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Celtic must be kicking themselves as they watch 24-year-old transfer target Ivan Toney lighting up the Championship this season. The striker attracted a lot of attention during his time with Peterborough and eventually went on to sign for Brentford for a reported £5million fee.

He hasn’t hesitated in rolling up his sleeves and getting stuck into life at his new club. In 11 appearances, Toney has netted an astonishing ten goals and one assist for the Bees. He is behind only Blackburn’s Adam Armstrong as the Championship’s highest scorers, already making his mark and showcasing his threat in front of goal (via BBC Sport).

Last season, Toney netted 24 goals in 32 League One appearances for his former club (via Transfermarkt).

These numbers will be everything Nick Hammond and co didn’t want to see. According to the Daily Record, Celtic tabled a £5million offer for Toney, but Peterborough knocked it back. Only to accept a similar offer from Brentford not long after. The Hoops should have pushed a little harder to make the officials at the Posh crumble – they would certainly be reaping the benefits from signing the Englishman if they had.

Celtic missed a trick not signing Toney

Neil Lennon’s attack is currently struggling with consistency. Other than Mohamed Elyounoussi, Celtic’s frontmen have been irregular in their performances. Odsonne Edouard has managed to net just once in the last nine games and has proven to be out of sorts since he returned from his self-isolation period.

Leigh Griffiths appears to have lost the faith of the manager, being subject to only appearances off the bench so far. Albian Ajeti has also been an inconsistent player and it’s left Lennon with a lot of thinking to do.

Unless his deal is made permanent, Elyounoussi will be leaving Parkhead at the end of the season. Similarly, Edouard’s time looks like it’s drawing near as well. More and more clubs are showing interest in him, including the likes of Arsenal. It’s more than likely that the Frenchman will succumb to the temptation of Premier League football, leaving Lennon with an extremely bare attacking roster.

Someone like Toney would have been the perfect signing. His eye for a goal is incredible and wouldn’t have cost the earth to bring to Celtic Park. At 24, he still has a lot of years left in him to develop as well. Hammond and Lennon will be furious they missed out on bringing him in.

In other news, Controversial Celtic figure Leigh Griffiths set for substitute life under Lennon…

According to reports, Manchester City are interested in making a move for Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks this summer.

What’s the word?

The England international has firmly established himself as a key part of Spurs’ first-team squad in recent seasons, making 41 appearances across all competitions in the previous campaign.

According to The Sun, Premier League rivals City are contemplating making an offer for the midfielder, with Pep Guardiola said to be a “serious admirer” of the 24-year-old’s talents.

Is it Mido or Pedro Mendes? This Spurs quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…



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The report further claims that Jose Mourinho is desperate to make new additions to his team, but is aware that he will have to sell players in order to do so, with Winks a potentially valuable asset.

Daniel Levy must cash in

With the suggestion being that Spurs may be willing to let Winks go if he attracts a bid of £40m or more, that kind of sum of money would be music to Daniel Levy’s ears – particularly in the current financial situation that clubs across Europe find themselves in.

As a homegrown player, and at only 24, there’s a lot of value in Winks in terms of the money that could be involved, and there’s a real argument that Spurs wouldn’t miss too much on the pitch either.

Despite being compared to the likes of Spain icons Xavi and Iniesta, and even being lauded as “perfect” by former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, Winks is one of those players who hasn’t found that niche of being a great ball-winning midfielder, or as a goal threat from the middle of the park.

Despite featuring a whopping 115 times under Pochettino, he managed just two goals and two assists, and following the arrival of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton, it’s difficult to see how he would fit into Mourinho’s strongest eleven.

If City are to come in with a massive bid for the £50k-a-week star, then Levy has the perfect chance to be ruthless and cash in. In the modern climate, £40m plus would be an absolute dream for the Spurs chairman to help boost the coffers.

Everton could be about to fall into the same trap if emerging reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to the Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, the Toffees have made an enquiry for Valencia striker Maxi Gomez as Carlo Ancelotti looks to bolster his frontline this summer.

The 24-year-old is one of several stars free to leave the cash-strapped La Liga outfit ahead of early October’s transfer deadline.

He cost Valencia £13m from league rivals Celta Vigo last summer, but they may have to take a loss on their investment as they are desperate to cut costs.

Transfermarkt value him at a whopping £28.8m, so perhaps Everton would be getting a bargain.

