As reported by The Daily Record, Celtic are ready to open talks with goalkeeper Scott Bain about signing a permanent deal at the club, extending his current loan spell which is due to end this summer.
What’s the story?
Bain signed on loan from Dundee in January as an emergency replacement for injured shot-stopper Craig Gordon, but his contract at Dens Park also expires at the end of the season and it appears incredibly unlikely he returns to the Dees.
Celtic were previously reported to be keeping their options open regarding Bain, but impressive recent performances look to have brought forward the prospect of him staying in Glasgow.
The Daily Record report that after glowing recommendations from boss Brendan Rodgers, the club are ready to commit to a permanent deal for the player.
Does he have what it takes to become the number one goalkeeper at the club?
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A long-term Gordon replacement?
Craig Gordon has had a wonderful few seasons at Celtic, especially when you consider he was on the brink of retirement before signing up at the Hoops.
However, with a number of errors this season, his latest injury keeping him out for months and the fact he is now 35 years old, in the long-term, Celtic need to think about a replacement.
Bain has shown so far he can be that man with a mightily impressive debut in the whirlwind that was the recent derby at Ibrox and two clean sheets in subsequent matches boosting his credentials.
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The Dundee man has long been one of the best pure shot-stoppers in the division and working with Celtic’s renowned goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods, his game can be brought to new levels.
The chances of him making the position his own by the end of next season are high at this stage.
Everton fans are bashing Yannick Bolasie on Twitter, after the club claimed he was back among the goals.
There hasn’t been much to cheer about at Goodison this season, and last summer’s influx of big money signings has had far from the desired effect.
Fans were certainly hopeful of a boost when Yannick Bolasie returned from injury, but the tricky winger has not found his feet yet.
The 28 year-old surely deserves a bit of leeway given the extent of his injury layoff, but nonetheless he has infuriated fans with his desire to beat his man twelve times before putting a cross in.
Bolasie was on the scoresheet against Manchester City last weekend thanks to a superb second half strike, but fans are still not happy with his end product, especially after he missed a golden chance to keep the game in reach in the first half.
Everton welcome Liverpool to Goodison on Saturday, and while fans will be hopeful Bolasie can kick on from last week’s goal, it doesn’t seem like they’re too confident about it.
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Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Nottingham Forest ended their dismal run of form in the English Championship on Saturday with a late victory at home to Ipswich Town.
Trailing by a goal heading into the final minutes of the game, a Ben Brereton penalty and a Joe Lolley finish in stoppage time gave the Reds a vital victory.
Heading into the match they had not only failed to win in six matches, but also failed to score in that period, much to the worry of Forest supporters.
Fans were absolutely delighted with the win and had much praise for goal hero Lolley, who has been one of the side’s main threats in recent weeks despite the lack of goals.
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His perseverance finally paid off with a superb volley at the back post to send the City Ground into raptures.
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Signing in January, he’s been a real bright spark for Aitor Karanka’s side and supporters are excited to see what his future holds at the clubs surrounded by better players next season.
They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his Saturday performance…
Leeds fans are praying Tom Pearce signs a new contract with the club, after manager Paul Heckingbottom indicated the youngster will be offered a new deal.
Paul Heckingbottom hasn’t done too much right in his time as Leeds manager, but his trust in youth has certainly been a positive.
Bailey Peacock-Farrell has excelled since replacing Felix Wiedwald in goal, and Paudie O’Connor has been impressive in his short stint in the team.
Tom Pearce could yet be the best of the bunch though, as the youngster has been fantastic filling in for the first team at left back.
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The 20 year-old scored his first goal for the club in the win against Barnsley, and fans are unsurprisingly desperate to keep him at the club.
The departure of Lewis Cook has been a sour note for fans since he joined Bournemouth, and the club will surely look to tie Pearce down this summer to avoid another young star leaving.
