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West Brom could well have a star of the future waiting in the wings right now.

Callum Morton broke onto the scene last season, clinching promotion from League Two with Northampton Town, and he’s continued his impressive form in another loan spell, this time with Michael Appleton’s Lincoln City.

The young Baggies prospect models his game on two players, one of which has deep ties to the Hawthorns. He told BirminghamLive: “I base my game on the likes of Jamie Vardy and Shane Long.”

If he can become half the player of Vardy, or another Long in the Midlands, then Albion are going to be onto a major winner.

In his first month at Northampton, the 21-year-old striker bagged five goals in seven appearances to clinch the fourth tier’s ‘Player of the Month’ award. He then went onto fire the Cobblers into the playoff final by scoring a crucial brace.

Morton would go onto score at Wembley too, sealing promotion to League One.

That season, the West Brom prodigy notched the best conversion rate of anyone in the division, scoring a total of eight goals from 24 shots (33%), whilst he also led the lead for prolificacy, as 83% of his goals scored were on target, as per FBRef (via Scouted Football).

He has since gone on to impress under the former Baggies U23 boss. At the weekend, he fired home a crucial equaliser in the League One promotion race to help the Imps deny their rivals, Sunderland, at the Stadium of Light.

Morton was graded a 7.5/10 by the local press, who claimed he “didn’t see much of the ball at times but made lots of good runs and show great strength and footwork for his goal.” Further going back to those Vardy and Long comparisons.

That was his second goal since returning from a serious and long-term injury – the young gem is certainly getting picking up where he left off.

Despite never featuring for the senior side, Morton’s work ethic was duly noted by Slaven Bilic during his time in charge. And after offering the emerging starlet a new contract, the Croatian waxed lyrical to the Express & Star:

“I spoke with him a lot of times, he wasn’t training with the group, but I had a lot of chats with him. I didn’t know him as a player but to see that character – he has got something special. He is made of steel.”

Now under contract for another three-and-a-half years, Morton could well emerge as their future in the striking position. You can forget Rayhaan Tulloch, Owen Windsor and Jamie Soule for now, it’s the 21-year-old who looks best equipped for a shot in the big time.

AND in other news, Better than Grant: Dowling made big West Brom error over £12.6m-rated “special player”…

David Moyes must urge David Sullivan to meet Manchester United’s valuation of Jesse Lingard after reports by Eurosport last week claimed that West Ham will have to pay £20m to retain the midfielder beyond his half-season loan.

Lingard moved to the London Stadium for the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign during the recent winter transfer window and he has proven an instant hit in claret and blue with three goals and two assists in five games.

Man United are said to have always been confident of Lingard being a success in the capital, so they refused West Ham’s request for a permanent clause to be included in his temporary switch.

The Irons are thought to have offered a £15m buyout option on top of the £1.5m loan fee paid to the Red Devils, but they will now be facing a fee upwards of £20m to strike a deal at the end of the season.

Lingard had barely featured for Man United before packing his belongings and leaving Old Trafford earlier this year, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only awarding the 28-year-old 179 minutes of first-team action across all competitions.

Not a single second of that came in the Premier League with the former England international resigned to a bit-part role in the EFL and FA Cups, but has been trusted to start all five available top-flight fixtures under Moyes while playing 442 of a possible 450 minutes.

Only once has Lingard failed to influence the scoring with the Hammers, too, having struck a brace on debut at Aston Villa and netting once against Tottenham Hotspur, while assisting goals against Sheffield United and Manchester City.

No Irons player has been involved in as many goals since Lingard was given his West Ham bow at Villa Park last month, with Michail Antonio second with two goals and two assists.

Lingard’s efforts in claret and blue saw Arsenal icon Paul Merson wax lyrical during Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, showering the Man United loanee with praise while addressing West Ham’s hopes of claiming a Champions League qualifying berth.

“I think he is outstanding. You get good reports from his attitude and how good he’s been. I think he’s the difference. If they’re going to get in the top four, he’s their X-factor,” Merson said on the show (27/2, 12:16).

As well as being the Hammers’ ‘X-factor’ and most influential figure during the club’s last five Premier League games, Lingard’s form has returned the best average WhoScored match rating of any West Ham player in the top-flight this term at 7.5 out of 10.

The 24-cap Three Lions international also offers the highest number of average shots per game (3.2), plus the second-most successful dribbles (1.6) to Arthur Masuaku (2.2) and the fourth-most key passes (1).

