Birmingham Live

Micky van de Ven has posted online after he was forced off with injury early on in Tottenham's 2-1 win over Manchester City on Wednesday. The Dutchman was only able to complete 13 minutes of the Carabao Cup fourth round tie.

Almost exactly one year on from suffering a hamstring injury that ruled him out for over two months last season, a hamstring problem has arisen once again for Van de Ven. The 23-year-old had to be treated and helped on the pitch by physios before hobbling off.

He appeared to be in tears as he made way. Van de Ven has had hamstring issues in the past and clutched immediately at the back of his right leg following a tackle with City winger Savinho.

READ | Micky van de Ven injury update as two more Tottenham players doubts for Villa

READ | Tyrone Mings shows what Villa have missed as Boubacar Kamara causes Unai Emery headache

"Micky felt something in his hamstring," Ange Postecoglou confirmed after the match. "I haven't got the full update on him but he definitely felt something and we'll see how he is."

The Australian has previously been reluctant to use Van de Ven as a left-back in the past despite his pace. "I've been mindful of Micky," he said last season. "He's had a couple of injuries and I've got to be careful with him when it comes to the demands of playing left-back in our system. I've got to think about the future and the physical demands are different at left-back."

Now, less than 24 hours after Van de Ven's teammates secured passage to the quarter-finals of the League Cup, he took to social media to offer a brief and cryptic update. He wrote on his Instagram story: "Back soon."

Alongside an image of himself during the game with his hands on the back of his head, Van de Ven's black and white post possibly suggests bad news for Spurs. Postecoglou and his side face three games in a week from Sunday against Aston Villa until the next international break.

Van de Ven is an immediate doubt to feature in the crucial top four battle against Villa after his injury. Tottenham also took off Cristian Romero and matchwinner Timo Werner as they edged past City.

"Cuti [Romero] was a bit tired." explained Postecolou. "I contemplated changing him at half-time but after losing Micky as well I didn't want to lose another centre-half.

"He said he felt ok but my gut was telling me there's no point taking a risk as we had Benny [Ben Davies] who could come on. Timo hasn't played a lot so I felt it was more fatigue hopefully than anything else."

After the disappointment of drawing to Bournemouth last weekend and being knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, Aston Villa are looking to return to winning ways on Sunday (2pm) when they take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Unai Emery's side are yet to taste defeat away from home this season after six trips in all competitions. In fact, they've won five such matches, only dropping points at Ipswich Town at the end of September.

Tottenham, meanwhile, come into the game on the back of a win over Manchester City in the Carabao Cup. But Ange Postecoglou appeared to lose defender Micky van de Ven to injury during that tie, while he will also be sweating on the availability of Cristian Romero and Timo Werner after they were replaced in the second half.

READ | Van de Ven injury update as two more Spurs players doubts for Villa

READ |Mings shows what Villa have missed as Kamara causes boss headache

Spurs have lost two of their last three league games after being defeated by Brighton and Palace on the road either side of their 4-1 win over West Ham at home. Postecoglou made five changes to his starting XI to face City in midweek, while Emery made 10.

After winning the Yashin Trophy on Monday night, Emi Martinez will return to the starting XI on Sunday. Emery faces a decision to either play Diego Carlos at centre-back or Matty Cash as the full-back, which would see Ezri Konsa play alongside Pau Torres. Lucas Digne should come back into the starting side.

Despite Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara impressing in the defeat to Palace, they both played 90 minutes after many months sidelined through their respective ACL injuries, so are unlikely to play from the off against Spurs just a few days later.

Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans will likely come back into the team as the double pivot, with Morgan Rogers supporting Ollie Watkins in attack. John McGinn was the only player to keep his place in the side in midweek and he should start again against Tottenham. Jacob Ramsey could get the nod ahead of Leon Bailey considering he was rested against Palace and did not come off the bench, while Bailey - who registered an assist - played 78 minutes.

Villa's predicted starting XI vs Spurs: Martinez, Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Ramsey, Rogers, Watkins.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has given an update on Micky van de Ven’s injury as he sweats over two more Spurs players ahead of facing Aston Villa.

