All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

This summer could be one where Celtic look to take advantage of the Scottish market.

It was something the Bhoys utilised well last summer when they welcomed David Turnbull to Parkhead.

He’s has enjoyed a brilliant campaign and has been recognised as one of the best young players in the division throughout 2020/21.

On the chalkboard

Turnbull’s appearance among the nominees for the Young Player of the Season award is well deserved.

If anyone has been a shining light from a torrid season at Paradise it’s him. The 21-year-old has netted nine times and also has seven assists to his name.

However, it was baffling that there was no place for Ali McCann on the shortlist. The Northern Ireland midfielder has had a breakthrough season and has been watched by Celtic scouts numerous times throughout the course of the campaign.

Currently playing for St Johnstone, it wouldn’t be a great surprise if we saw him at one of the biggest teams in the next few seasons.

After all, he has proven to be a reliable and consistent performer under Callum Davidson.

Bye-bye McGregor

If Celtic decide to act on their interest in McCann then he’d act as a perfect replacement for Callum McGregor.

The Scotland international has widely been tipped to take over the captaincy when Scott Brown departs but it’s hard to argue whether his performances actually merit that.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/celtic-manager-transfers-eddie-howe-jesse-marsch-ryan-christie-siriki-dembele” title=”Read the latest Celtic managerial updates, transfer news, rumours and gossip!”]

Like many at Paradise this season, McGregor hasn’t enjoyed the best of times and if anything summed that up it would be his red card against Rangers last weekend.

He showed a complete lack of discipline as he slid in on Glen Kamara despite already being on a yellow card and was consequently shown his marching orders.

McGregor proved in this instance that he cannot be relied upon to set the tone in the middle of Celtic’s side.

McCann, however, has shown he can dictate and organise things well for St Johnstone.

Described as “excellent” by Davidson, he has all the tools to be a huge success at Celtic. He is versatile and has played at wing-back this term, building on the qualities he’s shown as a midfield player.

The 21-year-old is a solid ball carrier but his defensive attributes are first-class. McCann has won a mighty 2.7 tackles per game in the Premiership this season, a number that usurps every single player at Celtic.

For context, McGregor has recorded just 0.9 tackles per match while Scott Brown has registered 1.3.

He would be a clear upgrade and would offer a protective layer in front of the defence, especially with his exceptional reading of the play; he has made 1.5 interceptions per match.

The midfielder is capable in offensive situations too, scoring the winning penalty to knock Rangers out of the Scottish Cup.

McCann has been impressive for a while now and speaking last term, his former teammate Jason Holt only have fine praise: “He got his place in the team at the start of the season, and to keep it, it is testament to himself and the performances he has been putting in. He has been undroppable.

“He’s definitely got the potential to go on to bigger things. He has a great head on his shoulders and he is very down to earth.”

Celtic could undoubtedly benefit from someone with his qualities; his potential is enormous.

AND in other news, Hoops set for seven-figure windfall after big Celtic news, McKay surely buzzing…

Giovanni van Bronckhorst may need to make do with what he’s got at Rangers until the end of the season, The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell has warned.

The lowdown

The 46-year-old is expected to take the reins on Monday after being appointed as Steven Gerrard’s successor, but he’ll have to pick up the pieces from Sunday’s Scottish League Cup semi-final defeat against Hibernian.

Rangers are faring better in the Premiership, with a four-point lead over their arch-rivals Celtic at the top of the table, while victory over Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday could promote them into the Group A qualification spots.

However, the club recently announced a loss of £23.5m over the year, taking the total losses under the current regime to £73.8m since 2015 (via The Athletic).

The latest

During The Athletic’s matchday discussion, Campbell was asked whether there will be funds available in January for reinforcements.

The journalist replied: “Budgets are going to be tight as the club needs £7.5m until the end of the season. Maybe trading out a couple could help if the levels aren’t improved in the next 6 weeks but it does feel like GVB will need to improve what he’s got until there is a freshening up in the summer.”

The verdict

This is a Rangers squad which might be on the verge of needing a rebuild.

Connor Goldson’s deal is up at the end of the season, while Ryan Kent, Joe Aribo and Alfredo Morelos will all be out of contract in 2023 and therefore may have to be sold. Elsewhere, veterans Allan McGregor and Steven Davis may soon retire.

You could argue that Rangers’ January plan needs to be geared towards maximising their budget for that regeneration. That could involve taking some short-term pain and exercising patience with Van Bronckhorst.

However, before taking the job, he apparently sought assurances over the level of backing he’d receive. Could he become frustrated if funds are limited?

In other news, some Gers fans bemoan this coaching development

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…

West Brom trio Jake Livermore, Karlan Grant and Jordan Hugill all struggled for the Baggies in their 0-0 draw away to Barnsley on Friday evening.