Moyes would be rather naïve to not urge Sullivan to now pay the extra £5m needed to retain Lingard should he maintain his early form, as West Ham have not seen anywhere near the same output from the likes of Pablo Fornals or Manuel Lanzini.

Fornals has offered 0.7 key passes, 1.2 shots and 0.9 successful dribbles per game in the league this season, while Lanzini has created 0.7 goal-scoring opportunities, taken 0.8 attempts and brought possession up the field with 0.3 successful runs each match.

AND in other news, David Moyes is hopeful of West Ham landing an injury boost ahead of hosting Leeds United…

Many Manchester United fans were left to slam the display of Fred in their 0-0 away draw at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men really struggled to break the South London club down at all and in the end had to settle for a point, which meant that they lost further ground on their local rivals Manchester City in the title race and will now surely be looking more over their shoulders than in front of them.

Fred’s performance in particular flattered to deceive several members of the Old Trafford faithful, as the central midfield player lost out on no fewer than eight of his duels in the game, while also failing to record a single clearance and losing possession of the ball eight times, earning him a quite measly 6.6 overall rating on Sofascore, the second-lowest out of any of his teammates to have started the match.

Manchester United fan reaction to Fred display

These Red Devils slammed his performance on Twitter, with one MUFC supporter saying that the Brazil international was ‘poor’ while another claimed he is ‘one of the worst players’ in the team:

“Fred is one of the worst players in the @ManUtd team. He cannot pass or shoot. To think we had midfielders like Scholes, Carrick and Keane and now we rely on Fred and Matic. I would rather we lose a game 1-0 but have ten shots on goal. This park the bus tactic is sickening #MUFC”

Credit: @mojodurbs

“You could see Rashford especially get frustrated playing in front of Fred and Matic because they offered absolutely nothing to the forward players. Zero service all night. Way too safe. Which is their job. It’s the attributes they have. They just shouldn’t be #mufc starting CMs.”

Credit: @Kyles_Page

“Fred was awful and not for the first time but why wait 75 minutes when it was clear from the first half? We do the same things and expect different results. Einstein’s definition of insanity is proving true #mufc”

Credit: @thereddevilway

“One of the worst collective performances I can remember in the Bruno era. Marcus, Fred & Bruno particularly off it. Henderson and Bailly probably the only players who were up to the standards tonight #MUFC #CRYMUN”

Credit: @BenrubiLiam

“United are dropping more points then leaking tap l have say there was no creative in United team apart from Bruno. Needs some help. Fred was poor again but no one mentions it he’s not good enough #mufc”

Credit: @mahadnur93

“I AM SICK OF #FRED… THAT’S A BRAZILIAN WHO CANNOT PASS OR SHOOT #MUFC need to move these players”

Credit: @SebastienRault5

In other news, find out whose display against Palace was also slammed here!

Celtic will look to bank a much-needed three points this afternoon as they host Livingston in Parkhead. The reigning Premiership champions are currently watching their chances of a tenth consecutive title slip further and further away.

Rangers have all but wrapped up this season’s victory, leading the pack by an astonishing 21 points. However, Celtic mustn’t simply throw down their swords, they need to ensure they finish a turbulent season on the highest note possible.

Football FanCast has predicted how they will line up in today’s Scottish Premiership clash…

Due to a mass quarantine, both Neil Lennon and 14 of his senior players are out of action. Christopher Jullien’s positive coronavirus test has forced him and his teammates into a self-isolation period. Gavin Strachan has stepped in, in the absence of Lennon and managed to guide Celtic to a draw against Hibernian last time out.

With a thread-bare squad, a lot of the same players from earlier this week will make returns. This includes youngsters like Cameron Harper and Stephen Welsh.

The former will likely start up front again, with no senior striker available to play. The teen will be supported by Mikey Johnston – who featured on Monday – and Karamoko Dembele, who only made a cameo appearance against Hibs.

Celtic will need all the creativity they can muster up and 17-year-old Dembele could be handed his chance to impress with his first senior start.

With a weakened defence, Strachan may opt to controversially bench Callum McGregor in favour of more defensive-minded Nir Bitton. The latter has played across the back four several times this season and will help his defenders keep the threat of Livingston away from goalkeeper Conor Hazard.

The Lions are currently fifth in the table and can pose a real threat, so Celtic must not underestimate their ability. Strachan and the Bhoys will be hoping for maximum points to raise morale around camp and avoid further embarrassment this season.

