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Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has admitted that discussions are already underway in regards to the Hoops’ planning for the January transfer window, as reported by the Daily Record.

The Lowdown: Busy summer…

The 56-year-old worked closely with CEO Dominic McKay during the summer window, bringing in 12 new players to Parkhead.

Three of those came on deadline day in Jota, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Cameron Carter-Vickers, with a number of players also heading out the door.

McKay has also now left his position due to personal reasons, with Michael Nicholson in interim charge, and plans are already in place to bring in more new faces in the New Year.

The Latest: Postecoglou’s comments

Postecoglou was talking to the media, as relayed by the Daily Record, ahead of Sunday’s clash with Aberdeen and spoke about the next transfer window.

He revealed that he would once again look into the market in Japan, describing it as a ‘good time’ due to the J1 League’s end season, saying:

“We know the areas we need to bolster. It’s about getting more players that I believe can play the type of football we want to play.

“There is a mentality attached to that. It’s about the type of personalities who are going to be brave and really ambitious.

“That’s what we’re trying to target. We will definitely be adding something to the squad.

“Japan is one of the markets we’ll be looking at. Obviously I know it really well and they will get to the end of their season, which is a good time if there’s anyone who will fit into our set-up.”

Postecoglou then went on to label the summer window as ‘frantic’ in a possible swipe at former CEO McKay, before revealing that discussions are underway for the winter market.

“We will be looking everywhere. The last window was frantic. This time we want to be planning well in advance.

“We’ve identified targets and begun discussions before we get to January so that we can conclude deals a lot quicker than we did in the previous window.”

The Verdict: Good news

With Celtic yet to replace McKay on a permanent basis, some supporters may have been worrying that plans for new recruitments in 2022 were on the back burner.

However, that is not the case, as confirmed by Postecoglou, and it seems as if he is working with Nicholson in regards to bolstering the squad.

Another shrewd signing similar to Kyogo Furuhashi from the J1 League would be ideal, so hopefully Postecoglou and the Hoops hierarchy can work their magic. At least they appear to be more organised about it now than they were during a “frantic” summer.

In other news: News Celtic and Ange could do without emerges regarding Furuhashi. 

According to a report from the Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Peterborough United defender Ronnie Edwards. 

The lowdown: Rapid rise to prominence

Capped on four occasions by England at the Under-19 level, the Harlow-born starlet has quickly become a strugglers Peterborough having come through the youth ranks at Barnet.

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Still just 19, the centre-back has already amassed 41 appearances in senior football following a professional debut in 2019.

Now, it appears that the teenager could be destined for a move to the Premier League.

The latest: Spurs face transfer tussle

As per the Daily Mail report, Tottenham are set to ‘battle it out’ with London rivals Crystal Palace in the summer to land the exciting youngster.

It’s claimed that both clubs may have to fork out as much as £15m for the ace once described as a ‘Rolls Royce’ by Peterborough director of football Barry Fry.

Despite the lofty price tag, Edwards is said to have ‘caught the eye’ at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici weigh up options to bolster the ranks in the summer transfer window.

The verdict: Planning for the future

Whilst the fee may seem extortionate for a player without any top-flight experience, signing the best young talents comes at a cost, and Spurs may just have to go all out in order to win this particular race.

Albeit the current first-team squad is arguably in need of strengthening now, given their most recent 1-0 loss at home to Brighton and Hove Albion, planning for the future with shrewd signings such as this will only leave the club in safe hands for the foreseeable future.

Akin to the capture of Dele Alli in 2015, when Premier League rivals were also in the mix, signing the teenager who has produced some standout displays this season – notably when making three interceptions, completing two clearances and blocking two shots against Manchester City in the FA Cup (SofaScore) – would be a worthwhile venture.

In other news: Tottenham eyeing summer move for La Liga defender! Find out more here.

Newcastle United are hopeful they can lure Kieran Trippier to St James’ Park in January, according to The Northern Echo’s Scott Wilson. 

The lowdown

The Magpies are said to be ‘finalising their plans’ for the January transfer window and, in his discussions with head of recruitment Steve Nickson, manager Eddie Howe has identified right-back as a ‘priority area’. Howe’s existing options in the position include Emil Krafth and Javier Manquillo.

Trippier made 107 Premier League appearances before he moved from Tottenham Hotspur to Atletico Madrid in 2019, notching 18 assists in that time.

The 31-year-old, who has been called a player of real ‘quality’ by his manager Diego Simeone, is thought to be earning £77,000 per week in the Spanish capital.

The latest

According to Wilson on Twitter, ‘NUFC are hoping’ that Trippier could be guided by his 2022 World Cup ambitions as he makes a decision on his future.

Marcos Llorente, a rival for the right-back spot at the Wanda Metropolitano, ‘is seen as a coming force’, raising concerns about the Englishman’s game-time ahead of the tournament in Qatar.

