All posts by h716a5.icu

Wolves transfer news on Palhinha

Many Wolves fans have been left buzzing over some transfer news that has emerged on Joao Palhinha.

As per Record (via Sport Witness), the midfield player now has ‘one foot out’ of Sporting Lisbon with less than a week of the January transfer window to go, and the Midlands club have been named as one of his next potential destinations.

Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla are also interested in his signature, and ‘many approaches’ from agents have been made in the past few days.

Sporting are also asking for a reduced price from what they wanted in the summer, now €30m (£25m), and it is Palhinha’s ‘dream’ to play in the Premier League, suggesting that the Molineux faithful have a good chance of signing him.

The Portugal international would give Bruno Lage a headache in terms of midfield selection, as he is currently averaging more tackles, shots and dribbles per game in Liga NOS than Leander Dendoncker, Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves are in the Premier League, and he has also contributed with three goals (WhoScored).

Wolves fans on Palhinha transfer news

These WWFC supporters buzzed as the transfer news was shared on Twitter, with one supporter hailing it as the ‘perfect’ deal for Fosun…

“Huge yes”

Credit: @ethanlilley1877

“Just imagine him and Neves in midfield. Get it done Wolves use the money for Traore deal”

Credit: @leighwolf007

“I NEED HIM, forget Renato Sanches.”

Credit: @__Grav

“Him or Mendes and we keep Adama Europe is on”

Credit: @DaneWWFC

“Fosun open to right players/deals and this is literally a perfect example of this, c’mon Jeff”

Credit: @calwwfc_

“Jeff please just give Sporting the €30m they want for him, then hope he wants to move”

Credit: @djgreen27

In other news, find out who Tim Spiers has now backed the Wanderers to sign here!

A step towards reclaiming No. 1 rank – Ponting

Australia captain Ricky Ponting hopes the two-Test series in India next month will be a step towards reclaiming the number one Test ranking

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2010Ricky Ponting hopes the two-Test series in India next month will be a step towards Australia reclaiming the No. 1 Test ranking. Australia are presently fourth in the ratings, 14 points behind top-ranked India, and a 2-0 win for the visitors will narrow the gap to four.”It’s an important tour for all of us,” Pointing said before his side’s departure to India. “I don’t expect miracles, but I expect a very high level of performance over the next few weeks. If we happen to play the cricket I know we are capable of in India, and we can win that series, that will do great things for us to get back up near the No. 1 ranking.”Australia and India have been neck-and-neck in Test cricket over the past decade: India won seven matches, including two away, while Australia prevailed in six. Their last tour to India was one of the more one-sided contests, which the hosts won 2-0. In the build-up to this tour, there have been suggestions that it wasn’t ideal preparation ahead of the Ashes that begin later in the year. Ponting, however, dismissed those claims.”There’s been a bit of talk the last few weeks about our preparation into what we’ve got later in the summer, and I definitely couldn’t be happier with it, playing Test cricket at this time of year. I think it will be great to be challenged by a very good team and by the conditions. I think it will be great for us when November (and the Ashes) comes around.”Ponting also called upon the ICC to act quickly on the spot-fixing allegations that have marred Pakistan’s ongoing tour of England. “The events of the last couple of weeks have had a big impact I’m sure around the world on the way that the game is viewed, but that’s completely out of our hands. The ICC needs to be doing whatever it can to get on top of these things as quickly as possible.”Three Pakistan players – Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif – were provisionally suspended by the ICC after the spot-fixing controversy broke during the Lord’s Test. Yesterday, the ICC launched an investigation into the third ODI at The Oval, after receiving information from newspaper prior to the game on Friday, alleging bookies were aware of certain scoring patterns that occurred during the match. Ponting lauded the ICC’s moves to curb the menace, and said there was little players could do except play honest cricket.”They’ve done a pretty good job over the last few weeks already and with this latest allegation, hopefully they will get to the bottom of this pretty quick as well,” Ponting said. “There’s nothing we [players] can do about that. As an Australian cricket team, all we can do is play the best brand of cricket day in and day out.”I think if we all do the right things on the field, hopefully there will be something positive coming back on the newspaper pages about the game of cricket, which is what we will try and achieve.”

Can Football learn from the NFL’s equality?

