Charles N'Zogbia Close To Signing for Aston Villa from Wigan

According to ESPN, Wigan has agreed to sell Charles N'Zogbia to Aston Villa for £9.5 million (€10.79 million). The move is close to completion.

A previous bid of £9 million was turned down by Wigan.

After a lacklustre season in 2010/2011 Aston Villa were looking to add some fire power upfront. The signing of Darren Bent was a great acquisition at the halfway mark of last campaign, and now the addition of N'Zogbia will make Villa a real force to be reckoned with as they attempt to climb into Europe.

According to a July 14 Daily Mail report, Aston Villa may also look to acquire Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Over the past few years, Aston Villa have seen their squad change dramatically. With star players such as James Milner, Stewart Downing and Ashley Young leaving the side in recent times, Villa have had some shoes to fill. N'Zogbia has shown his club in the Premier League playing for club side Wigan Athletic. The French international is a real creative spark up front and could prove key in developing a link-up between the midfield and Darren Bent.

Athletic had shown that they are capable of EPL football, finishing off the season last year on a high. With N'Zogbia being the key spark behind that resurgence, do not be surprised to see this bid rejected.

Ashley Young completes Manchester United Transfer

Aston Villa winger Ashley Young has completed his much hyped move to Manchester United. The English international signed a five year contract at Old Trafford reportedly worth 19 million Euros. Young proved to be a crucial player at Villa, scoring 38 goals in his some 190 appearances.

Villa boss Alex McLeish was amongst the many people to praise Young for being picked up by such a big club. The new United man plays similar to Nani and Valencia, and will most likely play between them in an attacking midfield role, although thats not to say we won't see him feature on the wing some time or another. This season, injury proved to be a major setback for United, especially for Valencia, who was sidelined for most of the season. The addition f Young will provide some much needed relief for United in this situation, if it arises.

Young proves to be the second signing in United's transfer campaign. The Devils signed young defender Phil Jones from Balckburn earlier on, supplementing and already rock solid defence. The future looks bright for United!

The Rise and Rise of Thomas Hitzlsperger - A Blessing for West Ham United

Even though it's taken more than half the season for German midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger to make his debut for West Ham United FC, it couldn't have come at a better time for the Hammers. Nicknamed "Der Hammer" (The Hammer in English) for his punishing and accurate long range drives, Hitzlsperger comes as welcome boost for a West Ham United side that is trying to fight a relegation battle along with four or so other Premier League teams. Bought from Italian side Lazio in the previous Summer transfer window, it has taken Der Hammer more than half a season to debut for the Hammers due to an injury he picked up while on international duty for Die Mannschaft. His influence has been well noted, as all games that he's featured in he's left a significant impact on: his teammates, West Ham fans, media, pundits and opposition alike.


Although its only been three matches since he's made his mark for the Hammers, it seems that he's regaining his form that made him a media darling while at fellow EPL side Aston Villa. His return to the side has coincided with West Ham United's recent revival of form and his rocket shots against Burnely in the FA Cup and a punishing drive from 10 yards against Stoke City have been influentual in helping the Hammers try and battle relegation. Have a look at his stunning strikes and judge for yourself.


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By Marcel Abboud

Premier League January transfer window roundup

We take a look at the clubs looking to make a move for a player, and those looking to offload those not performing very well.

Arsenal: Arsene Wenger came out after his sides' 1-0 loss to Ipswich claiming that he was looking at offloading "flops" as he labelled them. Players that look to be leaving the Emirates include Arshavin, Almunia, Bendtner and Denilson. Arsenal were in the hunt for a centre back, Liverpool's Daniel Agger was apparantly in talks with the club regarding a loan deal.

Chelsea: Creativity has been lacking upfront of recent and Chelsea will be looking to add some spark in the midfield. A big name looks to be arriving at Stamford Bridge, Kaka may just be the player Chelsea need to contest the title. Interest in Bosingwa from Italy may just see Chelsea looking for a wingback also.

Liverpool: Kenny Dalglish came out this week saying that he content with the squad at hand. Nevertheless Liverpool have been linked with a number of strikers to help bring some goals to the club. Amauri and Suarez have been reported to be of interest to the Reds. Torres may also be on the move after a poor season this year. Fullbacks Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger have been attracting attention from Juventus and Arsenal.


Manchester United: Alexis Sanchez has long been tipped to join the Red Devils and this January the deal might be set in stone. Per Mertesacker has been linked with United as a busy schedule will see Ferdinand and Vidic needing rests. Wes Brown has attracted the interest of Tottenham and may just leave by the time the window closes.

