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Sunderland are interested in making a move for former Rangers defender Jon Flanagan, according to Football Insider.

Black Cats boss Phil Parkinson faces a tough task this summer as he looks to build a squad capable of gaining promotion to the Championship.

Finishing eighth in the League One standings last term, Parkinson is under increasing pressure to deliver and a number of deals have already been completed this summer with Bailey Wright and Aiden O’Brien, whilst also agreeing new terms with Tom Flanagan.

With Parkinson keen to further improve his squad, interest in ex-Rangers defender Flanagan has now emerged.

The defender, who was released by Steven Gerrard’s side earlier this summer, is available on a free transfer and Football Insider have claimed that Sunderland are interested.

That interest is also said to be matched by Fleetwood Town with boss Joey Barton keen to bolster his squad options ahead of next term in League One.

Flanagan, who is valued at £855,000 by Transfermarkt, last played in English football with Bolton Wanderers, whom he left to join Rangers in 2018.

Signing Flanagan on a free transfer this summer would be a good move for Sunderland and would add experience and quality to their defence. Indeed this is a player who not only made 16 appearances in the Scottish Premiership for Rangers, but who also played 46 times in the Premier League for Liverpool whilst also winning the League Cup whilst at Anfield (Transfermarkt).

Fleetwood’s interest will provide stiff competition for Phil Parkinson but you have to feel that if a promotion rival are keen, Sunderland should go all out to make a move.

Do you think Flanagan would be a good signing for Sunderland? Let us know in the comments section below…

The Daily Record has suggested that Glasgow Rangers’ Steven Gerrard could make a move for out-of-contract winger Jordon Ibe.

The 24-year-old recently left Bournemouth after his deal at Dean Court ran out, and he would now be available on a free transfer. The newspaper has acknowledged that Ibe has been linked with a move to Celtic (The Sunday Mirror, 28/06, p74) but has suggested that, given his previous associations with Liverpool, he could be a player that Gerrard could have his eye on.

Ibe’s time with the Cherries was far from successful. The south-coast side spent £15m on his services, despite him scoring just four times in 58 matches with the Reds. And that record didn’t exactly get better with Bournemouth, with him scoring just four times in 95 matches for the Premier League side.

There must be something to his game, though, if he is able to play almost 60 matches for one of England’s biggest clubs, and a further 95 for a side also in the country’s top flight. It is clear that he is yet to match his potential, but at the age of just 24 he has the time to rejuvenate himself.

Before he left the Cherries, he was on £38,000 a week, and so the Gers would likely need to negotiate a smaller salary. Still, the lack of a transfer fee would make it a more interesting deal, and Gerrard could certainly do with a new right-winger after the departure of Sheyi Ojo, who has returned to Liverpool after his loan spell.

As such, this is indeed a deal that the 54-time Scottish champions should consider if the opportunity arises.

Let us know what you think below!

Former Leeds United forward Noel Whelan has claimed that the Elland Road club must find a replacement for Pablo Hernandez this summer, in an interview with Football Insider.

What did he say?

Hernandez has been brilliant since returning to English football in 2016 and has proven a key part of Marcelo Bielsa’s plans.

Aged 35, the former Valencia and Swansea City man is nearing the end of his career, although he would likely relish the chance to play in the Premier League again.

Whelan said that while Hernandez has been brilliant for the club, they need to replace him with a player in his prime that can replicate his skills.

“There is a lack of Premier League experience and a lack of quality in certain areas,” he told Football Insider.

“You have Pablo Hernandez coming to the back end of his career and he is the one player that can produce that bit of brilliance. He is a standout player and he will need replacing.

“It will cost you money to get a player like Pablo Hernandez in his prime but it does make the difference.

“To complement that, you need a striker to get on the end of his passes and crosses from wide areas. That is going to cost money.”

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Transfer hunt

Hernandez has been a key man for Leeds under Bielsa and certainly adds a level of creativity and flair from his wide position.

Although he could stay at the club, adding more of this type of player to the squad would certainly prove a boost for the squad and would allow Leeds to phase the Spaniard out, rather than relying on him at the age of 36.

Arsenal haven’t always covered themselves in glory in the transfer market over the years, with arguably more flops than successes coming through the Emirates Stadium doors.

Even great manager Arsene Wenger wasn’t immune to signing the odd flop, although he often got it right as well, with Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and several others going on to do great things for the Gunners.

Unai Emery bought his fair share of flops during his short spell, too, and no doubt Mikel Arteta will make mistakes during his tenure, too.

So we’ve taken a look at back at the 20 biggest Arsenal flops in the Premier League era, although admittedly it could’ve been a lot more…

Mikael Silvestre

We start with a great player who the Gunners just decided to prise away from Manchester United way too late in his career, versatile French defender Mikael Silvestre.

