Aston Villa

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport senior journalist

Aston Villa are in danger of losing their opening three home league matches in a season for only the third time, having done so in 1946 and 1969.

Unbeaten opponents Brentford won 1-0 with 10 men at Villa Park last season to complete a first league double in this fixture.

Can Villa park the doubts?

A run of seven games in 22 days this month might not define Aston Villa's season but it is likely to shape it.

Were the winless opening four fixtures of the season a false start, with six core players having departed and only two of the replacements available and trusted to play regularly straight away?

Perhaps. Villa earned three successive away wins in as many competitions before the international break; the last of those, a 3-2 league victory at Spurs, marked the true start of a new era as – for the first time – more than half of Unai Emery's starting XI were summer signings.

Five of Villa's seven matches in October are at home, providing an opportunity to build momentum domestically and in Europe. However, Villa Park is no longer the "fortress" Emery was aptly able to describe it as for so long.

Since Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest in the new year to record an 11th straight home win, they have lost six of their subsequent 11 top-flight games in Birmingham. Only three Premier League ever-presents across this season and last have a worse home record over the same period.

It contrasts sharply with their home form over the preceding 34 months, which was in touching distance of being the best in the division. Villa's home decline began with back-to-back 1-0 defeats by Everton and Brentford, while the closure of the North Stand for redevelopment this season has led to a subdued atmosphere.

Brentford's record start

Brentford are fourth in the table on nine points, their highest tally at this stage of a top-flight season.

It is also the first time they have gone unbeaten in their opening five top-flight fixtures – the Bees last fared better 20 years ago in League One. To top it off, Brentford's current seven-match league run without defeat since May is the longest in the division.

A 3-0 derby dismantling of Chelsea last time out prompted head coach Keith Andrews to admit his side are "in a pretty good place", and he rewarded the players – or at least those not called up for international duty – with a week off.

Andrews has been enthused by Brentford's "unpredictable" ability to play in different ways, from controlling games through possession to defending deep and carrying a counter-attacking threat.

One constant, though, is that they don't fall behind. That is hardly surprising for a team yet to lose, but it is eye-catching that Brentford have trailed for a mere 0.6% of their five games so far. All of that is accounted for by the three minutes and 10 seconds between them going 2-1 down away to Bournemouth and equalising.

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Boss Unai Emery has demanded home improvement from Aston Villa after using an expletive to describe their recent home form.

Villa host Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday looking for their first home win of the season.

Wins over Club Brugge in the Champions League, Coventry in the Carabao Cup and a Premier League victory at Tottenham came before the break.

But Villa have lost their home games against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, with the unbeaten Bees up next at Villa Park.

Emery said: "I am especially happy how we finished before the break, especially in Bruges, against Coventry, against Tottenham.

"But we played a very [expletive] match against Nottingham Forest at home. So how we can react, how we can change our performance at home is very, very important.

"We need the performance. How we are building the team, how we are adapting to the players we added is very, very important.

"They are going very well and they will need more time. But, as fast as possible, we have to build our structure stronger, like we did the last year."

The head coach has also refused to blame the redevelopment of the North Stand for Villa's poor home form.

The stand is being rebuilt to take Villa Park's capacity to over 50,000 and has left one end of the stadium empty.

"No excuses. No excuses. It's a plan for the club to improve, to add more supporters this year and we must sacrifice this year," he added.

The media were barred from asking questions about Manchester City and their guilty verdict at Emery's pre-match news conference on Friday.

An independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

The club have appealed against the verdict and claimed in a statement the commission's ruling contained "clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe".

Villa host City on 24 October so it is inevitable those questions will still be there in two weeks.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Brentford at Villa Park (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Amadou Onana and Matty Cash are "progressing very well" but remain unavailable. Modou Keba Cisse is set to rejoin the training group next week.

• Emery said he was "especially happy with how we finished before the break", with three wins - against Club Brugge, Coventry City and Tottenham - in four games immediately prior.

• On playing seven games in 21 days: "We need the performance. How we are building the team and how we are adapting is very, very important; how we can get better and build our structure offensively and defensively."

