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Aston Villa youngster Keinan Davis still has a bright future at the club despite a lack of playing time recently, according to journalist Luke Hatfield.

The Lowdown: Davis struggling for playing time

The 23-year-old is yet to make an appearance for Villa’s senior team this season, having fallen down the pecking order under Dean Smith.

Davis could have left Villa Park on loan in the summer but ended up staying put, and it could be that a temporary exit in January makes sense.

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The Latest: Hatfield provides key update

Despite Davis’ career stalling a little in recent times, Hatfield believes that he still has plenty to offer at Aston Villa.

Speaking to Give Me Sport, the journalist claimed that Villa think highly of the striker and that his opportunity to become a key figure could arise in the future, tipping him to possibly join Nottingham Forest on loan. Hatfield said:

“Aston Villa have high hopes for Keinan Davis, regardless of whether they send him out on loan or not.

“They just want to make sure he gets the time on the pitch and hopefully he develops into the football player that is potentially there to be.

“So, I’m sure Villa will be looking at teams that play a similar style, and it seems like Nottingham Forest would work out pretty well.”

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The Verdict: Persevere with him

At 23, Davis isn’t necessarily an up-and-coming player anymore, but there is still lots of time for him to develop as a footballer and become more polished.

A loan move away could do him the world of good, allowing him to pick up confidence and get minutes under his belt before returning to Villa next summer.

Jack Grealish once described his former Villa team-mate as ‘unplayable’, which speaks to how much ability Davis appears to have, so hopefully the striker will be able to forge out a stable future under Smith.

In other news, some Villa fans have reacted to an image of one player. Find out who it is here.

With a heavily changed team from the XI that started their 5-0 bashing of Manchester United last weekend, Liverpool managed to get past Championship club Preston North End by a scoreline of 2-0 in the Carabao Cup last night thanks to goals from Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi.

Despite managing to progress through to the next stage of the competition and keep a clean sheet in the process, one player that we feel didn’t cover himself in glory in midweek for the Reds was left-back Kostas Tsimikas, who came in for Andy Robertson.

The defender, who started the match at Deepdale and played the full 90 minutes, managed to make just one clearance and one interception, got dribbled past on three occasions, won just three of the 10 duels he was involved in, lost possession 21 times and only managed to complete one of the eight crosses he attempted, ultimately earning himself an overall match rating of 6.6, making him one of the lowest-rated Liverpool players on the day according to SofaScore.

This says to us that Tsimikas let Jurgen Klopp down somewhat after the German showed enough faith in him to start against Preston as well as proving himself to be a bit of a lightweight given the poor defensive statistics he racked up.

So far this season, Tsimikas, who has been described in the past as a “dangerous” player by Reds journalist David Hughes, has made seven appearances for Liverpool across all competitions, starting five of them.

Liverpool signed the defender back in the 2020 summer transfer window from Greek club Olympiacos for a reported fee of £11.75m.

Last season saw the 25-year-old, who is currently valued at £9m according to Transfermarkt, make just seven appearances for the Reds.

Moving forward, with Liverpool set to take on Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday, Robertson shouldn’t have any concerns about Tsimikas taking his place in the starting XI at the weekend given the level of performance he put in against Preston.

Looking ahead beyond that, we feel that Tsimikas will have to improve on what he delivered on Wednesday whenever he gets another opportunity to play in Klopp’s side, or else he could find his playing opportunities limited as time goes on.

In other news: FSG could land LFC’s next Henderson in 18 y/o “huge talent”, fans should be excited – opinion

Franck Kessie and Marcelo Brozovic are amongst the players named on new Tottenham manager Antonio Conte’s six-man shortlist ahead of the January transfer window, according to Sportmediaset.

The Lowdown: Conte plots January moves

Conte has been brought in (The Athletic) to replace Nuno Espirito Santo, who was sacked as Spurs manager after the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.

There are no shortage of areas in the Spurs squad which need improvement, with Harry Kane struggling for goals and no adequate back-up behind him, while the defence has conceded 16 goals in their first 10 Premier League games. To put that number into perspective, 18th-placed Burnley have let in the same amount.

The Italian is seemingly already preparing for the January transfer window, and he has drawn up a shortlist as a result.

