There is no doubting that over the years Celtic have been smart and efficient within the transfer market. But, just how many signings will truly make a dent in the history of the Glasgow giants?
With so many players coming in and out of the club over the last five years, it is hard to tell who truly gave themselves the right to say they are in the Hoops’ folklore. However, there have certainly been a couple of signings where fans just don’t understand how good they were.
In the modern game, the growing problem for players and clubs alike is the price.
The price of a player, the wages to be paid, the agent fees, it’s all becoming too much.
With this in mind, Celtic have certainly managed to go under the radar and really bring in some proper talent without paying millions, so here we take a look at a couple of smart signings made by the Bhoys.
Moussa Dembele
Joining from Fulham back in the 2016/17 season, Moussa Dembele certainly made his mark in his maiden season for Celtic. Making his debut on only his 20th birthday, there was, of course, a lot of pressure on the French international.
Despite all the pressure, he raised his game to the very top, scoring 32 goals in all competitions, as well as helping the club qualify for the Champions League group stage.
The then 20-year-old had a stellar spell at Celtic, and one of the best bits about it for you Celtic fans, he came on a free transfer.
Imagine that. 32 free goals, helping to gain a clean sweep of Scottish trophies, and a Champions League group stage. Brilliant Business.
Kristoffer Ajer
Joining from Norwegian club Start, for a pretty small price, no one at the club had expected what the young 20-year-old has become today. Signing for the Hoops back in 2016, most fans would have thought he is only a youth prospect, another player coming into the youth ranks only to be shipped out when older.
Well, now making himself a permanent face in the heart of the Celtic defence. Ajer has become integral to the success at Celtic Park, just imagine his price in the years to come. It certainly is a bright future for the defender.
West Brom fans are absolutely raging at Saturday’s shock announcement, as the club has parted ways with head coach Darren Moore.
The Baggies have sacked Moore, along with assistants Graeme Jones and Wayne Jacobs, a club statement confirmed on Saturday evening.
The statement cites losing ground on promotion rivals as the main reason for the decision, with the club now nine points behind Leeds United in second after grabbing just one point from their last three games.
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First, a 1-0 home defeat to Sheffield United launched the Blades well clear of the Hawthorns outfit, before a 4-0 hammering at Elland Road courtesy of Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds left them toiling well behind the three top contenders for automatic promotion.
Things didn’t go their way on Saturday either, as last-placed Ipswich rocked up to the Hawthorns and grabbed a 1-1 draw thanks to John Nolan’s second half strike.
However, you only have to look at Swansea City and Stoke City’s predicaments (they are 15th and 16th respectively) to see how well Moore has done steadying the ship after relegation.
Very rarely do teams comfortably bounce back up immediately after relegation, and it is usually the ones who chop and change managers that suffer the worst.
The Baggies are still fourth and the league’s second leading scorers, and the Twitter reactions down below are absolutely baffled…
أشاد مدرب فريق مانشستر يونايتد أولي جونار سولشاير بالأداء الذي قدمه اللاعب خوان ماتا في مباراة الأمس أمام برايتون، في كأس رابطة الأندية الإنجليزية.
وفاز مانشستر يونايتد بثلاثة أهداف دون رد، وتأهلوا إلى دور ربع نهائي البطولة.
وشارك خوان ماتا في تلك المباراة، حيث قدم أداءً رائعًا وصنع الهدف الأول وسجل الثاني.
وقال سولشاير، في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “بي بي سي” العالمية: “أداء رائع من خوان ماتا، لقد كان هو الشخص الذي يحصل على الكرة ويهدينا إياها، كان كالمؤلف”.
وأضاف: “لقد صنع الهدف الأول بشكل أو بآخر، أنا لا أشعر بالاندهاش عندما يلعب بتلك الطريقة، لقد كان بالقرب من منطقة الجزاء ويعرف كيف يتحرك بالكرة، يقوم بعمله وهو في الخلف ليحمي الكرة كما حدث أمام دان بيرن عند ركنية في الشوط الثاني”.
وواصل: “كنا بحاجة إلى أول 20-25 دقيقة للحصول على ثقتنا والحصول على الكرة، لقد عملنا على الكرات الثابتة، المحافظة على الشباك نظيفة أمر هام خاصة بالنسبة للمدافعين”.
واستكمل: “بوجبا؟ أردنا إشراكه لمدة 25 – 30 دقيقة حتى يكتسب المزيد من اللياقة، لقد وجد هو وراشفورد بعد اللمسات الجيدة”.
