Aston Villa plot bold raid for £5m Bundesliga bargain midfielder as West Ham ready £30m exit

Ian Wright has admitted he would have ‘loved’ Arsenal to have made a move for Manchester City star Cole Palmer prior to his move to Chelsea.

The England international made a £42.5m move to Stamford Bridge during the final 24 hours of the summer transfer window and has arguably been one of the signings of the season after making a big impact on Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Palmer has scored 12 goals and provided nine assists in just 29 appearances for the Blues and has forced himself firmly in contention for a place in England’s Euro 2024 Finals squad.

Wright praised the 21-year-old and stressed he would have loved to have seen the attacking midfielder strutting his stuff as part of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side - rather than impressing in the blue of their London rivals.

Speaking on the Wright’s House podcast, he said: "I don't want to say who I'd have had him in for, but I'd have loved to have had Cole Palmer. I heard someone saying something that he's like (Riyad) Mahrez, but he's not that player; he has so much more."

The 3AM Verdict: “It’s notable that Wright did not want to say which Arsenal player he would drop - and perhaps understandable given just how well Mikel Arteta’s side are playing as they look to end the club’s long wait for a Premier League title.”

West Ham make transfer decision over in-demand defender

West Ham United are reportedly ready to allow defender Nayef Aguerd to leave the club as soon as the Premier League season comes to a close.

The Morocco international enjoyed an outstanding first season in England after he made a £30m move to the London Stadium and helped David Moyes’ side win the Europa Conference League with a final win over Serie A club Fiorentina. Speaking after the defender made an impressive start to life in the Premier League, Moyes revealed just how highly he rated Aguerd and compared him to two other fellow newcomers to the English game.

Speaking in February last year, he said: ”I’ve got to say I compare him a lot to (Sven) Botman. Botman and [Nayef] Aguerd I thought were probably the two best left footed centre-backs in France.  Obviously there’s the boy who has gone to Chelsea (Benoit Badiashile) and there’s a few others but they were in a similar category.”

However, Aguerd has struggled in an out-of-form Hammers side during his second season with the club and The Sun have now reported West Ham are ready to cash in on the defender as part of a revamp of the season.

The 3AM Verdict: “It’s hard not think to Aguerd’s future could be linked to that of his manager as speculation over Moyes’ future at the London Stadium continues to dominate the headlines.  Despite his season of struggle, you could see there being plenty of interest in the defender if the Hammers are willing to authorise his departure.”

Aston Villa consider move for Israeli talent

Several clubs are reportedly monitoring the progress of RB Salzburg youngster Oscar Gloukh.

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has quickly forged a fine reputation for himself after joining the Austrian club in a £5m deal from Maccabi Tel Aviv in January last year.  Since making the move, Gloukh has scored nine goals and provided ten assists in 46 appearances and that has prompted interest from a number of big name clubs from around Europe.

Football Insider have claimed Aston Villa are ‘very keen’ and have a long-term interest in the youngster after watching him in action last year - but Arsenal have also entered the race to sign Gloukh after sending scouts to monitor his progress in recent weeks.

The 3AM Verdict: It will take some effort to sign Gloukh given the calibre of clubs that are reportedly showing an interest in the youngster. But Villa’s impressive progress under Unai Emery could well swing the battle to sign him in their favour.