The Latest: Six-man list revealed

According to the reports from Italy, the new gaffer has drawn up a six-man list of potential targets to buff up his squad.

Dusan Vlahovic, Franck Kessie, Marcelo Brozovic, Alessandro Bastoni, Stefan de Vrij and Manuel Lazzari make up the alleged list.

Of course, Conte and Fabio Paratici worked together in Italy to great success, winning the league title with Juventus, so it is no surprise to see the pair shopping in their homeland.

The Verdict: What he knows

While Conte did win the Premier League with Chelsea, it is in Italy where he really made his name. He has won Serie A with both Juventus and Inter Milan, massively upsetting the former’s long run of dominance with the latter, while he also coached the Italian national team to a European Championships quarter-final in 2016.

As such, he knows the players in his homeland inside out, and it is not surprise to see him look at what he knows. He even coached three of them at Inter in Brozovic, Bastoni and de Vrij.

There is some real talent there, as well, with the former of that trio having featured in a World Cup final, while £49.5m-valued Kessie (Transfermarkt) for example has been labelled as “devastating” by Antonio Cassano (via Sempre Milan).

Whether he will be able to pick up all or some of them in the next window remains to be seen, but with a reported £150m transfer budget, he is likely to be able to give it a good go.

In other news, the numbers of Conte’s contract have been revealed.

Rangers have identified Zander Clark as a potential replacement for Allan McGregor, according to The Daily Record. 

The lowdown

McGregor’s contract expires at the end of the season, and there’s a possibility that the 39-year-old will choose to retire.

The ‘magnificent’ veteran has already established himself as an Ibrox legend, with Steven Gerrard declaring him ‘one of Rangers’ best ever’ goalkeepers. Last season, he was named SPFL Player of the Year for his part in the club’s unbeaten run to the Premiership title.

Meanwhile, the £405,000-rated Clark has racked up 140 appearances in the Scottish top flight, keeping 49 clean sheets (via Transfermarkt), and St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson labelled him  ‘phenomenal’ last month.

The latest

The Daily Record’s report states that Rangers are ‘closely’ monitoring Clark’s contract situation, as his current deal is up in the summer, raising the prospect of a free transfer.

St Johnstone have initiated talks over an extension, but the Gers, along with a number of second and third-tier English clubs, are circling.

Clark is one of the ‘keepers that Rangers believe could compete with Jon McLaughlin and Robby McCrorie if McGregor decides to move on or hang up his gloves for good.

The verdict

Clark has earned a call-up to the Scotland squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers, a testament to his impressive form. Indeed, Rangers know first-hand just how good he is after he made two penalty shoot-out saves to deny them a place in the Scottish Cup semi-finals last season.

However, you could question the wisdom of having three goalkeepers compete for the one place, which is seemingly Rangers’ intention, rather than having an established first-choice with two reliable deputies. Also, if Clark is to swap Perth for Glasgow, he might not be content with continually being rotated in and out of the team.

In other news, how does Steven Gerrard feel about possibly taking the Aston Villa job? 

Tottenham Hotspur’s biggest problem has been their lack of creativity in midfield but new manager Antonio Conte may have already repeated one of Nuno Santo’s most fatal mistakes at the club.

The Portuguese was axed just four months into his reign in north London as his side looked fruitless and uninspiring in attack, and whilst that’s something that won’t be solved overnight, the Italian is doing himself no favours.

In his first Premier League game in charge of the club, Spurs failed to register a shot on target, making it nearly four hours since they achieved such a feat.

Their last goal in the English top-flight came five hours ago – Heung-min Son’s strike right on half-time in the 3-2 victory over Newcastle United at St James’ Park. Yes, it really was that long ago.

The Lilywhites still rank bottom for average number of shots per game (10.1) across the entire division. Even the bottom three are managing more attempts, whilst their expected goals ratio of 11.43 xG is amongst the five worst teams.

Ultimately, it is these gross returns that cost Nuno his job so soon.

Conte has clearly changed the system, utilising a three-man defence and two attacking wing-backs but the problem seemingly still lies in the final third, as evident with their lack of returns against the Toffees.

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It could well boil down to the engine room, where the 52-year-old is selecting the same pivot as Nuno, a defensively-minded duo of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp, leaving two inside-forwards or a solitary no.10 to make up the difference.