The Cincinnati Bengals were the basement dwellers of the NFL in the 2019 season, winning only two of their 16 games. Two years later, the Bengals are heading for the Super Bowl to compete against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, courtesy of the excellence of quarterback Joe Burrow. Cincinnati capitalised on the draft system in the NFL to use the first-overall pick in the 2020 Draft to select Burrow out of the LSU Tigers.

Over the last two years, Burrow has turned a perennial underachiever into a Super Bowl team, ending their drought without a playoff win that spanned 32 years. The 25-year-old can join an elite list of players to win the Super Bowl in their second year as a starting quarterback if he leads the Bengals to the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first time.

One of the most common Super Bowl bets will be back to back Burrow to win the MVP award for the game, given that quarterbacks win the gong more often than not he is a sound option to take if lining up a wager on the game. A victory for the Bengals and Burrow would further champion the equality of the NFL system that may hammer home the point about the imbalance that football is experiencing across Europe.

In the Premier League, Manchester City are on pace to win the title for the fourth time in six years. Bayern Munich are on course to win the Bundesliga for the 10th time in a row, while Paris Saint-Germain should close out the Ligue 1 crown for the eighth time in the last 11 years.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have also enjoyed imperious runs in LaLiga, which have only been spoiled recently by the rise of Atletico Madrid. Juventus won nine-straight Serie A crowns before Inter Milan finally ended their imperious hold over the Scudetto.

Football has a problem with the same teams repeating their success over and over again based on their significant resources at their disposal rather than nous and skill. Teams have thrived in the NFL, none more so than the New England Patriots, who won six Super Bowls over a 20-year span, featuring runs of three titles in four seasons between 2001 and 2004 and three in five seasons between 2014 and 2018.

Possessing the best quarterback and best head coach in Tom Brady and Bill Belichick allowed the Patriots to be an outlier from the rest of the NFL, with the rest of the franchises forced to endure the peaks and troughs of the system.

You can argue that football has rewarded the same levels of excellence, featuring Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson and now City under Guardiola. However, the examples of the Bengals are few and far between outside of Leicester City’s one-off. In the NFL, the Bengals are an example of a number of teams that have risen from the bottom to the top.

The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2017 by defeating the Patriots, while the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants and the New Orleans Saints enjoyed rare peaks at the top of the league after significant periods of struggle. Meanwhile, Leicester’s triumph in the Premier League was enjoyable to watch due to the refreshing element of a new team winning the league rather than the usual suspects.

The system in place has ensured that those sides at the top are remaining a permanent fixture rather than subject to the usual ebbs and flow of the high-level sport. For the benefit of the game and fans across Europe, it should be time to address the issue head-on.

Image from: unsplash.com

Two Spurs changes Conte must make for Brighton

This is part of The Transfer Tavern’s Talking Tactics series, where we analyse two changes the manager should make in their upcoming fixture.

The Lowdown: Spurs return to action…

Tottenham take on Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup fourth round today after a near-two week hiatus as Antonio Conte’s side look to kick off February with a win.

Lilywhites supporters will be hoping that their side’s arguably lack-lustre January transfer window, in which the Lilywhites fell short of delivering Conte’s alleged demand of three major signings, won’t came back to haunt them.

The two signings Spurs managed to get through the door, Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus, are in fact available but Conte has confirmed neither will start.

Regardless, if the latter man does get to make his debut off the bench today, we believe Spurs could finally unearth an heir to former club favourite Christian Eriksen if Conte takes a gamble and deploys Kulusevski in an attacking midfield role.

Kulusevski…Eriksen 2.0?

The Sweden international is highly versatile and has played in a variety of positions across midfield, both out wide and through the middle (Transfermarkt).

Conte himself as raved over Kulusevski’s ability to slot in many different roles, including as a number nine or number 10, whilst also hinting he could be deployed as a wing-back (Twitter).

We believe, however, that the 21-year-old could come as the surprise heir to Eriksen and replicate his creativity in an attacking midfield role.

While Conte hasn’t really chosen to use a 3-4-1-2 at Spurs, today could be the perfect time to revisit that tactic with Kulusevski’s arrival, especially considering the player himself admitted in 2020 that he sees himself as a ‘trequartista behind the strikers’.