The 31-year-old at the time of his Emirates Stadium arrival really struggled to have the same impact he had at Old Trafford in north London and featured a mere 43 times in two years.

Andre Santos

Arsene Wenger scouted the former Brazil international at Fenerbache and decided to take a near £5m punt on the left-sided star, it was one that failed to pay off with Santos only able to provide three goals and no assists in 33 outings.

He also hardly endeared himself to the red army, see Robin van Persie incident.

John Jensen

Curly-haired Danish 1992 UEFA European champion John Jensen became something of a cult hero at Highbury right at the beginning of the Premier League era.

However, that doesn’t really take away from the fact that he never really delivered in the tricky pre-Wenger period for the North Londoners and he was signed as a result of an agent giving George Graham a back-hander – at least he’ll always have that seminal goal against Queens Park Rangers to remember.

Denilson

When the Gunners forked out £3.4m to sign little-known 19-year-old Brazilian Denilson in the summer of 2006, there was a feeling of excitement and bemusement around the club.

The latter one turned out to be the more appropriate reaction.

Despite making over a century-and-a-half of Arsenal appearances, the central defensive midfielder never really lived up to his potential and comfortably makes it onto this list.

Sebastien Squillaci

Taking about easily being one of the Gunners’ worst signings in Premier League history, Sebastien Squillaci is right up there and could even be the worst.

The ill-disciplined ex-France centre-back never really settled into English football, struggling from the off and the fact that his international career was brought to a halt after he moved to north London says it all really.

Denis Suarez

Denis Suarez’s loan from Barcelona to Arsenal in the second half of 2018/2019 was certainly one of the most pointless transfers of the Premier League era.

The agile attacking midfielder played just six times, a cameo role from the bench on each occasion, before picking up a groin injury a month before the end of the campaign and spending the rest of it on the sidelines.

Junichi Inamoto

There was definitely something fishy about Japan legend Junichi Inamoto’s switch to Highbury in 2001 as he was plucked out of the microscopic J-League on loan only to ever feature four times in cup competitions.

Looking back now it very much appears that there were other motives behind this move, perhaps the Gunners wanted to raise their profile and sell more shirts in Japan ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup? And maybe the transfer was successful in that sense?

Nevertheless, Arsene Wenger’s face above doesn’t in the least suggest suspicion…

Yaya Sanogo

Former Golden Boy nominee Yaya Sanogo is a classic example of that player who impresses hugely in pre-season and turns out to be a flop when they start to sink their teeth into some competitive action.

The French youth prodigy did what Arsenal’s official social media accounts are still referring to as a “madness” against Napoli in the Emirates Cup in just his second pre-season, scoring four times in a 5-1 victory.

However, his form competitively was a world apart from this as Sanogo pathetically never scored a Premier League goal in four years before a free transfer back to his homeland with Toulouse.

Richard Wright

It’s simply laughable that not only did the Gunners spend £2m, some sum in 2001, to bring goalkeeper Richard Wright in from Ipswich Town, Arsene Wenger saw him as the long-term replacement for ageing club legend David Seaman.

Wait, it gets better, Wright actually managed to earn a Premier League winners’ medal during his mistake-laden Highbury spell but unsurprisingly, he didn’t even come close to establishing himself as the new first choice in north London.

Andrey Arshavin

Andrey Arshavin is a man who will always polarise opinion in world football – there was no doubting his talent though he could never really get over his frustrating inconsistency.

The fact remains, however, that the Gunners never really got anything more than THAT performance against Liverpool at Anfield out of the controversial Russian for their lofty £14.85m.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

Before heading to the Valley, Sheffield Wednesday had failed to win any of their five most recent Championship matches, but they were able to end this run with a 3-1 victory over Charlton Athletic.

It is Steve Fletcher who will rightly walk away with many of the plaudits, having scored the Owls’ first two goals of the game, but Barry Bannan, valued at £2.7m by Transfermarkt, deserves plenty of recognition for his contribution.

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Most notably, it was the Scotland international who put in the cross that led to Fletcher opening the day’s scoring.

The midfielder was a brilliant creative presence in the middle of the pitch, making four key passes throughout the game.

It also offers an indication of how influential the 29-year-old was that he completed more passes than anyone else on the pitch, with a total of 56, while he was also in the top five for his pass completion rate with 82%.

Despite not managing to beat Dillon Phillips, Bannan was accurate with his shooting, as two of his efforts went on target, while the other was blocked.

The 29-year-old also made a telling defensive contribution, completing all three of his attempted tackles and also making one interception.

