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UNAI EMERY EYES MAN CITY TARGET WHILE VILLA CHASE REAL MADRID STAR

Aston Villa are targeting Man City's James Trafford as a potential long-term successor for Emiliano Martinez. The club has also made a formal offer for Real Madrid's young striker Gonzalo Garcia.

Unai Emery eyes Man City target while Villa chase Real Madrid star
Emery turns to City man amid Villa Madrid pursuit - Photo Credit: Getty Images

Aston Villa reportedly "turned to" a Manchester City star, while Real Madrid received a "formal offer" from them.

Six months after losing out on Champions League status on the last day of the 2024–2025 season, Aston Villa has experienced a wild ride.

Due to their limited summertime market activity and the rumoured departures of Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, and Emiliano Martinez, they had to cut their transfer budget.

Unai Emery's team bought Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho in the closing days of the summer in an attempt to turn around their disastrous summer, but they had a dismal start to the current campaign.

After struggling offensively and starting the season in the relegation zone, the Villans have improved in recent weeks, leaping to sixth place in the Premier League standings.

In order to improve their chances of making it to the Champions League the following season, Villa may try to make up for their dismal summer during the winter transfer window.

Martinez is nearing the end of his career, and Manchester United targeted him in the summer, so finding a replacement goalkeeper will be one of Aston Villa's top concerns.

According to a Football Insider story, Aston Villa has "turned to" James Trafford, a star for Man City, who is "increasingly certain" to depart Pep Guardiola's team next year, either on loan or permanently.

Trafford rejoined Man City in the summer, but Gianluigi Donnarumma took his spot as their starting goalie for a few weeks.

Aston Villa is keeping an eye on Trafford, who may depart to get more playing time before the World Cup next summer.

Villa believes Trafford is a good substitute for Martinez and might eventually take his place as the team's starting goalie.

"Sources believe that Trafford's departure from Man City next year, possibly on an initial loan, is becoming more and more likely."

Gonzalo Garcia of Real Madrid is reportedly a target for Aston Villa as well. According to Fichajes, the Spanish powerhouses have received "formal proposals" from the Villans, Sunderland, and Wolves totalling about 20 million euros.

After receiving multiple official proposals for Gonzalo García, one of the young jewels attracting the most interest in England, Real Madrid has started to advance its transfer agenda. According to the reports

"The 21-year-old striker has become a top target for several Premier League clubs after excelling in both the youth academy and first-team training, creating an unexpected situation for Real Madrid."

VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE

Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.

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Antoine Semenyo’s clumsy challenge handed Chelsea a vital lifeline

Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.

This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.

What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.

VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."

VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.

At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.

Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.

The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.

Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.

A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.

Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth

Referee: Sam Barrott

VAR: Craig Pawson

What: VAR check for a foul in the box

When: 11th minute

BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW

Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.

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Emery snubs Arteta's handshake

Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.

This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.

Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.

Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.

Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.

After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.

It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.

“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.

“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”

About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.

“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.

“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.

“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.

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