Shades of Sandro

The young Uruguayan striker would be an interesting choice for Ancelotti given his current first-choice duo of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin both bagged 13 goals apiece last term.

Gomez has netted at least ten goals in all three of his seasons in the Spanish top-flight, the lowest of which came this campaign.

In 33 appearances, the forward averaged just 1.2 shots, 0.2 dribbles and 2.7 aerials won per game, via WhoScored.

And in the Champions League, he struggled to make an impact, failing to score whilst his performances against Chelsea are hardly much encouragement towards his chances of being an instant hit in the Premier League. Perhaps, he’s shades of Sandro Ramirez.

South American football expert Tim Vickery describes Gomez as traditional number nine that’s “fearsomely strong” and that’s backed up by former PL striker David Connolly compared him to the legendary Alan Shearer by calling him a “massive tank”.

Similarly, Sandro arrived at Goodison Park on the back of a successful spell at Malaga having come through the famed La Masia academy yet he’s gone out on loan three times at the Toffees and has scored just once in 16 appearances.

The Merseysiders record with strikers from La Liga isn’t fantastic and you’d have to wonder if he’d even be able to make much of an impact with DCL and Richarlison in such great form.

Marcel Brands must steer clear of this one, especially when there’s tried and tested options out there like Joshua King.

AND in other news, Everton must sanction FLOP’s exit amid reported transfer interest…

Former Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole has made a gesture to former club VVV Venlo after being released.

The 32-year-old midfielder moved to the Eredivisie club last summer, having ended a long stay at the Stadium of Light.

Having featuring 11 times for the Dutch side, Cattermole was released after the Dutch season was curtailed amid the coronavirus pandemic due to financial restraints on the club which saw players and staff agree to take temporary wages cuts in order to balance the books.

Just a month after leaving VVV Venlo, it has now been confirmed that Cattermole has offered season tickets to some of the club’s fans.

He said: “I just wanted to send a quick message to thank you for your support last season.

“I’m disappointed we didn’t get to finish the season, but I had a wonderful year with you and you have got a fantastic football club with some amazing people there.

“I will continue to support the club with you in future. Therefore, I would like to donate some season tickets for you supporters and I will hopefully see you at a game soon. Good luck, and take care.â€

Cattermole’s gesture has been backed and followed by former Venlo teammates Maya Yoshida and Keisuke Honda.

This is a classy and professional gesture from Cattermole, who would not be a bad signing for Sunderland this summer if they choose to go back in for him. Available on a free transfer, the midfielder would bring experience of almost 400 career appearances and a thorough knowledge of the Black Cats, whom he represented 262 times.

Even to have Cattermole alongside Phil Parkinson in a player-coach role could be a boost for Sunderland, who could do worse than bring back someone of his passion and top-flight know-how as they seek to escape League One,

Should Sunderland re-sign Lee Cattermole this summer? Let us know in the comments section below…

Despite the financial uncertainty surrounding football at the moment, Tottenham look set to back Jose Mourinho in the transfer market this summer.

The north London side appear to be on the verge of completing a deal for Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, with a medical set to take place sooner rather than later.

And now, according to The Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, Spurs “admire” David Brooks, with Mourinho keen to make changes to build a more balanced squad.

Is it Mido or Pedro Mendes? This Spurs quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…



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Rated at £18m by Transfermarkt, the Wales international actually proved his potential first with England, winning the ‘Best Player’ award in the 2017 Toulon tournament after scoring twice in the competition – including in the final itself.

Ankle surgery kept him out of action for the majority of the last campaign, although he returned fit for the Premier League’s restart, playing in every single game as Bournemouth slipped to relegation.

The season before however, Brooks really showed why he is more than capable of being a fine signing for Tottenham. He scored seven times and provided five assists in the top-flight alone, with the versatile midfielder averaging 1.4 shots, one key pass and 0.8 dribbles per game.

At just 23, the Welshman has plenty of time to kick on and develop, and his Premier League experience already means he should find it much easier to adapt to Spurs.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.

Andy Carroll started as a substitute for the visit of Southampton but his impact when coming on was decisive in handing his side the victory.

Off the bench

The 30-year-old is beginning to find both form and fitness for the Magpies and Steve Bruce deserves credit for the way he has handled his return to the north-east.

Carroll has mostly remained injury-free and although he played a big hand in the win over Sheffield United, Bruce was right to be careful by not starting him again just a few days later.