Valerien Ismael returned to his former club but failed to pick up all three points, on a forgettable night at Oakwell.

The draw leaves West Brom two points adrift of second-placed Bournemouth in the Championship, having played one game more than their promotion rivals before their lunch-time clash with Middlesbrough .

Using statistical experts Sofascore, here’s a look at the three players who struggled most for the Baggies, of those who were on the pitch for at least 45 minutes.

Jake Livermore – 6.4

Livermore is now a hugely experienced footballer but he didn’t enjoy a good night against Barnsley, struggling to impose himself in midfield and deservedly drawing criticism from fans.

The 32-year-old managed no key passes at Oakwell, playing a part in the visitors failing to break down their stubborn opponents.

Not only that but Livermore won zero per cent of his four aerial and ground duels and was guilty of losing possession a total of nine times.

Karlan Grant  6.4

Grant was another who was far from his best against the Tykes.

The forward was almost twice as wasteful at Livermore, giving the ball away a sizeable 17 times, and only one out of six crosses were deemed to be accurate.

Grant missed one big chance, too, proving costly as West Brom failed to find the net, while he also won just three of eight total duels.

Jordan Hugill – 6.5

Hugill was the third player who struggled most on Friday night, leading the line unsuccessfully for Ismael’s men while losing the ball six times.

Like Grant, the 29-year-old was guilty of missing a big chance during the game and only enjoyed 29 touches in the entire match – 12 fewer than his own goalkeeper, Sam Johnstone.

Hugill also played no key passes and won only 7 of his 18 duels, taking the disappointing average of the trio’s contests with opposing players to a 33 per cent success rate (10/30).

None of the three players mentioned even managed to make a single tackle between them, summing up a below-par evening for West Brom.

In other news, some West Brom fans have hailed one exciting young player. Find out who it is here.

Celtic are reportedly monitoring Hibernian goalkeeper Ofir Marciano ahead of the summer window.

There has been a key development regarding his future, with Hibernian manager Jack Ross confirming that the 31-year-old has turned down a new contract at Easter Road.

Premier League ambitions

Marciano, who has made 145 appearances for Hibernian and has turned out 23 times for Israel, will now leave the club at the end of the season when his current deal expires.

Celtic aren’t the only side who have been linked with the shot-stopper. Hapoel Be’er Sheva are another club thought to be keen on Marciano, who has Premier League ambitions.

Transfer Tavern take

It remains to be seen what Celtic’s goalkeeping plans are for the 2021/22 campaign, but statistically a move for Marciano could be a shrewd one.

He has kept 12 clean sheets in the Premiership this season, the same number as Scott Bain and more than Vasilis Barkas (10).

Performance-wise, Marciano leads the way among the trio, as per WhoScored. The Israeli averages a Premiership match rating of 6.73, up on Barkas’ score of 6.49 and Bain’s 6.62.

Conor Hazard recently penned new Parkhead terms, so you’d expect that either Barkas or Bain would have to make way in order for Marciano to come in.

In other news: Celtic are keen to talk to teenage ace who attracted interest from Bayern Munich and Juventus last year, find out more here.

Norwich City will look to continue their excellent run of form on Saturday as they take on Blackburn Rovers at Carrow Road in the Championship.

The Canaries will be aiming to extend their 10-point advantage at the top of the table before the players head into the international break.

Norwich were victorious against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, coming away with a 2-0 win and an extra three points on their travels. Goals from Teemu Pukki and Kieran Dowell in the first 13 minutes sealed the points and they have now won nine games in a row.

It seems that Daniel Farke will still be without long-term absentees Michael McGovern and Sam Byram for this fixture. Other than that, the manager will have a full squad from which to choose.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Farke to line his side up against Blackburn Rovers, with two changes from the team which started against Forest in midweek…

Tim Krul unsurprisingly keeps his place in goal in the absence of McGovern and has been in fine form recently, keeping six clean sheets in his past eight games.

The Canaries’ defence also remains the same, with Ben Gibson and Grant Hanley forming an incredible defensive partnership as centre-backs this season. Loan signing Dimitrios Giannoulis has been a revelation so far, as well as Max Aarons, and both look set to retain their places as full-backs.

Oliver Skipp and Kenny McLean also find themselves on the team sheet in the defensive midfield positions. However, we may see a change further up, with Mario Vrancic replacing Lukas Rupp as their central attacking midfielder. Vrancic has been rested for the past few games, but has scored three goals and produced five assists this season.

Todd Cantwell continues on the left but there’s a change on the right, with Emiliano Buendia returning. The £19.8m-valued ace missed out in their 2-0 win on Wednesday after the birth of his newborn baby, but has been in incredible form so far, scoring 10 goals and producing 12 assists in the Championship.