Indeed, he has been described in past seasons as an ‘athletic phenomenon’ and ‘advanced playmaker’ with ‘above average intelligence and decision making’ in the final third by Football Talent Scout Jack Kulig.

As well as this, during his best season in Serie A for ex-club Parma over 2019/2020, the attacker averaged a brilliant 2.2 key passes and 2.1 completed dribbles per 90 according to WhoScored.

These numbers somewhat replicate that of Eriksen’s best years in north London, and taking this into account, a Conte gamble with Kulusevski as a 10 could end up being a huge win.

Lucas Moura…a RWB ‘monster’?

While Conte has hinted the Scandinavian could play right-wing-back after Tottenham missed out on Adama Traore for that specific role, we believe Spurs’ boss has actually had the perfect solution all along in Lucas Moura.

The Italian is clearly looking for a threatening outlet for Spurs in that area, as evident by transfer chief Fabio Paratici wanting Traore, who averaged a phenomenal 4.2 successful take-ons per 90 for ex-club Wolves in the Premier League (WhoScored).

This is a higher number than any of Conte’s current crop, but with current winger Lucas, Tottenham could also win the lottery with another gamble by trying him at RWB.

The Brazilian’s numbers in terms of completed dribbles, while not as impressive as Traore’s, still trump that of any Lilywhites man in the Premier League this season.

Indeed, Lucas has averaged a noteworthy 2.4 successful take-ons per match whilst also attracting the second-most fouls behind compatriot Emerson Royal (WhoScored).

The 29-year-old also ranks third in terms of shots at goal and key passes per 90 out of Spurs’ squad (WhoScored), highlighting his obvious threat.

Tottenham legend Graham Roberts has even endorsed him for this role before, and we believe Conte could certainly strike gold by utilising Lucas as a wing-back.

Leeds United playmaker Raphinha has even called Lucas a ‘monster’, coming as yet more evidence the South American potentially has what it takes for a makeshift new position.

In other news: ‘A question of when’…Source close to ENIC makes Spurs sale claim after what Levy has ‘said’, find out more here.

Smith happy with South Africa improvement

South Africa have been forced to experiment this series, with Jacques Kallis’s calm head missing from the top of the order, and captain Graeme Smith unable to rely on the menace of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel with the ball due to a slew of injuries

Liam Brickhill at Bloemfontein15-Oct-2010South Africa have been forced to experiment this series, with Jacques Kallis’s calm head missing from the top of the order, and captain Graeme Smith unable to rely on the menace of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel with the ball due to a slew of injuries.But an authoritative 64-run win in the first one-day international against Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein has eased worries about South Africa’s second string, and Smith urged the newer members of the squad to make the most of their opportunities and “make those positions their own”.”You’ve got two guys [Morkel and Steyn]”, explained Smith. “One has bounce and he can hit 145 km/h, the other has swing and can hit 140 to 150km/h. They are wonderful assets to have. At the moment we don’t have that, but it’s an opportunity for guys to still get their skills right.””Some of these guys are going to be performing in the next games, and when those guys are back and fit these guys will be looking to stake claims, so it’s important that they show their worth.”While Smith made sure to mention David Miller’s expressive half-century – which came from just 30 balls and included five fours and two enormous sixes – he held special praise for the stellar knock from Colin Ingram. He became the first South African – and the sixth batsman overall – to strike a century on ODI debut and his aggressive 124 boosted South Africa’s total well out of reach.”I think he [Ingram] was pretty nervous walking in today, but he remained calm and stuck to his game plan. He’s done a lot of work at domestic level, and he was able to bring that here. He trusted himself out there today and that’s an important mindset to have. If you put the work in, it’s about going in there and allowing yourself to trust yourself, and I think that was quite evident today.”Smith confirmed that South Africa will be without Morkel’s services at least until the final game of the series in Benoni on Friday and suggested there were times at which South Africa’s replacement bowlers let Zimbabwe’s batsmen dictate terms. Nevertheless he insisted that the bowlers had, on the whole, progressed from their unconvincing performances in the Twenty20s.”It’s always difficult to rate a performance like that,” said Smith. “We put 350 on the board, but it was a very quick outfield and a beautiful batting wicket. I think in patches with the ball we were very good. There were times we drifted a little bit. Maybe the first ten overs was an area we were a little bit loose.”We let them get away a bit but from then until about the 35th or 36th over I thought we were very good. From there, once you realise a team is not being competitive anymore it makes it a little bit tough in the cold like that. There are always things to improve on, but compared to Sunday’s bowling performance, it was a lot better.”

