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Celtic’s recruitment in recent years hasn’t exactly been flooded with success stories. From the current crop at Parkhead, there are few that spring to mind.

The club’s top scorer Odsonne Edouard has been a triumph for obvious reasons while Kristoffer Ajer has developed from a boy to a man during his time in Glasgow.

That being said, plenty have walked through the door, played very little football, and then been sent packing again.

That could happen to quite a number of Celtic’s current playing squad. Vasilis Barkas cost £4.5m last summer but has started just 13 league games.

As for Albian Ajeti, he’s only started ten SPFL outings after arriving from West Ham. It’s clear that Nick Hammond and the Hoops hierarchy haven’t always got things spot on.

That being said, there are also errors from the Brendan Rodgers era we can delve into; namely Eboue Kouassi.

Rodgers brought the defensive midfielder to Scotland in 2017 but he featured on only 12 occasions in the league during his three years at the club.

Stuck behind Scott Brown in the pecking order, Rodgers failed to find many opportunities for him in the starting XI. After all, in domestic action, there was no chance a team as dominant as Celtic’s needed two holding players.

He eventually left the Hoops last summer as he completed a permanent switch to Genk. However, in the process, they ultimately lost the heir to Brown’s throne.

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The skipper has announced that he’ll leave Celtic on a free transfer at the end of the season when his contract in Glasgow expires. He is set to join Aberdeen as a player-coach and thus, will leave a pretty glaring gap in the Hoops squad behind.

Ismaila Soro feels like the most natural successor but in Kouassi, they had someone primed and ready to take on that duty.

Talking about the Ivorian in 2018, Rodgers tipped him to eventually succeed Brown in the middle of the park: “Eboue’s brilliant in training, he does everything, and longer term he will certainly fulfil that role when Scott moves on,” he said.

Unfortunately, that prophecy won’t ever come true. Kouassi was shipped off quicker than you could mutter the word Celtic.

He was moved on loan to Genk within a year of Lennon being there and he never got an opportunity to prove himself to the Northern Irishman.

The 23-year-old took his leave without ever really making an impact in Glasgow. It’s a shame because the midfielder clearly had lots of talent.

When he burst onto the scene for Russian club Krasnodar, he regularly completed over one tackle per game. A stern and combative player, Rodgers did rate him highly.

“He has good ability and hopefully can come back strongly from injury and show he has a big part to play,” he commented in January 2019.

“Eboue can play here though. That’s the reason such a young player cost a couple of million Euros. He has a talent and in the Europa League games played well,” the former Celtic boss added.

Ultimately, it was fitness doubts and injury concerns that ensured he never got a consistent opportunity at Parkhead.

Kouassi had his ankle problems and spent the second half of the 2018/19 campaign out with a cruciate ligament injury. Had those problems not occurred, he may now be in with a chance of succeeding Brown. Instead, he’s no longer at the club.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Edouard: Celtic must swoop for 28-goal “sensation” who’ll “go to the very top”…

Southampton have been linked with a summer move for Tottenham Hotspur ace Harry Winks, and if he were to make the move to St Mary’s, he could form an excellent partnership with James Ward-Prowse in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s midfield.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, Southampton are keeping tabs on the Spurs academy graduate ahead of the summer transfer window as they look to improve on their midfield options ahead of next season.

It is suggested that the north London club could look to cash in on Winks in order to fund a move for Marcel Sabitzer, with the Englishman having fallen down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho, losing his place in the England squad ahead of Euro 2020 as a result.

Would he be a good signing?

Since making his first team debut at Spurs as an 18-year-old in 2014, Winks has gone on to make 167 appearances for the Lilywhites, in which he has contributed four goals and four assists.

He was a regular under former Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino, with the Argentinian labelling him “amazing” in 2019, but he has seen his playing time significantly decrease under Mourinho.

This season has seen him make just 10 appearances in the Premier League, in which he has averaged a less than impressive 6.38 WhoScored rating for his performances, which rates him as the worst player in Spurs’ squad of those who have made at least 10 appearances in the top flight.

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Therefore, it is easy to see why Spurs might be willing to sell him this summer, and it seems clear that Winks needs a fresh start in order to get his career back on track and perhaps earn a recall to Gareth Southgate’s England side.