• He said some of the players who signed in the summer "are doing very well" while "some need more time" to adapt to their new club and settings. Emery added: "As fast as possible, we have to be stronger."

• He said the North Stand being shut for redevelopment is "no excuse" for his team's home performances so far this season and "it is very important" that they improve them.

• On winger Alejandro Garnacho: "He is improving and getting better. For him, the two weeks were very important. We worked here. There's still more to do and for him to add. Like his feet and power, and to adapt to us tactically."

• On opponents Brentford: "Tactically, I appreciate so, so much how they are playing. They are performing fantastic. They are always close to Europe. This year they are even better. They have started well, and better than us. It is a huge challenge."

Listen to live commentary of Aston Villa v Brentford on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 and BBC Sounds on Saturday.

Follow all of Fridays Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa return to Villa Park looking for their first home win of the season against Brentford.

Two defeats - by Arsenal and Nottingham Forest - contributed to a poor start but wins over Coventry City in the Carabao Cup and Tottenham in the Premier League have restored momentum.

Villa have not lost three successive home Premier League games under Unai Emery.

The last time they lost three in a row at Villa Park was January-February 2024 when Newcastle and Manchester United beat them in the league, with Chelsea also winning 3-1 in the FA Cup.

Their home form in 2026, though, has been shaky, with losses to Newcastle, Everton, Chelsea, Tottenham and Brentford coming in the second half of last season.

Fortunate wins over Brighton and Sunderland, along with a late point against Leeds, still contributed to their struggles, despite the results.

The unbeaten Bees were the only side to do the Premier League double over Villa last season, while they also knocked them out of the Carabao Cup.

Their 1-0 win at Villa Park in February came as they played more than 45 minutes with 10 men after Kevin Schade's red card.

That was their first victory at Villa Park and Keith Andrews' side will be looking to make some more history on Saturday.

Come back to this page later on Friday for all the key lines from Emery's pre-Brentford news conference.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Just five games in, it might seem a bit early to pay much attention to the Premier League table - but it's probably more settled than you think.

If we look at the Premier League after five games last season and where teams ultimately ended up, the final table was already starting to take shape as 13 of the 20 sides finished within four places of where they sat even at this early stage (65%).

Eventual champions Arsenal were second, Sunderland were already seventh - where they finished eight months later - and two of the three sides that were relegated were already in the bottom three.

The eventual champions have been in the top two at this point in the past four campaigns, suggesting - potential punishments aside - it will be Manchester City or Arsenal that lifts the trophy.

The top end of the table overall has sometimes settled surprisingly quickly in recent years. The top eight after five games in 2024-25 finished as the top eight at the end of that season (although not in the same order), while the top six in 2019-20 and top seven in 2016-17 were also in place at this early stage.

While being top after five games has not meant much in recent seasons, being bottom certainly has.

Tottenham could well be in trouble once again as the side bottom of the Premier League after five games has been relegated in six of the past seven seasons.

Being bottom this early did not used to be such a bad omen. Between 2013-14 and 2018-19, only one of the six sides that were propping up the table after five games ended up going down - Newcastle in 2015-16 - while Crystal Palace finished as high as 11th in 2017-18.

Looking at the relegation battle more broadly, at least one of the teams in the bottom three at this stage has been relegated in the past eight seasons - so one of Tottenham, Fulham and Coventry City are very likely to be heading to the Championship in May.

The pool of contestants for this season's relegation battle may already be decided too because the three sides that ultimately went down in the past three seasons were all in the bottom six after five games, which would add Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace to the mix.

The last sides to be outside the bottom six at this point but relegated were Leeds United and Southampton in 2022-23, who were both in the top half (seventh and ninth). With their teams currently in eighth and 11th place, Hull City and Ipswich Town fans will hope that is still the case at the end of this campaign.

While the season may well have barely begun, the Premier League table is already starting to take shape.