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It doesn’t sound like there’s been too much progress yet though, as Heckingbottom indicated plans are in place but nothing is signed.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
According to reports in The Chronicle, Newcastle United could face competition from Premier League rivals Arsenal and Liverpool – as well as the Merseyside outfit’s fellow Champions League semi-finalists Bayern Munich – if they want to sign Rafa Benitez favourite Kenedy from Chelsea this summer.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the Brazilian has impressed for the Magpies having joined them on loan until the end of the season during the January transfer window, and The Chronicle suggests that the Tyneside outfit are exploring the possibility of bringing him to the club next term – either on loan again or permanently.
However, the 22-year-old’s displays don’t appear to have gone unnoticed according to The Chronicle, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern Munich all potentially dealing them a fatal blow in their bid to bring him to the north-east.
Benitez showed his love for Kenedy by praising him in The Chronicle on April 2 following the 1-0 win against Huddersfield Town on March 31.
How well has Kenedy done for Newcastle?
He has been brilliant.
The left-sided player has scored two goals – both in the crucial 3-0 win against Southampton in March – as well as providing a further two assists in 11 Premier League appearances, and he has impressed in general with his pace and trickery.
The Blues loanee has been a crucial part of the run that saw them surpass the magic 40-point mark with a handful of fixtures still to play, and he has already become a big St James’ Park favourite – fans on Twitter would prefer to see him join over Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand.
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Could they still sign him?
It’s difficult to say.
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While Newcastle clearly want him and the player seems to have really enjoyed his spell with the club, the 22-year-old certainly has plenty to think about this summer.
Firstly, Chelsea may want to keep him and could offer him guarantees of regular first-team minutes, while the interest from three clubs that could be competing in the Champions League next season are also sure to tempt him.
It is a situation that could leave Benitez searching for a Plan B for the left midfield position, and ultimately leave the Spaniard frustrated once again in the transfer market.
Liverpool are Champions League finalists. They are likely to be in next season’s edition of the tournament even if they don’t manage to win the final, as a victory over (or even a draw with) Brighton on the final day will likely be enough to secure a top four spot. The last time they played the Seagulls, they won 5-1 on the south coast: it’s all in their favour.It’s clearly been a good season, then. Beyond the tangible successes of the Champions League run and decent league showing, the Reds have been one of the most exciting teams in the league and indeed in Europe. Mohamed Salah has, as a result, swept up seemingly all the awards, and Liverpool fever has swept the nation.But this summer, the Reds might find themselves a little bit stuck.The question of how to improve on this team essentially boils down to how to improve the squad depth. Maybe a new goalkeeper and a couple of new defenders could come in and make an impact to the side’s overall cohesion, but when it comes to the midfield and attack, it’s hard to really make the starting XI better – certainly when you factor in the arrival of Naby Keita. And yet surely no one can think that Liverpool can be title contenders next season if they don’t capitalise on their momentum by adding a few more names.
So who comes into the attack? Clearly there aren’t many players (if any) who can be an upgrade on Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. Not realistic additions at any rate. Yes, some reinforcements are needed, but it’s hard to convince a top tier talent to come to Anfield and sit on the bench. It’s a similar problem to the one Spurs have: they had to go for Fernando Llorente to play understudy to Harry Kane, and it didn’t pay dividends this season.
Danny Ings and Dominic Solanke aren’t adequate replacements for injury and squad rotation purposes, but even mere upgrades on those two wouldn’t necessarily take the Reds to the next level. It’s all about the balancing act between the names they can attract and the squad roles they can offer. Attacking reinforcements will surely arrive, but if they are of a sufficient level, will they also have the humility required to come off the bench in the right frame of mind to change a game.
In the midfield, it’ll be a similar story. With Keita coming into the team, Liverpool will have another top class midfielder to add to their ranks. Perhaps it’s less of a problem in this area as the likes of James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have proven themselves to be more than useful to Jurgen Klopp in the middle of the pitch, and with Adam Lallana to come back into the side, too, the Reds will have plenty of decent back-up options, all of whom have already bought into the project that’s underway at Anfield. Unlike the worry about the attack, you wouldn’t envisage anyone throwing their toys out of the pram.