Villa receive Matthias Ginter update

Aston Villa have learned the latest information regarding the future of summer transfer target Matthias Ginter ahead of a potential swoop for the Borussia Mönchengladbach defender.

What’s the story?

Ginter, who is set to become a free agent this summer, was questioned regarding links to the Premier League club, with the 28-year-old responding by saying to German media outlet Sport1:

“I would like to hold back on specific clubs or domestic and foreign issues for the time being.

“But of course, you talk to different people and you have a few things that are important to you. Then you will see everything else.”

The 46-cap Germany international could sign a contract extension with Gladbach in the coming weeks, however, it appears as though the 28-year-old will be available to sign for free in the summer.

Earlier this week, Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas shared that Sky Germany had reported Aston Villa’s interest.

Villa need Ginter

It’s no secret that Villa manager Steven Gerrard will be looking to heavily bolster his squad as the Englishman prepares for his first full season in charge of the West Midlands outfit next term.

There’s no doubt that, under the 41-year-old, Villa have improved, however, there has certainly been inconsistency throughout.

After ending a run of just one league win in seven matches with three consecutive victories, the Villans have since gone on to lose their last four matches in the top flight.

Moreover, in the last four matches, Gerrard’s men have conceded nine goals, with the statuses of Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa being regular centre-backs again next season now under scrutiny.

Therefore, signing a defender with the quality and experience of Ginter would certainly be a shrewd move, particularly signing the German on a free transfer.

The Germany international is still a regular fixture in his country’s squads, having been part of the World Cup-winning side in 2014 and has made 46 appearances for the national team, now managed by former Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick.

In terms of the current campaign, the 28-year-old has also been a regular for Gladbach, missing just three Bundesliga matches all season.

However, in general, it’s been a disappointing campaign for the North-Rhine outfit – who currently sit 11th in the German top flight with European football looking extremely unlikely next term.

The £21.6m-rated centre-back currently averages a whopping 80.2 touches per league game, whilst completing 84% of his passes and making 1.3 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and three clearances per game.

According to SofaScore, Mings has been Villa’s best-performing centre-back this season. However, the 29-year-old averages fewer touches than Ginter with 59 whilst completing 81% of his passes and making 1.2 interceptions, 0.7 tackles and 3.9 clearances.

Although the 28-year-old has only played in the Bundesliga throughout his career, it’s clear to see the quality and experience Villa would be receiving by securing his signature, so now it’s on sporting director Johan Lange to strike as the centre-back is seemingly set on a new challenge elsewhere.

AND in other news: Forget Young: Gerrard must finally unleash Aston Villa’s £2.5k-p/w “mini Gareth Barry”

Pakistan must remove players' insecurity – Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq has urged Pakistan to work towards removing the uncertainty players feel over their place in the team because such an atmosphere is counterproductive to their success

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2010Shortly after playing the “greatest innings” of his career, Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq has urged the team management and administration to work towards removing the uncertainty players feel over their place in the team because such an atmosphere is counterproductive to Pakistan’s success. Razzaq, who blitzed 109 off 72 balls to wrench the second ODI from South Africa’s grasp in Abu Dhabi, said he too felt insecure about his spot in the side and that Pakistan had failed to maximise his potential over the years.”I always play the match as if it is my last,” Razzaq said. “If players have this constant fear hanging over them that they will fail and then be dropped then they will never be able to perform properly. Even I felt that if I didn’t do anything in this game I would be dropped. This threat has to be removed from the team because it is not productive.”Those guys who don’t perform for a couple of matches, they shouldn’t be dropped so quickly. They need to be encouraged and their morale needs to be boosted.”Razzaq launched his breathtaking assault against South Africa from No. 7 in the line-up, a position at which he’s batted 81 times in his 245-ODI career. The remainder of his innings, however, has been spread over every position, from opener to No. 11. He’s also not been a regular member of the ODI side, despite his match-turning potential, and was exiled for two years for his association with the unofficial Indian Cricket League.”I think my talent has not been properly utilised both in batting and bowling, especially, my batting spot has never been permanent,” Razzaq said. “I don’t think I have been utilised properly over the last five or six years as a batsman.”Sunday’s performance against South Africa was Razzaq’s first fifty-plus score in over four years and his first century since September 2004. It was the third time in 2010, however, that Razzaq pulled off victory for Pakistan. In the previous two instances, he scored 46 off 18 balls in a Twenty20 international against England in Dubai, and 44 off 20 balls in an ODI at Lord’s.Razzaq hoped his century against South Africa would lift Pakistan cricket, which is reeling from spot-fixing allegations and poor on-field performances. “Every time there is a controversy or we lose one or two matches, people start to write us off, which is wrong,” Razzaq said. “I would request the fans to please keep faith in us so that we can lift ourselves.”The ODI series between Pakistan and South Africa is level at 1-1 ahead of the third match on Tuesday in Dubai.

