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Aston Villa are experiencing a mass exodus of players at the moment, but there is hope yet for this transfer window: QPR striker Charlie Austin remains available.

But, why should an 18-goal centre forward join a side that barely escaped relegation when it seems that top players like Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke are abandoning ship without a second thought?

Well actually, that’s exactly why.

Since Villa have been gutted of attackers, Austin could be the knight in shining armour for Tim Sherwood’s men. The Englishman has already filled that role nicely for Burnley and QPR, helping the latter gain promotion to the Premier League following the 2013/14 season.

However, the R’s will be back to playing Championship League football next season, but that doesn’t mean Austin has to be relegated along with them. Wouldn’t it be nice if Austin could be the hero for a top-flight team for a change?

Despite leaving it too late to avoid a poor finishing position, the Villans showed a glimpse of what might be in store under Sherwood’s leadership by making it to the FA Cup Final after his appointment in February. They are a team with immense promise and plenty of valuable players still left.

Among the talents still remaining at Villa Park are the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Carlos Sanchez, both of whom were often overshadowed by Benteke and Delph. Agbonlahor scored six league goals, behind only Benteke, while Sanchez is also an aggressive enforcer. Both are versatile and would provide good support for Austin.

Villa have a reputation as a selling club, so there’s a good chance for Austin to further make a name for himself and still have the option to get poached by a bigger club down the line. The 26-year-old currently has a £15m price tag on his head, but if he makes as big an impression at Aston Villa as Benteke did, he too could be fetching £32.5m before long.

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In the end, a move to the Claret and Blue is one of opportunity. A good season for Austin in Birmingham could simultaneously create two choices: open one door to building a legacy with a newly rejuvenated Villa team, or another to join a Champions League-level club. And it would be up to Austin which door to walk through.

According to French outlet L’Equipe (via SportWitness), both Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion have enquired about the availability of Angres’ striker, Karl Toko Ekambi.

The 25-year-old has been in impressive form for the French side this season having scored a commendable total of nine goals in 18 games, while also providing a decent sum of three assists.

What’s the story?

It is being reported that the Cameroonian striker is interested in a move to the Premier League, however that interest is dependent on the forward’s contractual demands.  Apparently, the former Sochaux player is insisting on receiving a wage around £50,000-a-week.

Is he worth it?

Angres’ number seven is regarded highly at his club, in part to his wealth of attacking qualities. Ekambi has demonstrated his refined finishing ability throughout his career, and he also exhibits the capacity to shoot from distance.

He is also renowned for his impressive passing ability, in addition to his capability to hold up play if necessary.

While areas of his game do require greater refinement, at his age, it is plausible to suggest that the world has yet to see the best of his abilities.

Who needs him the most?

While considering that Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their previous seven league games and that they currently occupy 14th place in the Premier League table, it isn’t implausible to argue that West Brom are the ones most in need of attacking reinforcement.

West Brom are currently languishing in 19th position, and aside from bottom club Swansea City, no team has scored fewer goals than the Baggies in England’s top flight this term. Truthfully, a total of 13 goals in 18 league games is a pitiful record, and it is evident that West Brom need to address their attacking woes.

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Perhaps Ekambi is the solution.

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Under Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman, Southampton gradually got better.

Finishes of eighth, then seventh, then sixth showed that the Saints were back in business as a truly exciting Premier League outfit, the living proof of which is the sacking of Claude Puel after a League Cup final appearance and another eighth place finish.

The harshness of the sacking can be debated, but the fact the St Mary’s outfit decided to part company with their manager based on style rather than substance tells you what you need to know about Southampton’s ambitions: they want to do things the right way at the very least.

That’s why it must be a severe kick in the teeth for Saints fans to look at the league table right now and see their club just a point and a place above the relegation zone.

This weekend it gets no easier as Tottenham Hotspur come to town, with the visitors aiming to close the gap on the top four and set themselves up for a momentum building second half of the season. Indeed, it’s just a few short weeks since Southampton visited north London to face Spurs, and came away with a 5-2 thumping on a dismal Boxing Day.

Biggest goal threat

The return of Mauricio Pochettino to St Mary’s this weekend brings with it a sense of foreboding. On Boxing day the question posed to the current manager Mauricio Pellegrino was how to set up a team for the counter-attack when your striking options are Manolo Gabbiadini – who lacks pace and is off form – and Shane Long who hadn’t scored in months.

