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Former Scotland manager Alex McLeish believes that Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou will make numerous outcasts train with the academy sides, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Derby demolition

The Hoops returned to the top of the Premiership on Wednesday night for the first time since August with a dominant win in the Old Firm derby.

Celtic scored three times in the first half, two of which came from January arrival Reo Hatate, ending a seven-game winless run against Rangers.

Three players who didn’t feature at Celtic Park were Albian Ajeti, Vasilis Barkas and Boli Bolingoli, with the trio failing to seal moves away from the club in last month’s transfer window.

The Latest: McLeish’s comments

McLeish, who contributes as a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live, was talking to Football Insider about the trio in a story released the morning after the derby win.

He expects all three to be demoted to Celtic’s academy sides due to the size of Postecoglou’s squad, saying:

“This is where, when you’ve got a massive squad, you have to separate a lot of the players, and I’m looking at the likes of Ajeti, Barkas and Bolingoli.

“They will probably be, and I can only imagine because we did this back in my day at Rangers, under the supervision of other coaches.

“Maybe one of the younger coaches learning his trade as well with the professionals who are not in the plans. He’ll join them in with the young players and stuff.

“You know players of that ilk would want to go and play senior level (football). They don’t really relish playing with the young ones.

“To be fair, most of them will give the young ones the respect while they’re training with them.

“There’s no way you can train a squad with eight or nine you don’t consider as first or second choice.”

The Verdict: Still time…

Even though the transfer window is now shut in Scotland, that doesn’t mean Ajeti, Barkas and Bolingoli are stuck with the Hoops until the summer.

That’s because multiple countries across the world can still complete their winter business in February, including Turkey, with the window closing in five days.

Both Barkas and Bolingoli have been linked with moves to Turkey over the past 12 months, so perhaps that could be a possibility over the coming days rather than McLeish’s prediction of them being banished to training with Celtic’s reserves.

In other news – 20 duels won, 13 successful tackles, 77 completed passes: These were Celtic’s 3 best players v Rangers 

Sunderland were held to a 1-1 draw in a frustrating clash away at Shrewsbury Town in League One on Tuesday night.

The Black Cats sit sixth in the table and five points off league-leaders Rotherham, albeit they have one game in hand on the Millers.

Lee Johnson’s side went into half-time against Shrewsbury with a 1-0 lead and the hosts down to 10 men, following Luke O’Nien’s opener and David Davis’ dismissal. However, a second-half equaliser from Daniel Udoh ensured that the points were shared.

Forget Pritchard

Alex Pritchard caught the eye in the number 10 role as he provided the assist for O’Nien’s opener. It was his second assist in 14 league matches this season and he created three chances in total throughout the match. However, another player stole the show for Sunderland in the midfield – Dan Neil.

The 19-year-old from South Shields put in a sublime performance in the middle of the park and ran the game for the Black Cats. Whilst Pritchard managed an assist and showed off his creativity in the hole behind the striker, Neil managed to outshine him with his display.

On the ball, he was excellent. Per SofaScore, the wiz had a whopping 91 touches of the ball and completed 96% of his passes as he created four chances for his teammates – one more than Pritchard. He also completed an impressive 11 of his 13 attempted long passes, showing off his passing range along with his ability to set up his teammates.

His control of the match was highlighted in his possession statistics. He completed a high percentage of his attempted passes and enjoyed a huge number of touches, with his chance creation and long pass attempts also showing that he was not playing simple, easy, passes to boost his numbers.

Defensively, he was also solid. Per SofaScore, he won six of his 11 individual duels and made three tackles during the game, whilst only being dribbled past once. He also made one clearance and committed one foul in the 90 minutes, proving that he can perform well at both ends of the pitch – defending his own goal and driving forward to make an impact in the final third.

Therefore, his complete performance ensured that he ran the game for Johnson and is why he was the real star of the show over Pritchard. Hopefully, the youngster will continue to produce displays of this standard throughout the rest of the season and will be able to lift the club further up the table.

AND in other news, Sunderland must unleash “dynamic” 21 y/o beast in 2022, he could save Kld thousands… 

Not only did Aston Villa manage to pick up their first defeat under new manager Steven Gerrard in the 2-1 loss at Villa Park against Manchester City in midweek, but they were also dealt a blow when winger Leon Bailey was forced off the pitch with an injury.

Speaking after the match against Pep Guardiola’s side, Gerrard revealed that the thigh injury suffered by the Jamaican “doesn’t look good” and that it “looks like he will miss at least a couple of games.”

Opportunity knocks

With this in mind, it could be the perfect time for one other Villa attacker to finally get the chance to prove himself to Gerrard while Bailey is out injured is Anwar El Ghazi.