Joelinton wasn’t a hit with the fans again and Carroll coming on to replace him clearly turned the game in Newcastle’s favour, as he certainly made his presence known.

He won eight aerial duels in 30 mins – almost as many as the Brazilian amounted in double that time – and put in a stunning cross for Jonjo Shelvey to head in the equaliser, his second assist in two matches.

The striker has made a career out of being a nuisance and he certainly displayed those attributes against Saints, and on that showing, he may take Joelinton’s place in the team.

Who the heck is that?! Can you name all 25 of these obscure Liverpool signings…

Deserves a chance

Carroll has had to bide his time for regular starts since coming back to St. James’ Park, but given the disappointment of Joelinton since he arrived it is likely that fans would support him being given more game time.

The former Hoffenheim man has struggled to fulfil the role of a loan striker, with his inability to hold the ball up and subsequent poor passing the main cause in him underwhelming.

Watch a Newcastle fan shut down Michael Owen in an epic rant in the video below…

He managed just 57% pass accuracy on Sunday and though Carroll doesn’t excel in that area either, he does at least have the strength, awareness, and aerial presence to pick out teammates with flick-ons.

As well as that, Carroll provides a key presence in both boxes, and that is vital to Newcastle defending and scoring from set-pieces – and that could be key to winning at Burnley next up.

The target man should, therefore, take a place in the starting line-up for that fixture, and if he makes a similar impact then there is no reason why he shouldn’t be given a regular run in the team.

Meanwhile, Alan Shearer has hailed Steve Bruce’s intervention against Saints, too, pointing to his substitutes being imperative to picking up three points.

Aston Villa will have a key decision on their hands this summer when Scott Hogan returns from his loan spell at Birmingham City.

The striker spent the first half of the 2019/2020 season on loan with Stoke City, but having failed to make an impression at the Bet365 stadium, he returned to Villa in January and was immediately sent out a six month loan to the Blues.

Since arriving at St. Andrews, the Republic or Ireland international has been in superb form, netting seven goals in nine Championship appearances.

Much discussion has taken place over whether or not Hogan would be allowed by Villa to join their bitter rivals this summer, but it remains uncertain just how much Dean Smith’s side would value the striker.

Arriving at Villa Park in January 31st, 2017 for a reported transfer fee of £9.45m, Hogan has netted 10 goals in 61 appearances for the club, whilst also spending time on loan with the likes of Sheffield United, Stoke and now, the Blues.

Approaching the summer, Hogan’s transfer value will not turn profit from what Villa spent on the striker, but after being at the club three years, they could now recoup a fair amount of it.

Had Hogan stayed at Stoke and continued to struggle then Villa may have struggled to offload him for any sort of fee this summer, but the Claret and Blue strangely have their most bitter rivals to thank for increasing his market value following his hot streak of form in front of goal at St. Andrew’s.

Valued at £2.88m by Transfermarkt, his goals in the Championship over the last few months are likely to enhance that and arguably you can see no reason why Villa couldn’t demand a slightly higher fee for the striker, especially if he continues to find the back of the net when the second tier returns later in June.

That could hand Villa boss Dean Smith some much needed funds ahead of the summer and if that comes from Birmingham, so be it…

How much do you think Scott Hogan will be sold for this summer, or will he stay at Villa? Let us know in the comments section below…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

There are lots of variables at play in QSI’s possible takeover of Leeds but journalist Phil Hay has suggested Marcelo Bielsa would stay if he liked what they were saying.

Hay was answering fan questions during his Q&A for The Athletic after the Whites’ late win over Luton on Saturday evening.

What’s he said?

Rumours of a possible takeover by Qatari consortium QSI first originated in the summer as the business that own PSG looked to invest more funds into football.

Presumably because of ties with current Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani, Leeds was touted as a possible entry of further investment into sport.

Reports recently have suggested that they are still interested in taking over the Yorkshire outfit and Radrizzani has even been spotted in Paris. What he was discussing is unknown but it could well have been the possibility of a takeover.

Hay has claimed in the past that Bielsa is likely to go if the club doesn’t achieve promotion this season. However, QSI could throw another variable into the mix. Having his say on the situation, the journalist said:

“If he liked what QSI were saying and if he trusted them, he’d stay”

Good news for Leeds

Bielsa has done some fabulous things for the football club since he walked through the doors in 2018. He took them to the playoffs and has since guided them to second place in the Championship this term.

