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Former Celtic striker Jorge Cadete believes that the Hoops could end up landing loanee Jota in a cut-price transfer, as reported by The Daily Record.

The Lowdown: Jota clause

Ange Postecoglou made three signings on deadline day over the summer, one of which was Jota, who shares the same agency as Cristiano Ronaldo. He arrived from Benfica on a season-long loan with an option to buy, with the fee required to make a move permanent thought to be just over £6m.

The 22-year-old has been a regular in green and white in recent weeks, scoring the winner against Aberdeen prior to the international break.

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The Latest: Cadete’s comments

In a report from The Daily Record, Cadete had his say on whether or not Celtic will make a permanent move for Jota, hinting that the reported fee could well drop over the coming months for the ‘exciting’ winger. The 53-year-old said:

“It’s too early to talk about the value of Jota if Celtic want to buy him. It’s normal for clubs when they loan a young player abroad, they fix the buy clause at a high price.

“Jota has been mentioned at six or seven million Euros.

“But after the season, this figure is normally not the same as it was before. It might well be lower than that by then.

“I’d like Jota to stay at Celtic in the long-term because I think it can be good for both parties. The Celtic supporters have an exciting player so it keeps them happy.”

The Verdict: Looking good so far…

Postecoglou has used Jota on a regular basis over recent weeks, with the majority of his starts coming from the left wing.

The 22-year-old also showed his versatility by playing off the right against Real Betis, and at £6m in today’s market, a permanent deal for that figure could prove to be a snip.

The Hoops have had a habit of making profits on players over the past decade, most notably Moussa Dembele, so maybe Jota could be the next in line to reap Celtic an eye-catching profit in the future if a clause of £6m or less is activated.

In other news: Sky Sports pundit thinks Celtic may land seven-figure fee as transfer news emerges

Legia Warsaw right-back Josip Juranovic is keen on a move to Celtic Park, according to Sky Sports.

The Lowdown: Right-back issues in the market

Celtic have made seven signings this summer, however, they are yet to add to their right-back ranks.

Anthony Ralston has been the man used in that position by Ange Postecoglou, scoring twice in his first five games of the season.

It appeared as if Royal Antwerp’s Aurelio Buta would be the right-back to arrive in Glasgow, with a £3m deal reportedly agreed at the end of July.

However, a move is yet to go through, with Everton now in the race for the Portuguese defender.

The Latest: Juranovic update

Sky Sports shared an on-air transfer claim regarding Celtic and Juranovic towards the end of July.

They have now provided an update on a potential move, claiming the title-winning full-back is keen to join the Hoops.

The report claims that Juranovic is expected to be Celtic’s next target after Buta and would be available for around £2.5m.

The Verdict: Sign

Even though Ralston has begun the campaign in strong style, a new right-back is needed to bolster Postecoglou’s options in that area.

Juranovic is a Croatia international who has over 200 games of senior experience at just 25 years of age, a level of experience far beyond Ralston.

He can also play as a right-midfielder and appears to be at the top of his game with a career high Transfermarkt valuation of £2.25m, so a £2.5m move could be a shrewd piece of business by the Hoops.

In other news: Celtic submit offer to sign 6 ft 3 powerhouse for Ange, claims journalist. 

A key update has emerged on Rangers left-back Borna Barisic, regarding interest from English outfit Aston Villa…

What’s the talk?

Club media partner Heart & Hand Podcast has claimed that they have been told that there has been no contact between the two clubs at this stage.

Barisic has been linked with a switch to the Midlands, but the Gers insider has called any reports claiming that talks have been held are false.

They Tweeted: “Asked and been told there has been no contact between Rangers and Villa about Barisic. Any reports to the contrary are false.”

Delight

This update will surely delight Rangers fans as it suggests that there is no serious interest from the Premier League side at this stage. There is less than a month to go until the transfer window opens and you can forgive supporters for being concerned that Steven Gerrard may want to come back and raid his former club.

Whilst this claim from Heart & Hand does not entirely rule out the possibility of the Croatian international departing next month, it does show that nothing is in the works right now and there is no need to worry about his future at Ibrox for the moment.

Supporters would be delighted by him staying in Glasgow as he is a crucial player for the club and his exit would be a huge blow for Gio van Bronckhorst. He has proven his quality in Scotland over the last few years, averaging a SofaScore rating of 7.28 this season after achieving a score of 7.40 last term.