وعندما سُئل عن إمكانية إبرام صفقات جديدة في موسم الانتقالات الصيفي الحالي، وتحديدًا لاعب بوروسيا دورتموند جادون سانشو، أجاب سولشاير: “لا يمكنني إخبارك بأي شيء، نحن نعمل مع ما لدينا، لدينا فريق كبير، قمنا بتغيير 10 لاعبين اعتبارًا من يوم السبت، إذا كان هناك أي تحديث، فسنخبرك بذلك”.
واختتم: “أنا لا أعلق على لاعبي الفرق الأخرى، لا أستطيع أن أشغل نفسي بالأندية الأخرى، أعرف أن النادي يعمل بشكل جيد ويعمل بجد ليكون لديه فريق قوي قدر الإمكان، في بعض الأحيان تكون التكهنات موجودة ولا يمكننا التحكم في ذلك”.
In one of the more interesting Premier League clashes this weekend, Everton will be hosting Wolves at Goodison Park. The visitors sit in 7th, just one spot above their hosts by a margin of only two points. In this battle, we’ll be looking at two key men from each side in Andre Gomes and Ruben Neves to see how they might influence the crunch match.
The reverse fixture was one that took place early in the Premier League season when Everton travelled to Molineux. Ruben Neves was key that day as he scored a sublime free-kick to level the scores at 1-1 before the game eventually finished 2-2. However, a lot has changed since then and it will be interesting to see how Gomes and Neves compare in a game that could ultimately decide who finishes 7th.
RUBEN NEVES
You can ask any Wolves fan who their most influential player is and the chances are they’ll all come back with the same answer. Ruben Neves has become an icon at Molineux and at the age of just 21, it looks like he has a massive future ahead of him for both the West Midland’s club and with his national side, who will be competing with Andre Gomes for a spot in over the next few years.
Neves’ ability to score and create goals with his incredible technique and vision make him a player who is sure to be hotly coveted by a number of Europe’s top clubs if he keeps going the way he is. From central midfield, the ex-Porto man has scored nine goals and registered three assists in his 66 games for Wolves so far, and it’s fair to say that he never scores a dull goal, with his nine strikes already enough to make a pretty ludicrous high-light reel.
TT GRADE: A
ANDRE GOMES
Soccer Football – Premier League – Everton v AFC Bournemouth – Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain – January 13, 2019 Everton’s Andre Gomes clashes with Bournemouth’s Joshua King REUTERS/Andrew Yates EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for fur
Everton fans were all delighted, and rightfully so, when their club managed to pull off the loan signing of Andre Gomes from Barcelona on deadline day of the summer window. The Portuguese midfielder has all the talent and ability to succeed in the Premier League, even if he was poor and struggled for minutes whilst at the Nou Camp in his time with the Catalan giants.
At international level, Gomes has been a key staple of the Portugal side of the recent era. The midfielder has won 29 caps and is the current European Champion having been apart of the successful Portuguese squad from the 2016 competition. However, over the last few weeks, the 25-year-old has struggled as Everton’s form has been indifferent with losses to Millwall, Southampton, Leicester and Brighton marring their record.
TT GRADE: C+
TT VERDICT:
Whilst Gomes has got the experience of playing at a top club in Barcelona, his influence on this Everton side hasn’t been quite what the fans thought it would be. The 25-year-old has certainly been impressive, but he’s not a scratch on the sublime Ruben Nevez, who is destined to become one of the world’s very best. For those reasons, Neves simply has to win this battle.
Out of nowhere, Jeremy Ngakia has burst onto the scene at West Ham this season.
Before this campaign, the 19-year-old had never made a senior appearance. However, he was included in the starting line-up for the first time against Liverpool. Coincidentally, his next appearance was against the same opponents, and he was then named on the teamsheet by David Moyes for the clashes against Southampton and Arsenal.
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According to ExWHUemployee, the Hammers have already offered him a new contract – in a short space of time, his importance to Moyes and co has risen dramatically.
Here, we take a look at three rave reviews from his performances so far this season…
Carlton Cole, former West Ham striker
Carlton Cole was something of a journeyman, playing for no less than eight clubs, but it was at West Ham where he spent the longest amount of time – he scored 67 times in 293 games.
Now a pundit, he had plenty of praise for Ngakia following his performance against the Reds, which the Irons lost 3-2.
