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Glasgow Rangers have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to bring goalkeeper Sam Johnstone to Ibrox this summer.

What’s the Word?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that sources close to Johnstone have revealed that the shot-stopper wants to join Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur on the expiration of his West Bromwich Albion contract at the end of the current campaign.

This is sure to come as a huge blow to Rangers, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst is looking at a replacement for Allan McGregor – who himself looks increasingly likely to be leaving Ibrox this summer.

The Light Blues have shown interest in the England international who has kept 15 clean sheets in 36 Championship matches so far this season as West Brom has struggled.

With the likes of Newcastle United, West Ham United, and Southampton all linked with the highly-rated stopper in recent weeks, it’s clear to see why missing out on Johnstone could send Rangers into panic mode.

A potential replacement for McGregor?

Allan McGregor has so often been the saviour for Rangers over the years, producing big moments and penalty saves exactly when the side needs them, but this campaign has looked like a step too far.

There have been far too many mistakes as the Ibrox side has slipped behind in the title race, and the keeper has cost the club a fair few points since January.

As such, signing Johnstone on a pre-contract would be an excellent move. With three caps for England and still just 29 years of age, Giovanni van Bronckhorst could do no wrong in making a move for the shot-stopper.

Indeed, with the ‘keeper having been omitted from West Brom’s previous two matchday squads due to his contract running down, Rangers are in as good of a position as any to offer him terms.

With a market value of £7.2m, any side that secures the services of the 29-year-old could also make a solid profit in the future if they decide to sell him on, making this move an absolute no-brainer.

AND in other News: Wilson could land new £13m talent as Rangers plot bid for £180k-rated sensation

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has delivered an update on Aston Villa starlet Kaine Kesler.

What’s the story?

The 18-year-old made the move to League Two side Swindon Town on a loan deal, and it appears he’s already impressing at his new home.

Writing initially on Twitter, Preece said: “Mile Jedinak has nailed this loan. @KaineKeslerHayd has clocked up 620/630 possible minutes. He’s improving week after week & he’s in fantastic hands given the calibre of players Ben Garner has worked with! Kaine shining bright at Swindon!”

Then, in a follow-up tweet, he added: “Massive talent! Swindon playing same system as Villa as well. He’s doing brilliantly.”

Villa fans will be excited

The Express and Star’s Matt Maher revealed over the summer that Kesler was handed a new five-year professional contract to stay at Villa Park for the long-term, the longest the club have given to any academy player in their history – even Jack Grealish, who signed a four-year deal after turning 19 back in 2014.

The teenager didn’t play a single minute in the Premier League last season, but he was given his senior debut by Dean Smith when Villa’s young guns were needed for the FA Cup third round clash against Liverpool.

Although they fell to a 4-1 defeat, Kesler was one of the players who really stood out against Jurgen Klopp’s men, and showed enough in that 90-minute performance to suggest that he will be a big player in the coming years.

Speaking to The Athletic, one source even said “he looks like he’s got a real chance of featuring for the first team in the future. His speed is frightening and that could set him apart.”

When he does return from his loan, Kesler could be someone to give Matty Cash some competition at right-back, not just for the future but for the short-term too.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa found a “ridiculous bargain” in this star…

Steve Howey thinks deadline day arrival Santiago Munoz could go on to become a revelation at Newcastle United.

The Magpies wrapped up their transfer business by securing the services of Munoz on an 18-month loan deal, which has the option to buy, from Mexican top flight side Santos Laguna.

The striker may already have an affinity with the Toon Army as he shares a similar name to the fictional hero Santiago Munez in the 2005 movie Goal! which involves a Mexican striker joining Newcastle and firing them into the Champions League.

While it will be difficult for Munoz to match that storyline, particularly as he will start out in the Tyneside club’s academy set-up, he heads to the Premier League having scored three goals in the Mexican top flight despite being just 19.

The teenager became Newcastle’s second signing of the window, following the £20million acquisition of former loanee Joe Willock.

Former Magpies defender Howey hopes Munoz, who has won three caps for the Mexico under-23s, will prove to be a success story.

He exclusively told Football FanCast: “Sometimes you can get a player that you haven’t heard of and, all of a sudden, he is a revelation.

“It’s about doing your due diligence and research when looking into a player you’re going to get.

“The recruitment people have to be spot on because he isn’t tried and tested and Newcastle can’t afford to waste any money.”

Some Glasgow Rangers fans are livid with club’s update on the potential of certain supporter health and safety requirements needed to visit matches at Ibrox this season.

