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At the end, Liverpool were able to get their man when they signed Virgil van Dijk from Southampton last January.

However, the Reds were unsuccessful in their initial pursuit in a development which resulted in the Dutch centre-half not being in the right frame of mind to play for the Saints going into the 2017/18 season (Guardian).

Van Dijk, though, in a recent interview, has insisted he always gave his everything during his time at St. Mary’s.

The Breakdown

“After the end of August [and the transfer window] I put my head down, played for Southampton and gave everything,” the Liverpool defender told the BBC (via Daily Echo).

“I was happy to play because I came back from an eight-month injury. When everything happened over the summer, people doubt you.  For me, I really didn’t care as I gave everything in games and training.”

On the pitch, it is hard to argue against what van Dijk has said with the 27-year-old having truly put in some colossal performances at the back for the Saints.

However, to say he gave everything to the club entirely after effectively going on strike following his failed summer transfer to Liverpool is absurd and likely to leave some Southampton supporters feeling a little disgruntled.

Given the project Jurgen Klopp has going on at Anfield, you can understand van Dijk’s frustration at being denied his dream move at first. But making yourself unavailable for the club who pay your wages is not the classiest of ways to go about things, making the above comments that have followed more than a year later far-fetched.

Celtic have the opportunity to take a step closer to securing the Premiership title this afternoon as they welcome St Johnstone to Parkhead for their latest league outing.

Last weekend saw the Hoops open up a six-point gap at the top of the league table after defeating their Glasgow arch-rivals 2-1 in the latest Old Firm derby.

The Bhoys now have the chance to secure their fifth league win in a row by securing victory against the Saints, who are currently 10 places and 49 points below the Hoops in the league table.

Speaking in his latest press conference ahead of today’s clash, Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou revealed that winger James Forrest is the only player in his squad who will be unavailable to play due to injury.

With that in mind, here’s how we feel the home side could line up this afternoon, with three changes expected from the team which started last Sunday’s win at Ibrox.

In goal, having played in all but three of Celtic’s league games this season, it seems highly likely that Joe Hart will keep his place in the team.

For the back four, we think Postecoglou will stick with the centre-back duo of Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers, who ended up scoring the Bhoys’ winning goal in the derby last weekend.

In the two full-back positions, we predict that Greg Taylor will start once again on the left but Anthony Ralston, who the Hoops boss described as a “warrior”, will come in for Josip Juranovic on the right. Having been criticised for his “really poor” role in Rangers’ goal last weekend by Ally McCoist, Postecoglou may decide to take the Croatian out of the team on this occasion.

Moving to the midfield, having also found himself on the scoresheet last time out, we think Tom Rogic will start alongside club captain Callum McGregor.

However, next to those two, we can see David Turnbull coming in for his first start since December after being out of action for an extended period of time with a hamstring injury, leaving Reo Hatate as the man to drop out following a relatively subdued performance last weekend.

In attack, we imagine that the 56-year-old Hoops manager will stick with Jota and Giorgos Giakoumakis but bring Liel Abada back into the starting XI in place of Daizen Maeda, who completed the fewest passes of any Celtic starter six days ago.

In other news: Celtic handed fresh injury setback ahead of today’s clash, Ange will be fuming

Transfer insider Graeme Bailey has revealed that Newcastle United could now be in the mix to sign Harry Kane this summer.

The Lowdown: Future uncertain

Kane’s future at Tottenham Hotspur remains uncertain, with Manchester City still and Manchester United now reportedly interested in signing him in the summer.

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Some pundits believe that he will leave Spurs, especially if they fail to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

Kane has just picked up the Premier League’s Player of the Month (POTM) award for March, which is a joint-record seventh time with Sergio Aguero, and really needs to be playing in a team with the ambition to win trophies.

The Latest: Kane on radar

Writing in his latest piece for 90min, Bailey has revealed that Kane is one of a number of high-profile players on the St. James’ Park faithful’s radar this summer, should he end up quitting North London.

Kalvin Phillips, John Stones, Sven Botman, Nico Schlotterbeck, Lloyd Kelly, Hugo Ekitike, Darwin Nunez, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Patrik Schick are also mentioned, as well as a potential permanent deal for Matt Targett.

Bailey has also revealed that the Tyneside outfit have set a £100m budget for the summer transfer window, and taking to Twitter, he added that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) have made it clear that money is available for marquee signings:

“Newcastle have set a transfer budget for the summer. Eddie Howe will be allowed to mould squad and will look for evolution rather than revolution. That said majority owners PIF have made it clear that there is a money available for marquee signings.”