Read the piece in full here

Aston Villa are ready to strike a loan deal for Brazil forward Endrick after the 20-year-old failed to impress Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho. (Cadena SER - in Spanish), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

A number of Premier League clubs want Manchester City to be hit with both "retrospective punishments" and sanctions for the future for their mass financial rule-breaking, sources have told BBC Sport.

An independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

City have appealed against the verdict, while the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is poised to look at the findings to see if there may be any suggestions of potential misconduct.

However, there is said to be a consensus among a group of top-flight club executives that if City's appeal is unsuccessful, the sanctions should make reparations for the period when they broke the rules, while also limiting their powers in future.

There is also a feeling from at least four Premier League boardrooms that a "one-hit" points deduction resulting in relegation to the Championship would be an insufficient punishment given the severity of City's wrongdoing.

Read more on what rival clubs want

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

Image source, Getty Images

As if recent years haven't been sufficiently hard for Aston Villa fans to believe, some - 2,987 to be precise - will shortly receive their tickets for the ultimate fantasy fixture, only played by Villa-inclined video-gamers since 1983.

Those fans will be in Barcelona in four weeks from now - time which will feel like waiting for Christmas.

Some in the Villa squad, whose careers started in more humble surroundings, may be daydreaming of that too, although they had better get their daydreaming done in the next few days.

It is hard to imagine just how keen the always-on Unai Emery will be to get going when his charges return next week, having spent nearly three weeks combing over the evidence of the early games.

You can be sure he will have enough ready to occupy the players' full attention and, quite possibly, their every waking moment.

Villa did begin to pick up form just before the international break and played some impressive football in the past two games, admittedly after coming under pressure before breaking through at Tottenham.

But four points from five games - with three taken from a Spurs team that, at present, appears to have been wildly oversold by much pre-season punditry - is still a low base.

It has been an unsettling start to the campaign, or at least would've been at almost any other Premier League club besides the newly-promoted teams.

Fans of other sides who have been similarly slow out of the traps might wonder why the general tone of Villa supporters remains largely relaxed. It is a matter of trust, principally in one man.

Villa's achievement last autumn - winning 12 out of 13 Premier League games while cruising through the Europa League group stage - may not have received the credit it deserved beyond the club's own thrilled fanbase.

It followed a start of three points in five games, and it is the source of the confidence Villa fans exude now. "In Unai We Trust", they say - and why wouldn't they, given his record?

It would be foolish to doubt Villa's potential to make another autumn charge.

Injured players are returning, and the neural connections between the new signings and the existing squad members were beginning to glow last time out.

But it is also true to say that this challenge is even more difficult than a year ago. They will need to mount that push with a squad still bedding in, while sustaining a run at the highest level of European football.

Last autumn's run was once-in-a-generation stuff for most clubs outside of the elite. A similar run right now would give Villa, and especially their head coach, a convincing claim to be considered part of that elite group.

Tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights

Explore Aston Villa content on BBC Sounds here

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Alejandro Garnacho scored as Aston Villa beat Sevilla in the Antonio Puerta Trophy.

The on-loan Chelsea forward - who has played just 31 minutes this season - struck in the second half to help Villa ease to a 3-1 victory.

Isaac Romero opened the scoring after the break but Ross Barkley levelled before Garnacho scored and Max Jenner added a third.

Garnacho has been left on the bench for Villa's last four games but started at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium on Friday.

The friendly match is played in memory of Sevilla academy graduate Puerta, who died in August 2007 at the age of 22.

Puerta suffered a cardiac arrest during a La Liga match against Getafe and, despite initially appearing to recover and walking to the dressing room, collapsed again and died three days later in hospital.

Garnacho started along with Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who has made just one start since his £30m summer move from Southampton.

Sevilla paid tribute to Villa boss Unai Emery before the game, Emery having won three successive Europa Leagues with the club.

Brian Madjo returned from injury as a second-half substitute, having been out since scoring on his debut against Paris St Germain in the Super Cup in August.

Romero scored after 62 minutes but three goals in 12 minutes from Villa, starting with Barkley's 71st minute leveller, won it for the visitors.