Barisic has won an impressive 61% of his duels this season whilst also creating 2.0 chances per game and making 2.1 tackles and interceptions. This shows that he is able to merge solid defending with quality on the ball to progress the play from left-back, which is why fans would be gutted by his departure and will be delighted by this update on the lack of concrete interest in his services.

Hopefully, Villa will look elsewhere to strengthen their squad instead of raiding Rangers and Barisic will remain at Ibrox in the long term. His statistics show how important he is to the club moving forward and how difficult it would be to replace him in the transfer window, providing another reason for why the fanbase will be buzzing by this news.

AND in other news, 180 duels won: Wilson sealed masterclass with “important” £14k-p/w Rangers colossus…

PIF completed their takeover of Newcastle United last month to bring Mike Ashley’s 14-year reign on Tyneside to an end.

Ashley left St James’ Park after years of mediocrity on the pitch, with only one season of finishing higher than 10th in the Premier League in that time and 10 bottom-half finishes.

Ashley’s legacy

The lack of quality work in the transfer market was one of the factors behind these lacklustre seasons, with Ashley leaving behind a legacy of poor recruits for PIF to come in and clear up. One of those was the addition of Miguel Almiron in 2019.

The Paraguayan joined the Tyneside club from MLS outfit Atlanta United for a reported £21m fee in January 2019, which was a club-record deal at the time.

In 103 matches for the Magpies, he has scored 13 goals and produced five assists, which works out at one goal contribution every 5.7 games for the club. In the Premier League, he has eight goals and three assists in 91 games, averaging out at a goal contribution every 8.27 games. This is a poor return for a player who came in as an attacking midfielder for a club-record fee and it typifies the recruitment that Ashley oversaw in his tenure at Newcastle.

The midfielder also came out in March and publicly stated he would like to play for a team which ‘fights more’. Former Premier League player Carlton Palmer reacted to those comments by claiming that Almiron would create problems in the dressing room, telling Football FanCast:

“If I was Steve Bruce, I would be absolutely annoyed and angry. There’s too much, there’s too much coming out of Newcastle at the moment. I mean, the manager’s had a flare-up with one of the players, which is an everyday occurrence at football clubs up and down the country.

“Whether it’s between player and player or between player and manager, whether it’s a big player and a coach, there’s always a disagreement, but why that gets into the public domain… Him making that comment now is going to create more problems within the dressing room because players are going to turn around and say, ‘well you’re accusing me of not fighting then for the club?’”

This suggests that the 27-year-old is causing problems on and off the pitch with his displays and his comments, which is why he has been a disaster of a signing for the club.

At the time of writing (29/11/21), Transfermarkt value him at £15.75m. This is considerably less than the £21m that Newcastle paid for him and shows that he has gone downhill since arriving in England, rather than impressing and increasing his value by putting in strong performances. Therefore, the Magpies had a bit of a howler with his arrival from the MLS in 2019…

AND in other news, Howe could save NUFC’s season with “beautiful” 27-goal beast, he loves St James’ Park…

Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma is not an unrealistic target for Wolves, says Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield.

The Midlands club recently had a proposal knocked back by the player, according to Julien Maynard of Telefoot, as they look to strengthen their backline.

Zouma made 36 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea last season, featuring five times in the Blues’ successful Champions League campaign.

The 6 ft 3 Frenchman is quite clearly capable of playing at a very high level, explaining why Tottenham and Jose Mourinho, now manager of AS Roma, are also interested in him.

Even so, Hatfield does not believe Zouma is the kind of player who is out of reach for Wolves. On the club’s interest, he told FFC:

“If Wolves want to carry on improving after a season which was, you know, pretty poor in their respects, it’d be a really good signing – particularly if they’re going to a four at the back.

“I don’t think it’s an unrealistic target. In the same respect, I think there’ll be a fair few teams after him, so it could be a bit of a battle if he is up for sale.”

From Zouma’s perspective, joining a Premier League side like Wolves does not sound like the worst idea.

The £28.8m-rated France international lost his starting place at Chelsea following Thomas Tuchel’s appointment, so he probably will not have a big role at the west London club this season if he does remain there.

Furthermore, if Wolves come back in again, perhaps he should give their proposal some serious consideration.

Farhad Moshiri is an ambitious man. He wouldn’t have brought Carlo Ancelotti to Everton if that wasn’t the case.

A highly decorated manager, the Italian had the lofty goal of taking Everton into the Champions League.

