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Arsenal could reignite their interest in Ivan Fresneda this summer transfer window, with the Gunners viewing the teenage talent as one for the future…

What’s the latest on Arsenal’s interest in Ivan Fresneda?

That’s according to journalist Pete O’Rourke, who recently provided a fresh claim on the situation to GIVEMESPORT, where he said:

“I think Arsenal see him as a real potential star in the making, so I’m sure they will continue to follow his exploits at Valladolid.

“If the opportunity does come up, I’m sure they will make a move for him this summer.”

It’s thought that sporting director Edu Gaspar and co held “conversations” over a potential move during the January transfer window, as per Fabrizio Romano, with Arsenal also reportedly matching Borussia Dortmund’s bid of around £13m.

Fresneda is also believed to have a release clause in the region of £26.5m.

Is Fresneda a good summer signing at the Emirates?

Despite only being 18 years old, the former Real Madrid youngster has emerged as one of LaLiga’s best prospects as he has enjoyed a major breakthrough just 128 miles from where he was born.

Fresneda only made his full debut in Spain’s top-flight back in September but has managed to keep a regular place in Valladolid’s side, registering a total of ten appearances thus far.

One of those outings was against his former club and even though he was expectedly on the losing side, he put in a masterclass of a performance against one of the world’s best.

The teen managed to completely shut down £107m-rated phenom Vinicius Junior, who has been in the form of his life this campaign with 18 goals and nine assists in all competitions yet against Fresneda, he could only complete one of his eight dribble attempts (12.5%).

Also via Sofascore, the Brazil international’s 6.2 match rating was the worst of any Los Galacticos player, only further highlighting his struggles against the Valladolid gem, who by comparison, notched a 7.2 match rating for his efforts.

The young Spaniard has made quite the name for himself as a tough-tackling machine, capable of anticipating what the opposition is going to do. Indeed, Fresneda is among the top 2% of full-backs across Europe’s big five for tackles per 90, as well as the top 5% for clearances per 90, via FBref.

He also is among the top 10% for interceptions too, making him something of a defensive animal.

It’s likely why the former La Masia sensation has been lauded as a “very special talent” by ESPN UK editor David Cartlidge and a “remarkably complete right-back” by LaLiga expert Matt Clark in recent times.

As such, given the evidence above, Edu could well land Arsenal a phenomenal young talent in the summer but he’ll have to beat some stiff competition with Newcastle United, Dortmund and Juventus all vying for his signature.

AND in other news, Sold for £3.5m, now worth £18m: Arsenal suffered big blunder on “fearless” 25 y/o titan…

Greg O’Keeffe believes Everton’s Idrissa Gueye is currently more trouble than it’s worth after giving away a penalty last weekend.

The Lowdown: Everton not out of trouble just yet

After two wins from his opening three games as Everton manager, Sean Dyche and the Evertonians will have been hoping for a strong second half to the season, but they were brought back down to earth after a home defeat at the hands of Aston Villa.

Everton did indeed have their chances at the weekend to punish Villa having seen one effort cleared off the line by Tyrone Mings and also managed to muster up an impressive XG of 1.6 (FBRef).

However, it was lapses of concentration at the other end of the pitch that cost them, especially from veteran midfielder Gueye who tried to win the ball inside his own penalty area despite it being at a very awkward angle and it saw Anthony Taylor awarded a spot kick.

The Latest: Gueye may now be passed it

Gueye was only signed in the summer but he is indeed 33 now so is in the twilight years of his career and O’Keeffe has admitted on the All Together Now podcast that the Senegalese midfielder may be causing more problems at Everton.

He said: (16:45) “I just think for someone we brought in to give us experience – yes he does that – but to give us fine margins with his Champions League experience, international experience I just think he’s often creating more problems than he solves.”

The Verdict: Dyche will need more from his experienced players

If Everton are to put up a good enough fight to maintain their Premier League status then Dyche will know that his more senior and experienced players will have to step up and provide leadership and quality in big moments, which is the opposite of what Gueye offered up on Saturday as his 5/10 display was labelled as ‘rash’ by Chris Beesley.

Much like when James Tarkowski and Seamus Coleman have popped up with two winning goals under Dyche, the former Burnley manager will be keen for his senior professionals to not make rash decisions as Gueye did on the weekend.

There was no need for Gueye to be sliding in as he did on Saturday as there were a number of Everton bodies in front of Emiliano Buendia before he could even think of getting a shot off at goal, so there was no need to make a last-ditch slide tackle and Dyche will be furious to see someone so experienced make such a costly error.