He’s changed the direction of Leeds, who were a club sitting in mid-table mediocrity before he entered.

New owners don’t necessarily mean a safe job, however. When Birmingham brought in new people behind the scenes they very quickly got rid of the impressive Gary Rowett before they slipped down the league table.

It seems unlikely that QSI would sack a manager with as much prowess and experience in the game as Bielsa but from Hay’s words, it seems as though it could be in the Argentine’s hands, rather than theirs.

It was perhaps a surprise that the 64-year-old decided to stay this season after he failed to take them up, but if they do indeed achieve promotion in 2019/20, the prospect of keeping him will surely be greater.

Couple that with the sheer investment that QSI could provide and he’d be foolish to walk out of Elland Road. This is a business that Radrizzani has claimed could put the Whites on par with Manchester City.

That tells you all you need to know about their financial muscle. If they do arrive, Bielsa must trust that their backing is the right one.

And in other news, check out what Phil Hay has been saying about two January targets…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.

Sheffield United epitomised the ‘game of two halves’ phrase with a mixed performance against Norwich at Carrow Road on Sunday.

The Blades didn’t come racing out of the blocks to say the least, and found themselves 1-0 down after Alexander Tettey’s goal in the 27th minute, although Chris Wilder managed to get his side to respond in impressive fashion.

Snapshot

After the half-time break, last season’s Championship runners-up looked a different side.

The Blades scored just four minutes into the second-half thanks to Enda Stevens, before the game completely flipped on its head just three minutes later when George Baldock found the back of the net – his excellent swivel and turn, before firing home, was impressive.

From then on, it was a case of managing the game appropriately, and one decision from Wilder helped do that to perfection.

65th minute substitution worked wonders

Wilder’s decision to bring Muhamed Besic onto the field in the 65th minute looked to be a conservative move – as the Bosnian is a defensive midfielder by trade – and it proved to be just that.

The former Everton man – who has rarely been seen in the Premier League this term having managed just two substitute appearances and 34 minutes in total – shone against Daniel Farke’s side to ensure that his teammates took the three points back to Yorkshire with them.

Besic made a key pass and completed one dribble, but it was his industrial side that will have made him the toast of the away dressing room at Carrow Road.

The 27-year-old made four tackles, more than any of his teammates and the joint-most on the pitch alongside Emiliano Buendia, which is especially impressive seeing as Besic played just 25 minutes.

He also made two interceptions and a clearance in what was a hugely effective cameo.

It’s safe to say that Wilder’s 65th minute decision certainly had the desired effect.

In other news, these Sheffield United fans couldn’t help but bemoan this player’s lacking ability in one department against Norwich…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Phil Hay, a journalist with an esteemed history of covering Leeds United for both the Yorkshire Evening Post and now The Athletic, has shed light on the solidarity in the dressing room at Everton, with a number of players learning foreign languages for better communication amongst the team.

What did he say?

Everton, like most modern day football clubs, are a multinational outfit.

In the dressing room, languages range from Italian with Moise Kean, Spanish with Yerry Mina, to Icelandic from Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Most players will naturally feel the urge to learn or fine-tune their English language skills after moving to a Premier League outfit, but it’s not only the foreign players who are taking time to learn a new language.

Hay wrote for The Athletic: “Everton and Silva want Richarlison to speak more English. The same goes for Yerry Mina, a Colombian who came from Barcelona last year with no great grasp of the language.”

Hay later went on to add: “What is interesting at Everton — and what underlines the value of being multilingual — is that a number of their British players are taking lessons in Spanish, to help the lines of communication on the pitch and away from it.

“One source spoken to by The Athletic described it as a ‘contra deal’ at Goodison Park, where footballers of different nationalities help each other to learn.”

A positive future

Everton are currently sat just two points above the relegation zone after a shocking start to this Premier League season. Plus, with Marco Silva under constant pressure right now, it all seems slightly doom and gloom on the blue side of Merseyside.

However, it does seem like there is a togetherness amongst the players, which is only going to benefit the club moving forward. It is a very smart touch from the players to agree to this “contra deal” because as times get tough at Goodison Park, positive communication will be more vital than ever.

The last thing Silva would want is animosity and a lack of understanding between his players, and the report from Hay can only be positive news for the Blues.

Right now, Everton need to rally together and this intriguing touch is one that should ultimately pay off in the long term.