In other news, Celtic can punish Rangers by beating them to signing Taiwo Awoniyi…

Celtic’s 2020/21 woes continue after they fell victim to St Mirren’s sword this afternoon in the Scottish Premiership. The sixth place Saints put in an incredible performance to topple the reigning league champions and any chance of catching runaway leaders Rangers looks bleaker than ever.

The Hoops have two games in-hand, but their clash against St Mirren was also a chance to gain some momentum on their Glasgow rivals. But to Neil Lennon’s dismay, they couldn’t do enough to come away with a vital three points.

The Saints opened up the scoring after just 18 minutes through Kristian Dennis and despite an Odsonne Edouard equaliser, Celtic were dealt a blow just five minutes after the Frenchman’s strike. Ilkay Durmus put the game to bed before half time and the Bhoys showed little promise of even getting back into the match.

It was a poor performance all round for Celtic, but one man who keeps sticking out as a below par player is loan signing Shane Duffy, whose glaring error it was that led to winning goal on Saturday.

Duffy stats vs St Mirren

The Brighton loanee has hardly painted himself in gold since he joined the Glaswegians. He has been that much of an unreliable option that Celtic are reportedly considering cutting his short-term deal short before the January transfer window closes.

Duffy’s performance attracted criticism from Paul John Dykes on Twitter, who claimed that the centre-back was amongst Kristoffer Ajer, Nir Bitton and Scott Bain as Celtic’s worst performers today. However, he added that he thought Duffy was the “worst culprit” for the Hoops’ humiliating loss to St Mirren.

This isn’t the first time the 29-year-old has disappointed in Scotland. According to Sofascore, averages less than on tackle per match, which is worryingly low compared to Ajer (1.5) and Christopher Jullien (1.2).

For a centre-back looking to find the next step in his career, this statistic isn’t wowing anybody. With his links to Nottingham Forest potentially spelling an early end to his Celtic spell, Peter Lawwell should consider offloading the £6.3million-valued defender who is leeching him of £20,000 per week in wages.

In other news, Lawwell has pulled off smart Celtic business with Ben Davies coup…

Speaking exclusively to FootballFanCast, Rob Lee has touted Henrik Larsson as a potential contender to replace Neil Lennon as Celtic boss.

The Hoops are in the midst of a hugely troubling season, already 13 points behind rivals Rangers as their quest for a tenth successive Scottish league title appears to be going up in smoke.

That’s naturally led to speculation about Lennon’s long-term future at the club, and the potential names that could be considered to replace him in the dugout.

Stuck in lockdown? Our mega footy quiz will cure any boredom…

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Lee – best known for playing over 300 times for Newcastle and 21 times for England – claimed that along with someone like former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, Larsson could be someone for the Bhoys to think about.

He said: “Henrik Larsson’s a legend, [an] absolute legend there.”

With over 200 games played for the club, and a ridiculous total of 175 goals scored, Larsson is a true Celtic icon for his time at Parkhead. The Swede is currently learning his trade as assistant manager to Ronald Koeman at Barcelona, and it remains to be seen whether he would leave such a high-profile position to try and rescue his former side.

If he does, you better believe that Celtic Park will be absolutely rocking at seeing the king return home.

Aston Villa have a serious COVID problem at the club, and this was proven by the fact the club had to play their youngsters in the FA Cup against Liverpool. It is now being reported that their next Premier League match may not go ahead.

The latest on Aston Villa

David Ornstein reported, via The Athletic, that the Premier League are considering postponing Villa’s match against Spurs. They might replace it with Spurs against Fulham on Wednesday, a game that was cancelled at short notice when Fulham dealt with an outbreak of their own.

This would not be a surprise

This is an unprecedented season and we have already seen fixtures postponed for sides in the division who have had issues due to recent events. The problem at Villa seems to be the biggest one we have had in England’s top flight so far this campaign.

It seems like the only fair thing to do would be to allow the game against Spurs to be postponed, otherwise there would be some serious questions raised as to how the Premier League decide which games are postponed and which are not.

If it was rearranged, it would not be something done to solely benefit Villa, but to keep player safety in mind and also help protect the integrity of the competition.

In other news, Dean Smith discussed a tactical decision he made in a recent fixture. Have a read of what he had to say here!

Writing for football.london, journalist Colin Millar has tipped Tottenham to sign long time target and specialist right-back Elseid Hysaj in January – going on to hint that he could be a suitable replacement for Serge Aurier. 

Hysaj, who was targeted by Spurs fan favourite and ex-boss Mauricio Pochettino last year, could be sold by Napoli in January with the two parties yet to agree on a contract extension.