BBC journalist Simon Stone has insisted that while West Ham fans may be angry with David Moyes, that same feeling isn’t shared within the boardroom.

The Lowdown: West Ham must kickstart their season

The Hammers looked to have finally been getting their season back on track having picked up some decent results over the course of February.

That included a huge win against relegation rivals Forest a fortnight ago, but they followed it with a midweek defeat against Manchester United and a horror display away to Brighton last time out.

David Moyes could only watch on from the sidelines as his West Ham side were annihilated by the high-flying Seagulls last weekend, but even that humbling has seemingly not put his job under threat.

The Latest: Moyes not in danger of being sacked

Stone has revealed on The Football News Show that while fans are disgruntled by Moyes and his management of the team, they shouldn’t be expecting a change as the club’s board members don’t feel the same.

He said: “This game against Brighton, that’s kind of tipped a lot of fans over the edge and leaves a lot of people questioning Moyes and losing faith in him – but that doesn’t extend to the boardroom.

“They accept Saturday wasn’t great, they accept that the club should be in a better position than the one they’re in, but they still have faith in the manager to turn this situation around, stabilise the season and probably, starting on Thursday, have a decent run in the Europa Conference League.”

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The Verdict: A risky decision by West Ham

The fact Moyes has already successfully kept West Ham up under the huge pressure of a relegation battle a few years ago has probably put him in a good spot to keep his job, not to mention the back-to-back European campaigns.

Perhaps Moyes and West Ham’s overachievements of the past two years have led to heightened expectations for every campaign, although a relegation battle arguably shouldn’t have been on the cards given the lavish spending they’ve undertaken over the last six months.

However, if West Ham head into the international break having lost to Aston Villa and potentially dropping inside the bottom three, the Hammers board could well start to get twitchy and pull the plug on Moyes’ tenure.

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has enjoyed a strong start to life at the club since replacing Steven Gerrard at the helm just before the World Cup break.

The Spanish head coach has won seven of his 13 games in charge of the Villans in the Premier League and brought in 1.77 points per game so far, following the 1-1 draw with West Ham United at the weekend.

However, the club are seven points off the top six and a late European charge may be one step too far for Emery after Gerrard won just two of the opening 11 top-flight games.

Next season, the ex-Villarreal manager will have a full summer transfer window and pre-season to prepare his squad to attack the 2023/24 campaign and it will be interesting to see who he brings in to bolster the squad.

One player the club have been linked with is Sevilla centre-forward Youssef En-Nesyri, who is reportedly available for a fee in the region of £44m (€50m) this summer.

Johan Lange must avoid any temptation to add the striker to Emery's squad as the Villa chief could end up repeating the disasterclass he had with the signing of Danny Ings from Southampton.

How did Danny Ings perform at Aston Villa?

In the 2020/21 campaign, the Englishman scored 12 goals in 29 matches for the Saints in the top-flight but his underlying statistics were warning signs that he would not be a fruitful signing for the Villans. He only completed 66% of his passes, missed six 'big chances', and lost 62% of his individual duels.

Lange spent £25m to sign the attacker in the summer of 2021 and the same underlying problems persisted. In 2021/22, Ings scored seven Premier League goals for Villa but also missed six 'big chances', completed 69% of his passes, and lost 63% of his battles in 30 appearances.

He was then sold to West Ham in January of this year for an initial £12m – £13m less than what they paid for him – and En-Nesyri could be a similarly disastrous move.

The Morocco international, who was once dubbed "dangerous" by journalist Josh Bunting, has scored five goals in 11 starts in LaLiga this season, after managing five in 15 last term, and that is a solid return on paper.

However, like Ings, his underlying statistics paint a different picture. The 25-year-old has only completed 66% of his passes, missed a whopping nine 'big chances', and lost 57% of his duels in 2022/23.

The Sevilla gem may have an impressive goal return on first glance but the striker has been profligate in front of goal and not offered much in terms of link-up play or holding the ball up for the team with his physical attributes.

Therefore, En-Nesyri could be Ings 2.0 by coming in for big money and not offering enough in his all-around game to be worth the price tag, which is why Lange must avoid this deal.

An update has emerged on Aston Villa and their interest in bolstering their defensive options heading into the summer transfer window.

What's the latest on Jordan Zemura to Aston Villa?

According to 90min, the Villans are one of a number of clubs from the Premier League who are interested in snapping up Jordan Zemura from Bournemouth.

