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Aston Villa fans have been debating some possible team changes ahead of the clash with Bristol City, and 52 per cent of fans want Tammy Abraham to lose his place.

Villa fell to their second defeat of the season against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend, but the performance was even more concerning than the result.

Steve Bruce’s side just had absolutely no fluidity in their attacks, and it didn’t help that the strikers couldn’t keep hold of the ball.

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Both Jonathan Kodjia and Abraham were poor, and Abraham in particular just had one of those days.

The youngster only completed 55 per cent of his passes and touched the ball just 29 times in the entire match.

Both Yannick Bolasie and Anwar El Ghazi started the defeat to the Owls on the bench, and over half of fans want Bruce to change things up and axe Abraham for Friday’s clash against Bristol City.

You can find the full poll results down below…

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In early September, TEAMtalk reported that Middlesbrough were locked in a battle with Aston Villa over the signing of Bakary Sako.

The attacker became a free agent at the end of last season after being released by Crystal Palace, where he spent three years of his career.

However, it looks as though neither of those clubs will secure the 30-year-old’s signature.

The Express & Star reports that West Bromwich Albion are in talks with Sako’s representatives regarding a deal.

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The former Wolverhampton Wanderers player is currently on trial with the Baggies, but a full-time arrangement is yet to be struck.

Despite this, it appears that Boro have missed out on the chance to sign a player that has a record of 24 goals in 78 Championship appearances.

At the moment Tony Pulis’s side are flying in second place, level on points with Leeds United after nine games, but will they wish they had Sako’s goals later in the campaign?

Let us know by voting below.

After only winning one of their previous five fixtures, Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa will be relieved his club returned to winning ways against Hull on Tuesday night.Â

While it saw The Peacocks return to the top of the table -although that may only be for 24 hours-, the Argentinian clearly does not want to get too ahead of himself, and was rather critical of his side’s performance still.

Bielsa particularly highlighted how wasteful his team were, suggesting they made the ending much harder than it should have been.

Bielsa directed this criticism towards Tyler Roberts, who, despite scoring on the night, spurned a number of chances. He may have done this to quell the hysteria surrounding the 19-year-old, and also to show that he is not yet the finished article.

This will keep Roberts hungry to improve and, with Kemar Roofe nearing a return for the Yorkshire club, shows what he will need to work on to usurp Roofe as the number one striker at Elland Road.

Roberts has three goals in five games in the Championship so far this season, and has certainly played well recently, but these comments by Bielsa were wise in taking the player, and fans, down a peg or two.

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It was revealed on Thursday that Sunderland have come to amicable agreement over Didier Ndong’s departure that will see them rewarded financially, and they should consider revisiting signing a reported summer target in Peterborough United’s Marcus Maddison.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Black Cats boss Jack Ross was linked with a move for the highly-rated 25-year-old during the summer, but any move failed to materialise as the attack-minded midfielder ended up staying at London Road.

Meanwhile, the Wearside outfit decided to terminate Ndong’s contract last month after he failed to report for training having failed to secure a summer move away, and the club revealed in a statement that as of October 8 he is no longer an employee of them.

BBC Football add that Sunderland will be entitled to a compensation payment when the Gabon international signs for a new team, and that will be a huge boost for Ross ahead of the January transfer window given his hands were tied for FFP reasons previously.

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Why should he move for Maddison again?

It is certainly a bit of a mystery that the 25-year-old is still plying his trade in League One given just how good he has been for Peterborough, but it may have something to do with the fee they could be demanding for his services.

He has scored 42 goals and provided a further 64 assists – including three this season – 186 appearances for the Posh in all competitions, as per Transfermarkt, and he would add some real quality to a frontline that is already impressing in England’s third tier.

It is the sort of addition that would delight someone prolific like Josh Maja, and it would be a statement of intent that would almost certainly fire Sunderland to a top-two finish this term.