Since Gerrard was appointed at Villa, El Ghazi has only made two substitute appearances, the first of which coming in their 2-0 win over Brighton in Gerrard’s first game where he played just six minutes, followed by a 13-minute cameo in the win against Crystal Palace where he provided an assist.

Even though Gerrard chose to bring on Ashley Young for the injured Bailey in the game against City in midweek, leaving El Ghazi on the bench for the duration, the Englishman failed to have much of an attacking impact to try and claw a positive result from the match.

With this in mind and the fact that El Ghazi, who has been labelled in the past as “unstoppable” by former Villa teammate Alan Hutton, has as many goals as Bailey and Emi Buendia in the league at this point in the season, this could the Dutchman’s best opportunity to show to Gerrard that he should be in the starting XI more often.

Looking ahead to the future, with Villa set to take on Leicester City on Sunday afternoon for their next Premier League clash, Gerrard should definitely consider giving El Ghazi a chance to prove himself from the start rather than from the substitutes bench again to see if he can make a difference to the team.

If Gerrard does pick El Ghazi to start against the Foxes and he manages to deliver a solid performance, he could well find himself at the start of a regular run in the team, which would be great for the winger given how he’s only started four league games so far this season.

In other news: Villa handed double potential injury boost ahead of LCFC that’ll leave fans thrilled – opinion

Everton are prioritising the signing of a new centre-back in the January transfer window next month, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Centre-back issues

The Blues are in a hugely disappointing run of form and it hasn’t been helped by a number of injuries in the centre of defence.

Yerry Mina is the most high-profile current absentee in that area of the pitch, but while Michael Keane has made 17 Premier League starts this season, Mason Holgate (five) is next up in terms of starts, with Ben Godfrey (14) often playing at full-back.

It highlights the need for a new centre-back to come in next month, and it appears as though that could happen.

The Latest: Journalist makes transfer claim

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, O’Rourke claimed that Rafael Benitez is eyeing up a central defender in January to help revive Everton’s fortunes.

He outlined: “I know Everton and Newcastle are both in the market for centre-halves in January. That’s the key position that they want to fill in the January transfer window.”

The Verdict: Makes perfect sense

While the thought of relegation for Everton still seems unfathomable, they must make sure their current situation doesn’t get a whole lot worse.

They look weak at centre-back, conceding 29 goals in 17 league games in 2021/22, so the need for reinforcements is plain to see.

Bringing in an experienced head who can fill in alongside Keane, or in a back three, could help to plug the leak at the back and steer Everton away from the drop zone.

In other news, some Everton fans fuming after a revelation emerged. Read more here.

David Moyes can land his eventual Angelo Ogbonna heir with a move for West Ham United to sign Watford defender Francisco Sierralta this summer.

What’s the word?

According to Enzo Olivera, via Last Word on Sport, the Irons are interested in a swoop for Sierralta but could face Premier League competition for his signature.

The Hornets are reluctant to lose the 23-year-old after he emerged as a key part of Xisco’s defence, which has allowed the least goals in the Championship this term.

No side has conceded less often in the second-tier than Watford in 2020/21, with the Hornets allowing just 26 goals in 38 games as they vie for an immediate return to the Premier League.

Sierralta has significantly contributed to that record with Watford keeping 10 clean sheets during his 19 appearances, of which the defender has started 17.

The Chilean entered the campaign as Watford’s sixth-choice centre-half and played only three minutes in the club’s first 19 league games, before launching an incredible rise following an injury for William Troost-Ekong and bruised knee for Christian Kabasele.

West Ham could face rival competition for Sierralta with Crystal Palace also touted as a potential destination, after Enzo Olivera recently claimed that London outfits represented two of the four clubs who are closely following the £7,300-per-week enforcer’s situation.

Sierralta joined Watford from Serie A side Udinese Calcio on a three-year contract last September, and would certainly cost more than his £500,000 Transfermarkt valuation if any side wishes to lure him away from Vicarage Road.

Should West Ham sign Sierralta?

It remains to be seen how highly Watford would value Sierralta and what impact a return to the Premier League would have on the Hornet’s position, but the Chilean’s incredible turn of form to establish himself as a regular for Xisco is right to attract West Ham’s interest.

Sierralta has been dominating second-tier offences since his breakthrough at Vicarage Road in December, with EFL pundit Dean Ashton heaping praise on the 23-year-old after dwarfing Birmingham City last Saturday.

“Sierralta was absolutely outstanding today, and he has been outstanding ever since he walked through the door” Ashton said on EFL on Quest. “Seventeen starts for him now and Watford have only conceded ten goals!

“And today, up against [Lukas] Jutkiewicz, he won every duel, every header, most clearances. [It was a] dominating performance against a top forward.”

Sierralta won five out of five aerial duels and his sole ground challenge against Birmingham prior to the international break, while Jutkiewicz lost four of nine combined duels and fellow forward Scott Hogan lost all nine of his contests, per SofaScore.