The report claims that West Ham United are currently leading the race for his signature and are facing competition from Unai Emery, Newcastle, and Leeds United.

He is currently out of the first-team picture at the Vitality Stadium due to the ongoing contract dispute with the club and is set to be a free agent at the end of the season unless the gem can come to an agreement on an extension with the Cherries.

Who is Jordan Zemura?

The Bournemouth left-back is a 23-year-old defender who has been a regular fixture in Gary O'Neil's side in the Premier League over the course of the season so far.

He has featured in 19 of their top-flight matches, starting 17, since earning promotion from the Championship last term and is a promising young full-back.

Emery could bring him in to be the long-term heir to Lucas Digne at left-back, who turns 30 – alongside Alex Moreno – before the start of next season.

Villa signed the Frenchman from Everton for a fee of £25m last year and the defender has struggled in the Premier League this term. The flop has averaged 2.1 tackles and interceptions and 0.8 key passes per match whilst winning 51% of his individual duels and being dribbled past 0.5 times per outing, as per Sofascore.

Zemura, meanwhile, has made 2.9 tackles and interceptions and 0.9 key passes per outing to go along with winning 50% of his physical contests on the pitch.

Reporter Jack Tanner described the gem as a "livewire" and stated that the dynamo has been "having fun" on the left flank, which was also the case last term.

The youngster caught the eye in their promotion campaign by creating an impressive seven 'big chances' and scoring three goals from left-back in 32 starts, while also making 2.7 tackles and interceptions per game.

He is six years younger than Digne, and Moreno, and could come in as a player with the potential to be the long-term starter for Emery at left-back, with his statistics this season also suggesting that the gem could be an immediate, slight, upgrade on the Frenchman based on his defensive and creative output.

Therefore, Johan Lange and the Villa head coach must beat off competition from West Ham and Leeds to snap the Bournemouth full-back up on a free transfer this summer.

Crystal Palace Tyrick Mitchell came in for criticism from reporter Alex Crook during the club’s Premier League defeat to Arsenal on Sunday. 

The Lowdown: Still no win

The Eagles travelled to the Emirates with Paddy McCarthy in temporary charge following Patrick Vieira’s dismissal on Friday. He couldn’t manage a first win in 2023, though, with the Gunners running out 4-1 winners.

First-half goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka put Mikel Arteta’s men in total control at the interval, with Granit Xhaka and Saka again scoring in the second half.  Jeffrey Schlupp did pull a goal back for the Eagles, who remain just three points clear of the relegation zone.

The Latest: Mitchell criticism

Crook took to Twitter during the first half, saying that Palace ‘might need to untie’ Mitchell at half-time, with Saka ‘twisting and turning him all over the place’.

Shortly after when Saka doubled Arsenal’s lead, Crook then said:

‘Right on cue Saka plays a lovely one-two with Ben White before firing home left-footed’.

The Verdict: Afternoon to forget

It was always going to be a tough afternoon for Palace, especially Mitchell who was coming up against an in-form Saka. The Palace left-back, like his defensive teammates, struggled to contain Arsenal throughout.

As per SofaScore, Mitchell gave possession away on 13 occasions and ended with a match rating of 6.2/10 on the full-time whistle, the lowest score of any Palace defender. He made just two tackles and failed to make an interception or complete any of his attempted crosses or long balls in what was his 28th appearance of the season in all competitions.

You’d expect that Palace officials will now be looking to finalise a managerial appointment relatively quickly, who will have time to work with Mitchell and the squad ahead of a crucial home meeting with Leicester City.

Wolverhampton Wanderers look to have made a serious transfer blunder in the summer, as it seems unlikely at this point that Goncalo Guedes has a future at Molineux.

How much has Guedes cost Wolves?

Following a season of struggle in front of goal under Bruno Lage, the Old Gold looked to bring in attacking reinforcements for the Portuguese manager in the summer transfer window.

Guedes looked to be the ideal signing for the Midlands outfit, as he had hit 11 goals and six assists in the 2021/22 La Liga campaign for Valencia and was an established Portugal international, joining the large Iberian contingent at Molineux.

Wolves would pay £27.5m to sign the winger, as he signed a five-year contract at Molineux, but he struggled to have any real impact in his first few months with the club, with Lage sacked after the 2-0 defeat against West Ham in October.

The 26-year-old would make 13 appearances in the Premier League in total, contributing just one goal and one assist, with WhoScored awarding him a shocking 6.38 average rating for his performances.