Despite his honours list, this would have been one of his biggest achievements yet. Not since the era of David Moyes have the Toffees qualified for Europe’s top table, but their wait for a place in the group stages goes way beyond that.

Sadly for everyone associated with Goodison Park, Ancelotti will not have the opportunity to finish what he started.

He departed for Real Madrid and left Everton behind in mid-table obscurity. It’s a worrying trend for the Toffees who despite spending plentiful sums on transfer fees, can’t break into the top six.

Not since the 2013/14 campaign when Roberto Martinez was at the helm have they fended off some of the biggest clubs in the country.

Therefore, they need to bring in a manager who knows how to finish above expectations. Rafa Benitez and David Moyes have both been linked but speaking to Sky Sports this week, former Lille director Luis Campos spoke of Christophe Galtier’s qualifications.

The 54-year-old beat the might of PSG to the Ligue 1 crown and has now been touted to take over at Everton.

Campos commented: “Christophe has all the qualities to coach in England, technically he is very astute and is extremely detailed in his planning when preparing a team.”

It’s simple to see why he’d be such a good fit at Everton. He knows how to build players for the future and act shrewdly in the transfer market to achieve his goals.

When he first took over, the club finished 17th in the French top-flight, meaning a fourth consecutive year outside of the top four.

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However, he led a phenomenal revival. Lille ended 2018/19 in second, finished fourth in 2019/20 and then won the league this term.

To defeat a team as wealthy as PSG deserves enormous credit, especially when you consider the way he developed players.

Arsenal stars Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel rose to prominence under Galtier while Renato Sanches got his career back on track with Les Dogues in 2020/21.

Lille have had a tendency to lose their best players throughout the years; think Eden Hazard, Yohan Cabaye and Gervinho but after Pepe and Gabriel departed, Galtier replaced them astutely.

Jonathan David has been a revelation under the Frenchman, scoring 13 times since penning terms last summer.

Though, systematically he’d also suit Everton perfectly. Campos added: “He likes a 4-4-2 system, which would fit with the Premier League and he is a fantastic motivator in the dressing room.

“He likes to build a side with quality and youth, he is someone that can develop a team ethic, and he is also a fantastic human being.”

One of the most impressive aspects of Lille’s title win was their defensive organisation.

Everton’s backline was shoddy at times under Ancelotti with Mason Holgate guilty of making several mistakes towards the end of the campaign. They shipped 48 strikes this term, the third-worst record in the top half of the table.

Lille, on the other hand, had the best record of any side in Ligue 1.

They conceded only 23 goals thanks to the experience of Jose Fonte and the youth of Sven Botman, a defender who made for a wonderful Gabriel replacement.

Galtier is improving as a coach all the time and has now proven himself capable of beating the oil-rich clubs that dominate modern football. Moshiri and Kenwright should be all over him.

AND in other news, Kenwright begins talks with “exceptional” 58 y/o boss, he’s Everton’s best candidate…

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have been left excited by the club’s announcement of their deadline day capture of Czech Republic international Alex Kral (whufc.com).

The midfielder, who was linked with a move to east London very early in the transfer window, emerged back on West Ham’s radar during the very final stages.

Kral appeared for the Czechs at Euro 2020, playing four matches and recovering nine balls (uefa.com), but some sources believed his sub-par outings made David Moyes and co re-think signing him this summer (The Athletic).

The 23-year-old, however, seemingly never left West Ham’s thinking with the club managing to secure him in the final hours on transfer deadline day.

Kral joins the Hammers on a season-long loan deal with the option to make his move permanent.

Reliable sources, like The Evening Standard, believe West Ham can sign him indefinitely at the end of 2021/2022 for around £12 million, with £7 million in add-ons.

Left excited by this announcement, many Irons supporters flocked to Twitter and had their say – find all of their best responses to the club’s official account down below.

West Ham fans excited by Kral signing…

“Announce the title”

Credit: @BG3QWERTY

“Stop signing players, I can’t cope.”

Credit: @Scriv007

“Happy”

Credit: @CheeSammy

“Yessssss”

Credit: @WestHam05610307

“GET INNNNN!!!!!!”

Credit: @veryupsetfan

“Vamos”

Credit: @adidasboy_11

“Wow this has actually turned into a decent transfer window for us”

Credit: @kenny8bit

“No messing about from us”

Credit: @OliDrumm0nd1

In other news: ‘Yayyyy’, ‘Ooooo’, ‘Actually mental’…West Ham fans are raving over this ‘fantastic news’, find out more here.