Everton could offer Delph a new contract

Everton are still at risk of being relegated down to the Championship at the end of their current Premier League campaign.

Despite their unfortunate position in the league table, it seems as though a potential clue has been dropped over one deal the Toffees could look to get done at Finch Farm during the upcoming summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist and transfer insider Pete O’Rourke had this to say about the possibility of Everton offering midfielder Fabian Delph a new contract in the summer when his current deal expires.

He said: “Potentially, it could maybe have Everton have a rethink on what they’re going to do with Fabian Delph.

“I think before that game, many people would have expected Delph to leave on a free transfer when his contract is up, but he came in from the cold against Manchester United and performed really well in that midfield role.

“For Everton right now, he’s obviously out of contract. He’s not getting any younger either, so, it’s going to be hard for him to turn things around and get a new deal at Goodison Park.”

Fans would be furious

Since arriving at the Merseyside club back in the 2019 summer transfer window, the Englishman has made just 37 appearances for the Toffees across all competitions and is yet to score a goal or provide an assist.

Having picked up a significant number of injuries since moving to Goodison Park, Delph hasn’t been the most reliable of figures in Everton’s squad over the past few years.

However, as O’Rourke mentioned, the 32-year-old did put in a solid shift against Manchester United in the 1-0 win between the two sides earlier this month.

Despite this, the midfielder has failed to impose himself as a solid option for the Toffees in the Premier League this season, with WhoScored giving him a rather uninspiring overall performance rating of just 6.46.

With that in mind and the fact that Delph didn’t exactly hit it off with the Everton supporters when he got involved in a social media spat with one of them back in the early months of his time as a Toffees player, it presumably wouldn’t please a lot of those fans to see him get given a new deal.

In other news: Lampard can now axe “reckless” Everton dud with move for “powerful” £27m-rated machine

Late strikes give Sri Lanka the edge

A masterful 80 by Darren Bravo was all that stood in the way of Sri Lanka, as they closed out the third day of the second Test 222 runs ahead

