Wigan defender Gary Caldwell will be handed a crucial role in the club’s survival fight with Antolin Alcaraz out for three weeks.
The club captain had deputised for the Paraguayan earlier in the season when he spent a lengthy spell out on the sidelines through injury, and Martinez believes he will seamlessly slot back in to the backline.
A hamstring injury picked up by Alcaraz will see him missing for a large chunk of the crucial run in and possibly even the FA Cup final meeting with Manchester City.
The Latics have five games to fight for their Premier League status, as they currently sit in 18th spot and three points adrift of safety.
“It is vitally important to have Gary back with all the experience he brings and he looked sharp and ready for the end of the season,” said the Spaniard.
“Antolin had the scans and he has a bit of a tear in his hamstring, which is what we expected, but we got fortunate he stopped playing at the moment he did.
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“We will treat him and see how quickly he will respond but it will take the best part of three weeks.”
It seems unlikely that Aston Villa will be able to finish second in the Championship this season, but Steve Bruce’s side will fancy their chances of advancing through the playoffs.
There have been a number of impressive performers for Villa throughout the 2017-18 campaign, and there is no question that James Chester is up there when it comes to consistency.
The former Manchester United youngster has scored three times in 43 Championship appearances this season, and has been outstanding at the back.
There is no doubt that the presence of former England captain John Terry has helped him, but Chester has developed into a very good centre-back at this level of football, and will be keen to prove himself in the Premier League next season.
Villa’s official Twitter account was keen to pay tribute to the 29-year-old earlier this week, and the club’s supporters revealed their delight with the defender’s form ahead of a vital few weeks in the season.
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A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
With just a few weeks remaining until the end of the season, Premier League clubs are already busy planning for the next campaign and the transfer rumour mill is in full swing ahead of the opening of the summer window.
And, as ever, there’s expected to be plenty of comings and goings as managers look to strengthen their squads as well as get rid of those players who have failed to impress this term.
While there could be a few big deals done between Premier League sides, there are also plenty of names from some of Europe’s biggest clubs that have been heavily linked with a move to England’s top teams in recent weeks as speculation continues to grow.
With links to the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City; here a five of those players who could well be involved in one of the summer’s biggest transfers.
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Edinson Cavani
PSG striker Edinson Cavani is just one player who has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester United this summer as Louis van Gaal looks to strengthen his squad.
The Uruguayan has been one of Europe’s most sought after strikers since his Napoli days, and could require a similar fee to the £50m the French giants paid for him back in 2013.
Following their defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League this week, Cavani dismissed rumours he could be on his way to England stating that he would respect his contract. But as we know in football things can change very quickly.
Mats Hummels
Another player that has been heavily linked with a move to the Red Devils is Dortmund defender Mats Hummels.
United are keen to bolster their defence during the window, and German star Hummels is said to be top of their list amid speculation he is ready to quit the Bundesliga.
And these rumours have only gathered pace since the news that Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp announced he will be leaving the club at the end of the season.
It now looks increasingly likely that Hummels could be following out the door, with United in pole position to land the centre-back.
Paul Pogba
Letting Paul Pogba leave Old Trafford is arguably Sir Alex Ferguson’s biggest mistake while Manchester United manager.
Since moving to Juventus, the Frenchman has become one of the most coveted midfielders in the world and it’s no surprise he has Europe’s top clubs chasing him.
Exactly the type of player they have been missing; United are said to be desperate to bring him back to the club, while Arsenal and Chelsea have also been linked with moves.
With a number of sides chasing him, Juventus will do well to keep hold of the youngster who could be at the centre of one of the most exciting transfer battles this summer.
Gareth Bale
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Football’s most expensive player Gareth Bale continues to be linked with a return to the Premier League amid criticism in Spain for some of his performances this season.
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The former Spurs man came under fire from both fans and media once again this week for failing to score in his side’s Champions League encounter with Atletico Madrid and he’s clearly having a difficult time winning them over.
Although Madrid have revealed they have no intention to sell the Welsh star, he continues to be linked with a move to Manchester United and Chelsea who could be set to test Real’s resolve wit a big bid in the near future.
Gonzalo Higuain
With his Napoli side sat seven points off the Champions League places in Serie A, Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain could be set to leave the club if they fail to qualify.
Both Arsenal and Liverpool have been linked with a move for the former Real Madrid man who is believed to have told his side he has no plans to play in the Europa League again next season.
Higuain scored in a tremendous away win at Wolfsburg last night as the Italians all but secured a place in the semi-finals, but unless they win the competition to secure Champions League qualification; Higuain’s time at Napoli could well be coming to an end.
Frank Lampard believes that Rio Ferdinand is “not finished” as an England player.
The Manchester United centre-back pulled out of the Three Lions’ squad for the up-coming World Cup qualifying ties with San Marino and Montenegro, citing a personal training regime as his reason for doing so.
This snubbing of Roy Hodgson’s call has led some to peculate that Ferdinand’s days playing for the national team are over.
But, Lampard doesn’t think that the 34-year-old’s time in the national set-up is finished and that he could return at a later date:
“He is a top drawer player and he is certainly not finished,” he told Sky Sports.