It is perhaps unfair to judge Winks in a Mourinho team, considering he is a player whose best asset is his passing, when the Portuguese boss has often allowed other teams to dominate possession against Spurs this season in the hope that his side can will the ball back and counter effectively through the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.

However, in a team such as Southampton, where possession seems to be more of a priority, Winks could prove to be an excellent addition.

Certainly, if the 25-year-old were deployed in a deeper role alongside Ward-Prowse, it could allow the Saints captain freedom to push further forward, with Winks perhaps dropping in between the centre-backs to collect the ball and start attacks.

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He would also add a different option to Ibrahima Diallo and Oriol Romeu, who are both better described as ball-winning midfielders, so Martin Semmens should definitely consider a Southampton swoop for the £19.8m-rated Winks this summer.

In other news… Semmens can sign Southampton a Diallo upgrade in £4.05m-rated “class act”

As confirmed by Pep Guardiola before Manchester City take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup final today, both Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne have trained ahead of the Wembley encounter, and many Sky Blues supporters are buzzing over this ‘awesome news’.

Both players have been missing from the last few matches for City and they have arguably missed De Bruyne’s influence in particular at times. Before his knock, the Belgian was influential over two legs in the Champions League quarter-finals against Borussia Dortmund and was arguably returning to the stunning form he displayed last term.

Many City supporters are optimistic that he could feature today after this news, with De Bruyne’s possible inclusion not being the only boost.

Aguero has also trained ahead of the clash with Spurs at Wembley today and, despite the Argentine struggling to cope with fitness issues over the season, City supporters will surely be glad to at least have their all-time top scorer potentially back as an option.

While Guardiola was cryptic over the duo’s actual involvement, reports indicate that they have both travelled with the squad to London (Lucas Scagliola).

Flocking to this news, many Sky Blues supporters erupted – find some of their verdicts below.

Man City fans erupt over Carabao injury news

“SIUUUUUUUUUUUUU”

Credit: @Matbru5

“YESSSSSSSSSSSS THE UCL AND CARABAO IS COMING HOME”

Credit: @Silva_Spectacle

“Can’t Wait!”

Credit: @GuillemCluFaja

“LET’S GOO”

Credit: @Toni2841

“This is awesome news”

Credit: @mrmcfc22

“Huge”

Credit: @Tom08007690

“Awesome. I really hope Aguero can get on the field.”

Credit: @joshuacv3t

“Siuuu”

Credit: @mohamedamiin2

In other news: Man City fans also flocked to this ‘huge’ club announcement, find out more here.

Everton may be offered the chance to sign both Aaron Ramsey and Douglas Costa in the summer transfer window as makeweights to sell Moise Kean.

That is according to Tutto Juve, who claimed that Juventus would look to bring in their former striker if they can persuade the Goodison Park club to sell him once his loan spell at Paris Saint Germain concludes at the end of the season.

According to Transfermarkt, Ramsey and Costa are valued at £18m and £10.8m respectively, and the Serie A club would reportedly be willing to add more money on top of that in order to sign Kean.

Everton could use Ramsey and Costa

Both Ramsey and Costa could be very useful squad players to have for Everton should they proceed with this swap deal with Kean.

The former has considerable experience of playing in the Premier League with Arsenal, with a total of 91 goal contributions in 262 games over 11 consecutive seasons (Transfermarkt).

Costa would give Carlo Ancelotti another handy option out wide, and having played 34 times under the Italian, the manager will likely know how to get the best out of the Bayern Munich loanee.

Kean would have to be a sacrifice, but the Toffees potentially getting these two players in exchange should only serve to strengthen the current squad.

In other news, find out whose display against Manchester City was slammed by numerous Everton fans.

With Pablo Hernandez’s career at Leeds United winding down, Marcelo Bielsa may be on the look-out for someone to fill that potential void sooner rather than later.

The veteran Spaniard, who will turn 36 in a couple of months, has fallen out of favour at Elland Road this season, playing just 313 minutes of Premier League football.

Whether it’s his age, or even suggestions that both he and the manager have had a falling out, the writing is very much on the wall for Hernandez’s time in Yorkshire.

