutchman was in charge of Bayern Munich’s reserve teams when the current City boss was in first team charge at the Allianz Arena, while in Amsterdam he has won five trophies and led his team to the brink of the Champions League final in 2019.

As a result, many City supporters shared their excitement at the news from Mullock, with many fans hailing Ten Hag as the perfect replacement for Guardiola.

Here’s what some of them had to say:

“Only him. Not Potter, Not Arteta. Nobody else”

Credit: @MoSakoooo

“Let’s go. Another person to reject United and come to us. Manchester is blue”

Credit: @MCFC_BEN04

“Only one I would probably be happy with tbh”

Credit: @Cameron_MCFC_

“Bald for bald replacement. Don’t mind if I do (pls extend though Pep)”

Credit: @7Mcfcmax

“exactly what I want”

Credit: @Stonesologist_

“He would be a great fit after Pep’s departure”

Credit: @viveketernal

In other news: ‘We can reveal…’ – Sky Sports share live TV transfer development out of Man City

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Konrad Laimer, according to emerging reports…

What’s the word?

German outlet Sport Bild claim the 24-year-old’s performances for RB Leipzig this season have caught the eye of several Premier League teams, including the north Londoners.

It’s thought that the Austria international originally caught the eye of Spurs scouts during their two-legged Champions League clash in 2020 and he has remained on the radar ever since.

Laimer will soon enter the final 12 months of his current contract, though the Bundesliga outfit are keen to tie him down to an extension but that will not happen until the end of the season, and the player himself has left his future open to interpretation.

Bye-bye Winks

You’d imagine that a move for any new midfield option would push Harry Winks even further down the pecking order and it could even lead to his inevitable departure.

He’s currently sat behind winter signing Rodrigo Bentancur, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp under manager Antonio Conte.

Leeds United reportedly rejected the chance to sign the Englishman on loan during the January transfer window, whilst Football Insider pundit Alan Hutton has urged Winks to leave his boyhood club for the benefit of his career.

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“If he can’t get into that side, he’s got to move on,” he said.

Despite being lauded as a “reliable” option by the Italian head coach, Laimer would be a considerable upgrade and would offer better suitability to the system in north London.

Aside from his passing ability, Winks offers very little to Spurs, whether that’s defensively or in the attack.

As per FBRef, he’s averaged only 1.61 tackles and 1.43 interceptions per 90 throughout the course of his domestic league career at the Lilywhites, which is fewer than that of Laimer (4.8 tackles and interceptions per 90) during his time in Saxony.

Elsewhere, Winks is lacking in the final third, averaging only 0.73 dribbles, 0.74 penalty box entries and 4.69 pressures per 90, leading to a disappointing xG+A of 0.08.

Thus, the £91k-per-week midfielder is effectively just passing the ball sideways and backwards without really getting involved defensively or in the attack either.

By comparison, the £23.4m-rated Laimer – who bagged his fourth and fifth goals of the season at the weekend – is a world apart, averaging 0.2 xG+A, 1.05 penalty box entries, 1.4 successful dribbles and 9.94 pressures per 90 across the course of his Bundesliga career, also via FBRef.

Once as “incredibly aggressive on the ball” by his former boss Adi Hutter and compared to former Conte star N’Golo Kante, Laimer would appear to suit the Italian’s system down to a tee as he expects that sort of energy and work rate in the engine room at all times, especially when there’s just the two players.

‘Dirty work’ could be his middle name, according to Bundesliga.com, and that’s not something you’d associate with Winks, so perhaps this move could see the Spurs boss finally axe the long-serving, struggling academy graduate.

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold drops Sergio Reguilon update…

Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane believes his career at the club ‘is over’ and is looking at his next move, as per journalist Nathan Hemmingham.

The Lowdown: Hourihane’s 2021

The Irishman, who was called ‘excellent’ by Steve Cooper earlier this year, has spent the majority of 2021 out on loan.

Hourihane joined Cooper’s Swansea City side in the January transfer window and almost helped them earn promotion to the Premier League, making 22 league appearances in south Wales as they reached the Championship play-off final.

The 30-year-old returned to the Midlands over the summer and made one appearance in the Carabao Cup before joining Sheffield United on a temporary basis. He has lined out 11 times for the Blades so far, with his Villa contract expiring in the summer of 2022.

The Latest: Villa Park career over

Yorkshire Live reporter Hemmingham posted a link to an interview with Hourihane on Twitter on Friday afternoon, with the midfielder apparently believing that his Villa Park career ‘is over’.

The Republic of Ireland midfielder now thought to be eyeing a permanent move to Bramall Lane, with Paul Heckingbottom now the man in charge.

The journalist tweeted: “Conor Hourihane says he has resigned himself to the fact his Villa career is over and is now playing for his future elsewhere, having worked with PH before, he would love to earn a permanent deal here next season”.

The Verdict: All good things must come to an end…

Hourihane has been a terrific servant to Villa after joining from Barnsley back in 2017, making 151 appearances in claret and blue. However, a permanent exit is now inevitable with his contract up at the end of the season and his limited Villa game-time since they returned to the Premier League

The midfielder made 46 appearances in Villa’s promotion-winning campaign of 2018/19, and while he has probably played for the club for the last time, his contribution in getting them back into the top flight should not be forgotten. Alas, all good things must come to an end.

In other news: Gerrard offered ‘aggressive’ versatile beast in Jan; Villa yet to dismiss idea.