“I don’t know the ins and outs of his future and where it is going, but the way he is playing at the minute, he is one of the top defenders in the Premier League for sure.”
Ferdinand’s withdrawal leaves England short of defensive cover, with Hodgson sweating on the fitness of Gary Cahill.
Joleon Lescott, Chris Smalling, Steven Caulker and Newcastle’s Steven Taylor have all been included in the squad, and Lampard is confident that there is adequate cover:
“These are the moments when you need a strong squad.” He said.
“It does happen in a funny way that you lose three or four players from the same position and that would test any squad, but we are very fortunate that we have got some very good young players and it will be time for them to stand up, and I am sure they can because they do it regularly.
England face minnows San Marino in the first of their clashes, and Lampard recognises that there is a need to be professional in order to achieve the desired result:
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“It is a game to be professional, where you are expected to win comfortably and don’t get much credit whatever the result.
“If we are disciplined and go about our job in the right way, then with the quality we have in our team with those attacking players you’d want to get the right result.”
According to reports, Everton could be set to battle West Ham for the signature Xherdan Shaqiri this summer.
What’s the story?
With Stoke City now five points adrift of safety with the worst goal difference in the Premier League, it is looking fairly likely the Potters will be relegated.
According to Calciomercato, Shaqiri will leave the Staffordshire club if they go down, and Everton and West Ham are first in the queue to sign the Swiss international.
Everton are desperately searching some goals and creativity so it is no surprise they are constantly being linked with attacking players, but is Shaqiri the answer?
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Good move to Merseyside?
This season could have been a total disaster for Everton if not for the arrival of Sam Allardyce, but the former England manager is now taking plenty of flak from fans for his negative tactics.
The Toffees will probably look for a more attacking manager this summer, but bringing in Shaqiri to aid that revolution is not a good idea.
On his day, Shaqiri is excellent. The 26 year-old, valued at £16.2million by Transfermarkt, has seven goals and six assists in 32 Premier League appearances this summer.
However, Shaqiri is far too inconsistent for the Toffees to rely on, and has been this way throughout his career.
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For example, the Swiss winger scored three games in a row during February, but has not scored or assisted in the six games since then.
If the Toffees want to break into the elite, they need players that will perform week in week out, not just when they feel like it. Signing Shaqiri would be the biggest indicator yet that the club has not learned from the mistakes of last summer.
Everton fans, would you like to see a move for Shaqiri? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
Manchester City returned to their clinical self against Newcastle United on Saturday, with the Citizens finding themselves five goals to the good before the hour-mark.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side’s impressive showing against the Magpies was helped greatly by the performance of Edin Dzeko, who bagged a decent brace whilst outshining his strike partner Sergio Aguero in the process.
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Despite the forward’s showing at the weekend, it doesn’t seem to have appeased too many of the Citizen’s faithful, with calls rife around social media for January transfer window signing Wilfried Bony to start against Barcelona tonight.
The former Swansea City man made his Man City debut against Newcastle United, coming off the subs bench, but was unable to make it the perfect start to life in Manchester with a goal.
It would’ve taken a brave man to drop Dzeko after his almost perfect performance on Saturday, however, given the fact Bony was the Premier League’s top scorer in 2014, it seems that Man City fans wouldn’t have minded!
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With no English teams remaining in the Champions League, Tuesdays and Wednesdays have lost attraction and now the fans’ eyes have to turn to Thursdays’ action, where Spurs, Chelsea and Newcastle walk firmly in hopes of lifting the Europa League. The trophy would be a great success for the team and the country should any of the three manage to win it, but can it be considered a failure for English football if none of them do it?
Having a look at the rivals suggests that an English team should win it. Rubin Kazan and Basel were not – at least on paper – clubs to fear even in a secondary level. However, while Chelsea seem to have solved their tie with a 3-1 in the first leg, Spurs have complicated theirs with a home 2-2 draw that will make it hard for them to book a spot among the last-four. Should Villas-Boas men manage to revert the situation on Thursday, there will be a good chance the Amsterdam Arena will be crowded with English fans on the 15th May, providing the semi-finals draw brings them luck enough in order to avoid each other,.
Newcastle have a hardest task to overcome to get through to the semi-finals. Alan Pardew’s have to overcome a 3-1 against Benfica, a clear contestant to the title. The Portuguese club joined the Europa League after being knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona and Celtic, and counts with victories their five games in the ties against Bourdeaux, Leverkusen and Newcastle since then. Their league form is simply stunning with no defeats conceded in 24 games and the title practically secured.
The last tie matches Lazio and Fenerbahce, two two good teams but a step below Chelsea and Spurs. Therefore, the three English teams have a really good chance in this Europa league, although they should be seeing that as an opportunity and not as a burden.
The Europa League might seem a bland competition at the beginning, with early stages that seem to last forever and involve long trips that bring anything but prestige and revenue to the clubs. But when it gets to this point of the season, it becomes more interesting, and nobody doubts lifting the cup is a great success, regardless the status of the club.