Elizabeth Conway
Spanish football reporter

Aston Villa will walk out at Sevilla's Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium later on Friday to play a friendly for a piece of silverware that, outside of Spain, few supporters will have heard of, the Antonio Puerta Trophy.

The game is held in memory of the Sevilla academy graduate, who died in August 2007 at the age of 22 after suffering a cardiac arrest during a La Liga match against Getafe.

This year's 15th edition is particularly interesting because Villa are the first English club to be invited to play for it.

There is also an obvious connection between the two clubs.

Villa boss Unai Emery will return to the stadium where he enjoyed one of the most successful spells of his managerial career, winning the Europa League three times in a row during his spell in charge between 2013 and 2016.

Sevilla have won 12 of the previous 14 editions of the trophy, with only Granada and Boca Juniors managing to beat them.

The early editions were all-Spanish affairs, with Sevilla taking on fellow La Liga clubs, before teams from outside the country began to be invited.

Boca Juniors became the first overseas opponent in 2016, followed by Roma, Schalke, Independiente del Valle, Al-Ittihad and Al-Qadsiah.

Villa's Leon Goretzka has travelled to Sevilla after a knee injury so could be available to play.

Striker Brian Madjo is also available after being out since Villa's 2-1 loss to Paris St-Germain in the Uefa Super Cup in August, while Taylor Harwood-Bellis will also look to get more minutes.

BBC Sport contributor and Aston Villa fan Amy Finley has given her verdict on the season so far and why she's staying optimistic.

Finley said: "There will be five games where Villa typically do very badly, then suddenly we'll go on a run of form. In last season's case, we finished fourth and in the Champions League.

"The Brighton result is much easier to swallow now Brighton beat Arsenal. In that game we had no striker and it just didn't work. We lost so many members of our team in the summer transfer window.

"Villa Park was always going to be a weird place to go. That wasn't the case, the atmosphere [against Arsenal] was still great. However, you can't win a game without scoring goals so 1-0 wasn't the worst result.

"We were petrified of being mauled by the Tigers, but we were the first team not to be defeated by Hull at that time.

"Nottingham Forest at home. Oliver Glasner is Unai's kryptonite - I don't know what it is about Glasner, but he always does a number on Emery. This game was frustrating.

"One thing about Aston Villa is we don't make it easy for ourselves.

"I'm happy to go under the radar. This is going to be a good season for Aston Villa and I believe in our manager."

Listen to more from Finley below or on BBC Sounds here

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Johan Manzambi is already in the discussion with fellow nominees Lamine Yamal of Barcelona, Real Madrid's Yan Diomande and new Manchester City midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi for the best young player in the world award.

He scored three goals in four games for Switzerland at the World Cup before a knee injury ended his tournament, only a year after making his full international debut.

It is a rapid rise for a player who used to return to Freiburg's academy to do his washing.

Bernhard Weis, who gave Manzambi his debut for Freiburg Under-19s, told BBC Sport: "He is playing for the professionals and he comes to us at the academy and brings some dirty clothes.

"He didn't have a washing machine so he comes here and washes some clothes.

"I would speak with him and then he would pick up some young guys from the under-13s, under-14s and take them to the train station.

"He would see the guys and say, 'come with me, I'll take you to the station', so they could get home. That's Johan Manzambi."

As for his profile, though, Weis did not expect a Ballon d'Or nomination coming so quickly.

He added: "I didn't see that. I saw something for the first team, for us, but this way, no chance.

"The first half year at Freiburg it was not so easy for him, he's not so strong and he's not so stable. He put on five kilos and then he thought, 'now I go, it's the right moment, I will be faster and stronger'.

Massimo Lombardo, Servette's academy director agreed. He first worked with Manzambi when he was 15 and oversaw his early development before he moved to Freiburg as a 17-year-old in 2023.

"It is a real surprise for many people, that he can do something special so quickly," he told BBC Sport.

"For me, the difference he can make is because of his mentality, personality, enthusiasm and courage. He has the technical skills and tactical skills and the physical possibility now to perform in England."