He said, via Sky Sports:
“I thought his concentration and focus on Monday night was immense. To hold his own against someone like Sadio Mane, one of the best in the world at the moment, and other players like Andy Robertson, was a measure of his quality. Jeremy is a natural defender. I think he started as a winger, but he has that natural instinct to defend – his reading of the game and sense of positioning is very, very good.”
It was a very good display from the teenager. Mane may have scored, but Ngakia was not overawed, making five tackles and winning 10 of his 18 duels.
That is easier said than done against a player who finished fourth in last year’s Ballon d’Or rankings.
Pablo Zabaleta, West Ham right-back
Zabaleta has had a fantastic career at right-back. He made 333 appearances for Manchester City, for example, winning two Premier League titles, whilst he also has 58 caps for Argentina.
An expert in Ngakia’s position, he clearly thinks he has a bright future ahead of him. He told the youngster directly on West Ham’s YouTube channel:
“You’ve been superb. How old are you, 19? Keep working hard, listening, be a good professional and good luck in your career. You can go for 15 more years.”
If anybody knows how to make a career in that role, then it is Zabaleta. He started out as a 17-year-old with San Lorenzo, and is still playing amongst the elite now.
Ngakia should take such praise and advice on board.
John Moncur, former West Ham player
Moncur was part of the furniture for the Hammers during the 1990s – he spent nine years at Upton Park between 1994 and 2003.
Speaking to the West Ham Fan Show on Love Sport Radio, he said of Ngakia:
“When you look back because you say I was there when they all come through. And it’s a little bit like Glen Johnson; Glen Johnson come in. I mean, we sold him after 12 games. But in them 12 games he proved that he had a Premiership career. You know from the third or fourth game that he come in, he’s going to be a star, you know, an asset to the club and I can see this with this boy. I’m really impressed with him.”
Glen Johnson, of course, started his career at the Irons, but he made just 16 appearances before moving on to Chelsea.
West Ham will be hoping history does not repeat itself.
The following article is a special report; all information presented has been gleaned from Football FanCast sources unless stated otherwise.
Juventus are hopeful of signing Christian Eriksen from Tottenham Hotspur but may wait until the summer to take him to Italy, sources have told Football FanCast.
The Denmark international is out of contract at the end of the season and has thus far shown no indication that he would like to extend his stay at the club.
The Italian giants are said to be “sniffing” around the midfielder prior to a potential swoop, and their chances of signing him could be supported by the fact that Spurs would like to snap up Juve’s Turkish centre-back Merih Demiral.
The 21-year-old was signed from Sassuolo in the summer but has made just four appearances for Juve this season, even providing an assist in the 3-1 Serie A win over Udinese.
Those familiar with Spurs’ recruitment have made it clear that manager Jose Mourinho would like to sign a defender in one of the next two transfer windows and Demiral is a target. Scouts have watched him play for both Juve and Sassuolo.
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Thus, there is a possibility that Demiral could play some role in determining Eriksen’s future.
Of course, Spurs do not have a great deal of agency over his future – he can sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club next month – but there is the prospect of negotiations opening the door to talks over the Turkey international, who has won 11 caps for his country.
Sources within the club believe that Eriksen will leave in the summer because he wishes to receive a signing-on fee when he moves to a new club.
Spurs could feasibly open the lines of communication to Juve now, then, with a view to both finding out their plans for Eriksen – allowing them to prepare for his exit – and also making an enquiry as to their target’s availability. Sources have suggested talks may take place in January.
An exit for Eriksen in the next transfer window would be preferable for Spurs, allowing the club to receive a fee, but there has been no indication that the Dane would countenance such a possibility.
Manchester United had been linked with a possible January move but sources claim there is “nothing” coming from the Red Devils ahead of the winter window.
Nonetheless, there is the potential for a tacit quid pro quo between Spurs and the Italian champions; they do nothing to disrupt and possibly even help facilitate Juve’s discussions with Eriksen, in return for smoother negotiations over Demiral.
Juventus, of course, have signed a number of high-profile players on free transfers in recent seasons, including Aaron Ramsey from Arsenal and Emre Can from Liverpool.
Juve paid just €18m (£15.2m) for Demiral’s signature and one assumes that they would want to turn a profit.
Eriksen has previously told the club that he wishes to play abroad in order to broaden his horizons and it was anticipated that interest would come from Spain, namely Real Madrid and Barcelona, in the summer.
Mourinho’s produced some incredible footballing stars – how much do you know about them?