Tottenham beat Manchester City 2-1 in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, but the victory came as a cost as Van de Ven was forced off with an injury during the first half and was in tears as he left the pitch.

Speaking after the final whistle, Postecoglou said: “Micky felt something in his hamstring. I haven't got the full update on him but he definitely felt something and we'll see how he is.”

READ | John Townley's Villa player ratings as Mings and Kamara impress in 2-1 Crystal Palace defeat

READ | Unai Emery defends Villa plan after Carabao Cup exit to Crystal Palace

Cristian Romero and Timo Werner also needed to be replaced during the tie. Romero came off early in the second half, while Werner hobbled off after pulling up while taking a corner.

“Cuti was a bit tired,” Postecoglou added. “I contemplated changing him at half-time but after losing Micky as well I didn't want to lose another centre-half.

“He said he felt ok but my gut was telling me there's no point taking a risk as we had Benny who could come on. Timo hasn't played a lot so I felt it was more fatigue hopefully than anything else.”

Unai Emery’s Villa travel to Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday (2pm).

Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven picked up an injury in the Carabao Cup fourth round clash against Manchester City on Wednesday night.

He is now being considered as a big doubt to feature for Spurs against Aston Villa on Sunday as he was seen clutching his hamstring and was in tears walking down the tunnel. Yves Bissouma ran after him to give him a hug after suffering what appears to be an injury which could keep him sidelined for a period of time.

Destiny Udogie replaced Van de Ven, while Christian Romero and Radu Dragusin were already playing at centre-back against City. Van de Ven missed Tottenham's home clash against Villa last season, when Unai Emery's side won 2-1.

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READ | Leon Bailey opens up on Aston Villa start as he admits 'I don't even think I am close'

Villa will head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium unbeaten in their last seven Premier League games, drawing three of their last four against Ipswich Town, Manchester United and Bournemouth.

Spurs, meanwhile, lost 1-0 to Palace at Selhurst Park last weekend and are currently five points off Villa. Ange Postecoglou's men have lost two of their last three league matches having also tasted defeat on the road to Brighton.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou is confident Son Heung-min will be able to return to action against Aston Villa on Sunday (2pm kick-off).

The forward missed Tottenham's matches against Manchester United, Ferencvaros and the defeat to Brighton before he returned to face West Ham earlier this month. But he was once again left out of the squad for their most recent matches - against AZ Alkmaar and Crystal Palace - after feeling discomfort.

Ahead of Spurs' Carabao Cup clash against Manchester City on Wednesday, Postecoglou issued an injury update on his team. He said: "Sonny, he is almost fit, but from our perspective we will aim him for the weekend. We are quite confident he will be right for the weekend.

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READ | Leon Bailey opens up on Villa start and admits 'I don't even think I am close'

"The only one who is missing out is Wilson [Odobert]. He has had a setback during the week and it seems like it is a serious one [injury]. We are waiting for more information. That is the only one that is disappointing. From the weekend, everyone is OK and Djed [Spence] is back training."

Villa manager Unai Emery has no injury worries heading into their Carabao Cup fourth round tie with Crystal Palace. Boubacar Kamara could make his first start since February, while Tyrone Mings is pushing to make an appearance for the first time in 445 days after returning from his own ACL injury.

Dermot Gallagher, the former Premier League referee, reckons match officials got it wrong when they sent off Bruno Fernandes during Manchester United's 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. The United captain was shown a straight red card just before half-time in Sunday's loss - the first dismissal of his United career.

Fernandes seemed to slip while attempting to track James Maddison's run, catching the Spurs player as he fell. Referee Chris Kavanagh immediately showed a red card, and VAR supported his decision, deeming the Portuguese international's action as serious foul play.

Unless an appeal is successful, Fernandes will miss the next three Premier League games - including Sunday's trip to Aston Villa - heaping more pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Ref Watch, Gallagher suggested the referee's view of the incident may have been obstructed. He said: "Right, a lot of debate. Look, that's referee's view, I don't think he can see it, that's my first point."