But with reports in recent days linking the Whites with a move for Real Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez, Bielsa could well find his perfect successor to Hernandez quicker than he expected.

Vazquez is predominantly a right-winger, but he appears to have all the tools in his lock for Bielsa to work his coaching magic and turn him into a number ten or someone to play just off the striker – just like Hernandez has done in recent seasons.

This season, the Madrid flier has managed five assists in all competitions, including a couple of big contributions in big games against the likes of Valencia and Celta Vigo.

Speaking last month, Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane raved about his match-winning performance against Vigo, saying: “What he’s doing right now doesn’t surprise us. Not only do I like him, we all like him because he is always on the job and reliable. He always gives everything on the pitch and we appreciate that. I congratulate him.”

Vazquez is a more creative force than someone with the directness and willingness to let fly like a Raphinha-type, and it’s exactly why he seems to be more in the mould of a Hernandez.

The 29-year-old has averaged a very impressive 1.7 key passes per game in La Liga, which would actually rank him joint-second in the entire Leeds squad. And given his natural instincts as a winger, he’s also a prolific dribbler, making 1.4 per game at a superb success rate of 71%.

To put that into context, Raphinha makes slightly less per game at 1.6, but with far less success (54%).  Hernandez’s best season in terms of dribbling at Leeds meanwhile saw him manage 1.8 per game in his first season at Elland Road.

Just like Hernandez, the 5 foot 8 Vazquez is small in stature, but has got all the footwork and trickery to make him a real danger for the opposition. If Orta can get this deal over the line, Bielsa could very well land Leeds’ next Spanish magician.

Like how Hernandez was converted from a flying right winger into a number ten, Bielsa could do the same with Vazquez. It’s all on Victor Orta to snap him up on a free transfer this summer.

Joelinton badly let Steve Bruce down as Newcastle United were forced to settle for a point against Aston Villa on Friday night.

The Brazilian was once again backed to offer a clinical touch in the final third in Callum Wilson’s absence, but his decision-making was relentlessly for the worse.

Too often at St James’ Park did Joelinton select the wrong option when presented with a chance to shoot at Emiliano Martinez’s goal or to pick out the correct pass to a supporting teammate.

Joelinton’s night had begun promisingly when the £86,500-per-week forward was involved in a piece of nice link-up play with fellow forwards Dwight Gayle and Ryan Fraser, with the trio combining well to register Newcastle’s first shot of the game in the fifth minute.

Villa soon found a foothold in proceedings to begin taking control, making Joelinton’s failings ever more punishing for Newcastle whenever they sought to hit Dean Smith’s side on the break.

The only true positive to come from Joelinton’s performance was that, despite his clear lack of confidence, he kept pushing to try and put pressure on the Villans backline and give Tyrone Mings something to occasionally think about.

Bruce was clearly pleased with what he saw from the £18m-rated striker he signed in 2019 for a club-record £40m, having offered his support for Joelinton to soon end his drought in front of goal which now reads 15 games in all competitions.

“Joelinton has come in for criticism, but he’s contributed to the team,” Bruce told BT Sport, via quotes shared by the Shields Gazette. “He needs to score a goal, and be the hero, and I’m sure there’s a goal or two around the corner.”

Joelinton had plenty of opportunities to end his goal drought against Aston Villa, only for his decision-making to prove costly and almost prevent Newcastle from taking any points had it not been for Jamaal Lascelles providing a crucial stoppage-time header to steal a draw.

United were often able to find Joelinton in good positions against their Birmingham-based opposition, yet he only attempted two shots with neither on target while providing just one key pass, per SofaScore. Lascelles, Fraser and Gayle each attempted two shots for the Toon as well but managed to direct at least one on target.

Fraser also offered a joint team-high two key passes – only Trezeguet (3) offered more for Villa – yet was slammed by Chronicle Live for not delivering in what was an unnatural false nine role for the Scotland winger.

The ex-Bournemouth maestro further won 100% of his ground duels while Joelinton lost 50% of his 18 challenges, alongside nine of his 13 aerial contests (losing 18 duels in total) to help see that he turned over possession 21 times – a joint game-high with Jonjo Shelvey, per Sofascore.