Since then Long has managed to find the net, but it mattered little – Saints are without a win in 10 league games and find themselves in the same position they were in on Boxing day with regards new signings. Having seen their interest in Theo Walcott and Daniel Sturridge fail to materialise.

That means the pace of Nathan Redmond or Sofiane Boufal would be the Saints’ most potent threat on paper, but neither are in good form and both seem out of favour with the manager. Indeed, the boss seems reluctant to play both at the same time.

Last week away at Watford, James Ward-Prowse started on the right wing and scored two goals whilst making more tackles than any other Saints player. He is probably the most likely threat to Pochettino’s side this weekend, but that says much about the position his former club are in at the moment.

Biggest fear

Tottenham are in fifth place in the Premier League at the moment, but the congestion between Manchester United in second and themselves is marked, with only six points between them.

Three points behind the top four, and having scored 15 goals in their last five league games, Spurs are clearly a team on fire, and Harry Kane seems to be a source of constant, industrial grade fuel for it. The forward has scored ten goals in his last five starts, including two hat tricks.

When he scores, he seems to do it multiple times these days. The last time the England man scored just one goal in a game was November.

Kane is on 20 Premier League goals already this season, whilst Saints have scored just 23 as a team, but perhaps they’ll fear Dele Alli even more: in just four games against Southampton in his fledgling Spurs career, the attacking midfielder has scored five times and assisted a further four.

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It could be a long afternoon.

Most likely formation

4-2-3-1 seems to be the formation of choice for Pellegrino, with Oriol Romeu partnered in midfield by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and playing behind Dusan Tadic in each of the last four games.

The last time that changed, though, was against Tottenham on Boxing day when the manager opted for a three-man midfield with Mario Lemina joining Romeu and Hojbjerg. That might have hinted tantalisingly at a tactical switch to get more men in the middle this week if it weren’t for the fact that it failed so miserably last time.

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Everton had a period of positivity following Sam Allardyce’s arrival as manager.

The team went on a seven-game unbeaten run in the Premier League once the experienced coach became Ronald Koeman’s permanent successor in November.

Now, though, it is a different story as the team have lost their last three top-flight matches.

In that spell, the team conceded eight goals, and four of them were struck by Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday’s thumping at Wembley.

Allardyce has attempted to address the lack of firepower issue by bringing in Cenk Tosun from Besiktas.

The former Crystal Palace boss has also confirmed that talks are underway to sign Theo Walcott from Arsenal.

One area that the fans are desperate for Allardyce to strengthen is at left-back.

Leighton Baines is no closer to returning to action, while Cuco Martina has had mixed reviews since his arrival from Southampton last summer.

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Given that Baines is on the wrong side of 30 – 33 – the fans think that buying a new left-back should be a priority.

The goalkeeping situation at Liverpool has been a talking point over the last few weeks, with many fans urging the club to bring in a new stopper.

Simon Mignolet has been first choice since his move from Sunderland in 2013, but since the turn of the year he has been demoted.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has decided to give previous back-up Loris Karius the number one spot, but neither he nor Mignolet inspire much confidence in the fans.

It is generally the case that a club cannot win league titles without a world-class keeper in their ranks.

Reports have emerged over the last few weeks linking the Merseyside outfit to numerous shot-stopper’s around Europe.

Earlier this month, the Liverpool Echo claimed that Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak is on the club’s radar for a possible summer swoop.

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Impatient Liverpool fans are keen for Klopp to address the issue before the winter window shuts at 11pm.

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Aston Villa picked up their seventh league victory in a row on Sunday, defeating city rivals Birmingham 2-0 at Villa Park.

It was a deserved win for Steve Bruce’s side and the three points means they move up into second position in the English Championship table, well placed to win automatic promotion with just 15 games remaining before the end of the season.

Albert Adomah and Conor Hourihane were the goal heroes and while they won plaudits from supporters, it was Villa’s dynamic midfield display that really caught the eyes of fans.

Jack Grealish was superb throughout, bringing the game to their derby opponents, while Mile Jedinak produced a strong, disciplined performance to deny the visitors any joy in the final third.

Jedinak has appeared in less than half of Villa’s games this season but the decision by Bruce to bring him into the side was a tactical masterstroke.