The Watford star’s success in the duel led to Sierralta’s highest SofaScore match rating in 10 appearances at 7.5 out of 10, a score that the Chilean has only eclipsed on one occasion since moving to Vicarage Road with a 7.9 achieved against Barnsley in January.

West Ham successfully testing Watford’s resolve at the end of the season and signing Sierralta would seemingly give Moyes a strong long-term heir to Ogbonna, who will enter the final 12-months of his £70k-p/w contract in June and will turn 33 in May.

Moyes has lauded Ogbonna for his “magnificent” performances this season, but there is only so much longer that he can rely on the Italian so signing his replacement early could be a wise way to go if the fee is right.

AND in other news, West Ham are adamant a deal to sign a £100k-p/w “revelation” will be reached…

Aston Villa should make a move for Chelsea star Tammy Abraham this summer amid Lee Hendrie’s transfer claim.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have linked Dean Smith’s side with a move for the striker in this upcoming summer transfer window, with Abraham of course having worked under the Villa boss for a season when the Midlands club were earning promotion back to the Premier League in 2018/19.

Hendrie has now thrown his weight behind a potential move for Abraham, insisting that the £36m-rated centre-forward would be a “fabulous fit” at Villa.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “I’m a big fan of Tammy, I really am. I just feel that he’s got great energy. When he was at Villa for that period of time, he was immense, he really was. He was a breath of fresh air, he gave it that belief, he gave fans a lot of pleasure and he scored a lot of goals. It might be that Tammy has to leave Chelsea, and I do feel that coming to Villa, I think it’d be a fabulous fit.

“He’s a player I’d have all day at the club because, at the moment you’re looking at the overload that Ollie Watkins has gone through this season, (he’s) played a hell of a lot of games. Imagine having those two in your squad. I just feel that’d be a massive positive push for Villa.”

Reunion with Dean Smith

Having netted a whopping 26 goals in 40 games during Villa’s Championship run in the 2018/19 campaign, it’s no surprise that Smith has previously raved about the striker.

Speaking after he netted against Swansea that season, the Villa boss said: “Tammy is a handful and he knows better than me that he should have been walking away with the match ball tonight. But he scored the winning goal, he’s a hell of a talent. Tammy put in a hell of a shift up front on his own and proved he is a fine player.”

Called the “real deal” by former Villa boss Tim Sherwood, Abraham’s previous experience in working with Smith would likely see him hit the ground running at Villa Park as there should be no need for adjusting to what the manager wants or his style of play.

The 23-year-old has since had ample experience playing at Premier League level, and has shown he can handle the step up – last year saw him bag 15 goals in the top flight, while he has netted six in 20 league games this season despite not being a first team regular..

Villa would be making a shrewd move by landing Abraham this summer.

Meanwhile, Villa are eyeing a transfer move for this 6 ft 4 warrior…

Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch could look to bring Manchester United assistant Chris Armas to Elland Road this summer, according to Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Armas profiled

The 49-year-old worked under Marsch at New York Red Bulls, serving as his assistant for 151 games.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-42/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Armas, labelled as a ‘winner’ with ‘infectious positivity’, has since gone on to manage Toronto and has been at Old Trafford under Ralf Rangnick since December.

His services in Manchester may no longer be needed after Erik ten Hag was announced as Manchester United’s new manager, and it looks as if Marsch could take full advantage ahead of his first full season in charge.

The Latest: Hay’s claim

Hay shared a story on The Athletic on Saturday morning, looking at Leeds’ U23s following a record PL2 attendance at Elland Road on Friday night.

Within his report, he claimed that Marsch looks set to make further alterations to his backroom staff this summer, revealing Armas is under consideration for a permanent post.

The Verdict: Makes sense

The pair know each other well following their time back in the USA and Marsch is clearly a fan of Armas, so a reunion in Yorkshire appears to be a shrewd move.

Marsch has already brought Franz Schiemer and Cameron Toshack to Thorp Arch, while Mark Jackson has been promoted from the U23s, so Amas could be the missing piece in the backroom staff jigsaw.

Hopefully, Leeds will be preparing for a first full season under the American as a Premier League side, which could persuade Armas to remain in England.

In other news: Phil Hay: Marsch now eyeing Leeds move for ‘quality’ rising star alongside Aaronson. 

Newcastle-linked Olivier Ntcham is nearing a move to Olympique de Marseille.

What’s the word?

According to RMC Sport, via GFFN (1/2, 13:50), Marseille have reached a total agreement with Celtic for the temporary transfer of Ntcham.

The 24-year-old will move to the Orange Velodrome on an initial six-month deal that carries a €5m (£4.5m) option to purchase him at the end of the season.