You might be thinking that Liverpool should really be focusing on sorting out the defence and probably even the goalkeeper before worrying about the attack. In a sense that might be true, but in attack Klopp has few options beyond his starters and he’s been fairly lucky with injuries this season. He certainly hasn’t been unlucky, which is a possibility next season, too.
That’s why names like Nabil Fekir are being spoken about. But next season, will he really want to sit on the bench?
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This is the line Klopp has to tread this summer. And whilst it’s true that the manager really shouldn’t be thinking about such things until the after the Champions League final at the end of the month, these are the problems he’ll be faced with very soon indeed.
If Mauricio Pochettino’s comments after Tottenham’s exit from the semi-finals of the FA Cup created ambiguity over where the Argentine truly sees his future, the Spurs boss made his feelings abundantly clear on Sunday following a final day thriller with Leicester at Wembley. Either the north London club allow him the same financial resources as every other top six manager in the Premier League, or there will be an inevitable parting of company.
That’s pretty much what Pochettino alluded to after the defeat to United as well, suggesting Tottenham would need a different manager – perhaps one more talented than himself – to take them to silverware under the current circumstances, namely a comparatively modest transfer budget and a wage structure that has steadily pushed the club’s most senior players towards the exit door knowing they would receive better pay elsewhere.
In many ways though, Pochettino has created the situation that will require himself or Daniel Levy to reconsider their stance to avoid the Argentine staging an abrupt exit in the coming weeks, simply because he’s so good at his job. Working under those restrictions, he’s transformed Tottenham from the club stuck in the shadow of the rest of the top six to one that has finished in the top three for three consecutive seasons, that has staged two Premier League title bids and beat reigning European champions Real Madrid.
“If we want to be real contenders for big, big trophies, we need to review a little. First of all, I need to speak with Daniel, then we will know what we are going to do. I think it’s a moment the club needs to take risks and if possible work harder than the previous season to be competitive again. I think I have a very clear idea what we need to do; I don’t know if the club will be agreeing with me or not.
“But we are going to talk, next week, to create the new project, or what I think what we need to do, together again, to try to improve. That is a little bit up to Daniel of course, to the club, to be happy with us, because after four years I think we need to assess that period.”
So why would Levy loosen the purse strings when Pochettino has proved Tottenham can be a competitive club without big names, big transfer fees and big pay packets? From a business perspective it simply doesn’t make sense, and there are footballing reasons to maintain the current model too; the embracement of young, hungry players who feel they owe something back to the club has been crucial in redefining Tottenham’s identity and making this team such a cohesive unit. Bringing in high-profile talents could quickly disrupt the balance of that by creating a clash of egos.
It’s made South American’s time at the club something of a paradox when reflecting on it to decide what path the Lilywhites take next. On the one hand, Pochettino would argue he deserves greater backing because of what he’s achieved in such a short space of time. On the other, the last four seasons are the ultimate justification for Tottenham stick to their principles and not spend big, even if it means surrendering the likes of Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose to divisional rivals this summer.
And yet, there is another paradox on top of that too, because losing Pochettino could quickly put the club back at square one. He’s the beating heart of this Tottenham project, one that has turned Harry Kane and Dele Alli into superstars and put the Lilywhites back on the European map, and to lose him would be arguably a bigger blow than one of the England pair or any other Spurs star moving onto pastures new.
Spurs would find it incredibly difficult to replace Pochettino and his departure could well signal the dissolution of this team; his enigmatic personality and ability to continually improve the team has often felt like the most important, and perhaps only, motivation for players to overlook how comparatively modest their salaries are.
That difficulty too, is only amplified by the fact a lack of financial backing will be the prevailing cause of Pochettino’s departure. The Lilywhites certainly won’t be able to attract a top-class manager like Carlo Ancelotti or Max Allegri while working with their current budgets, and improving them to lure a gaffer of such credentials to White Hart Lane would only open up the question of why the board didn’t do that in the first place to appease Pochettino.