Wolves' mistake with Guedes perhaps became clear with his first-half display in the 3-0 defeat against Chelsea earlier in the season, with The Athletic's Steve Madeley not holding back in his criticism of the Portuguese wide man, describing his performance as "awful."

He was expected to add quality in the final third but ranked fourth for shots, ninth for key passes and 17th for dribbles per game in the top-flight, so it was no surprise that Julen Lopetegui was not keen on keeping him around in the January transfer window.

The Spanish manager was clearly not impressed with what he saw from Guedes and he would join Benfica on loan for the rest of the season, where he has improved somewhat, notching one goal and one assist in six league appearances thus far, averaging a far more impressive 7.03 rating from WhoScored.

While he will no doubt be given another chance to impress Lopetegui in pre-season, it is poor recruitment such as this that has left Wolves in the position they find themselves in, with relegation to the Championship a very real possibility.

Should they find themselves in the second tier next season, it seems extremely unlikely that the £90k-per-week flop would stay at Wolves, and they would surely have to cash in for a significant loss.

Guedes' excessive wage means he has cost the Old Gold £2m in his 23 weeks as a Wolves player prior to his January loan exit, with Fosun having spent nearly £30m on him in total. Fortunately, Benfica are at least paying his salary until June.

Unless he can return to Molineux and redeem himself next season, that money looks as if it will go down the drain.

Glasgow Rangers return to Scottish Premiership action this afternoon following the recent international break and Michael Beale will be hoping to keep his unbeaten run going.

Dundee United are the visitors to Ibrox and the Light Blues have the perfect chance to cut the gap (at least temporarily) at the top of the table to six points, with Celtic not playing until tomorrow.

Beale has yet to taste defeat on league duty since taking over back in November and with United struggling at the bottom of the table having won just five matches all season, the Gers should be aiming for a routine victory.

Rangers enjoyed a comfortable 4-2 win over Motherwell in their last outing before the break and Beale may largely keep the same team, although Malik Tillman may be unleashed from the start given his impressive 25-minute cameo against the Steelmen.

Will Malik Tillman start for Rangers against Dundee United?

Having made his return from injury a couple of weeks ago, Tillman played 25 minutes against Motherwell and enjoyed a productive return, scoring the fourth goal which clinched all three points, making three key passes and winning 66% of his total duels, giving the impression that his recent injury didn’t affect him at all.

The Bayern Munich loanee has been a wonderful acquisition for the club and has adjusted well to Scottish football, despite the physicality proving to be a problem, with club legend Ally McCoist having previously questioned his "work rate".

The four-cap gem's slender nature and lack of first-team football meant his first few months were tough, yet he still managed to impress with his touch and ability to find space all over the pitch. The £13k-per-week maestro scored a superb solo goal against Motherwell in October, and he has scored ten goals across all competitions this season, even netting against United back in December, another reason why he should be unleashed.

Rangers Review journalist Jonny McFarlane praised the youngster earlier this year, saying: "He's got those telescopic limbs; he's a big, tall, strong lad. And he's just got the ability to nick the ball away and act as a kind of brick wall. No one's running past him, no one's running around him because he's as strong as an ox."

His embryonic partnership with Todd Cantwell is something which Beale will be hoping to see more of in the coming weeks, with journalist Joshua Barrie believing it could be an enjoyable duo, saying: “Getting him playing alongside Cantwell going forwards is an exciting prospect.”

Unleashing Tillman alongside Cantwell from the start this afternoon would certainly be an 'exciting prospect', as the American will be able to use his stellar attributes to dominate United.

Manchester United bolstered their Champions League hopes with a commanding 2-0 win over Everton at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, with Erik ten Hag's men yet again making the most of home advantage after beating Brentford just a few days earlier.

Having produced a "lifeless" display against Newcastle United just under a week ago – according to Manchester Evening News journalist, Samuel Luckhurst – the Red Devils were full of vigour this time around, notably ending the first half having had 21 attempts on goal, the most of any team in the Premier League this season.

Despite that dominance, the hosts only held a narrow one-goal lead heading in at the break, with Scott McTominay – who scored four for Scotland while on international duty – eventually making the breakthrough with a fine finish from the angle.

With United perhaps fearing that their spate of missed chances would come back to bite them – including a horror miss from Aaron Wan-Bissaka from close range – substitute Anthony Martial then made sure of the points with just under 20 minutes left to play, the Frenchman converting from close range after Marcus Rashford had capitalised on a rare Seamus Coleman mistake.