Manchester City: Eastlands has already seen Edin Dzeko arrive this window however, City will look to unload from their surplus of strikers. The first to go look to be Adebayor and Santa Cruz who have not been getting as much playing time as a player of their calibre deserves.

Tottenham: After a stellar start to the season Gareth Bale has attracted the interest of the biggest clubs around Europe. However Tottenham will not let their wing man go. Tottenham have been in the hunt for David Beckham of late and a move to the club looks unlikely, but Beckham desperately wants to return to England, so stay tuned.


Aston Villa: Lyon have confirmed talks that midfielder Jean Makoun is in talks with Villa. They were also linked with an audacious loan move for Real Madrid's Karim Benzema but Jose Mourinho has looked to quell the talks. Blackpool's star performer Charlie Adams has also gained the interest of Villa scouts.

There looks to be much movement in the EPL this January and Play the Advantage will try and ensure that you hear about every move as it happens. If you are looking for news for smaller EPL clubs let us know and we will take a look deeper into the Transfer window.

News to come from Serie A and La Liga in the coming days.

English Premier League Round - Chelsea vs Aston Villa - Preview

As the Premier League gets back into full swing Chelsea take on Aston Villa. After a very unconsistant run of form Chelsea will want to put back to back wins together. Something they have not done in a long time in the League. Facing similar league form Aston Villa sit far down the table, they have failed to show quality upfront, where last season they dominated, lead by Abonglahor.
Chelsea are slowly losing contact with United, City and Arsenal as all three of the big guns have recorded wins this round. Villa have been contending with many injuries, as well as a number of signing who have failed to make an impact on the club.

Chelsea Team News: As has been the case fore a long time now, Chelsea will be without Brazillian Alex at the back. Ivanovic is suspended, while horrid performances from many Chelsea defenders has given Ancelotti a reason to consider playing Jeffrey Bruma. The 19 year old will see the game as a debut as he has not experienced any Premier League action before.

Aston Villa: A long list of injuries once again depletes the Villa line up. However fans will be pleased that Heskey and Young will return, although it is likely that they may make a start on the bench. The other Young in the squad, Luke, is out through injury and will not feature.

Chelsea will be under pressure to perform, especially as all the teams sitting above them on the table have recorded weekend victories. A string of injuries to both teams will see unusual lineups, although Chelsea may just hold off a late Villa charge.

Match Prediction: Chelsea 2   -     Aston Villa 1

Super Mario Balotelli proves his worth in Manchester

Young Italian superstar Mario Balotelli has scored three goals in City's 4-0 win against Aston Villa. Balotelli is yet to prove his 22 million dollar worth in Manchester, after his public outbursts, controversial transfer comments and arguments with team mates in training. Although with Carlos Tevez out injured the Italian got his chance to shine, and did that he did. Aston Villa provided no match for the Eastlanders who help their title contentions with their solid performance. Although an uninspired Villa performance saw them slip further down the table in what has been a far from satisfactory season.

Mancini suggested that Balotelli was happy at City, which crushed his recent comments about his playing future and Ac Milan. Mancini went on to say that the fans are behind Balotelli and that he is a key part of the squad going forward. Balotelli was named man of the match against Villa and will hope to gain another starting position in City's game next week.

English Premier League Round 16 - Liverpool vs Aston Villa

Both Liverpool and Aston Villa have had very poor seasons by their standards. Both teams infact are sitting outside the top 10 of the Premier League. Obviously both squads will be looking to win this week but with injuries to both squads neither team can be certain of this. Liverpool have been under pressure to perform with many of their players being criticised of not playing to their full potential. Aston Villa have been hit with many injuries this season the most prominant being that to Abonglahor their pacey striker who had an outstanding season last year.

Liverpool Team News: Liverpool will be without inspirational midfielder Steven Gerrard who is still out from the hamstring injury experienced during Englands international firendly. They will also be without Jamie Carragher who is still injured. They will certainly need to play at their best to recover from these major setbacks.

Aston Villa Team News: The news on the injury front is a bit better for Aston Villa. The team will welcome talented winger Marc Albrighton and Emile Heskey who return from injury and back to training. Although they may be without Bannan who experienced an injury in the match against Birmingham. Reo-Cocker is also recovering well and may feature in the game.

With many players out we may see a youngster step up and make their mark on the EPL this year. Both teams will be lokking to push higher in the table. However Aston Villa may just scrape in and take the points from Liverpool.

Match Prediction - Aston Villa 1 - Liverpool 0

What do you think? Comment with your prediction, those with correct predictions will have their chance to feature in English blog next week.