He added: "I don't think the referee sees the challenge happen. The assistant flags it, he has a different view and angle.", reports the Manchester Evening News.

Gallagher further explained: "If you run it on, this is the assistant's view, you can understand why the assistant would relay that it's high and off the ground because he's caught him high."

Gallagher elaborated: "When you play it through, you see it's a glancing blow, he doesn't catch him as he thinks. I can understand the referee not seeing it, he has to go off the assistant's view on that, he think it's high and caught him, but he hasn't. It's an optical illusion when you see it, a more palatable decision would've been a yellow card."

On the topic of VAR's involvement, he added: "I can't answer it because they talk about the threshold. I'm not a referee's coach and never would be, but those headsets, the assistant has passed it on, the referee hasn't seen it. But he's got time, he's blown his whistle, at that point time is the only ally. I wonder if he goes to the assistant they confer, they might come to the same conclusion, it might look better."

"I don't think many people, at the time, thought the assistant had any input. You hear people say the referee was quick to get the red card out. The referee was led and, in my view, the referee was led incorrectly because of that angle we saw. If you pull all your resources together, I think you come to a far different decision."

"I think the angle from the assistant, that will deceive him," Gallagher continued. "From that angle, he will say that his foot looked high, but he can't see his point of contact. He can't see the intensity or the momentum he's gained in that - I don't think he has because he's come from such a short distance and that's why it's not a red card."

"I can understand the referee not seeing it, but the assistant seeing it conveys that message, but it's got lost."

Aston Villa have no plans to cash in on homegrown ace Jacob Ramsey, the club's president of football operations Monchi has confirmed.

Villa have balanced their books with the sales of Omari Kellyman to Chelsea, Douglas Luiz to Juventus and Moussa Diaby to Al-Ittihad to ensure they will comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). Monchi led Villa's drive to raise funds but the sale of Ramsey was never on the cards.

The 23-year-old has been coveted by numerous clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, after an injury-hit 2023/24 campaign which saw him make just 16 Premier League appearances under Unai Emery. But Emery has mapped out a role for Ramsey, and the Great Barr-born midfielder provided the crucial assist for Jhon Duran's winner at West Ham on the opening day of the season.

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“If we wanted to sell Jacob Ramsey, we would have sold him already because we had different offers from different clubs,” Monchi told The Telegraph. “But Unai has big confidence in him and I think that Jacob can continue to improve his level.

"Last season was difficult for him because of three injuries, but Unai thinks that with Jacob, Aston Villa is the best thing. He’s convinced 100 per cent that Jacob’s level will increase this season.”

Villa will play in Europe for the second successive season under Emery after qualifying for the Champions League. Ramsey will hope to play a bigger part after featuring in just three of the Europa Conference League group games last year.

Aston Villa and Real Betis are reportedly set to go head-to-head in the final weeks of the transfer window as the two clubs are touted as Giovani Lo Celso's only options to leave Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite recently adding a second Copa America title to his impressive personal trophy haul, the Argentine was recently said to not be a part of Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou's plan for the upcoming season, so is up for sale. Word has reached Lo Celso's homeland, where the latest claim officially brings Villa into the fold.

TyC Sports claim the West Midlands to be one possible destination for the 28-year-old, allowing him to continue his Premier League journey in a new setting. Whilst it would mark a new adventure, he would be greeted by the familiar face of Unai Emery.

The Spaniard was critical in kickstarting the midfielder's career in Europe when bringing him to Paris Saint-Germain in 2016, and they worked with one another for the next two seasons. After that Emery offered Lo Celso a loan route out of Spurs in 2022, and the pair spent 10 months together again at Villarreal.

To complete the signing, Villa would have to see off competition from La Liga's Real Betis. As they also have personal connections with the man in question - he made 45 appearances across two years in Balompie between 2018 and 2020 - the battle would come down to who Lo Celso feels the deeper connection with.

A Betis sporting director recently stated: "He is a player who already showed his worth at Betis, who is now doing so with Argentina, and who is complementary to [Nabil] Fekir, one should not be a substitute for the other."