Both players are arguably two of their best, certainly the former, who currently ranks first in the squad for average WhoScored rating – proving his consistency.

But both are most definitely defensive players, having averaged at least 2.3 tackles and no more than 0.5 key passes each per game.

It’s going to be hard for Spurs to create much going forward with both playing alongside each other, especially if the opposition nullifies either of Sergio Reguilon or Emerson Royal.

Conte would be better off deploying one of the two and then handing the other two spots to any of Tanguy Ndombele, Dele Alli, Giovani Lo Celso or even Lucas Moura in an advanced position.

It’s a scenario that the Italian tactician will be able to test out this weekend when Spurs return to action, hosting Leeds United on Sunday, as the England U21 international is suspended.

Conte will have a hard task at changing the team’s fortunes up top if he persists with both Hojbjerg and Skipp in the same side.

AND in other news, “Tottenham are willing”: Journo drops exciting transfer claim, fans will be buzzing…

Celtic are once again looking at moves for Bodø/Glimt midfielder Patrick Berg and Urawa Red Diamonds forward Kasper Junker ahead of the January window, according to Celtic Underground.

The Lowdown: Summer links

As we know, the Hoops were extremely busy over the summer in terms of incomings and outgoings, with attackers Kyogo Furuhashi and Jota starring in Glasgow.

However, Celtic’s only senior midfield addition, James McCarthy, has struggled for game-time under Ange Postecoglou, whereas Giorgos Giakoumakis has had his fitness and injury issues.

Two men who were linked with a Parkhead switch over the last 12 months are Berg and Junker, and it seems as if they could be on the Hoops’ radar once again ahead of the winter window.

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The Latest: ‘Apparently’…

Celtic Underground took to Twitter late on Tuesday evening, claiming that Berg and Junker are two players being looked at once again. They tweeted: “Patrick Berg and Kasper Junker being looked at again apparently.”

Norway international Berg has played primarily as a defensive midfielder this season, whereas Junker has already scored 16 goals for his new club after only moving to Japan in April in a deal worth £1.89m, with both players out of contract in December 2022.

The Verdict: Interesting…

You’d expect that interim Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson will know all about the pair following their respective transfer links over the summer, so this latest update is certainly an interesting one.

Kieran Devlin claimed earlier this month that he believes the boat may have been missed in regards to a move for Berg following an impressive performance against AS Roma in the Europa Conference League.

Meanwhile, Junker has only just changed clubs, so it may come as a real shock if the Hoops manage to sign the pair during January.

It appears as if transfer business will materialise at Parkhead during the winter window, but whether that will involve Berg or Junker remains to be seen. Still, Celtic could try their luck.

In other news, read this exciting Jota claim from a journalist.

Celtic will be looking to bounce back to winning ways when they welcome Aberdeen to Parkhead for their Premiership clash over the weekend.

The Hoops saw their nine-game unbeaten run ended by Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday night as they crashed out of the Europa League group stage following a 3-2 defeat in Germany.

However, Ange Postecoglou will have taken plenty of positives from his side’s performance against the Bundesliga outfit. A front three of Jota, Kyogo Furuhashi and James Forrest caused the hosts problems for large periods of the entertaining encounter, while the midfield also held their own and Joe Hart pulled off some magnificent saves.

However, Nir Bitton was forced off the pitch on the 76-minute mark after picking up an injury, which played a part in Leverkusen’s late fightback and potentially rules him out of tomorrow’s crucial clash.

The Israel international has been putting in some improved displays of late after being restored to his more familiar position at the base of the engine room, but the visit of the Dons could be a good chance to give the injury-prone midfielder a break.

In his place, Postecoglou must unleash summer signing James McCarthy. The £14,000-per-week maestro has only featured from the off on three occasions this season after joining from Crystal Palace as a free agent, failing to showcase his true ability on each outing.

A lack of match sharpness and rhythm has heavily contributed to his underwhelming start to life in Scottish football, though, and once the 31-year-old is back up to speed fully, he will surely provide Celtic with a fantastic option in the middle of the park.

Throughout spells at Wigan Athletic, Everton and Palace, McCarthy racked up 272 Premier League appearances, and he could well be crucial in the Bhoys’ bid to reclaim their Premiership crown come next May.