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Reports by The Telegraph earlier this week claimed that Newcastle United are keeping close tabs on Kyle Bartley’s situation at West Bromwich Albion.

However, the Magpies moving to sign Bartley at the end of the season smacks of Mike Ashley planning for relegation to the Championship.

The centre-back will enter the final 12 months of his £13,500-per-week contract in June and could be made available for the right price.

Bartley is expected to be among the players of interest for rival clubs in the off-season should West Brom fail to remain in the Premier League, with the Baggies facing a 10-point deficit to Newcastle in 17th.

The Toon are understood to be in the market for a new central defender this summer and could swoop for Bartley, but may face competition from Burnley. Sean Dyche’s Clarets are also monitoring the 29-year-old as the Turf Moor natives look to bring in cover for James Tarkowski and Ben Mee.

Newcastle currently have four natural centre-backs in the first team fold in Jamaal Lascelles, Fabian Schar, Ciaran Clark and Federico Fernandez – plus the versatile Paul Dummett – but Schar and Fernandez are both set to be free agents this summer.

Steve Bruce revealed last month that talks were “ongoing” with Fernandez over a new deal, while Schar could snub a one-year extension to his £40k-per-week terms.

Newcastle losing one of or both Schar and Fernandez at the end of the season would force the St James’ Park natives to explore signing replacements, but the benefits of a move to land Bartley would be questionable.

Bartley has rarely proven to be a Premier League calibre defender over his six seasons in the division, with the current campaign his only one to feature double-digit appearances.

The £2.5m-rated enforcer has started 19 of his 21 league outings for the Baggies thus far this term, accounting for half of his career haul of 42 top-flight appearances after earning an average of 4.2 a season over five campaigns with Swansea City between 2012 and 2018.

Bartley was a key factor behind West Brom securing promotion from the Championship as runners-up to Leeds United last season, with 37 starts in 38 appearances from a possible 46 in the division, but his performances have often stayed at that level.

While improvements have come since Sam Allardyce was appointed in December, issues have remained in Bartley’s game which could raise alarm bells at Newcastle if Bruce is able to keep the Magpies in the top-flight.

“His weaknesses, I would say, lie in his positioning, which has occasionally been called into question,” Birmingham Live’s Baggies reporter Joseph Chapman told Lancs Live. “Sometimes this season he’s been caught out and, as is often the case at this level, it results in a goal. But even that’s improved since Sam arrived.

“Bartley has another year left on his deal with Albion. He’s not immediately a player you think of attracting top-flight interest when you consider that they have the likes of [Sam] Johnstone and Matheus Pereira, who will almost certainly have suitors.

“I think he is someone who, if you asked the average Albion fan on the street, would be content with him continuing in the starting XI in the Championship, which is highly likely where Albion will be.”

Chapman’s remarks would hardly instil much confidence in Bartley being a worthwhile pickup for Newcastle in the off-season as a Premier League side, but rather a move by Ashley to prepare the Toon for life in the Championship.

AND in other news, Newcastle have landed a huge boost ahead of facing Tottenham…

Odsonne Edouard’s performances may be ‘starting to pick up’ because ‘you have to play well if you want a move’, according to Celtic legend Frank McAvennie.

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie said that the 23-year-old impressed him in the recent 1-1 draw with their Glasgow rivals, when the Frenchman laid on Mohamed Elyounoussi’s 23rd-minute opener at Parkhead. The ex-Hoops striker said:

“They complemented each other so well in that first half against Rangers. They were superb. I liked what I saw from those two as a combination but we have not seen it enough this year.

“You have to play well if you want a move and Edouard’s performances are starting to pick up.”

Premier League big hitters eyeing prolific Edouard

Edouard could leave Parkhead this summer before he enters the final year of his contract.

Leicester City are among the clubs said to be keen, with the Daily Mail reporting at the beginning of March that a £15m deal was in the works. Arsenal and Liverpool have also been linked with the French marksman.

Edouard, who is Celtic’s record signing at £9.27m, has scored 81 goals and set up a further 36 in 162 appearances for the club. He has hit 20 goals in 34 games this season for the Hoops, but there have been occasional dry spells.

After scoring a hat-trick on the opening day of the season against Hamilton, he found the net only twice more before facing the same opposition on Boxing Day. His output then notably picked up from the end of January with a run of eight goals in six matches.

Transfer Tavern verdict

It will be interesting to see how Edouard performs this summer when, in all likelihood, he represents France in the knockout stages of the Under-21 European Championships, when he will be very much in the continental spotlight.

He has already opened his account for the tournament, netting from the penalty spot in their group stage win over Russia on Sunday. McAvennie is right in saying that Edouard’s form has improved in recent weeks, but it remains to be seen whether that will predicate a summer exit from Glasgow.

In other news, as one Celtic player leaves, a former Hoops ace could return. 