Wilson revealed that the Magpies are willing to stump up £25m to make the deal happen.

The verdict

When you consider the extent of competition at right-back for England, you can understand why Trippier might be worried. Gareth Southgate could call upon Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, Kyle Walker, Tariq Lamptey and more.

Leaving the Spanish champions for a relegation-threatened English club does seem quite a step-down, but perhaps Tuesday’s night’s events could be key.

Atletico could yet finish bottom of their Champions League group, leaving them without European football in the spring. In addition, they’re already 10 points off the pace in La Liga, albeit with a game in hand.

All of a sudden, they might be a significantly less attractive proposition. That might yet prompt Trippier to strongly consider a return to his homeland.

In other news, a top Newcastle target has been revealed

According to reports in France, via Sport Witness, Issa Diop could be on his way out of West Ham in January, with AC Milan, Newcastle and Watford all sniffing around for his signature.

The Lowdown: Diop faltering

Diop has had an up and down career in east London since joining from Toulouse in 2018. He racked up 64 Premier League starts across his first two campaigns as a Hammer, but has fallen out of favour and made the XI just five times in the top flight this season (Whoscored).

That fall from grace has largely been down to the form of Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma under David Moyes, with injuries to the pair the only reason Diop has found himself back in the team in recent weeks.

He hasn’t exactly thrived since returning to the heart of the defence though, ranking as West Ham’s 16th-best performer this season. He averages a mere one aerial duel win per game, less than half that of both Ogbonna and Zouma (Whoscored).

The Latest: Hammers in contact

According to Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, translated by SW, three clubs have already initiated contact to offer Diop a route away from the Irons.

The report claims Milan have made an enquiry while Newcastle and Watford have also ‘established contacts’, although there are no specifics on whether West Ham have a desire to sell.

Diop is currently valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt, with a contract running until 2023 – the club also have an option to extend that by a further year.

The Verdict: Would be foolish from GSB

While there is no question Diop’s development has not gone as expected after his early promise in claret and blue, selling in January would be foolish, especially to a Premier League rival.

The 6 foot 4 colossus seems to have lost a bit of confidence – to go from Jose Mourinho hailing him as a “monster” who “dominated” Manchester United back in September 2018 to a player struggling to win a single header per game certainly indicates that.

However, he is still only 24, and with the injury crisis suffered at centre-back this season Moyes simply does not have the option of cashing in now. That would leave the Scot with only Craig Dawson as a senior centre-back, and it’s hard to envisage GSB splashing the cash on several winter signings to fill that gap.

With the time left on his contract, the Hammers would be much wiser allowing the Frenchman six more months to prove his worth, and simply sell up in the summer once their first-choice pairing returns if that does not happen.

In other news: Hammers fans were stunned by one man’s display vs Watford…

Everton have officially sacked Rafa Benitez, becoming the fifth manager to be shown the door since Farhad Moshiri became the majority shareholder at the club in 2016, and there are already a number of managers being named as potential suitors for the position.

Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Roberto Martinez have all been identified as rumoured targets as Benitez’s successor at the club, after Sky Sports journalist, Ben Ransom, named the trio live at Finch Farm on Sunday afternoon.

However, there is a manager that was closely linked with the Everton job before they appointed the Spaniard in the summer.

Nuno Espirito Santo is currently out of work, after being sacked by Tottenham Hotspur following a poor start to the season, and was replaced with Italian manager, Antonio Conte, but could become the perfect appointment for Everton in their current situation where they find themselves 16th in the Premier League this season.

The Portuguese coach earned his credibility and respect in the top-flight during his tenure at Wolverhampton Wanderers taking them from midtable in the Championship to a Europa League quarter-final and an FA Cup semi-final, establishing themselves as a Premier League club finishing as high as seventh in two consecutive seasons in the league under his guidance.

His 47.7% win ratio at Molineux surpasses the 47.1% Wolves completed as they won three league titles in the 1950s under Stanley Cullis, earning him high praise from respected figures in English football, with Gary Lineker hailing the manager “fabulous” upon his mutual departure from the Midlands club.

Lineker told viewers of Match of the Day after Wolves were defeated in Nuno’s last game in charge:

“Ultimately, a disappointing farewell for Nuno but he’s done a fabulous job there over the years and turned them into a real, proper Premier League club.”

Moshiri could hire Nuno and utilise his proven experience in building a club up from mediocrity to challenging in Europe and domestic competitions, finally giving Everton fans something to smile about after a nightmare season so far, with an ongoing lack of success, going further back then Moshiri’s Everton journey, which has seen the club without a trophy for almost 27 years.

Everton have confirmed in a statement that they will announce the new manager at Goodison Park in due course, with currently no word of any official approach being made for any prospective appointment so far.