The start to the new campaign has been a relatively good one for the Gers, having won five of their first seven Premiership matches (Rangers). Despite being on the losing side once, they are six points ahead of Celtic in the table (BBC), having already beaten their fierce rivals 1-0 this term.

After not being able to attend stadiums last term, fans have been able to see matches live at the grounds since the start of the season. However, from October 1st it seems, vaccine passports will be needed for those wanting to attend events of more than 10,000 people (via The Daily Record) – and this has not gone down well with the Gers supporters.

The club has confirmed they have received an update from the Scottish government, and the fans will receive further guidance on the exact regulations in due course.

The news was shared on Twitter, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the update below

“The family stand will be half empty on Sunday unless kids are exempt – which in doing so would make the whole exercise even more pointless”

Credit: @ChrisPalmer001

“What joke hitting families where it hurts they’ll be needed to get to work shortly”

Credit: @Stucampbell16

“This is very discriminatory. For a virus with a give or take 96% survival rate . With a jab that is still experimental.”

Credit: @Gonzo24Hare

“I’ve got my vaccine passport but they shouldn’t be need ….. it’s a disgrace that someone who doesn’t believe in the vaccines should be punished by not getting to see there team play .”

Credit: @StuartCab205

“Guidance?? Stand up for your fans and refuse this tyranny! This is absolute nonsense.”

Credit: @lauraboozyburd

“Scrap them. Pure bribery and discriminating to people who don’t want to be part of an experiment.”

Credit: @LBeattie92

In other news, Rangers fans have been reacting to this tweet.

Former Wolves loanee Vitinha has been linked with a return to Molineux, with a scout thought to have watched him in action for FC Porto recently.

The Lowdown: Vitinha impresses on loan

The 21-year-old spent last season on loan at Wolves, making 22 appearances overall and catching the eye with his mature performances.

Vitinha returned to Porto when his loan expired and he has made four Primeira Liga starts so far this term.

The Latest: Linked with return

According to Record [via Sport Witness], Wolves sent a scout to watch Porto’s 3-1 win away to Tondela, with officials from the likes of Valencia, Celta Vigo, Real Sociedad, Tenerife, Extremadura also thought to be present.

It is mentioned that Wolves could potentially be considering a permanent deal for Vitinha in either the January transfer window or next summer.

The Verdict: Shrewd potential business

This is positive news from a Wolves perspective, with Vitinha a player who would represent a long-term addition and someone who becomes more formidable as each year passes.

He may not have been perfect on loan at Molineux, but for a player of his age, he showed what he is capable of and why the club are seemingly watching him closely again. His 90.3% passing accuracy was the best of any Wolves starter in the 2020/21 Premier League and is far above the team’s 81.4% for the current campaign, so he could improve them significantly in this regard.

Some Porto fans have hailed his performances this season – one called him ‘better than prime Iniesta’ – which speaks volumes about the strides he is making. Also, with the 21-year-old already having a taste of Molineux, the readjustment to the Midlands should be fairly comfortable for him, particularly with another Portuguese manager at the helm in Bruno Lage.

In other news, Liverpool are reportedly keen on a move for a hugely exciting young player. Read more here.

Michael Ball has offered his thoughts on Everton potentially signing Denis Zakaria from Borussia Monchengladbach.

What’s the talk?

Former Everton defender Michael Ball has urged the Toffees to get a deal over the line for Borussia Monchengladbach defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria this month, with the club reportedly eyeing up a potential swoop for the Switzerland international.

He told Football FanCast:

“He’s 24 and got good experience in the Bundesliga, which is a good league to learn and develop your abilities.“If that’s a deal Everton can get over the line, I’m all for it.” Doucoure upgrade

Marcel Brands and Rafa Benitez must work hard to secure an agreement to sign Zakaria this month as he could be a sublime addition to the squad. He could prove to be a major upgrade on existing midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure, who joined from Watford last summer.

The Swiss international suffered an MCL injury towards the end of the 2019/20 campaign, ending his season short and disrupting the start of the following one. If we compare Doucoure and Zakaria based on the former’s statistics for Everton last term and Zakaria’s pre-injury in 2019/20, there is a clear winner.

As per Squawka, Zakaria made more forward passes at a higher success rate whilst losing the ball fewer times per 90 than the Blues man. He also won more tackles, more ground and aerial duels combined, whilst also making more interceptions, clearances and blocks.