Read the full piece on Manzambi here

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

The Premier League has opened a Pandora's box of problems which cannot be closed. However well-intentioned, however morally upright they mean to be, the way the product is perceived around the planet by fans will be negatively affected.

This looks like a gigantic mess, but could also become a bit of a joke, especially if they attempt to rewrite history, and change the winners' names on the Premier League and cup trophies over these past 15 years. I wouldn't want the engraver's job.

I believe financial rules brought in to prioritise financial sustainability were also aimed at limiting the money being spent by the clubs, especially the staggering, ever-inflating sums spent on sometimes fairly average players. It could lead to a de facto salary cap, which many fans would approve of.

The long-term problem for the league is easy to see here: if the top players are then offered significantly more money to play elsewhere, they will be off before you can say 'man on'.

I always thought the Premier League had taken a huge risk going down this regulatory road. As with Manchester City's future, nobody knows what the real long-term ramifications will be.

I have a suspicion it could end up being the greatest own goal in the sport's entire history.

The big take: If City are cast out of England's top leagues, what might the owners do – hang around the lower reaches, or find something else? Wasn't there the idea of a Super League? Keep that thought in the back of your mind.

Pat Nevin writes weekly in the Football Extra newsletter. If you're outside the UK and would like to receive it, sign up here.

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Most of the time it is not that big a deal if you go into the international break having just lost a club game if I am honest, as teams lose games frequently.

That is just the life of a professional footballer. You have to be able to cope with disappointment as an individual and as a team.

‌Admittedly, players will sometimes say that they want another domestic game quickly, but it is almost always specifically after a 'bad' defeat as opposed to just a run-of-the-mill loss.

‌However, if the team has genuinely played terribly, or lost a game they were expected to win comfortably, you will commonly hear the phrase "we want to have a chance to get back out there and put it right quickly".

‌Players who have had a stinker, even if their team won, might also want to get out again as soon as possible to put it right in front of their fans, or 'reset'. The 'reset' argument is just current football jargon to say, "we will try to get it right next time, and we blew it this week, sorry".

‌The international break can also have the beneficial effect of taking your mind away from a bad defeat. This is not to say that you don't care, it is just that you must compartmentalise your thoughts and feelings. Footballers are among the best at this.

‌You simply cannot go to play for your national team and spend the time brooding about what happened against Brentford last week. That way lies madness and another poor performance, only this time in front of the entire nation.

Pat Nevin writes weekly in the Football Extra newsletter. If you're outside the UK and would like to receive it, sign up here.

In part two of Tuesday's Aston Villa Q&A with football reporter Nick Mashiter, he addresses Unai Emery's future and whether the summer exits have been adequately replaced.

Martyn asked: Do you think Emery's head will ever be turned by an approach from a bigger club where he is not going to be financially strangled by 'the rules'?

Nick: Emery has built things up and would not have the control he does at Villa Park at any other club.

That is the biggest strength the club has in terms of ensuring Emery stays and remains happy but, of course, the manager has ambitions - that is clear within his personality.

He is an elite manager - he may not be at the top of that bracket but I feel he is in there - yet he has not achieved what he would have wanted to at the 'elite' clubs he has previously managed - Paris St-Germain and Arsenal.

Emery's time in Paris will always be linked to the 6–1 defeat at Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 in 2017. It is called La Remontada (The Comeback) in Spain after PSG blew a 4–0 first-leg lead.

He still won five major trophies - including Ligue 1 in 2018 - but not the Champions League and that dominated PSG's thinking until they finally lifted it last year for the first time, before defending their title in May.

Following Arsene Wenger at Arsenal was an almost impossible task.

I feel Manchester United should have gone all out for Emery in the summer (even if that meant changing their model). But the point remains that he has control at Villa - even with restrictions - and any next move would not guarantee him the same level.

Image source, Getty Images

Liam asked: Have Aston Villa adequately replaced the players who left in the summer, or are some - Nicolas Jackson for Ollie Watkins, Johan Manzambi for Youri Tielemans and Zion Suzuki for Emi Martinez - even upgrades?