That said, we think it should be the former Wolves and Tottenham boss who is handed the keys to Goodison Park.

In other news: Sky Sports journalist reveals favourites for the job

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Nottingham Forest midfielder Ben Watson made his first start since October in his side’s 3-1 win against Wigan Athletic at The City Ground last weekend, and his future prospects are certainly looking much brighter under Martin O’Neill than they were just few weeks ago.

On the chalkboard

Well, despite finishing the 2017/18 campaign in fine form and often captaining the Reds in the early stages of the current Championship season, the 33-year-old fell out of favour under previous manager Aitor Karanka following the 2-1 home defeat by Norwich City on October 20.

The midfielder suddenly found himself behind the likes of Adlene Guedioura, Claudio Yacob and Jack Colback in the central midfield pecking order, and on nine occasions between October and January he didn’t even make the substitutes’ bench for Forest in the league.

That changed following the arrival of O’Neill as Karanka’s successor however, and while he was an unused member of the 18-man squad against Bristol City he was reinstated to the starting XI and even named as skipper against the Latics last time out.

Does he have a big role to play now?

He does, but only one condition.

In the 4-4-2 system that O’Neill employed in his first match at The City Ground there should be no spot for the 33-year-old, as he no longer has the legs and box-to-box ambitions to only have one teammate alongside him.

It is no coincidence that Watson impressed as part of a midfield trio in a 4-3-3 against his former club last Saturday however, and while he did his job defensively well he could also advance forward too, knowing that he potentially had two players that would cover him if needed.

Watson looked destined for the exit door either this month or in the summer had Karanka remained with the east Midlands outfit, but with a contract not due to expire until the summer of 2020 he now must grasp the new opportunity he has been handed.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

With Southampton set to take on Burnley this afternoon after grabbing their first league victory of the season with a 1-0 win over Leeds United last weekend, Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl revealed that he has almost a full squad at his disposal apart from Jack Stephens, who is still recovering from a knee injury he picked up earlier in the season.

Taking this into account, it seems as though Hasenhuttl has a few big calls to make about who starts against the Clarets today.

On the chalkboard

One decision that we think should be fairly easy for him to make is to drop Mohamed Elyounoussi out of the team on this occasion.

The Norwegian started and played the majority of the match against Leeds, failing to register one shot on target or make one accurate cross or long ball. He also lost possession 19 times and racked up an average passing accuracy percentage of 68%, ultimately earning himself an uninspiring overall match rating of 6.3/10, making him the lowest-rated Saints player on the day according to SofaScore.

Given how the winger, who is currently valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt, was taken out of the team for the 3-1 defeat against Chelsea, it seems as though he failed to restore the faith Hasenhuttl put in him when he started against Leeds, which says to us that he may not be good enough to play at this level on a consistent basis.

So far this season, the 27-year-old has made six appearances for the Saints in the Premier League but has only managed to score one goal, which came during their 2-2 draw against Newcastle United, proving that he is not a consistent threat in front of goal.

Looking ahead to today’s game, we feel that Southampton would probably have a better chance of beating Burnley without Elyounoussi in the starting XI, instead seeing if he can have a positive impact off the bench if needed. The numbers suggest that he has not been good enough to warrant a place in the starting XI, especially after the Leeds game.

In other news: Saints could unearth ideal Romeu heir with “excellent” 18 y/o ace, Ralph is a big fan – opinion

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Luka Jovic to the London Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report from Spain (via Sport Witness), who claim that David Moyes’ side will go head to head with Tottenham Hotspur in a bid to secure the signing of the Real Madrid centre-forward at the end of the current campaign.

The report goes on to state that the 24-year-old himself is desperate to depart the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, while Carlo Ancelotti is also more than willing to part ways with the Serbia international – with the LaLiga side reported to be demanding a €30m (£25m) fee for the striker.

Imagine him & Antonio

Considering West Ham’s rather desperate need for a new centre-forward this summer, with Michail Antonio having been the Premier League side’s only recognised senior striker ever since the sale of Sebastien Haller back in January 2021, it is not difficult to understand why Moyes would be interested in a move for Jovic ahead of the Hammers’ 2022/23 campaign.

While it is true that, following his €60m (£52.4m) move to Madrid back in the summer of 2019, Jovic has struggled to make any real impact at the Bernabeu – featuring for a grand total of just 1487 minutes, the equivalent of 16 and a half matches, over his near three-year spell in Spain – the 24-year-old has nevertheless proven previously just how talented a player he is.

Indeed, over his 32 Bundesliga appearances in his final campaign with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018/19, the £16.2m-rated forward was in devasting form, scoring 17 goals, providing five assists and creating seven big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of three shots and making 0.9 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the player who Mladen Krstajic dubbed a “dangerous” talent average a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.14, ranking him as his club’s third-best performer in the top flight of German football.