Overall, this was a superb performance from Bannan, which showed just how well he can link up with the team’s forwards when a 4-4-2 is played.

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After making 246 appearances for the Sky Blues and helping to secure their first trophies under the Sheikh Mansour era, Micah Richards has now revealed what it was like coming through the academy and who he looked up to at the club.

Before a niggling knee injury cut his career short, Richards was considered one of the most dynamic full-backs in the Premier League – especially during his early to middle years at City, with the Englishman grabbing the most assists by a defender in the 2011/2012 season.

However, like all up and coming stars, he had to first march his way through the academy set up for a chance in the first team, eventually getting the nod from Stuart Pearce to make his debut in the FA Cup against Aston Villa – a moment the Citizens cult hero is very unlikely to forget.

The travelling fans at Villa park that evening erupted into euphoria when Richards climbed highest to head home a last minute equaliser.

Speaking to Bwin as part of their ‘The Season Ahead’ series, Richards detailed the journey up to that pivotal point in his career, and who he idolised most on the way up.

“My earliest memories of playing football were probably just down the park with my friends,” explained the 31-year-old. “That’s when you enjoy football the most.”

“As soon as I went from academy to first team training, Richard Dunne was always a person I looked up to, he was consistent. He won Player of the Year four years in a row, that’s unheard of nowadays.”

Indeed, Dunne was a colossal figure for the Sky Blues at that time, mostly partnering Sylvain Distin in the centre of defence and helping to keep a then-struggling City side in England’s top flight.

When Distin left the City of Manchester Stadium for Everton, Richards was then chosen to partner their Irish captain ahead of Sven Goran Eriksson’s only season in charge at the club, with new signing Vedran Corluka put into his preferred right-back slot.

As a result, the Englishman’s impressive form – including a Man of the Match display in City’s 1-0 home win over bitter rivals Manchester United – resulted in him being tipped for glory. He would go on to win a Premier League title and an FA Cup with City, etching his name into club folklore.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Despite failing to earn the trust of England boss Gareth Southgate, Manchester United are reportedly preparing a January move for Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish. But would a move to Old Trafford really be of benefit to the Villans’ midfield maestro?

Two goals and three assists following promotion to the Premier League: the last six months and this seasonhave marked substantial milestones in the career of Villa’s playmaker who is truly starting to put his stamp on the top-flight.

Having captained his boyhood club to the top tier of English football, Grealish has impressed in his 10 league games so far this season, but consequently 13-time Premier League champions Manchester United could look to test the resolve of Villa owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris in January, according to reports from ESPN.

Whilst a move to one of English football’s most successful teams could seem appealing – as well as the prospect of European football – Grealish is at a crossroads in his career whereby consistent minutes and playing time within the starting XI will be fundamental to his progression; particularly if the 24-year-old is to convince Gareth Southgate is he worthy of a spot in the England squad.

Moving to United would be a gamble for the playmaker, with the plethora of attacking talent at Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer’s disposal meaning there is no guarantee of regular playing time, competing with the likes of Daniel James, Juan Mata and Andreas Pereira for a starting berth.

That’s not even bringing the injured Paul Pogba into the equation. He’s very much United’s flagship entity and one can only hazard a guess at how both the Frenchman and Grealish would fit into the same midfield without stepping on each other’s toes.

Regardless of United’s potential investment in him, the Villa star will unlikely be earning a starting berth ahead of a World Cup winner and former world-record signing; he’ll need to adapt his game around Pogba’s if he’s going to be a success at Old Trafford.

And given the crucial junction that Grealish finds himself at in the 2019/20 campaign with regards to taking the step up to international football, this is not the time for a move to Manchester despite the financial and footballing attractions that may lie at Old Trafford.

Mason Mount, Ross Barkley, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Maddison all represent fierce competition to be the creative outlet in England’s midfield, and Grealish is far better off proving his credentials within a team that’s already built to try and get the best out of him, rather than finding himself shoehorned in elsewhere.

At Villa, Grealish is one of the first names on the team sheet under Dean Smith, having started all of the games he has been fit for this season, and to give that up mid-way through the current campaign would represent a sizeable risk for the 24-year-old; a risk with a price that Grealish simply cannot afford to pay.

Perhaps Grealish is destined to ply his trade at the very top of the Premier League, but this January really isn’t the time for him to find out.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Looks like some moves are afoot to get Lewis Grabban some help.

Although it’s not quite the ideal move to be making all things considered.

What’s the story?

According to reports in The Scottish Sun, Nottingham Forest are set to make a move for Dundee United forward Lawrence Shankland – a transfer that could cost £2m.