Switching it up and looking at the Gladbach man’s form last season, the result is only slightly better for Doucoure. The Toffees enforcer equaled him on tackles made and interceptions but still fell short in all of the aforementioned categories. This shows that he could prove to be an upgrade on Doucoure defensively and in transition, with his defending and passing stats standing out in this comparison.

Former Gladbach manager Marco Rose hailed him as a complete footballer and said he has more development to come. He told Sky Germany, via Planet Football:

“He is a very complete footballer who still has a lot of development potential.

“He has incredible dynamics, understanding of the game and is not yet at the end of his development.”

The £55k-per-week powerhouse, therefore, has room to grow further and develop his game to the next level. Given that he is four years younger than Doucoure, he could be a major upgrade on the Frenchman as he has already shown that he can perform to a higher level than him in a top European league whilst having four more years of time to improve as a player.

AND in other news, Coleman 2.0: Everton must seal dream swoop for 28 y/o beast, Rafa would love him…

Celtic are flying high at the very top of the league table right now and it would take quite something in order to stop Ange Postecoglou’s Hoops side from reigning supreme come May.

However, just how long their newfound dominance and revival goes on will depend on how long the manager stays at Parkhead.

What’s the word?

Postecoglou’s future at Celtic was put in doubt towards the end of last week when it was revealed that the Australian had admirers at none other than Manchester City.

It seems highly unlikely he’d replace the great Pep Guardiola at the Etihad but a claim from Mark Guidi on Go Radio over the weekend should do enough to spark relief among the fanbase.

He said: “I think, pretty soon after Brendan Rodgers won the treble in his first season he was given up a bumper new deal, as as they call it in the tabloids you know, one of these big fancy golden handcuffs kind of deals where his salary takes a big bump up, his bonuses take a bump up and if anybody wants to come in and get then there’s a compensation fee the other end.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if Celtic look to do that with Postecoglou. It would be absolutely natural to go and do that to safeguard the club. And also to give Ange the remuneration that he deserves for what he’s achieved so far.”

Exciting for Celtic

Considering the job that the 56-year-old has done since arriving in Glasgow, the thought of him receiving improved terms in order to stay will no doubt elate Celtic supporters.

Postecoglou arrived with a fine reputation for his work in Asia but ultimately, he was an unknown and untested quantity on European shores.

Alan Brazil infamously took to talkSPORT to lament the appointment and rather unprofessionally couldn’t even pronounce his name properly.

A fair few around Celtic Park may have felt similar towards his arrival but he has silenced his doubters and despite not even being in the dugout for a year, has very nearly completed the Bhoys’ revival.

They have won the League Cup, are in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup and sit six points ahead of fierce rivals Rangers in the Premiership title race.

A famous treble could be inbound for the Aussie in his first season at Celtic and if that does happen, a bumper new deal would be a fine reward.

His high pressing football has won plenty of fans and his work in the transfer market has also been superb.

Postecoglou has used his knowledge of Asian football to welcome several Japanese players to the club, all of whom besides the injury-stricken Yosuke Ideguchi have made a fine impact in Scotland.

Kyogo Furuhashi is the club’s top goalscorer, Reo Hatate has already scored in an Old Firm and Diazen Maeda has seven goals for his troubles too.

Further acquisitions in Liel Abada and Jota has proven shrewd too with the pair racking up a total of 47 goal contributions between them. Giorgos Giakoumakis had an injury-hit first few months in Britain but he too has 13 goals in 2021/22.

It’s evident the former Yokohama F. Marinos boss has a keen eye for spotting talent and that, combined with his philosophy makes him perfect for Celtic at the moment.

That’s precisely why supporters will be excited at the thought of him earning improved terms.

AND in other news, Ange is starting to unearth Celtic’s new Stuart Armstrong in “silky” £405k-rated gem…

Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Hee-chan Hwang is attracting significant interest ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Mirror, who claim that both Liverpool and Manchester City are plotting moves for the 25-year-old centre-forward ahead of the winter market, as both clubs have been impressed after sending scouts to watch the South Korea international in action for Wolves this season.

The report goes on to state that Wolves are also trying to sign Hwang on a permanent basis in the January transfer window, with Bruno Lage’s side believed to hold an option to buy the forward from RB Leipzig for a fee of around £13m.

Fosun must avoid disaster

Considering just how impressive Hwang has been since his arrival at Molineux back in August, the argument that it would be a disaster for Fosun to miss out on the permanent signing of the 25-year-old in January is a rather easy one to make.