While Joelinton’s workrate often kept Mings busy, the England international was also able to win six of his eight aerial duels and five of 11 ground challenges to keep a lid on the Magpies forward.

With Wilson not expected to make his return from a hamstring injury until after the March international break, Bruce cannot have Joelinton offering so little in Newcastle’s attack.

AND in other news, Newcastle eye summer swoop for £16k-p/w maestro once lauded for being “the most gifted” player…

After joining AC Milan on loan at the beginning of the 2020/21 season, not many Man United fans would probably have expected right-back Diogo Dalot to have enjoyed such a profitable campaign.

The young Portuguese defender has enjoyed an excellent season at the San Siro, racking up 24 appearances in all competitions for the Italian giants.

In that time, he has played a role in seven separate clean sheets, as well as getting himself on the scoresheet twice and providing a further two assists.

It is form that has seen Milan express an interest in signing him permanently, with The Metro reporting that they have submitted an informal offer of £12m.

Whilst it could be tempting for Ed Woodward to sell considering that Dalot is only valued at £9m at the current time, the club should do everything they can to keep hold of him once he returns from his spell in Italy.

Whilst Aaron Wan-Bissaka has consistently been the Red Devils’ starting right-back, United could find themselves in a precarious position should the former Crystal Palace man sustain an injury.

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Other than him, there is no other natural right-back in the squad at Old Trafford, meaning Dalot could certainly have a vital role to play upon his return.

Meanwhile, whilst the club are blessed with a number of talented left-backs in the form of Luke Shaw, Alex Telles and Brandon Williams, the Portuguese can also deputise on the left-side, again seeing him become an excellent option for squad depth.

At just the age of 22, Dalot also has plenty of time to improve, so he could become even better than his spell in Milan suggests he currently is.

Even United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has laid out his intentions for the right-back to return to Old Trafford, stating he was “looking forward” to reintroducing Dalot to the squad following the Red Devils’ recent clash with AC Milan in the UEFA Europa League.

He will be hugely disappointed then to see Dalot allowed to depart on a permanent basis following his temporary exit and excellent season with Milan.

AND in more news, take a closer look at Luke Shaw’s fantastic England return…

One of West Brom’s out-of-contract stars is being eyed up ahead of the summer transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Baggies stalwart Kieran Gibbs is attracting interest from David Beckham’s Inter Miami side as well as other MLS teams, rivals from the Premier League and clubs in Turkey too.

It’s claimed that the Midlands outfit were willing to let the 31-year-old leave the Hawthorns last month as he’s among their highest earners and has recently been usurped by Conor Townsend.

But an initial offer from Miami did not suit Albion or Gibbs himself. As he’s out of contract at the end of the season, this is something that may well be revisited.

Let him go, let him go

Indeed, West Brom shouldn’t think twice about allowing the former Arsenal man leave as he’s been a complete waste of money since arriving for £7m under Tony Pulis in 2017.

In that time, he’s racked up 100 appearances in a Baggies shirt, but the fact that Townsend, who had never played above League One before joining the Baggies, has taken control at left-back speaks volumes.

Earlier this season, his disappointing time on the pitch was epitomised in a silly sending off against Everton, a game where Albion embarrassingly went onto lose 5-2. The majority of goals came in the second half with ten men.

Then-boss Slaven Bilic slammed him as “stupid” while Danny Mills told Football Insider that it was a “daft decision” and claimed it was “idiotic.”

Unfortunately for Gibbs, he’s not been in Sam Allardyce’s good books either, and that’s outside of the obvious point that he’s now the back-up option.

The Athletic’s Steve Madeley revealed at the start of January that the club were looking to seal an exit for him as an injury withdrawal prior to their game against Leeds ‘is understood to have angered Allardyce.’

Not that he’s been performing well either. In terms of average WhoScored rating for the season, he ranks 15th, but when factoring in nine or more league starts, that makes him fourth-worst.

With Charlie Austin out on loan, it’s thought that Gibbs is Albion’s top earner on £55k-per-week as per Spotrac, meaning he has cost the club around a total of £16.9m since arriving from the Gunners when factoring in fees and wages.