The 24-year-old has been on fire so far this season, scoring 19 goals in 18 games (via Transfermarkt) and landing himself a place in the Scottish national team as a result.

Forest were reportedly after him in the summer as well but with recent stories and rumours suggesting that frontman Grabban could need a little bit of help to relieve some of the stress of carrying the team up top, then names like those of Shankland are likely to have moved further up the priority list.

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A step up or a step down?

Whenever we have discussed in the past at FFC about the forward situation at Forest, it’s always been on the caveat that whoever comes in will be a backup/rotation option for Grabban. The report states he would come in as competition but it’s hard to suggest the seven-goal striker could be dispossessed of his role.

Instead, they should be looking at someone who can start five or six games between now and the end of the season, and maybe offer something off the bench if the game has been put to bed. However, at the age of 24, he’s too old to be considered a ‘prospect’ and too young to be considered as an established veteran whose legs have gone.

Whilst a jump from the Scottish Championship to its English counterpart might be a step up in terms of career progression, it’s going to be hard to convince Shankland to go from a regular starter who is banging in goals seemingly for fun, to a bit-part player backing up Grabban in the Championship.

So whilst it might look like an enticing prospect to bring in someone who clearly knows where the goal is, it wouldn’t be a simple case of plugging him on the team and watching the goals fly into the back of the net.

It’s going to be a little bit more complicated than that. Complicated enough that it might be a transfer window too early, or indeed too late for Forest to really get the benefit out of him. After all, moving up a standard comes with its risks and he could just end up like Rafa Mir, a player who has failed to score since arriving in England.

Wednesday 13th November 2019 marked the ninth anniversary of a classic fixture between Aston Villa and Manchester United (@avfchistory).

The two played out a high scoring match at Villa Park, which ultimately finished as a 2-2 draw.

It was actually a pretty dull game until late on. Indeed, the score remained at 0-0 after 70 minutes had been played.

However, it burst into life in the 72nd minute when Wes Brown brought down Ashley Young in the box, with the winger scoring the subsequent penalty (BBC Sport).

Just four minutes later Villa doubled their lead, with Marc Albrighton finding the back of the net (BBC Sport). It looked for all the world like the West Midlands outfit would go on to win from there, but that wasn’t the case.

Federico Macheda pulled one back with just nine minutes left to play, before centre-back Nemanja Vidic scored a dramatic equaliser in the 85th minute (BBC Sport).

Twitter account @avfchistory posted a video of the highlights from that match on Wednesday, and several Aston Villa fans responded by expressing their disbelief that they didn’t win that game, even though it was nine years ago…

Aston Villa fans, what are your memories of the 2-2 draw against Manchester United in 2010? Let us know in the comments below…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast ahead of the London Football Awards, Tony Cottee spoke of how impressed he has been by Sebastien Haller’s start at West Ham after he was signed from Eintracht Frankfurt during the summer.

The Frenchman arrived after the tumultuous relationship between the Hammers and Marko Arnautovic finally came to an end, with the club’s two-sentence farewell offering an insight into how frustrated the Austrian had left everyone during the final few months of his Irons career.

Despite the sourness between player and club, Cottee felt that it was important he was adequately replaced: “Marko was a player who was developed into a centre forward and he played that role very well, he was pacey and he was a good player, I enjoyed watching him at the club.

“It was probably right for him to move on and the question for West Ham was how do you replace a player like that?”

The eventual answer was to make a club-record move for Haller, who was coming off the back of a season in which he had more goal contributions than starts in the league, amassing 15 goals and nine assists in 23 Bundesliga starts and six substitute appearances, as per WhoScored.

The hefty price tag meant there were also large expectations, but Cottee has indicated that he hasn’t been disappointed so far: “The early signs are good in terms of Haller, he’s got four goals so far this year in the Premier League, which is a good return out of the first nine games.

“He holds the ball up well, he’s good in the air, he’s a good finisher. He looks like a really good addition to the squad.

However, the former West Ham striker and England international feels Haller’s teammates can still do more to get the best out of him: “I think at times he’s been a little bit isolated up front, so he could do with a little bit of help, but I’ve been impressed.”

The signs are there that if players such as Felipe Anderson and Manuel Lanzini get close the 25-year-old more often, he will be able to bring them into the game, as he is already averaging 7.1 aerial duels won and 1.1 key passes completed per game.

West Ham are in concerning territory, having now failed to win in their last five games in all competitions, but Cottee appears to have faith that Haller will be able to help turn things around for the team.

Tony Cottee was speaking as a judge on The London Football Awards, due to take place on 5th March 2020 at Camden’s Roundhouse. Tickets are available from https://

londonfootballawards.org.