The only alternative is placing hope in another young and promising manager – Pochettino was far from being a managerial superstar when Spurs poached him from Southampton – but that obviously represents a huge risk. Not even the most gifted chairman in the world will be able to pick out a manager as gifted as the Argentine every time of asking, and for every Pochettino we’ve seen in the Premier League there has been a Manuel Pellegrino or Frank de Boer.
For a team that often appears to have the world at it’s feet, and for a club that has elevated itself so timely ahead of their return to a renovated stadium, allowing Pochettino to leave would be a massive, monumental gamble almost certain to result in at least a short-term regression. But when that manager has proved huge fortunes aren’t needed to improve a team, even one at the top end of the Premier League, his paymasters will inevitably be reluctant to change.
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A victim of his own success and the beneficiaries of their own frugality, Tottenham and Pochettino find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. Unfortunately, something has to give – either Levy buckles to Pochettino’s demands and the culture that has so hugely improved the club starts to change, or the Spurs chairman stands firm and homes another young manager can go some way to replacing Pochettino’s void.
Either way, the Spurs we’ve all come to know during the last four years will never quite be the same again.
According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds United want to sign Manchester City goalkeeper Angus Gunn on loan for the 2018-19 campaign.
Gunn spent last season on loan in the Championship with Norwich City, and the 22-year-old’s performances have attracted a lot of attention.
The Englishman is once again expected to leave his parent club ahead of the new season, and Scottish champions Celtic are one of the teams believed to be in the hunt.
According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds are also very much competing to sign the highly-rated stopper on loan for the 2018-19 season.
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The Whites are believed to want Gunn to provide competition for Bailey Peacock-Farrell, who ended the season as the club’s number one following the struggles of Felix Wiedwald.
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Wiedwald is expected to move on this summer, and it would be fair to say that the Leeds fans would welcome the arrival of Gunn.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Manchester City have a wealth of talent at their disposal; stars that helped propel the club to the Premier League title last season.
Manager Pep Guardiola also played a pivotal role, and it is likely that he will spearhead City’s transfer activity this summer.
One player who is high on the club’s agenda is one that is already at the club – Phil Foden.
The 18-year-old has been part of the fabric at City since 2009 when he was recutted to the North-West outfit’s academy.
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The youngster made his first-team debut last November and went on to make a further nine appearances in all competitions.
Foden has not yet been tested on loan, and it does not seem like he will get a chance to in the upcoming campaign.
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According to The Telegraph, City intend to offer Foden a new long-term contract, but will not entertain the idea of sending him on loan.
Despite the fact that the teenager may struggle to get regular game time, it seems that the majority of City fans are delighted by the plan regarding the midfielder.
Newcastle have been heavily linked with a move for Galatasaray winger Garry Rodrigues, but is he worth the asking price?
According to the latest reports from Turkish outlet Aksam, Newcastle have stepped up their pursuit to sign Rodrigues this summer, but will have to pay €20m (about £18m) to get a deal over the line.
The Dutch winger has been extensively linked with the Magpies, as Rafael Benitez is clearly keen to buff up his attacking ranks.
The speedy 27 year-old was the subject of a bid in the region of £6m from Newcastle last summer, and Benitez is still a fan.
Kenedy is of course the fans’ number one target on the left wing, but Rodrigues’ ability to play on either wing would make him a great signing… for the right price.
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Having grabbed ten goals and ten assists this season, Rodrigues is a player in a red hot form, but the Magpies aren’t likely to splash the cash all over the place this summer, and this is the Dutchman’s first season playing at such a level.
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Mike Ashley is not going to suddenly change his ways and spend loads in the transfer market, so Benitez would be better served sticking with the reliable Matt Ritchie on the right hand side and pursuing another loan deal for Kenedy on the left, saving his cash to sign a proper number nine.
Newcastle fans, do you think Rodrigues is worth the asking price? Or should you look elsewhere? Let us know by voting in the poll below…