Indeed, his current deal expires at the end of this current campaign, and the Italian giants would want to sell him on for a profit rather than let him go as a free agent.

Hysaj still on the cards?

Hysaj, still only 26-years-old, could also represent a real bargain given he is only valued at around £12.16 million by Transfermarkt – something that could entice chairman Daniel Levy into doing a deal.

The player’s agent also stated that ‘he will leave’, with the defender’s future looking more bleak than ever at the San Paolo Stadium after he has been seeking a transfer for the better part of a year. 

Millar, writing for football.london, has explained that Hysaj could be a viable option for Spurs in January as Aurier’s potential successor – despite the summer signing of Matt Doherty.

The Ivorian’s future, despite him recently impressing, looks uncertain – and apparently boss Jose Mourinho would appreciate Hysaj’s versatility as an alternative.

Transfer Tavern take

Capable of playing on either the right and left sides, he could be a useful asset as he begins to reach his prime years, and Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis may be forced to sell for a cheap fee given the player’s contract situation.

Time will tell whether Spurs lodge a pursuit, but the ‘very intelligent’ ace could be a great option.

In other news: Daniel Levy could secure this ‘top signing for Spurs’ on permanent deal, find out more here. 

A lot of talk and uncertainty is swirling around Neil Lennon’s position as the head coach of Celtic. The Hoops were ejected from the Scottish League Cup on Sunday after Ross County beat them 2-0 at Celtic Park. This loss is now the third in their last five fixtures and tension is mounting for the manager.

The 51-time Scottish Premiership winners have hit a slippery slope this season and their chances of bagging a tenth consecutive cup are looking dimmer by the day. As it stands, Celtic are trailing to rivals Rangers by an enormous 11 points and despite their two games in-hand, the odds are heavily against them.

Carlton Palmer spoke exclusively to Football FanCast about Lennon’s future with the club and whether his time is running out.

“It’s always difficult, I never like to call for managers to go,” the pundit admitted. “I just think it’s very difficult. We all have too short memories. Neil Lennon’s done a fantastic job – well, when you say he’s done a fantastic job, he took over partway when they were flying. But still, I think it’s a bit early for them to start calling for his head.”

This is Lennon’s second stint as manager of the Bhoys, originally being appointed in 2010 and winning three league titles with them before announcing his departure. However, the connection between the club and the manager was clearly strong as he returned to the hilt of Celtic in February 2019.

“He should be given a bit of time to turn it around,” Palmer continued. “Sometimes you’ve just got to stick with them.”

Lennon has certainly achieved a lot with the reigning Premiership champions. He led them to three domestic trebles, dubbed the ‘treble treble’ and is highly regarded for this. However, this campaign has been extremely difficult and disappointing for a club with such a rich history.

If the Hoops break their nine-season consecutive champions run, it looks likely that Lennon will be thrown to wolves whilst Steven Gerrard basks in glory.

In other news, Celtic could evoke memories of 2001 by hiring Martin O’Neill…

Deadline day may have come and gone last Monday, but we still have a few days of the domestic transfer window to go.

Leeds don’t seem all that likely to do any business, but if they are to get someone in, it looks as though it will be a midfielder.

Todd Cantwell remains the only real concrete link, while it’s clear that it’s a position that the club want to bolster after their failed pursuit of Michael Cuisance.

However, we can’t help but feel that Leeds are looking to strengthen the wrong area.

Yes, there is room for improvement in the midfield, but the depth there is fine, with Mateusz Klich, Adam Forshaw and Jamie Shackleton all having plenty of experience in playing that role under Bielsa.

However, when you look across to right-back, there is the potential for a dangerous situation.

Now, nobody can argue that Luke Ayling has done anything but a stellar job in that spot so far this season, because he’s been fantastic, earning an average WhoScored rating of 7.21, but if he gets injured or suspended, things start to look troublesome.

Leeds no longer have the safety net option of Gaetano Berardi who could slot in comfortably at right-back, so if Ayling was to go down with a problem, their options would be to play Shackleton out of position, in a role he’s only played 13 times at Championship level, or to call upon Cody Drameh, a man with no first-team experience.

If Leeds are looking to strengthen their squad before the domestic deadline, then the first port of call should be at right-back as there is seemingly a disaster waiting to happen in that spot if Ayling finds himself unavailable for selection.

Victor Orta needs to get into gear and find the club an adequate back-up in that position, even if it’s just on loan until January where he can start to look abroad again.