The latest reports suggest Liverpool are considering activating the release clause of Hoffenheim star – Kerem Demirbay.

Liverpool could be in the market for a number ten in January with Jurgen Klopp’s midfield desperately lacking creativity in recent weeks. The Reds are yet to replace Philippe Coutinho, and a move for Lyon’s Nabil Fekir is showing no sign of revival. Reports suggest Klopp could turn to Demirbay as the ideal alternative for the Frenchman.

Klopp managed the Germany international during his time and is believed to be a massive fan of the playmaker. Demirbay is managed by the same agency as Sadio Mane and Naby Keita which could boost his chances of a move to Anfield. However, Liverpool should instead focus on luring Villarreal star, Pablo Fornals, to Merseyside.

Valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, the 22-year-old has become a key player for the Yellow Submarine after leaving Malaga back in 2015. Fornals enjoyed a sensational season last year, scoring four goals and notching 13 assists in all competitions. The youngster’s creativity is exactly what Liverpool need to get their forwards firing again.

Fornals has the quality to unlock a defence with his wonderful range of passing, averaging 1.5 key passes per game in La Liga this season. He is also extremely versatile and would have no trouble slotting into Klopp’s 4-3-3 system. The German’s gegenpressing philosophy should also not be a problem with Fornals averaging 1.6 tackles per game from attacking midfield this season (WhoScored).

Still young and developing, the Spaniard would only get better under Klopp’s tutelage.

Liverpool fans, thoughts?

West Brom have had a fantastic start to life back in the Championship this season, but they suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat at home to Frank Lampard’s Derby on Wednesday evening.

After the game many Baggies fans were fuming with summer signing Kyle Bartley. The 27-year-old centre-back joined from fellow relegated side Swansea for just £4m and has made 15 appearances so far this season in Darren Moore’s back three.

At the Hawthorns on Wednesday, Derby took a two-goal lead after just 15 minutes through Jack Marriott and Tom Lawrence, before Harry Wilson and Scott Malone added to the Rams’ advantage in the second half as West Brom fell apart.

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Striker Jay Rodriguez netted a consolation late on for the home side but the Baggies have now lost two on the bounce in the league and sit in fourth place in the Championship. Among others, Bartley took a lot of criticism for his performance in the loss.

Check out some of the best tweets below.

According to the Birmingham Mail, Sheffield United are keen on signing Birmingham winger Jota amid the Blues’ Financial Fair Play issues. However, if any deal goes get off the ground for the 27-year-old, Leeds must be ready to hijack it to bring Jota to Elland Road.

What’s the story?

Jota, who is valued at £4.05m by Transfermarkt, joined Birmingham in the summer of 2017 from Brentford for a club-record fee of over £6m. Last season, the Spanish winger scored five times and provided five assists in the Championship as the Blues finished in 19th place.

Although these stats hardly set the league alight, during this campaign Jota has already recorded four assists and one goal in just 13 Championship appearances and the Birmingham Mail reports that he remains an integral part of Garry Monk’s plans.

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Of course, the Blues will try desperately to keep one of their most creative players, but they may be forced to sell in January if more comes of the Financial Fair Play regulations that meant Monk was banned from signing players for the majority of the summer.

Leeds circling

With Sheffield United starting the season brilliantly it seems as though the top two spots could be fought out between the Blades, Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion and Leeds, but it is the Elland Road outfit who must challenge United if they do target a deal for Jota.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men started the season brilliantly but took a huge step backwards while Pablo Hernandez and Kemar Roofe specifically were out injured. Although both players are now back the Argentine boss still has an extremely small squad and any further injuries could see them miss out on promotion at the end of the campaign.

Jota then would be a fantastic option and could be deployed in any of the three attacking midfield positions behind a single striker. If Leeds are serious about a promotion push this year they will need to invest in January and Birmingham could well be needing the money.