The prolific talisman, Teemu Pukki completes the attack and he could be vital if Norwich are to continue their brilliant run of form. He has scored 22 goals this season and has found the net 11 times in his last nine games.

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…

Tottenham Hotspur will surely welcome back several key stars as they return to Premier League action against Fulham this evening.

Jose Mourinho’s side advanced into the next round of the FA Cup with a 5-0 thrashing of non-league minnows Marine on Sunday night and now they host the struggling Cottagers in a rearranged tie from December 30th.

The call to play the game was made only 48 hours ago as there are still a concerning number of coronavirus cases in Aston Villa’s camp, the team they were supposed to face tonight.

Spurs saw many usual starters rested just a few days ago, so what sort of lineup could we see named here at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tonight?

Here’s the XI we’re predicting along with the latest team and injury news…

We’re expecting to see as many as nine changes as they welcome Scott Parker’s relegation-threatened outfit.

Club captain Hugo Lloris will surely return over Joe Hart between the sticks, given he’s Spurs’ no.1, whilst the only member of the backline to remain from the cup triumph is Toby Alderweireld, who was subbed off at half-time.

It means Eric Dier comes back in for Joe Rodon with Sergio Reguilon and Serge Aurier taking over from both Ben Davies and Matt Doherty.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was another name who earned a well-deserved rest at the weekend, so he should be fit to start, though he could start alongside Tanguy Ndombele in a deeper role for one big reason.

Rarely-seen maestro Dele Alli made a statement with an encouraging performance at Marine, so he could be gifted another opportunity to impress in the no.10 role, especially as Giovani Lo Celso is out injured.

It means there is no place for either Harry Winks or Moussa Sissoko – only the former was rested, though.

Erik Lamela could be back in contention, but we don’t think he will get the nod over either of Heung-min Son or Steven Bergwijn, who replaces axed £36m-rated star, Lucas Moura, despite his recent goal from a free-kick.

Whilst upfront, Harry Kane is set to return over hat-trick hero Carlos Vinicius, though he will surely feature among the bench after scoring three times in 13 minutes against the non-league outfit.

It also means that Gareth Bale remains as a substitute having featured for the final 25 minutes at the weekend.

AND in other news, Jose Mourinho must ruthlessly axe £110k-p/w man TONIGHT…

Carlton Palmer has exclusively told Football FanCast that it would be unfair to pin West Brom’s relegation on Callum Robinson.

Robinson joined permanently last summer following a successful loan spell in the Baggies’ promotion winning campaign 12 months ago.

The striker scored three times in 16 Championship appearances to help West Brom make an instant return, but has struggled to cope with the step up in quality this time around.

Robinson has netted in just three games this season, although that does include two braces against Chelsea.

Only Matheus Pereira (11) has scored more than the Republic of Ireland international, but his five goals in 27 Premier League outings weren’t enough to save Sam Allardyce from suffering a first ever relegation as a manager, which was confirmed following their defeat at Arsenal on Sunday.

But whilst Robinson was signed for a seven-figure fee believed to be around £4.95m, Palmer doesn’t think he should take more of the blame than his teammates.

Asked whether he had potentially let West Brom down, he told Football FanCast:

“When you get relegated, there’s a reason why you get relegated.

“There’s a reason why it’s called a team – it’s not one person’s fault. To blame it on one player is unfair.

“Some players when the team is not going well, struggle to find their best. I think that’s a bit unfair criticism.”

Tottenham Hotspur are still searching for Jose Mourinho’s successor and Paul Stewart, who spent four years at Spurs, has exclusively told Football FanCast, that Daniel Levy sacked the Portuguese manager to avoid a significantly bigger payout.

Spurs made the surprising decision to sack Mourinho just days before their Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, which they ended up losing 1-0 and managing just one shot on target.

In an astonishing turn of events, Graham Roberts exclusively told FFC that Mourinho played a big part in getting Mauricio Pochettino sacked as he told Levy that he could get more out of the players than Pochettino could.

Mourinho only managed 17 months at Tottenham but has since been appointed as Roma’s new manager for the 2021/22 season and Stewart spoke exclusively to FFC about why he was sacked:

“We’ve probably taken a step backwards over the last couple of years and I don’t know why they hired Jose just to fire him a week before a cup final.

“It seemed ludicrous, but from what I was told it was because of money and how much they would have had to pay him if he had got Spurs into the top four or won a trophy.”

Ryan Mason was handed the task of getting Tottenham into some European competition for next season and they appear to at least be on course for a Europe League or Europa Conference League spot.

There have been reports suggesting that Graham Potter could be the front runner for the job following Steve Hitchen recommending him to Daniel Levy.