Middlesbrough have reportedly opened talks with Sheffield United winger Oliver Burke over a summer move to the club.

The Lowdown: Burke struggles at Blades

The Scotland international has struggled to make an impression at Bramall Lane, scoring and assisting just once apiece in the Premier League last season.

The Blades are thought to be willing to listen to offers for Burke this summer and he may not be without suitors.

The Latest: Middlesbrough move for winger

According to Football Insider’s Boro source, ‘discussions are underway’ between Middlesbrough and United over a move to the fellow Championship club.

Nottingham Forest, West Brom, Celtic and RB Leipzig are also thought to be interested in signing the 24-year-old, who has won 13 caps for his country.

The Verdict: Time to move on

Burke is a talented attacking player but he has been a disappointing signing for the Blades, so it makes sense for him to move on this summer.

The Scot still has two years remaining on his current deal, meaning United could receive a hefty fee for his services, with Transfermarkt valuing him at £5.4million.

Admittedly, selling Burke to another Championship team could help strengthen a rival, but Slavisa Jokanovic doesn’t appear to see a future for him at Bramall Lane, so there is little point keeping hold of a depreciating asset.

In other news, another Sheffield United player is set for an exit this summer. Find out who it is here.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Tom Heaton has agreed to join Manchester United this summer, according to John Cross of The Mirror.

And, as to be expected, a number of Villa supporters have been sharing their thoughts towards the news on social media.

Cross claims that United have held talks with the 35-year-old in recent weeks and a deal now looks to be agreed and finalised.

Heaton hasn’t featured for Villa since suffering a serious injury on New Year’s Day 2020. He returned to the bench towards the end of 2020, however, he’s failed to get a look in due to Emiliano Martinez’s impressive first season at Villa Park.

The Englishman’s contract in the Midlands expires in a matter of weeks, and it now seems as if he’ll be returning to Old Trafford ahead of the 2021/22 season to provide backup to Dean Henderson and David de Gea.

Villa fans react

@villareport shared the update from Cross on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon. This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply…

“Oh no anyway”Credit: @josh_priv3″um anyways”Credit: @catrinedwards18″Bye Heaton”Credit: @makeyourdayadtr”Thought he’d have more ambition than settling to be a bench warmer. Shame.”Credit: @JayVtid”ambitious bench to bench move”Credit: @joshkentx”Shame a great player I hope he stays fit & gets some games for them UTV”Credit: @richard00761191

In other news: Many AVFC fans react to Tammy Abraham tweet, find out more here. 

There has been mounting speculation on the future of Brighton and Hove Albion loanee Matt Clarke at West Bromwich Albion, and there has now been an update on the situation.

What’s the latest?

According to West Brom reporter Steve Madeley (via The Athletic), the 25-year-old centre-back “would be keen” to stay at The Hawthorns this summer.

Madeley wrote:

“Clarke would be keen on a permanent move to The Hawthorns and there are reasons for which a deal would appeal to West Brom as it is likely that any deal would include a low up-front fee and would be weighted towards performance-related add-ons and sell-on clauses.”

Bruce will be buzzing

There is no doubt that Steve Bruce would be buzzing at the idea of the defender wanting to stay at the club after his comments about Clarke in an interview a few weeks ago.

Bruce told Express and Star:

“He has been, arguably, since I’ve walked through the door – he’s been our best player so I’m really, really, happy for him.

“All those conversations – it’s all about the future. What is going to happen in the future is the big thing and we’ll have those talks.”

The Baggies centre-back has featured 32 times in the Championship this season, with his effectiveness and influence in the backline a clear indicator as to why Bruce holds him in such high regard.

Clarke has made 1.9 interceptions, 3.2 clearances and 1.5 tackles on average per game, kept ten clean sheets, won the majority of his duels combined (63%) and has been successful in the majority of his dribbles (63%), proving to be a consistent force for West Brom throughout the season.

West Brom have now squandered their chances of picking up a playoff spot in the Championship this season, but will now need to focus on rebuilding and reflecting on the issues that have presented themselves this season to improve and hit the ground running to earn a place back in the Premier League next season.

Permanently signing Clarke could be a great step in their pursuit to return to top-flight football as he has proven he has what it takes to offer reliability and good fitness in the Championship for them, something many players in the team have struggled with throughout the current campaign.

AND in other news: In talks: WBA must brutally axe “powerful” £720k-rated gem after “important” update