Fans agreed, praising both their manager and the performance of the Australian on social media…

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Southampton climbed out of the English Premier League relegation zone on Saturday with a huge point away to Burnley at Turf Moor.

Finding themselves one goal down heading into the final moments of the match, substitute Manolo Gabbiadini popped up to lash home and rescue a draw that could prove pivotal in Saints’ fight against relegation.

It could have easily been another frustrating day for supporters but they can find solace in the late equaliser, which could be a moment to build on for Mauricio Pellegrino and his squad.

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Fans were delighted with the performance of substitute Josh Sims, who changed the game when he was introduced in the 68th minute. He went close to scoring and was only denied by a wonder save from Nick Pope, showing the kind of intent that Saints had lacked up to that point.

They’re now calling on Sims to get a start in next week’s huge relegation six-pointer at home to Stoke, believing he has the attitude and skill to help their team pick up a vital league victory.

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Will Pellegrino trust him to start?

Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

Arsenal fans are not a particularly happy bunch at the moment.

Indeed, the Gunners lost 3-0 to Manchester City in the EFL Cup final on Sunday afternoon, and are currently well off the pace when it comes to a top-four position in the Premier League table.

Arsene Wenger remains in his position as head coach, but a lot of supporters are desperate for change.

It could yet get worse for Arsenal as they prepare to welcome league leaders Man City to the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League on Thursday night.

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Ahead of the match, Arsenal’s Twitter account posted a special message for Aaron Ramsey, but it did not go down too well with all of the supporters.

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Ramsey has managed six goals and eight assists in 20 appearances for Arsenal this season, although there remain question marks over his ability to perform consistently for a club that has ambitions of winning major silverware.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Arsenal’s decision to move for Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the January transfer window has come in for some criticism, partly owing to the fact that Arsenal already possessed a wealth of attacking options bolstered by the purchase of Alexandre Lacazette in the summer.

Add in Arsenal’s woeful defending in recent games, which has seen them lose 3-0 to Manchester City in the League Cup final and 2-1 to Ostersunds in the second leg of their Europa League last 32 tie, and you begin to realise why Gunners fans aren’t particularly happy with manager Arsene Wenger’s focus on buying attacking players.

We asked Arsenal fans yesterday whether they thought they had paid over the odds when they splashed out £56m on Aubameyang, but just 36% of them believed that they had.

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To the Gabonese forward’s credit, he did score a debut goal in the 5-1 demolition of Everton earlier this month and he came closest to scoring for Arsenal in their cup final defeat at the weekend – only to have Kyle Walker snuff out the opportunity at the last second.

Furthermore, Transfrmarket values Aubemeyang a shade higher than his transfer fee at £58.5m.

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Here’s the full breakdown of how Arsenal fans voted in our poll…

The writing had been on the wall for Mauricio Pellegrino for some time at Southampton.

The Argentine was sacked on Monday evening following a dismal record in the Premier League.

In the summer, the Saints opened a new chapter by bringing in Pellegrino to replace Claude Puel, but the task did not go to plan.

In 30 top-flight matches, the coastal club won just five under Pellegrino’s leadership, which has left them one point above the relegation zone with eight games left to play.

Southampton fans have been unhappy for some time about the manager’s style of play, and his sacking would have come as no surprise to them.

Now, potential replacements have been filling the newspaper columns, with former Stoke City boss Mark Hughes believed to have held talks regarding the position, according to BBC Sport.

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While fans mull over the prospect of welcoming a new manager, they will also be digesting what Pellegrino has had to say about his dismissal.

In a statement released via the club’s official website, the Argentine said:

“As you know, my period in Southampton has finished. From the beginning I tried to do my best every single day, I tried to give back to the club and tried to represent the club with pride. Some moments we managed this, some moments we couldn’t, but we have been living a difficult season for many reasons. The manager is the face of a lot of decisions and actions, but I always tried to put the club first with my technical staff and the board behind me.

“I am really happy with the hospitality of the people of Southampton and the respect you have shown me in every moment during this experience. The fans have been behind us even in difficult games and I am really grateful for your support in those situations.

“I feel so sorry to leave the club in this situation, but when you don’t get results I understand the decision the club has to take. I wish everyone all the best for the rest of the season, I have enjoyed an amazing experience and I know that Southampton has everything required to move forward.”