Ntcham is due to fly into France early on Monday evening to carry out his medical and sign his contract with Andreas Villas-Boas’ Ligue 1 outfit, who sit ninth in the French top-flight standings after a run of three straight defeats.

Ntcham will have one year remaining on his current £14,000-per-week deal at Parkhead come the summer and had been linked with a potential mid-season move to Newcastle.

It was thought that United chiefs had made contact with Celtic to sound out the former France U21 international’s availability for a half-season loan, as Steve Bruce eyed midfield reinforcements before pursuing a deal for Arsenal product Joe Willock.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/newcastle-deadline-day-latest-news-transfer-rumours-and-more” title=”Deadline day is here: Read the latest Rangers news, transfer rumours and more!”]

Ntcham’s preference was always to secure a return to France in the current window, having been denied a move to Stade Brest on Deadline Day in October.

A blunder by Ashley

Newcastle failing to seal a deal for Ntcham will go down as a blunder as United should have moved heaven and earth to see the three-time Premiership champion arrive at St. James’ Park in the winter market.

While Ntcham has only started 12 of his 23 appearances for the Hoops across all competitions this season, for a total of 1,078 minutes on the field, he has continued to be in amongst the goals having scored once and assisted twice.

Neil Lennon stands to lose a driven individual in Ntcham’s move to Marseille, too, as the 24-year-old has the ability to surge play up the field, having achieved an average of 0.8 successful dribbles a game in the Premiership this term, helping the Hoops star to record 0.6 shots and create 0.6 goal-scoring opportunities, per SofaScore.

Those efforts follow an eight-goal, four-assist campaign across all competitions last term, including a stoppage-time winner away to Serie A side SS Lazio in the Europa League, despite Ntcham not entering the action until the closing stages.

Few of Newcastle’s central midfielders offer such an influential presence in the Premier League, with only Jonjo Shelvey (1.15) and Miguel Almiron (0.89) more comfortable running with the ball at their feet than Ntcham.

Shelvey (1.46) and Almiron (1.05) again are the only ones to create more chances for a teammate to score per game.

So, as Ntcham looks set to join Marseille, Bruce can only rue the inability to seal a deal for the Celtic midfielder to head to Tyneside before Monday night’s deadline.

AND in other news, Newcastle United have faced enquiries over a £15m deal to sell a Steve Bruce outcast…

Many West Ham United fans have been left to bemoan an update on Alan Irvine as the club’s website confirmed that he has left his role as assistant manager.

The 62-year-old will now take on a new technical advisory position to assist David Moyes and his coaching staff for the 2021/22 term.

The website describes him as a ‘hugely respected figure’ and ‘one of the finest coaches in the English game, admired and respected by players and his peers in the coaching world’.

It is not just Moyes who had contributed to the great work on the pitch last season, with which the East London club managed a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League and therefore qualified for the UEFA Europa League, but Irvine as well played a big part, and so it will be a huge loss not to have him right on the touchline.

Although he is still working with the Hammers, several Irons supporters have been left to bemoan the Scotsman not being able to work alongside Moyes from the touchline during games.

West Ham fans on Irvine update

These WHU fans flocked to the update as it was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that they were ‘gutted’:

“I don’t consider this good news at all”

Credit: @LeefromAHN

“That’s not good. He is well liked. Respected coach. Carlton Cole was talking about how good he is”

Credit: @jeffers4045

“Gutting I liked him”

Credit: @RyanWestHam1999

“That’s not good news, need to keep that group together”

Credit: @rickwhufc

“Ah gutted, top coach he is!”

Credit: @westhampep

“NOOOOO”

Credit: @conwhufc03

In other news, find out what Moyes’ transfer priority is here!

Leeds United prospect Cody Drameh has been nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award for February, as revealed by the club’s official website.

The latest on Drameh

The 19-year-old right-back, signed from Fulham last year, played his part in a perfect month for Mark Jackson’s side, who sit top of the Division 2 table after keeping three clean sheets in four successive victories.

Manchester City’s Liam Delap and Manchester United’s Shola Shoretire – who have both had first team exposure at their respective clubs this season – are also among the award nominees.

This is great news for Leeds

Drameh could be making his way into the first team soon if he continues to perform in this way. However, whether the England under-20 international is ready to come into Marcelo Bielsa’s still remains a huge unknown.

The teenager has played 17 times in Premier League 2 this season and picked up two assists (Transfermarkt). His performances at that level have seen him receive rave reviews from numerous Leeds fans, while club commentator Thomas Hill described his most recent display as “outstanding”.

The future certainly seems bright for Drameh, who is doing his chances of a first team breakthrough no harm with his deserved shortlisting for the Player of the Month prize. Keep an eye on this one, Whites!

In other news, Noel Whelan has discussed this Leeds duo!