On a rather serene day for the top-four hopefuls, the standout performer was undoubtedly that of Bruno Fernandes, with the game's Man of the Match having registered a staggering tally of six key passes from his 117 touches, having been "balling" in his deep-lying role – according to presenter Terry Flewers.

That classy outing from the midfield maestro saw the 28-year-old record a standout match rating of 8.0, as per Sofascore, with that only bettered by opposition stopper Jordan Pickford among any player for either side.

The former Sporting CP ace was not alone in having bossed the midfield for Ten Hag's men, however, with that man McTominay also having been "superb", according to former MEN writer Hesham Bilal-Hafiz.

How did McTominay perform against Everton?

The 26-year-old has been offered the chance to impress in the absence of influential Brazilian, Casemiro in recent games, with it looking as if the United academy graduate has taken that opportunity with both hands due to his starring role earlier today.

Not only did the £60k-per-week man lash home his close-range effort in sumptuous style, but he also had a "very good game" overall, according to The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell, having provided a real dynamic presence in the centre of the park.

While the 6 foot 4 menace did lose possession on 17 occasions, he was able to provide a creative spark alongside Fernandes, having contributed three key passes in his 90-minute outing, while also creating one big chance.

It was McTominay's brilliance defensively that particularly caught the eye, however, as he won 11 of his total duels on the day, notably winning 100% of his aerial duels as an indication as to the physical prowess that the Lancaster-born brute can offer to the side.

That all-action display earned the 39-cap menace a solid 7.5 match rating, as per Sofascore, with that a fine reward for what was a promising performance both on an individual and collective basis.

While tougher tests may lie ahead for Ten Hag and co, the former Ajax boss can take great encouragement from today's dominant win, amid what is a hectic and relentless run of games.

Chelsea look set to confirm the appointment of Frank Lampard on a deal until the end of the season and the 44-year-old could finally get the best out of faltering midfielder, Conor Gallagher.

What's the latest news on Lampard to Chelsea?

As per the BBC, Lampard is expected to return to Stamford Bridge on a deal until the end of the season, as Todd Boehly looks to add some stability after a woeful run of form under Graham Potter.

The Blues are currently languishing in 11th position in the Premier League and face Real Madrid in the Champions League next week, so it is easy to see why prospective new managers would want a pre-season before taking over, rather than being judged for their performances this term.

Lampard should certainly command more respect from the squad, given his legendary status as a player at Stamford Bridge, which could be key after Potter failed to win them over.

Indeed, reports suggested that he was subject to a number of Harry Potter-related nicknames during his time in west London.

The former England international struggled immensely at Everon, only just about keeping them in the division, but if he can rediscover the form that saw him finish fourth under difficult circumstances in his first season as manager at the Bridge, then he could be a great caretaker until the end of the season and set the groundwork for someone new to come in with a more united squad.

During his first spell at the club, Lampard was forced to show a preference for the homegrown academy talents in Chelsea's squad and helped develop top talents such as Reece James, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori, which suggests that Gallagher could now finally get a chance to prove himself in the starting side.

Could Gallagher excel under Lampard?

After a sensational season on loan with Crystal Palace last season which saw the 23-year-old contribute an impressive eight goals and three assists, it was perhaps expected that he would return to Stamford Bridge as a regular for the 2022/23 campaign.

Former Palace boss Patrick Vieira was full of praise for the midfielder after he scored twice in a 3-1 win over Everton last year, and even compared his finishing ability to that of Lampard.

He said: “Conor has this passion for the game when he is on the field like a Ray Parlour, but I would say he has maybe the quality finishing of a Frank Lampard.

“It is a manager’s dream to have a player like Conor because when he is on the field, he will give everything."

NBC Sports journalist Joe Prince-Wright also likened him to the Chelsea legend in 2021, writing:

"Conor Gallagher continues to look like peak Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard rolled into one."

This suggests that the £50k-per-week man could have been an ideal long-term prospect for the Blues in midfield but he struggled for regular starts under both Thomas Tuchel and Potter.

Even in the absence of N'Golo Kante, the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Mateo Kovacic and even Ruben Loftus-Cheek have been preferred to Gallagher in midfield so far this term, as he boasts just ten starts and 16 substitute appearances in the top flight, with just one goal and one assist to his name.

If there is one man to get the former West Brom loanee back to his best then surely it is one of the greatest midfielders in Premier League history, so it will be interesting to see if he gets more game time when Lampard returns to the club.