The Bulletin by Andrew Fernando25-Nov-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDarren Bravo’s classy 80 ended in the day’s penultimate over•AFPA masterful 80 by Darren Bravo was all that stood in the way of Sri Lanka, as they closed out the third day of the second Test 222 runs ahead. Darren Bravo was assured as he notched up his second half-century in as many innings in Tests, even as his more illustrious team-mates struggled to come to terms with the skill and variation of the Sri Lankan attack. The visitors looked good to end the day just three down as the gloom set in over Premadasa Stadium, but a double-strike from Tillakaratne Dilshan minutes before stumps meant Sri Lanka were still well in the hunt for a win and the visitors were left to ponder how they might save the Test.Darren Bravo was difficult to tie down in his 129-ball stay, happy to settle into a steady rhythm of singles for the majority of the afternoon, but taking the attack to the spinners and forcing Kumar Sangakkara to adjust the field when it became too tight for his liking. He hit four sixes and they may as well have all been carbon copies of each other. Thrice he waltzed down to left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, getting to the pitch of the ball to launch him over long-on and long-off, while Mendis, too, was treated to a lofted wallop that sailed over the ropes in the same area.Darren Bravo fell in the penultimate over of the day to a stunning catch. Having watched Brendan Nash perish two balls prior, Darren Bravo tried to hit out against Dilshan, but his attempted slog over midwicket – perhaps the first rash stroke he played all day – took the leading edge and looped in the air on the off side. Herath, who was fielding at backward point, ran towards cover and flung himself horizontally, arms outstretched, and the ball landed in his palms mid-flight and his ecstatic teammates converged to congratulate him.Sri Lanka looked to step up the scoring in the morning, as they attempted to force a win in the rain-hit match, declaring at 387 for 9, after the tail had chipped in with some valuable runs. Kumar Sangakkara departed early on, having hit a couple of imperious boundaries off Kemar Roach, and Prasanna Jayawardene’s 34 guided Sri Lanka steadily towards a formidable first-innings total.Herath batted well in the company of the other lower-order batsmen, and exploited some negative field placements to make some quick runs, tempering occasional aggression with a series of canny ones and twos. He remained unbeaten on 24 when the declaration came and the hosts had left themselves just enough time before lunch to knock over Adrian Barath.Chris Gayle began the afternoon session with some typically brutal strikes off the wayward Suranga Lakmal and his 30-ball stay was littered with glimpses of the kind of arrogance with which he flayed the Sri Lankan attack during his triple-ton in Galle. Gayle drilled boundaries through cover and point, but was not always his domineering self, as he survived a couple of close lbw shouts off Lakmal, who bowled the odd good delivery amid the rubbish. Gayle was out hooking for 31, top-edging a steepling bouncer to Angelo Mathews, who shuffled around at the square-leg boundary to snaffle the chance, giving Lakmal his first wicket in Tests.Shivnarine Chanderpaul didn’t last too long, falling to a Mendis legbreak and Nash never looked comfortable at the crease during his strained 29. The spinners tormented him outside the off stump while Lakmal, too, caused some nervous moments with the short ball. He was given a reprieve on 15 when a well-directed bouncer from Lakmal induced a top- edge, but Prasanna Jayawardene’s valiant effort – running full tilt towards backward-square for about thirty metres – was not enough to end his stay, the ball brushing past the wicketkeeper’s gloves as he put in a full-length dive. He was eventually adjudged lbw by Asad Rauf, giving Dilshan the first of his two quick wickets. Bad light intervened soon after Darren Bravo had departed and caused yet another premature end to play, with two days remaining in the Test.

McAvennie hails Celtic injury news

Former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie has hailed the ‘brilliant’ news that Georgios Giakoumakis is fit for the Hoops’ clash with Ross County.

The Lowdown: Giakoumakis impresses for Celtic

The Greek has enjoyed an impressive first season at Parkhead, having arrived from VVV-Venlo during last summer’s transfer window.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/key-latest-celtic-updates-3/” title=”Key latest Celtic updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Giakoumakis may only have been limited to 16 appearances to date but he has scored nine goals in that time, proving to be a ruthless performer for Ange Postecoglou’s side.

Celtic head to Ross County for a key Scottish Premiership clash on Sunday afternoon and it has been confirmed that the 27-year-old is fit for the game after recovering from injury.

The Latest: McAvennie hails ‘brilliant’ news

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie revealed his happiness at the news:

“Having Giakoumakis back is brilliant news. I think we really missed him last weekend. Kyogo wasn’t really at it when he came on but he has missed so much football.

“Giakoumakis has only missed a week or so, so he should be good to go because he is the man in form. He is scoring for fun at the moment and if he is fully fit, you would back him to grab a few more before the end of the season.

“These are big games and big players need to step up if we are going to win the title. That’s all you can do when there are players like Kyogo sniffing around.

“Just keep scoring. In fairness, that’s what he’d been doing.”

The Verdict: Massive boost

Whether or not Giakoumakis is deemed fit enough to start against Ross County remains to be seen but having him back in the fold is an almighty boost.

Rangers’ 3-1 win away to Motherwell on Saturday means the Hoops are now only three points clear of their rivals at the top of the table, highlighting the importance of this match.

Giakoumakis’ aforementioned goalscoring record this season shows how clinical he can be and it could be that he ends up being the difference between the two sides, making a huge contribution in the title race.

In other news, Celtic are reportedly in talks to sign one player. Find out who it is here.

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