So, Leeds fans, would you welcome a move for Jota or do his numbers from last season put you off? Let us know by voting in the poll below.

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Arsenal welcome unbeaten Liverpool to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon looking to stretch their unbeaten run to fourteen matches in all competitions. However, despite the home advantage, Unai Emery’s side face a tough task in getting a result against the Reds.

In order to come away with any points against Jurgen Klopp’s side, the Gunners must be solid defensively and can’t afford to make any errors. For that reason, the Spanish coach must make a big call and leave Shkodran Mustafi on the bench.

Despite having cost the Gunners more than £35 million to sign from Valencia in 2016, the 26-year-old German has failed to prove his quality in England and is a constant liability at the back. In Sokratis and Rob Holding, Emery has a far more reliable pair to call upon for this weekend’s match.

Many Arsenal fans agree that Mustafi must be dropped, with 65% of those we asked stating that they don’t want him in the starting XI to face Liverpool. See the full results below.

Former Leeds United midfielder Lewis Cook produced another impressive display for Bournemouth in their 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, and the Whites must be regretting selling him for just an initial £6m fee.

What’s the word, then?

The Cherries signed the highly-rated youngster from the Yorkshire outfit for a fee that could rise to £10m in July 2016, and the 21-year-old has gone from strength to strength for the south coast outfit – establishing himself as a key first-team regular in more recent times having begun the campaign on the substitutes’ bench.

While Eddie Howe’s men fell to defeat against the Red Devils courtesy of Anthony Martial’s injury-time winner, the former Leeds youth graduate once again impressed and played a clever reverse pass in the build up to Callum Wilson’s opener for the hosts.

Cook earned his first senior England call-up back in March, and there will be plenty more to come if he continues his current progress.

Did Leeds undervalue him?

You’d be hard pressed to find many people that believes that they didn’t, although you could argue that transfer fees have become far more heavily inflated since then.

To sell a player of his ability and clear potential for just an initial £6m is obviously a mistake, and the annoying thing for Whites fans is that it wouldn’t have happened – at least not for that low fee – had Andrea Radrizzani been at the helm instead of Massimo Cellino at the time.

It is clear that the technically sound Cook has a huge future ahead of him if he carries on his current path, but the Yorkshire club can do nothing about that right now and they will be hoping that they are playing in the same division as their former hero next season.

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Tottenham are still waiting to find out if Toby Alderweireld will extend his contract in North London, and they should do their shopping close to home if the Belgian does leave.

What’s the word?

Mauricio Pochettino may just have unearthed another gem with Argentinian centre back Juan Foyth, but he should add to his ranks even further by making a shock move for Issa Diop.

The young Frenchman signed for West Ham this summer, and has far exceeded all expectations.

He is already the most important member of Manuel Pellegrini’s defence, and he could be the perfect replacement if Alderweireld does not renew his contract.

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Just how good is he?

Diop’s rare combination of speed, strength, intelligence and ball-playing ability make him an absolute force to be reckoned with, and a long-term partnership with Davinson Sanchez could make one of the league’s great duos.

Pundits and fans alike have already started putting Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez alongside the Premier League’s greatest centre back pairings, and Sanchez and Diop would certainly give them a run for their money.

Diop is only 21, but has transitioned from Ligue 1 to the fastest league in the world with ease, the mark of a truly exceptional young talent.

He reads the game incredibly well for such a young player, averaging 2.3 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 1.1 blocks per game.

To put those numbers in perspective, Alderweireld averages 1.2 tackles, one interception and 0.5 blocks in the Premier League this season.

Diop also has the ball-playing ability and composure to play at the very highest level, completing 89 per cent of his passes so far this season.

West Ham fans certainly wouldn’t like it, but a partnership of Diop and Sanchez would strike fear into opposition attacker, and Daniel Levy will simply have to splash the cash Alderweireld does depart.

So, Tottenham fans, do you think Diop would be a good signing? Can you see it happening? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…