The Verdict: Exciting

While there are some very exciting targets listed, Kane is the one that really stands out, and the fact PIF are willing to splash the cash if a marquee option becomes available should have supporters on Tyneside buzzing for the summer.

After a slow start, he now has 22 goals and six assists in total over all competitions so far this season (Transfermarkt), and would no doubt be the kind of marquee signing that would make the world take notice of the Magpies.

Of course, Kane would have to believe in the long-term project, but with the ambition that the new owners have, he could well win trophies at the Toon in time if he joined.

In other news, find out what ‘interesting’ NUFC transfer update Craig Hope has now revealed here!

Rangers turn their attention to the Scottish Cup today as the Ibrox giants look to make their way to the final of the competition.

The Gers secured a place in the semi-finals of the Europa League during the week and now have the chance to progress in another cup competition to cap off a fine week for Gio van Bronckhorst’s side.

They face off against their arch-rivals at Hampden in this semi-final clash and will be hoping to use the momentum gained from their 3-1 win in Europe on Thursday night to get them over the line this afternoon.

Despite their fine victory against Braga, van Bronckhorst may look to make some changes to keep the team fresh after 120 minutes of action at Ibrox a few days ago. One player he must bring back into the starting XI is central defender Leon Balogun.

Calvin Bassey and Connor Goldson played the full match in Europe and the head coach must rest the former to avoid burning out his centre-back options. Filip Helander has been ruled out for the rest of the season and this means that the Gers cannot afford to risk any further injuries in that area of the pitch, which is why Balogun must now come in.

The £14k-per-week Nigerian machine was previously dubbed as “important” by Steven Gerrard and ex-Gers full-back Alan Hutton hailed him as  “outstanding”, which shows how highly he is rated by those who have worked with him or watched him play.

He has averaged SofaScore ratings of 6.98 and 7.01 in the Premiership and Europa League respectively.

This shows that he has been performing to a high level on a consistent basis throughout the campaign in multiple competitions, using his experience to make himself a reliable option for van Bronckhorst this term.

Who should he come in for?

Against Braga, Bassey lost two of his three aerial battles and failed to make a single clearance, block or tackle whilst making one interception – as per SofaScore.

Meanwhile, Goldson won nine of his 10 aerial battles, made five clearances, one block and two tackles – suggesting that he carried the youngster through the game from a defensive standpoint.

Therefore, Balogun’s compatriot should be the one to drop out for this game, with the experienced duo of Balogun and Goldson tasked with keeping the likes of Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi at bay this afternoon.

AND in other news, GvB starts “superhuman” gem & axes “exhausted” dud in big changes: Rangers predicted XI -…

Tottenham Hostpur have been handed a boost in their bid to bring Lautaro Martinez to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Corriere della Sera (via Sport Witness), who claim that Inter Milan have lowered their asking price for the centre-forward, with the Serie A side now believed to be willing to accept an offer of between €60-€70m (£50m-£58m) for the 24-year-old.

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The report goes on to state that both Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid have declared their interest in signing the Argentina international – for whom Inter were thought to be demanding around €100m in order to part with last summer – ahead of 2022/23.

Conte would love Martinez

Considering how prolific Martinez was under the management of Conte last season, it is not difficult to see why the 52-year-old would be keen on a deal to bring the striker to north London this summer.

Indeed, over his 38 Serie A appearances last time out, the £63m-rated forward played a starring role in Conte’s Scudetto-winning side, scoring 17 goals, registering 10 assists and creating nine big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.9 shots – the most of any Inter player – and making one key pass per game.

These returns saw the £177k-per-week hitman who Roberto Rojas dubbed an “absolute goal machine” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.17, ranking him as the Nerazzurri’s third-best player in the Italian top flight.

Furthermore, it is clear that Tottenham’s managing director, Fabio Paratici, is also a huge fan of the 24-year-old, with Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio recently stating:

“I think Tottenham will go after Lautaro because they wanted him last summer. They want another forward to play with Kane or plan for the future without Kane. Lautaro Martinez is one of the players that Fabio Paratici loves. I think it could be Lautaro’s summer and Atlético Madrid or Tottenham could be the perfect destinations for him.”

As such, with £58m very much being an asking price Tottenham could afford this summer, it would indeed appear a highly advisable move for Daniel Levy to launch an offensive for the striker come the end of the season, as it is clear that it would be a dream for both Conte and Paratici to bring the Argentine to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

AND in other news: Paratici must seal Spurs deal for £350k-p/w “monster” who would “go to war” for Conte

According to Football Insider, a new target for Tottenham Hotspur has emerged in the last week of the transfer window as they now set their sights on Sevilla defender Diego Carlos.

The Lowdown: Tottenham eye centre-half…

As reported by reliable correspondent Alasdair Gold, Spurs have a central defender on their agenda as manager Antonio Conte sets out four priority positions to strengthen in his squad.

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Alongside a new defender, it is believed that Spurs are after a right-wing-back, midfielder and striker as they seek to back Conte (football.london) – with transfer chief Fabio Paratici apparently set for a busy final week.

Tottenham are in talks to offload Tanguy Ndombele with sights set on his replacement in Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat (Fabrizio Romano), with FI now sharing news on a new name being targeted.

The Latest: Spurs open Carlos talks…

According to FI, Tottenham have ‘opened preliminary talks’ to sign the Brazil international and are interested in a swap deal to bring down his £50 million asking price.

It is believed that the Lilywhites could allow midfielder Giovani Lo Celso to go the other way to ‘sweeten the deal’.

Spurs have ‘turned their attention’ to the colossal defender as they enter the market for a centre-half in this final week transfer push.

The Verdict: Unlikely?

Depending on whether the La Liga side are open to a swap deal, it will be interesting to see how this develops, but our thoughts are this move will be rather unlikely.

Newcastle submitted a series of £30 million bids for the South American star, all of which were knocked back, perhaps highlighting just how challenging it will be to negotiate a last minute deal with Sevilla.

Given their current attempts to sign Wolves star Traore, Amrabat and FC Porto forward Luis Diaz, signing a new defender may have to wait until the summer window.

In other news: Sky Sports: Conte ‘very, very close’ to signing which ‘could excite the Tottenham fans’, find out more here.

Gio van Bronckhorst had the opportunity to bring in his own players to Rangers for the first time in January and made a number of signings.

Aaron Ramsey, Amad Diallo, Mateusz Zukowski and James Sands all came in, whilst John Souttar has been snapped up on a pre-contract ahead of the summer.

It will now be interesting to see what the Dutch coach does with a full pre-season to prepare his squad as he works with Ross Wilson to shape the team to his desire.

One player who has been touted with a switch to Ibrox this summer is Real Madrid attacker Gareth Bale, with Spanish outlet Sport naming them as a potential destination for him at the end of his contract with Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

The new Gazza

By signing the Wales international ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, van Bronckhorst can find his own Paul Gascoigne for Rangers.

After playing in the Premier League for Tottenham and Newcastle, Gascoigne made his way to Ibrox in 1995 and caught the eye for the Scottish giants as he scored 30 goals in 64 league starts for the club during his time in Glasgow.

Bale could be the next ex-Spurs and English top-flight star to shine for the Light Blues as he has enjoyed a sensational career as a forward for multiple clubs and at international level.

He has racked up 221 senior goals for club and country throughout his career for Southampton, Tottenham, Real Madrid and Wales. The winger has found the back of the net 106 times for Real in 258 outings to date, winning the Champions League on four occasions and the La Liga title twice.

Dean Saunders dubbed him a “freak of nature” and his incredible statistics for Spurs last season back up that praise. Whilst on loan with the English side in 2020/21, he scored 11 goals and provided two assists in ten league starts as he proved that he still – at the age of 32 – has the quality to deliver at the top end of the pitch on a consistent basis.

Therefore, signing him would be a big deal for Rangers as they would be bringing in a player with a recent track record of exceptional performances in a top European league and a history of winning major trophies. He has proven himself at the very top level over the years as van Bronckhorst must now make him the new Gascoigne at Ibrox by bringing him to Scotland this summer.

AND in other news, Sources: Shock Rangers transfer claim emerges that will leave Wilson excited…

Leeds United would’ve raked in a whopping £132.5m in today’s money, according to The Athletic.

This has been revealed in a new study conducted by football finance experts Kieran Maguire and Jason Laws, who have developed an inflation calculator which adjusts based on revenue increases in the English game over time.

In 2002, a pint of beer would’ve set you back around £2, but in 2022, you’d be lucky to spend less than £4. Similarly, a loaf of white bread cost around 50p two decades ago – now it exceeds the £1 mark.

But calculating football fees based on the country’s inflation (2.8% per year) isn’t enough as it doesn’t account for TV deals and other revenue streams – for example, the Premier League signed a new deal for 2022-25 worth £5.1bn for their domestic rights alone.

Ferdinand departed Elland Road for a world-record fee for a defender of £30m in July 2002, joining Manchester United, where he would go onto win six league titles and one Champions League, amongst other feats.

Using Maguire and Laws’ metrics, if the BT Sport pundit were sold in the modern day, the Yorkshire giants would’ve earned a whopping £132.5m, which would eclipse the current records for English and defensive transfers.

In the summer, Manchester City splashed a British-record £100m on Jack Grealish, whilst no defender across the globe has cost more than the £80m that the Red Devils paid for Harry Maguire in 2019.

Ferdinand’s departure was met with quite an uproar at the time, understandably so given that he joined one of the Whites’ biggest rivals at the time, following in the footsteps of Eric Cantona, about whom many at the Yorkshire club were still very bitter.

When the former England centre-back knew of interest from Sir Alex Ferguson – who would go onto laud him as “phenomenal” – and co, he sat in then-Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale’s office for six hours to thrash out an exit.

“At Leeds I went and sat in Mr. Ridsdale’s office and just sat there and waited for about five, six hours and said I’m not going until you sort out the deal for me to go to Man Utd,” he revealed to BT Sport (via The Mirror.

“I didn’t go public, I didn’t need to go. We got to a compromise, we got to a situation where he felt he was getting the right part of the deal and I got my opportunity to go to Man Utd.

“But I was adamant I wanted to go because that was the right time and the right move for me.”

United’s initial offer started at £22m for the towering colossus before Ridsdale managed to eke out a further £8m, which in the eyes of some around Elland Road was still not enough for such a crucial player.

There’s no doubt that his transfer to the red side of Manchester contributed to the undeniable furore which exits between the two bitter rivals but, upon reflection, it’s a deal which turned out to be worth its weight in gold.

AND in other news, Forget Raphinha: Marsch heading for big Leeds nightmare over £42m-rated “rare talent”…

Taking to Twitter, sharing a piece for The Telegraph, reliable reporter Matt Law has made a damning behind-the-scenes claim involving Tottenham Hotspur and Antonio Conte.

The Lowdown: Spurs fall short in January…

Spurs ended the January transfer window with the signings of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus, but they also missed out on top targets.

The Lilywhites and managing director Fabio Paratici failed to land both Adama Traore and Luiz Diaz with both men completing moves elsewhere in a blow for Conte’s options.

The former Chelsea boss reportedly asked for three major January additions, and as Spurs fall short in that regard, Law has made a damning behind-scenes claim involving Conte.

The Latest: Conte makes it clear…

According to the journalist, Conte has ‘made it clear’ that how he ‘doesn’t like’ Spurs living in hope rather than expectation when it comes to transfers.

In the piece, Law adds the Italian is ‘uncomfortable’ with this aspect of Tottenham’s dealings and hoped for a sign that the Lilywhites shared his ambition.

The Verdict: Worry for Spurs…

Appointed on an 18-month deal until the end of next season, it is arguable that Paratici’s most recent transfer window wouldn’t have done much in the way of swaying Conte into a potential extension.

Time will tell whether this will have a knock-on effect on Spurs’ season, but if they fail to make a top-four place, there is certainly a point to be made that Tottenham’s lack of January ruthlessness could come back to haunt them, perhaps making summer dealings even more difficult without elite European football to offer.

In other news: Tottenham move for ‘bargain’ international fell apart in 11th hour, he wanted to join…find out more here.

Ange Postecoglou has dropped a teasing hint on Celtic’s remaining business in the January transfer window.

What’s been said?

In recent comments cited by Football Scotland, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss suggested that, despite his earlier claim that Celtic’s business this winter was all but done, the Hoops could still look to get more deals done before the closure of the current market on January 31.

Speaking about the Parkhead side’s potential business, Postecoglou said: “There still could be some things that happen.”

Nicholson must now act

While it is true that Celtic have already been particularly active in the January transfer window, having already brought no less than five new faces to Parkhead this month, following the recent news that both Kyogo Furuhashi and Callum McGregor could be set for lengthy spells on the sidelines, as well as new signing Daizen Madea being called up to international duty, Postecoglou has once again been left short of options in a number of positions within his first-team squad.

Indeed, with Maeda linking up with the Japan squad and Kyogo still unavailable due to a hamstring injury, the Bhoys boss has been left with only Giorgos Giakoumakis as a senior option at centre-forward until at least the start of February – with the Greece international having only played 237 minutes of Premiership football this season due to his own injury troubles.

Meanwhile, with David Turnbull also sidelined with a knock, in addition to both Yosuke Ideguchi and Liel Abada picking up injuries alongside McGregor in the 2-1 Scottish Cup win over Alloa Athletic last weekend, the 56-year-old has also been left short in central midfield and on the wings.

And, with an incredibly important run of fixtures coming up for the Hoops, including the Old Firm clash on February 2, it is clear that despite having already sealed five signings this month, Michael Nicholson simply must make further moves this January in order to give Postecoglou the best possible chance of keeping pace in the Premiership title race.

In other news: Ange can land dream McGree alternative with Celtic swoop for “complete” 23 G/A dynamo