And of course also paramount to any transfer is Spurs' final say on the matter. The latest report states that the Londoners will only consider a permanent sale, no loans this time around, and will only listen to 'good offers'.

Relegation from the Championship hurt all associated with Birmingham City at the back end of last season - but that pain has subsided over the course of the summer and now optimism abounds. Pre-season friendlies have the juices flowing as supporters are handed their first glimpse of Blues' raft of new signings, all under the watchful eye of new boss Chris Davies.

While there remain a number of friendlies left in the schedule, everything is angled towards the visit of Reading to St Andrew's on 10 August. Seven new signings have been made, with the goalkeeping department totally transformed. Willum Willumsson, Alfie May and Emil Hansson led the line in the win over Shrewsbury Town on Saturday, too.

Blues, clearly, are not done, both in terms of recruitment and selling. Chris Davies told BirminghamLiveafter the game at the weekend that their business is 'nowhere near' finished, which is especially exciting heading into the remaining five weeks or so of the transfer window. What is the ideal scenario in what is to play out in these coming weeks?

READ: Picture is becoming clearer for Chris Davies as Blues prepare League One assault

READ: Fulham have Jay Stansfield transfer decision after 13-goal Birmingham City loan

Pre-season friendlies

Transfers in

As mentioned, Blues have been busy. Goalkeepers Ryan Allsop (Hull City) and Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Burnley) have directly replaced Neil Etheridge and John Ruddy, who left at the end of last season. Blues have refreshed their forward department with the signing of May from Charlton, fresh from winning the League One golden boot, while Blues have been to the Netherlands to recruit Hansson and Willumsson and Scotland for Alex Cochrane.

Most recently, they spent big again to sign defender Christoph Klarer from Darmstadt, who spent last season in the Bundesliga in Germany. Blues have, at the time of writing, already spent north of £10m with more funds available and more players required across the various departments of the squad.

Transfers out

The reason Blues must continue signing, simply, is because of the wave of departures since the end of last season - and those in the pipeline. As well as the exits of the five loanees, there were keeper Ruddy and Etheridge, defender Marc Roberts, striker Scott Hogan and midfielders Gary Gardner and Ivan Sunjic.

Two further players who won't be playing a part in Blues' League One charge are Juninho Bacuna and Manny Longelo; midfielder Bacuna has interest from Turkey and Longelo has been the subject of a bid from League One rivals Barnsley. Neither went to Austria for the club's pre-season camp and Davies has confirmed they'll be leaving.

The dream scenario before the deadline

Jay Stansfield is the man on everybody's lips right now. Reports have emerged that Fulham may allow the striker to leave the club on loan again this summer, after his 13-goal loan spell at St Andrew's last year - a loan in which he scooped all five end of season awards - an impressive individual campaign despite the collective demise.

Blues are spending money and aren't messing around in the market, but might attracting Stansfield - who grew a real affinity with Blues while on loan last season - prove too tricky while they're a League One side? Perhaps, but Blues may only discover if they have a genuine interest in bringing him back and make an effort to. It'd be the biggest sign of their intentions if they were to twist Fulham's arm.

Elsewhere, Blues need clarity on the futures of a number of key players. It's difficult to know at this stage as you cannot predict the movements of rival clubs, but the sooner Blues know where they stand with the likes of Paik Seung-ho, the better. The classy Korean would be a serious weapon for Davies if he were to remain, as Krystian Bielik has decided to.

They also need to know what is going to happen with Jordan James. The Welsh international was excellent for large parts of last season and scored at the weekend. Teams in the Championship and maybe even the Premier League are likely to be admirers. The resolving of James' future, which was spotlighted in January, is needed pronto.

What else do Blues need?

It wouldn't be an awfully big surprise to see Davies return to Tottenham - as he has already to add to his coaching staff - and tap into his relationship with Ange Postecoglou to pick up a young loanee or two. Strikers Will Lankshear, Alfie Devine and Dane Scarlett could all be provided with loan moves, so too Jamie Donley and Mikey Moore.

Davies wants two players fighting for each position, so another right-back is in order - Max Johnston has been linked - while there is still room for another centre half, another central midfielder and potentially another wide player, too.