That would certainly put him among the most expensive flops the Hawthorns has ever seen, especially when you consider the fact that Oliver Burke cost £15m and Nacer Chadli around £13m too.

The Baggies must let Gibbs loose in the summer, even if they are to lose out on a fee. He simply has no future at the club.

AND in other news, West Brom could unearth a perfect Pereira heir in 20 y/o prodigy who’s a “real talent”…

Liverpool are being regularly linked with a move for Lille centre-back Sven Botman now that the January transfer window has opened and the former Ajax man could be the perfect addition to Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

What’s the word?

According to Duncan Castles on the Transfer Window Podcast (via Express), Liverpool are in talks with the 20-year-old’s agent and could make a transfer bid this month.

Klopp is currently without a senior centre-back in his first-team squad, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all currently sidelined due to injury.

Better than Liverpool’s current options?

Fabinho has done a superb job filling in there, whilst youngsters Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams, who Klopp labelled as “exceptional” back in November, have also performed admirably. However, the fact that Manchester United are now level on points with the Reds at the top of the Premier League emphasises that the Merseyside club must improve their defence in January, as sticking with their current inexperienced backline for the rest of the season seems like a disaster waiting to happen.

Fortunately, they look to have identified a quality replacement in Botman, who has enjoyed a superb start to the season with Lille, having averaged a superb 7.13 rating across his 17 appearances in the French top-flight.

Castles was certainly full of praise for the young defender during the podcast, saying:

“He’s tall and quick and I think this is one of the things that factors into Liverpool’s assessment, he’s incredibly strong one-on-one.

“In one statistical analysis, he’s the best one-on-one duels in the big five leagues across Europe this season.”The journalist also suggested that the Dutchman would be a huge improvement on Williams and Phillips at the heart of Liverpool’s defence, saying:”From what I’ve seen of those two centre-backs [Williams and Phillips], I would think he’s significantly better.”Whilst this might seem harsh, considering Phillips has averaged a 7.19 rating for his performances in the Premier League, whilst Williams’ one league start against Tottenham Hotspur earned him a 6.91 rating, Botman is certainly highly rated and would perhaps be a better long-term option than either of the young Liverpool centre-backs.Transfermarkt currently values the 20-year-old at £9 million, perhaps as he only joined Les Dogues in the summer for €9 million (£8 million), which suggests that Michael Edwards wouldn’t have to pay over the odds to bring him to Anfield this month and he must therefore do everything he can to sign him.And, in other news… Liverpool can sign their next Salah in “perfect” 51-assist ace

Leeds must bite the bullet on Rafa Mujica and call time on his career at Elland Road.

What’s the story?

The Spaniard arrived from La Liga giants Barcelona in the summer of 2019 following the expiration of his contract, with the Whites confirming on their official club website at the time that he would “initially link up with Carlos Corberan’s Under-23 side, with a view to training with the first team”.

That just hasn’t been the case, however, with the 22-year-old having played a grand sum of zero games under Marcelo Bielsa. The striker has spent this season on loan at Real Oviedo, but now, Udlaspalmas.net (via Sport Witness) claim that he could end up joining Las Palmas if they cut short another loanee’s stay at the club to accommodate his arrival .

Orta disaster

At 22, Mujica surely can’t be considered a young up-and-coming talent, and the fact he’s yet to play a single competitive game for Leeds is indicative of how out of the first-team picture he is at Elland Road.

The fact he’s just made five total appearances for Oviedo this season – a side languishing in Spanish football’s second tier – says everything about his ability and whether he is even remotely close to being a Premier League player.

Continually just sending him out on loan makes no sense whatsoever, and it would just be better for all parties if the Whites make a decisive call and just accept that Mujica may not turn out to be a Victor Orta success story.

Leeds’ director of football has worked his magic in the transfer market for the Whites since he’s been at Elland Road, helping Bielsa build a side that are battling against the top sides in the Premier League this season, where they have picked up some big results – not least the draw against Manchester City at home.

But Orta’s signing of Mujica will go down as nothing but a disaster, and whilst the player’s short-term future looks like it might include yet another loan spell at yet another club, his long-term future should not be anywhere near Leeds. They simply have to bite the bullet.

Meanwhile, Leeds are interested in this Premier League starlet…