However, it was not only domestically that Jovic impressed that season, as the £152k-per-week hitman was also in deadly form over his 14 Europa League fixtures, bagging ten goals, registering one assist and creating two big chances for his teammates, with these returns seeing the Serbian – who Zvezdan Terzic predicted to “explode” back in 2014 – average a SofaScore match rating of 7.26.

As such, should Jovic be able to refind this level of form following a potential switch to West Ham this summer, alongside Antonio, Moyes will have finally formed an extremely dangerous attacking duo at the London Stadium – something that has been a huge issue for the Hammers over the last year and a half.

AND in other news: Moyes could unearth WHU’s next Cottee in 18 y/o “talent” who’s “getting rave reviews”

Crystal Palace have moved on with Patrick Vieira steering the side into a much more comfortable position of 11th in the Premier League since he joined the club in the summer and made signings of a number of young players in the side, but could now be heading for his first mistake of his career with the Eagles.

What’s the word?

According to talkSPORT, Palace are front runners to sign Juventus outcast, Aaron Ramsey, after the Serie A giant’s manager, Massimiliano Allegri, confirmed that the 31-year-old will leave the club in January.

Juventus’ official club Twitter account tweeted a quote from the manager;

“@aaronramsey is an outgoing player. Instead @AlvaroMorata will not leave, he is a performance footballer. The problem with him is that he is given a wrong label. He is very important: I talked to him and I told him not to move from here. Case closed.”

Sky Sports have added that Allegri also said:

“Ramsey, he returned today after we had given him a few days off to work, to train separately, in England. In any case, he’s an outgoing player. “

The Eagles are not the only club rumoured to be interested in the midfielder, with Sport MediaSet reporting that both Newcastle United and Aston Villa are interested in securing his signature this January, following the comments from Allegri.

Fans will be fuming

Palace fans have welcomed the new era of Vieira, who has brought in a number of young players to the club that have made a great impact on the side this season so far, with loan player Conor Gallagher stealing the headlines on a number of occasions for his performances at the club.

However, adding a player like Ramsey to the team doesn’t make much sense in Vieira’s path to produce and nurture young talent at Selhurst Park, with the £175k-per-week star turning 31 years old last month, it would seem that he wouldn’t be part of a future project at the club but more of an impact signing that could hinder the development of other players.

One CPFC fan tweeted about the speculation of signing the player;

“I cannot understand why we are/were favourites to sign Aaron Ramsey. If it was as simple as ‘would you like Aaron Ramsey in the Palace team?’ then obvs it would be a yes but basically every single caveat of the deal makes no sense for us.”

Crystal Palace’s squad was the oldest in the Premier League upon Roy Hodgson’s departure, but Vieira’s appointment has seen him sign Gallagher, Odsonne Edouard, Will Hughes, Michael Olise and Marc Guehi, which has brought the average age down from 29.8 to 28.

Adding Ramsey, therefore, would only repeat Hodgson’s mistakes. Vieira must forget about the Welshman, even if his Arsenal association is tempting.

In other news: Journo reveals blow to Palace transfer target

Phil Hay has dropped an update on the current condition of Leeds United centre-forward Joe Gelhardt.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, The Athletic’s Leeds United correspondent revealed that, after limping off with what initially appeared to be a dead leg in the U23’s 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday evening, the 19-year-old is now set for further assessment to determine the seriousness of his knock.

In his post, the journalist said: “Due to have more assessments.”

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Marsch will be gutted

Considering the terrible luck Jesse Marsch has had with injuries since his arrival at the club back in March – with all of Patrick Bamford, Jamie Shackleton, Lewis Bate, Junior Firpo, Tyler Roberts and Leo Hjelde currently in the Elland Road treatment room – the news that Gelhardt could join the Whites’ stricken group ahead of Saturday’s six-pointer against Watford is sure to have left the 48-year-old gutted.

Indeed, with Bamford out of the season, should the 19-year-old be unavailable for selection this weekend, the American manager will have no fit centre-forwards in his first-team squad – something that could well lead to Marsch fielding Daniel James in a central attacking role once again.

However, with the winger having failed to impress when deployed through the middle so far this season – bagging just three goals over 17 appearances at centre-forward this season, as well as averaging an extremely disappointing WhoScored match rating of just 6.56 – it is clear to see that the absence of Gelhardt would come as a huge blow to Leeds’ chances of securing all three points at Vicarage Road.

And, with just eight points separating the 18th place Hornets and 16th place Leeds, a loss on Saturday could well see the Whites slip back into a fight for survival over the run-in of the Premier League campaign – an eventuality no one involved with the club will want to occur.

AND in other news: Orta can now axe “awful” £55k-p/w flop as Leeds eye “underrated” £12.5m-rated “threat”