Relegation from the Championship hurt all associated with Birmingham City at the back end of last season - but that pain has subsided over the course of the summer and now optimism abounds. Pre-season friendlies have the juices flowing as supporters are handed their first glimpse of Blues' raft of new signings, all under the watchful eye of new boss Chris Davies.

While there remain a number of friendlies left in the schedule, everything is angled towards the visit of Reading to St Andrew's on 10 August. Seven new signings have been made, with the goalkeeping department totally transformed. Willum Willumsson, Alfie May and Emil Hansson led the line in the win over Shrewsbury Town on Saturday, too.

Blues, clearly, are not done, both in terms of recruitment and selling. Chris Davies told BirminghamLiveafter the game at the weekend that their business is 'nowhere near' finished, which is especially exciting heading into the remaining five weeks or so of the transfer window. What is the ideal scenario in what is to play out in these coming weeks?

READ: Picture is becoming clearer for Chris Davies as Blues prepare League One assault

READ: Fulham have Jay Stansfield transfer decision after 13-goal Birmingham City loan

Pre-season friendlies

Transfers in

As mentioned, Blues have been busy. Goalkeepers Ryan Allsop (Hull City) and Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Burnley) have directly replaced Neil Etheridge and John Ruddy, who left at the end of last season. Blues have refreshed their forward department with the signing of May from Charlton, fresh from winning the League One golden boot, while Blues have been to the Netherlands to recruit Hansson and Willumsson and Scotland for Alex Cochrane.

Most recently, they spent big again to sign defender Christoph Klarer from Darmstadt, who spent last season in the Bundesliga in Germany. Blues have, at the time of writing, already spent north of £10m with more funds available and more players required across the various departments of the squad.

Transfers out

The reason Blues must continue signing, simply, is because of the wave of departures since the end of last season - and those in the pipeline. As well as the exits of the five loanees, there were keeper Ruddy and Etheridge, defender Marc Roberts, striker Scott Hogan and midfielders Gary Gardner and Ivan Sunjic.

Two further players who won't be playing a part in Blues' League One charge are Juninho Bacuna and Manny Longelo; midfielder Bacuna has interest from Turkey and Longelo has been the subject of a bid from League One rivals Barnsley. Neither went to Austria for the club's pre-season camp and Davies has confirmed they'll be leaving.

The dream scenario before the deadline

Jay Stansfield is the man on everybody's lips right now. Reports have emerged that Fulham may allow the striker to leave the club on loan again this summer, after his 13-goal loan spell at St Andrew's last year - a loan in which he scooped all five end of season awards - an impressive individual campaign despite the collective demise.

Blues are spending money and aren't messing around in the market, but might attracting Stansfield - who grew a real affinity with Blues while on loan last season - prove too tricky while they're a League One side? Perhaps, but Blues may only discover if they have a genuine interest in bringing him back and make an effort to. It'd be the biggest sign of their intentions if they were to twist Fulham's arm.

Elsewhere, Blues need clarity on the futures of a number of key players. It's difficult to know at this stage as you cannot predict the movements of rival clubs, but the sooner Blues know where they stand with the likes of Paik Seung-ho, the better. The classy Korean would be a serious weapon for Davies if he were to remain, as Krystian Bielik has decided to.

They also need to know what is going to happen with Jordan James. The Welsh international was excellent for large parts of last season and scored at the weekend. Teams in the Championship and maybe even the Premier League are likely to be admirers. The resolving of James' future, which was spotlighted in January, is needed pronto.

What else do Blues need?

It wouldn't be an awfully big surprise to see Davies return to Tottenham - as he has already to add to his coaching staff - and tap into his relationship with Ange Postecoglou to pick up a young loanee or two. Strikers Will Lankshear, Alfie Devine and Dane Scarlett could all be provided with loan moves, so too Jamie Donley and Mikey Moore.

Davies wants two players fighting for each position, so another right-back is in order - Max Johnston has been linked - while there is still room for another centre half, another central midfielder and potentially another wide player, too.