However, there were no bids forthcoming and a move to Italy now seems a realistic proposition for the want-away playmaker.
It could be a perfect situation for Spurs, who could use the Italian club’s interest to swoop for their little-used defender, Demiral.
Meanwhile, Spurs fans have been reacting to a link with a swoop for a Championship star.
After some of his recent performances, Liverpool fans have been calling for Xherdan Shaqiri to become a regular starter in Jurgen Klopp’s lineups, as they feel that he is the most creative midfielder at their disposal.
The Swiss international has started just four Premier League games since his £12m move from Stoke in the summer, impressing hugely in those games with two goals and two assists.
Some of the Anfield faithful feel he is capable of replacing Philippe Coutinho’s inventiveness in the middle of the park, something that the Reds have sorely missed since the Brazilian departed to Barcelona.
With the likes of Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum, Naby Keita, Fabinho, James Milner and Adam Lallana vying to start in Klopp’s midfield, including the former Bayern star, chances have been few and far between for the 27-year-old.
In light of this selection dilemma, we put the question to Liverpool fans, asking if they would like to see the diminutive midfielder become one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Interestingly, a whopping 82% voted in favour of the £12m man becoming just that, stating that they feel that the Merseyside-based club need his creativity out on that pitch at all times, as you can see by the results below…
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[ad_pod ]Mesut Ozil’s current situation at Arsenal ought to be a real concern for all those involved with the club. How Unai Emery handles the treatment of the German playmaker will be one of the main early tests of his reign at the Emirates Stadium.Ozil returned to the North London club at the start of this season off of the back of a torrid summer. The 29-year-old was part of the German national team squad that crashed out of the World Cup in the group stages.It was a disaster for the national side, and despite creating a number of chances that his teammates repeatedly spurned, Ozil himself was singled out for criticism by much of the media.ÂNot long after the curtain had fallen upon the tournament in Russia, Ozil took to Instagram to announce his retirement from international football. His message cited racial discrimination he had suffered at the hands of the German Football Association, and in particular from its president, Reinhard Grindel.The backlash to this announcement has ranged from heartfelt support to further criticism of the Arsenal man from those who refute his claims.ÂEven in these early stages of the new campaign, it is clear that Ozil is still out of sorts. Against Chelsea, the German put in an utterly anonymous performance before being hauled off with more than 20 minutes still to play. In over an hour of football at Stamford Bridge, the Gunners’ No. 10 managed a mere 29 touches and didn’t play a single key pass.For the following fixture, at home against West Ham United, Ozil was ruled out with illness. However, ESPN journalist Joao Castelo-Branco reported that the German’s exclusion was in fact due to a bust up with Emery when he heard he was to be amongst the substitutes and subsequently refused to attend the game at all.
Emery has categorically denied these rumours, but it certainly seems as though things aren’t all quite right with Ozil at this time.
Since taking up the hot seat in North London, the Spanish coach has had to field plenty of questions about the wellbeing of the creative midfielder. In the aftermath of Ozil’s retirement from international football, Emery said that he wanted Ozil to feel at “home here with us – like a family†and that the club were “going to help him feel goodâ€, as reported by the BBC.
Although Emery’s English is still very much a work in progress, he will have known that those were particularly emotive words to use when talking about his player’s condition. Emery’s words suggested that Ozil was, understandably, struggling in some way. He likely still is, which may well be affecting his form on the pitch.
If Ozil has returned from illness in time to face Cardiff City this weekend then it will be fascinating to see if he is included from the off. If he is, it would be a big indication that Emery is prepared to invest his faith in the German, and that kind of vote of confidence could be exactly what Ozil needs following the intense criticism he has faced in recent months.
However, beyond issues of form, confidence and fitness, the question remains as to whether or not Ozil actually even suits the style of play Emery is currently attempting to implement at the Emirates.Â
The manager has made no secret of his desire to build an Arsenal team that presses hard and high up the pitch, and works together as a cohesive defensive unit. In Emery’s teams, everyone is expected to fully understand and commit to their defensive duties.
Ozil’s attributes, for all of his undeniable technical excellence, may not be conducive to this style of football. The former Real Madrid man must prove that he can function effectively within Emery’s tactical set up. The boss is extremely unlikely to be willing to compromise upon his principles in order to accommodate the midfielder.
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Should it prove that Ozil doesn’t fit into Emery’s system, the consequences for the club could be disastrous. The ink is barely dry on Ozil’s current contract with the club, which is worth £350,000-a-week, according to The Telegraph. The deal runs until 2021. The idea of the German being surplus to requirements at this stage is not one the club will wish to countenance.