Nick: There are positive signs, especially after the win at Tottenham, with Jackson, Manzambi and Suzuki all playing key roles.

They all need time to adjust to what Emery demands of them and the influence and impact of those who have left cannot be forgotten.

Villa wanted to lower the average age of the squad in the summer - and they have certainly done that - and they see Suzuki, for example, as someone who can be a crucial player for 10 years.

Watkins' work-rate and threat was key for Villa. Jackson will need to replicate that and Emery said he executed his instructions perfectly in the victory at Spurs before the break. He should only improve with more time.

Manzambi has had to wait following a knee injury but he has already made his mark with a goal and assist on his full debut at Tottenham.

Time will tell how they gel and develop. Villa achieved what they wanted in the summer - they just need to deliver now.

• Read more: How Manzambi became one of Europe's best young talents

Stu asked: Does Emery expect Victor Lindelof to be first choice centre-back for the season?

Nick: Lindelof has not let Villa down since joining on a free transfer in summer 2025.

Whether at centre-back or holding midfield, the Swede has the trust of Emery, which is the most important thing.

He only started 11 Premier League games last season, with Ezri Konsa still at the club, but made 10 Europa League appearances, including in midfield in the semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest, and started the final. Emery knows what he can deliver.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres are obviously the other centre-back options, with Harwood-Bellis still to adapt at Villa after his £30m move from Southampton.

Once he does acclimatise to Emery's demands, there would be an expectation the 24-year-old will secure a starting place, even if he has been left out of the Champions League squad.

Emery has been relying on Mings' experience and knowledge of his methods to help the squad through their transition, so his influence is also key.

It can be argued Villa are weakest at centre-back and they have only kept four Premier League clean sheets in 2026. However, in Lindelof, Emery has a lieutenant he can count on.

We asked you to send in your questions for football reporter Nick Mashiter to answer. In the first of a two-part Q&A on Tuesday, he addresses Aston Villa's recruitment and lack of success with wide attacking players.

Prit asked: Does having a slow start two years in a row mean Villa need to review their transfer strategy and ensure all business is conducted at least one week before the season starts?

Nick: The summer's transfer business, for a lot of clubs, was always going to be towards the end of the window because of the World Cup.

It was natural things were going to concertina up and, as a result, Villa's business - like many - was mostly done in August.

In an ideal world, every club and manager would like to do it earlier and Unai Emery has made it clear he wants the transfer window shut before the start of the season.

He has said Villa are essentially still in pre-season while the new players settle, which has contributed to the slow start to the campaign.

Last summer's business was limited anyway - Harvey Elliott, Jadon Sancho and Victor Lindelof arriving on deadline day. Like every club, Villa will plan - but then still have to react to the market.

Image source, Getty Images

Alex asked: Why do we keep bringing in wide attacking players that turn out to be not for us - for example, Nicolo Zaniolo, Elliott, Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho? Don't we do our due diligence?

Nick: The jury will remain out on Garnacho for a bit longer, but the early signs are not positive, with the winger left on the bench for the past four games.

But we need to look across the board, not just at the wide players.

How many signings can be called a complete success under Emery? Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans are in an exclusive club.

Pau Torres and Ian Maatsen may join them, but even Amadou Onana struggles to make the list given his injury record. Lindelof has done a job, as has Marco Bizot when called on.

Evann Guessand, Andres Garcia, Enzo Barrenechea, Samuel Iling-Junior, Jaden Philogene, Moussa Diaby and Lewis Dobbin all came and went without making much - if any, in some cases - impact.

Jhon Duran and Donyell Malen created their own headlines but were either not consistent enough - not something which can be levelled at Malen with Roma now - or never earned Emery's full faith.

Come back to this page later on Tuesday for part two of the Q&A, which will focus on Emery and whether Villa have adequately replaced the players who left in the summer.

Kosta Nedeljkovic is wanted by foreign clubs, with the on-loan Aston Villa right-back still not a regular starter for Rangers since his season-long move to Ibrox in August. (Mondo), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport