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As per The Courier, Sunderland are the latest club to register an interest in St. Johnstone midfielder Ali McCann.

The Lowdown: SAFC need midfielders

Sunderland are preparing for the new campaign as they once again target promotion to the Championship.

However, they are in need of new midfielders given Josh Scowen, Grant Leadbitter and Max Power all left the Stadium of Light following the end of the previous term (The Northern Echo).

The Latest: Black Cats eye McCann

Now, it seems Lee Johnson has a midfield target in mind in St. Johnstone man McCann.

They are not the only side interested in his services, though, with Celtic, Hull and Stoke all said to be in pursuit of the 21-year-old. He is said to be valued by his club at £2m.

The Verdict: Top target

Despite only being 21, McCann already has plenty of experience under his belt. He has made 84 appearances for his current outfit, and also appeared 13 times on loan for Stranraer (Transfermarkt). He has also enjoyed a certain amount of success, helping St. Johnstone win both the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup last season.

His former midfield partner Jason Holt said McCann was “undroppable” last year (via The Glasgow Times), and he has arguably only improved since then. St. Johnstone will always struggle to hold on to their top performers – if Sunderland can manage to win the battle for McCann, they would be getting their hands on a top talent for the future.

In other news, Sunderland fans rage at this official club tweet.

Arsenal have submitted an offer for Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic, according to reports in Italy…

What’s the word?

La Repubblica claim that the Gunners have bid around €70m (£58.5m) for the 21-year-old and La Viola president Rocco Commisso is now prepared to let him leave Florence this month.

The Fiorentina supremo has grown impatient with Vlahovic’s attitude and the behaviour from his representatives after it was confirmed back in October that he would not be signing a new contract.

In recent weeks, the Daily Mail revealed how his transfer could cost a total of £150m when factoring in wages and other fees, so the north London giants will have to pay a premium to see him arrive at the Emirates Stadium before January 31st.

Get it done!

Arsenal are in desperate need of reinforcements this month, that much is obvious following Sunday’s north London derby postponement.

With virus cases on the increase, players at the Africa Cup of Nations, Granit Xhaka suspended and other injuries mounting up, Mikel Arteta has been left with a threadbare squad this week.

There is a longer-term issue emerging, though.

Alexandre Lacazette’s contract is up at the end of the season and there has been no incline that he’s prepared to extend his current deal, so right now, the French veteran is set to leave, whilst Pierre-Emerick Aubamyang’s future is by no means certainly after he was stripped of the captaincy.

It means a new frontman is needed and Vlahovic would surely be a dream signing for the young Spanish head coach.

The Serbia international has been in electric form in front of goal this season – as per Transfermarkt, he’s delivered 19 goals in 23 appearances, meaning he’s found the net once every 102.5 minutes.

That builds on his impressive form for Fiorentina last season, where he bagged 21 goals in the Serie A.

He has since been lauded as a “complete number nine” by Italian football expert Conor Clancy, whilst his former coach Ivan Tomic dubbed him a goalscoring “monster” with shades of Zlatan Ibrahimovic about him.

Valued at £63m by Transfermarkt, the Gunners would do very well to secure him for just £58.5m. He’s a player that Arteta desperately needs, so it’s on Edu Gaspar and co to seal a move for him at all costs before the end of the month.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Partey: Arsenal can find new Santi Cazorla in £49.5m-rated “outrageous talent”…

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

West Ham are expecting fresh investment in the club in the coming week, according to an inside source…

What’s the word?

It’s widely believed that Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, who is the co-owner of Sparta Prague, will purchase a 27% minority stake in the Irons but the deal was thrown into doubt amid reports from 90min.

They claimed that the east London outfit were awaiting government approval so they could finalise matters. However, this does not appear to be the case, as revealed by a club insider to Claret and Hugh this week.

A deal is instead expected to go through in the next seven days after the 46-year-old was spotted in the directors’ box at the London Stadium for the Hammers’ phenomenal 3-2 win over Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Exciting times

This latest update should alleviate any fears that may have brewed from those initial reports and there won’t be a better time to announce such a move, with the bulk of David Moyes’ squad on international duty.

It is also right before the January transfer window, where the Scotsman will undoubtedly be looking to bolster his playing squad, instead of resting on their laurels.

A striker is likely to sit high on his priorities as Michail Antonio, 31, remains his only senior option in the role and he has dealt with plenty of injury problems in the past.

Whether Kretinsky’s investment helps pay any debt or is used for first-team business certainly remains to be seen but either way, it’s going to provide West Ham with a healthy cash injection that’ll benefit them in many different ways, and that has to be an exciting prospect for the Irons faithful.

The Hammers are clearly a club on the up after they moved to third in the Premier League standings at the weekend, whilst they have qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League just days earlier.

Only 18 months ago, they were battling relegation, having avoided it with just one game to spare. Now, they’re arguably in the greatest position they have ever been in.

The Athletic have also claimed that this deal would spell the beginning of the end for GSB. That’ll only delight many supporters even more as they have regularly demonstrated and protested against their ownership.

It’s certainly an exciting time to be a West Ham fan and this development will only thrill those around the London Stadium even more.

AND in other news, Completed just 11 passes: West Ham’s £80k-p/w “bundle of energy” destroyed Liverpool…

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 -…

Sunderland will be looking to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to Charlton on Saturday as they travel away to face QPR in the League Cup on Tuesday.

The Black Cats succumbed to a loss at the weekend as Jayden Stockley scored the only goal for the Addicks, sending Sunderland down to fourth in the table.

They now have a chance to regain momentum and gain some confidence as they face a Championship side in QPR, with the chance of progressing through to the fifth round of the competition.

Lee Johnson could make some changes to his team to freshen the team up and give other players a chance to show that they deserve to start in the league. As part of this, one player he must ruthlessly axe from the team is attacking midfielder Alex Pritchard.

The former Huddersfield and Norwich playmaker recorded the joint-lowest SofaScore rating (6.4) for Sunderland against Charlton as turned in a worrying display in midfield. Per the same source, he lost 85.7% (6/7) of his duels on the pitch, whilst failing to make a single tackle, interception, block or clearance.

This shows that he was a lightweight in his 50/50 battles and did not put the hard work in defensively to win possession back and get his side back on the front foot.

On the ball, he was inconsistent. Via SofaScore, he created three chances for his teammates as he showed off his quality to open up defences in the final third. However, he also had a dribble success rate of 0% and gave possession away 20 times from 52 touches, whilst also completing three of his eight attempted crosses and long balls.

Therefore, he was not able to prove that he can be reliable off the ball or on the ball. Despite showing flashes of quality, the overall standard of his performance was not good enough and that was reflected in the final score as Charlton won the match.

Johnson must axe Pritchard from the XI for the encounter with QPR after proving himself to be a liability to the team, giving him the chance to get his head down in training and focus on next weekend’s League One game against Rotherham. Hopefully, it will fuel the fire inside the midfielder and encourage him to up his levels ahead of playing a starring role against the Millers.

AND in other news, Possession lost 18x: Sunderland dud with 25% dribble success had a ‘mare vs Charlton…

Fulham have made the first move in their bid to bring Michael Obafemi to Craven Cottage this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claimed that Tony Khan has made an approach to Southampton regarding the availability of the 21-year-old striker ahead of a potential move for the Republic of Ireland under-21 international in what remains of the summer transfer window.

Indeed, talkSPORT’s Alex Crook recently claimed in a post on Twitter that Blackburn Rovers, Bournemouth and Fulham, as well as a host of other Championship clubs, are interested in the striker, with whom Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are believed to be willing to part ways this summer.

However, following Football League World’s latest update, it would seem as if the Cottagers could be leading the race for Obafemi.

Fans will be buzzing

With Khan having already landed two impressive signings in the shape of Harry Wilson and Paulo Gazzaniga in the summer transfer window, reports that Fulham’s director of football appears intent on continuing the Cottagers’ business in the transfer market – particularly for a player as exciting as Obafemi – are sure to have the Craven Cottage faithful buzzing.

Indeed, despite starting just eight of his 21 Premier League appearances back in 2019/20, the £2.7m-rated centre-forward still bagged three goals, provided two assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 0.6 shots and making 0.5 key passes per game.

As such, taking into account that the £12k-per-week Obafemi is still just 21 years of age, the man who Hasenhuttl dubbed a “quality” player would very much seem to be an incredibly exciting prospect.

If Khan can follow up on his initial contact with an acceptable offer for the striker, the prospective signing of the Southampton starlet certainly appears to have the potential to go down as something of a transfer masterclass by the Cottagers co-owner.

In other news: Bye-bye Seri: Khan must seal Fulham deal for £518k-rated gem, he won’t cost a penny

Celtic centre-back Christopher Jullien is no closer to making a return to first team action.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a claim made by Kieran Devlin, with The Athletic journalist revealing in a recent Q&A that, after pushing back the 28-year-old’s predicted return date a number of times already, the club are no longer putting a timeframe on exactly when they believe the former France under-20 international will be back in action.

Devlin added that Jullien’s recovery from the injury he suffered in December 2020 has gone extremely poorly, also suggesting that he is none the wiser as to when the centre-back could potentially step back onto the Parkhead pitch.

In response to a fan asking for an update on the defender, the journalist said: “Return date kept getting pushed back and pushed back, and now there’s no estimated return date anymore. Think the club just didn’t want to put a date on it anymore, so [I’m] uncertain when he might be back. His recovery from the injury last December has just gone really, really poorly.”

Postecoglou will be fuming

With Celtic’s run of bad luck concerning injuries seemingly never-ending since Ange Postecoglou’s arrival at the club, the news that Jullien appears no closer to making a return to action will undoubtedly have left the 56-year-old fuming.

Indeed, with centre-back duo Stephen Welsh and Carl Starfelt both spending time on the sidelines due to knocks this season, Postecoglou would have very much enjoyed being able to call upon a player of Jullien’s ability as, prior to picking up his injury last year, the 28-year-old was in exceptional form for the Hoops.

Over his nine Premiership fixtures in Celtic’s 2020/21 campaign, the £4.95m-rated Frenchman helped his side to keep five clean sheets, scored one goal and registered one assist, as well as making 1.2 interceptions, 1.2 tackles and 3.6 clearances and winning 6.9 duels per game.

These returns saw the £20k-per-week defender average a SofaScore match rating of 7.43, ranking him as the club’s second-best performer in the league last season.

However, with Devlin suggesting that the Frenchman is still some way off being ready for a return to first team football, Postecoglou has no other choice but to continue getting by without the centre-back, whose return to action is undoubtedly a case of the sooner the better for the Bhoys.

In other news – “Heard similar rumours…”: Devlin drops behind-the-scenes Celtic claim which fans will love

Tottenham Hotspur could look to offload struggling midfield star Dele Alli in the January transfer window, according to Daily Star journalist Paul Brown…

What’s the word?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT this week, the reporter said:

“I think the club as a whole, if they get the right offer for Dele Alli, they probably would take it.”

During the last winter window, the 25-year-old was linked with a move away from north London but that failed to materialise, though other reports suggested that chairman Daniel Levy was against such a decision.

He appears to have changed his tune since, with Football Insider suggesting that he is available for a transfer due to him being ‘difficult to manage’ behind the scenes.

Time’s up?

It has certainly been a fall from grace for the 37-time England international, who has not been called up to Gareth Southgate’s squad since June 2019.

Back in 2016/17, the former MK Dons starlet emerged as one of the Premier League’s biggest and brightest young talents, off the back of 22 goals and 13 assists across all competitions, earning some comparisons to top-flight greats Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes.

But in recent years, Alli has struggled to replicate such exploits and has been on a downward spiral ever since ex-manager Jose Mourinho was seen lambasting him as “lazy” in more colourful language in the club’s ‘All or Nothing’ docuseries that was broadcast on Amazon.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/tottenham-hotspur-latest-team-injury-team-news-updates-transfers-gossip-rumours-antonio-conte-thfc” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

Since the start of the 2019/20 campaign, nearly two-and-a-half years ago, the £27m-rated playmaker has provided 12 goals and ten assists across major competitions, via WhoScored. A fraction of what he managed in that one season.

His latest appearance in a Lilywhites shirt drew some scathing reviews, including one from former midfielder Jamie O’Hara, who unleashed on Alli after their humiliating 2-1 defeat to NS Mura last week.

“Some of the players – and I’ll name them as well – Doherty, Ndombele, Dele Alli, Davinson Sanchez were absolutely shocking. They should be ashamed of their performances tonight. I don’t think you’ll see a few of these in a Spurs shirt ever again.”

Indeed, these are thoughts echoed by much of the Spurs faithful. When asked by Football FanCast recently, some 86% of nearly 300 supporters believe the long-serving star has no future under Antonio Conte.

If the north Londoners can garner some sort of fee for him in the upcoming transfer windows, then it could seriously bolster the Italian’s playing squad and as such, they must surely be buzzing by the news that he could be sold in the near future.

AND in other news, Spurs set for game-changing boost amid behind-scenes insider claim…

Noel Whelan has offered his thoughts on Aston Villa’s reported interest in Axel Tuanzebe…

What’s the talk?

The former Premier League forward has urged Villa to go through with a deal to sign the Manchester United centre-back, who he feels would be a “brilliant signing” and add to their depth at the back.

Villa are reportedly interested in bringing the defender back to the club following his loan spell with Dean Smith’s side in the 2018/19 promotion campaign, and Whelan told Football Insider: “When you look at the strength in depth of centre-back, I don’t think they have enough.

“It depends if they’re going to go for a three and he goes straight into that. Maybe that is the thinking behind it. The fact he’s worked with him before, good background at Manchester United good age as well.

“You need to put pressure on two defenders there don’t really have a great deal of pressure behind them. You’ve got to start covering bases. If one of those picks up an injury or suspension, you need somebody that in there that’s going to handle the pressure.

“He covers bases in two positions for Dean Smith. I think he’d be a brilliant signing. Really young, up and coming, promising and covers two bases.”

Smith needs him

Johan Lange must sanction a swoop for Tuanzebe as Dean Smith is in need of reinforcements in that area of the pitch. Villa have just three senior centre-back options in their squad and one of them – Kortney Hause – only played seven times in the Premier League last season.

This suggests that they are lacking depth beyond their first-choice options, and that could become an issue if they pick up injuries or suspensions. As Whelan explained, there is little for Smith to choose from outside of Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa, which means that they do not have any great pressure on their position in the team and can play without much fear of being dropped.

Therefore, bringing in a defender like Tuanzebe who could seriously challenge the pair could do wonders for Smith’s squad as it keeps everyone on their toes. During his loan spell at Villa Park in 2018/19, the £38k-per-week powerhouse averaged a solid WhoScored rating of 6.75 across 28 appearances, showing that he already knows how to perform to a high standard within the 50-year-old’s system.

If Mings and Konsa know that they have Tuanzebe knocking on the door to start, it could motivate them to give that extra 10% in training and in matches to make sure they are fully concentrated and do not make any silly mistakes. Even if they do drop their standards, the 23-year-old could come into the side and provide a reliable option for Smith to call upon, which is why Lange must seal this deal before the end of the window.

In other news, Aston Villa must sell forgotten £40k-p/w man this summer; his time is up