In those terms, winning the Europa League would partially recover some honour for English football. But the Champions league fiasco – no English teams among the last eight for the first time since 1996 is a low blow – should be a wake-up call and explanations for why this has happened should be looked for, rather than looking for the solace that winning the secondary tournament can bring in the short-term.
Some explanations to the poor performance of the Premier League teams in the Champions League can be found in the competitiveness of the league. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern or Juventus can afford to rest players during league games, as there are very few teams that can put them in trouble. The Premier League offer far less rest, as one Sunday Chelsea have to go to Anfield, and the next one it is time to host United, or Spurs, for example.
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That only shows the good health of a very competitive league, and not many solutions can be provided. However, having a look at the season calendar could do. The congestion that having to cups – FA and Capital One – brings to the teams make really difficult for the top clubs to be competitive in every front. Adding up replay games instead of a simple extra time or penalty shoot-out is everything but helpful.
Having three semi-finalists in the Europa League would be good for English football, not to mention seeing one of them winning it in Amsterdam in May, but Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle should be just defending their pride and not feeling the pressure of having to save English football’s face. That may be a task for the FA, who by now should be looking for ways to modify the calendar and protect the top clubs and make them more competitive in the European panorama.
With Jose Mourinho reportedly planning a mass summer clearout at Old Trafford, Matteo Darmian could be on the chopping block, but should Everton swoop for the Italian?
When Matteo Darmian signed for Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United, fans at Old Trafford were delighted with the Italian’s performances.
Despite a positive start to life at the club though, Darmian’s chances have diminished since Mourinho took over and reports suggest he could be one of several that is moved along this summer.
The 28 year-old, valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt, can play on either flank comfortably, but has only started two Premier League games in Manchester this season.
Everton have had their own problems with full backs, with injuries to Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman forcing Cuco Martina and Jonjoe Kenny to start several matches.
Martina has taken plenty of flak of fans, so could Darmian be the perfect upgrade? Coleman will turn 30 this year and Baines is already 33, so while they are not going to hang up their boots any time soon the Toffees do need to start planning for the future.
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Fans can’t seem to make their minds up on a move for Darmian though, with 54 per cent in favour of a move and 46 per cent against it.
He’s been making moves in Merseyside, but Liverpool’s Emre Can has recently revealed that he could have been playing for his side’s fiercest rivals. Apparently, before David Moyes was relieved of his Manchester United managerial duties, a deal was in place to bring Can to Old Trafford.
The deal then fell through upon Moyes’ sacking in April, but had he been able to sign Can, would this have changed things for the Scot?
Emre Can is not the only player David Moyes had failed to bring to his new club. Before his first and only season in charge of Manchester United, Moyes was also supposed to secure the signing of Ander Herrera. But this massive blunder should have been an indication of things to come. In the end, Moyes could only secure the signing of Marouane Fellaini.
One of Can’s greater attributes is his versatility on the field. He can be utilised as a midfielder, but has also dropped back into the defensive line for Liverpool. Can has become a constant at the back for his new side, but had he been signed by Moyes, he surely would have been kept in midfield. This is due to the fact Moyes inherited a defence that still included Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra.
Can’s recent confession highlights yet another failing of Moyes’s tenure at Manchester United; another player that he ‘almost’ signed. When players would have once flocked to play under Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes simply just did not have the same appeal.
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Although Moyes could not land Can, he did sign a slightly older, but incredibly talented, Juan Mata. At Manchester United at the moment, Daley Blind is essentially doing what Emre Can has had to do at Liverpool. He was initially played in midfield, but in the past two games, Blind has himself dropped back to left back.
Whether David Moyes had signed Emre Can or not, this transfer alone would never have been enough to salvage his career in Manchester. His days were numbered before he had ever really began. It was not the right appointment for him, and he is far better off at Real Sociedad.
Emre Can himself was also better off signing for Liverpool on the basis of how things ended for Manchester United last season. Fellaini was branded a flop and a waste of money under Moyes, and Can would have likely suffered a similar fate.
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As the season progressed, it was blindly obvious that Moyes’s side just did not want to know any more. Can is now proving himself to be a useful member of Liverpool’s team at only 21-years-old, and will continue to improve.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has made Swansea’s Ashley Williams his number one summer target, according to reports from the Daily Mail.
The Northern Irishman coached the centre-back in his spell with the Swans, prior to taking the Anfield hot seat ahead of the current season.
After addressing the club’s attacking deficiencies with the additions of Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge in January, he has now set his sights on bolstering his defensive options.
Williams is reportedly Rodgers’ main target, and he is lining up a bid for the Welsh international’s signature at the end of the season.
With news that veteran Jamie Carragher is set to retire and speculation that Martin Skrtel could return to Zenit Saint Petersburg in a £12m deal, Liverpool’s rear-guard appears to be an area of uncertainty.
Rodgers is keen to bring in the man he worked with at Swansea and is confident that the 28-year-old will slot in seamlessly alongside Daniel Agger.
Michael Laudrup will be far from happy to lose his star defender, but the club may reluctantly accept Liverpool’s advances, as they did last summer with Joe Allen.
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Rodgers is reportedly planning an overhaul of his squad at the end of the current campaign, with a number of first-team players believed to be surplus to requirements.