Arsenal’s options for offloading Ozil appear thin on the ground. Of all the clubs in world football who could afford his transfer fee and wage package, almost every single one already has a star player in his position. What’s more, Ozil is currently out of form and not exactly living up to his wages, so it would make no sense for another club to take such a risk on a player approaching 30.
This state of affairs leaves Arsenal, and Emery, with no real choice other than to make Ozil work well within this team. This process of integration may require faith and patience, but if Ozil can come good for Arsenal then he remains a player capable of leading them to silverware.Â
Whilst he shouldn’t be pandered to, the team set up can be designed so as to get the best out of Ozil. Playing him in his preferred central position and surrounding him with mobile players he can combine with is a must.Â
Without doubt, Emery faces a challenge to get the best out of Ozil this season, and failure is simply not an option.Â
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Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has not played for the club since October last year due to a strong of injury problems.
What began as an innocuous Achilles problem turned into a handful of treatments and operations.
Following surgery, the 32-year-old contracted gangrene in his right ankle and ended up requiring a skin graft due to the infection damaging his tendon further.
The midfielder had skin removed from his arm to cover the eight centimetres that was ripped away by the infection.
Initially, it was suggested that Cazorla would return to the pitch in the New Year, but now he has revealed on social media that he has suffered a fresh setback.
The Spaniard confirmed that he underwent another operation – his ninth in total – after feeling pain in his tendon.
“As a result of some discomfort in the tendon that I had been suffering in recent days, I have had to go into theatre again. I have to put back the date for my return. I still have the motivation and the hope of being able to return to enjoy my great passion, football.”
As expected, Arsenal fans have turned out in their droves on social media to send Cazorla their well-wishes during a difficult time on the treatment table.
It’s been the problem position so far this season: West Ham have been so lacking in the right-back spot that arguably the club’s most potent attacking player, Michail Antonio, has been forced to play there this year.
You’d like to think that will change this summer.
With a new stadium in place and starting to feel like home – especially after victory over Tottenham just the other week – it feel like the Hammers might be back on the straight and narrow, even if the impending summer transfer window brings back painful (maybe even humiliating) memories of last year’s attempts to sign Carlos Bacca, Alexandre Lacazette and Michy Batshuayi.
There’s no doubting the east London club has to dip into the market for a few new players, however. And a right-back is one of them.
And yet, full-backs are a sought-after commodity these days.
For one thing, the attacking width for many teams comes from their wide defenders getting up the pitch and making overlapping runs, whilst having full-backs with the ability to support the attack leaves open the tantalising possibility of playing with wing-backs – something the Premier League cool kids are up to these days. You get the feeling, though, any actual recognised right-back would feel like an improvement for the Hammers right now.
Bournemouth’s Adam Smith, rated at £2.13m by TransferMarkt.com, would seem like a good fit, too.
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The first thing to clear up, though, would be his desire to actually play for West Ham United. He is, after all, a Leytonstone boy who has played for both Tottenham and Millwall in the past.
In this day and age, though, you’d think that wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Now an established Premier League right-back, he’s the kind of player West Ham could do with, and surely he’d be excited to play in front of 60,000 fans every week at the London Stadium.
Beyond his past, Smith has one quality in particular that Slaven Bilic may well find attractive: he isn’t injury prone.
That might sound laughable, but the Hammers have suffered massively with injuries this season to go alongside their other problems from wantaway players to new stadium teething problems. Adding injury to insult is what took the club into an unlikely relegation battle, after all.
Of Bournemouth’s 36 Premier League games so far, Smith has featured in 34 of them. No current West Ham player has played more minutes than the Bournemouth full-back.
His ability to play multiple games in a row is hardly the best reason to buy a new player, but it should certainly be taken into consideration when you have as many problems as West Ham have in keeping your current players fit.
Defensively, Smith has made 2.4 tackles per game this season, and only three West Ham players can beat that. Offensively, he has scored once and made five assists. Crucially, of the Hammers’ current squad, no one has more than that. Only Dimitri Payet, on six, beats it.
Even if you think just having the ability to play in all the games is a weak reason for West Ham to sign Smith, the stats seem to present a player who will fit into the squad quite well in what is already a problem position.
And instead of focusing on big name players who cost exorbitant fees, Bilic could make Smith a priority, bringing a local boy into the team and making his squad much stronger in the process.