Indeed, over his eight Premier League appearances so far this season, the £9.9m-rated man is the club’s top league goalscorer with four strikes to his name, while he has also taken an average of 0.9 shots and made 0.3 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £71k-per-week centre-forward average a SofaScore match rating of 6.75, ranking him as Lage’s 11th-best performer in the top flight of English football.

However, this rather underwhelming average match rating simply does not reflect Hwang’s true ability, with the striker’s former manager at Red Bull Salzburg, Peter Zeidler, providing much better insight into the South Korean’s talent, stating: “He’s exceptional, has a brutal dynamism. I’ve rarely seen anything like it.”

As such, it is clear for all to see that, should Wolves indeed be pipped to Hwang’s signing by either Liverpool or Manchester City this winter, it would undeniably be a catastrophic outcome for Fosun, as well as one that would leave Bruno Lage furious.

In other news: Shi must seal dream Wolves deal for £25k-p/w dynamo who can “make people look silly”

Arsenal are set to revisit their interest in Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz this summer, according to Football Insider.

The lowdown

The Daily Mail’s Simon Jones revealed that Villa turned down three bids for Luiz during the January transfer window, and it appears that one of those was from the Gunners, with Football Insider noting that they ‘failed to land him’ in the winter.

Villa paid £15m to sign Luiz from Manchester City ahead of their first season back in the Premier League in 2019/20. His £32.9k-per-week contract is due to expire at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.

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The latest

A source at the Emirates Stadium has told Football Insider that Luiz remains on Arsenal’s radar ahead of the summer transfer window.

The expectation is that the north London giants will table a formal bid as Mikel Arteta eyes central midfield reinforcements, in addition to a new striker.

Significantly, Villa are reportedly open to letting the midfielder leave in order to ‘free up space’ for a new midfield arrival. Therefore, if Arsenal submit a reasonable offer, then they could snap up the Brazilian with relative ease.

The verdict

Villa’s willingness to sell is a little surprising given that Luiz appears to be one of Gerrard’s most trusted players.

When he is available, he almost always starts – only twice this season has he been left out of the line-up by choice.

The £31.5m-rated midfielder has been called ‘underrated’ by Ian Wright, who believes that the Brazilian is ‘ready to be one of the best midfielders in the Premier League’.

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has perhaps been even more complimentary, dubbing Luiz ‘a joy to watch’, ‘an absolute star’ and ‘the best player in the team’ at one point.

On that basis, you’d think that Gerrard and sporting director Johan Lange would put up more of a fight to try and keep the 23-year-old at Villa Park.

In other news, a new English target has emerged for Gerrard and Villa

West Ham United have been handed a huge boost ahead of their upcoming Premier League fixture this Saturday.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to Tom Clark’s recent report for Football.London, in which the West Ham correspondent revealed that both Kurt Zouma and Tomas Soucek are back in contention for the trip to Manchester United this weekend, as the duo are set to return to training this week following their respective recoveries from injury and illness.

Central midfielder Soucek has been unavailable for selection for the Hammers’ last two fixtures after falling ill due to the ongoing viral pandemic, while centre-back Zouma has been absent for six weeks after picking up a hamstring injury in the 3-2 win over Chelsea in December.

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how important both Soucek and Zouma are within David Moyes’ squad, the news that the duo could make a return to first-team football this weekend is sure to have left the London Stadium faithful buzzing.

Indeed, over Zouma’s 11 Premier League appearances this season, the £28.8m-rated defender has helped his side keep two clean sheets and scored one goal, as well as making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 0.6 tackles, 5.2 clearances and winning 60% of his duels per game.

These returns have seen the £120k-per-week man average a SofaScore match rating of 6.91, ranking him as the Hammers’ joint 10th-best player in the top flight of English football.

Meanwhile, over Soucek’s 20 league outings, the £40.5m-rated midfielder has scored three goals, registered one assist and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.5 interceptions, 2.3 tackles, three clearances and winning 6.7 duels per fixture.

These metrics have seen the £47k-per-week man average a SofaScore match rating of 6.99, ranking him as Moyes’ seventh-best performer in the division.

As such, it is clear for all to see that the return of both players will come as a huge boost to West Ham’s chances of leaving Old Trafford with all three points on Saturday afternoon – a result that would very much strengthen the Hammers’ top-four credentials this season.

In other news: “A deal is there…”: Ex drops teasing transfer claim that will have WHU fans sweating