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer has blamed Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri for the managerial merry-go-round at Hillsborough.

In recent seasons, Chansiri has shown that he is not afraid to pull the trigger when things are not looking good for Wednesday.

He dismissed Tony Pulis earlier this season despite the Welshman having only overseen 10 games in charge. As for his predecessor Garry Monk, he was dismissed after 14 month at the helm – longer than Pulis but still a short spell.

Evidently, Chansiri is an owner who has no problem with wielding the axe, something that Palmer is not too pleased about.

Discussing the matter in an exclusive interview with FFC, the ex-Wednesday player said:

“Chansiri is to blame without a shadow of a doubt, because the buck stops with him. Why has there been such a turnaround in managers? And decent managers that they’ve had gone in there, so why has there [been so many changes]? There has to be a reason for that. And I think it’s because of the control he has in terms of players going in and players going out of the club.”

Darren Moore now finds himself in the dugout at Hillsborough, leaving Doncaster Rovers at the start of March to join Wednesday. However, with the Yorkshire club on course to get relegated this season, if history is anything to go by, it would not be a surprise to see the 46-year-old depart before the 2021/22 campaign.

Former Spurs captain Graham Roberts has exclusively told Football FanCast that selling Dele Alli would be the biggest mistake in Tottenham’s history.

Alli is tied down to a long-term contract in north London, but a move away from Spurs looks on the cards this summer following ongoing problems with Jose Mourinho.

The attacking midfielder has recently come back into the frame after his January move to PSG was blocked by Daniel Levy, and then him and Mourinho compromised in their relationship.

But Alli has started just two Premier League games this season, with the majority of his appearances coming in Europe and the domestic cups, and doesn’t appear to be a part of Mourinho’s plans at Spurs moving forward.

Since the Europa League exit last month, the England midfielder hasn’t played a single minute in the league – with his opportunities looking limited in the final few months of the campaign, with Spurs now left in just two competitions.

Despite his difficulties this term, Roberts has urged Tottenham to keep the talented ex-MK Dons star.

He told Football Fan Cast.

“If we let him go, I think it’d be the biggest mistake Tottenham ever make.”

In a recent interview, Noel Whelan criticised the performance of Tottenham Hotspur centre-back pairing Eric Dier and Joe Rodon following Tottenham’s latest Premier League defeat.

In Sunday’s lacklustre 3-1 loss against Manchester United, both Dier and Rodon turned in less than inspiring displays for Mourinho’s side, with the former earning a disappointing WhoScored match rating of 6.17, while the latter managed an almost equally poor 6.20 rating – ranking the pair as Jose Mourinho’s second and third-worst starters respectively.

Speaking to Football Insider following the defeat, Whelan took aim at the Tottenham defensive duo, suggesting that it seemed as if the pair could not maintain their concentration for the course of the 90 minutes, before claiming that both players may not be Spurs-standard centre-backs.

He said: “You have to look at the players and their quality, have they got a good enough defence? Are the players concentrating enough? Obviously not. You work hard to take the lead and you can’t back off, there’s a real issue.

“Mourinho prides himself on his defence and the way he sets up, winning games 1-0. It doesn’t seem to be happening at the minute, whether it’s a lack of concentration from the players or just not enough quality in other areas. It seems to be in the centre of defence where they’re having issues, they haven’t got good enough players there and they can’t concentrate for 90 minutes.”

Transfer Tavern Take

With Tottenham’s latest defeat meaning that Mourinho’s side have now lost a whopping 18 points from winning positions in the Premier League, it would indeed seem as if there is a problem with the concentration levels in the Spurs backline, as Whelan suggests.

With the Portuguese manager making it abundantly clear that he would like to strengthen the centre of his defence in the upcoming transfer window, unless both Dier and Rodon – as well as Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez – can buck their ideas up sharpish, their collective futures under Mourinho would appear to be rather uncertain.

In other news: ‘It may be’ – Spurs target drops huge hint on transfer; Mourinho fascinated by ‘remarkable’ star – find out more here!

Charlton Athletic boss Nigel Adkins will have plenty of decisions to make this summer.

The Addicks may not know which division they’ll be competing in, given they could still sneak into the League One playoffs, but that shouldn’t stop Steve Gallen and co. from planning ahead.

No fewer than eight first-team players are out of contract, whilst six loan deals are also set to expire, as per Transfermarkt.

This includes a player currently playing his football away from The Valley in Erhun Oztumer, who joined division rivals Bristol Rovers back in October.

The versatile 29-year-old midfielder has struggled to make an impression with the Gas languishing in the relegation zone. In fact, he’s been one of their worst performers (6.3), as per WhoScored ratings.

Only one other player to feature in ten or more matches has managed worse.

If you’re failing at a club facing the drop, then surely there is no place for him back at a team vying for promotion, especially if they do go up to the Championship.

In 27 appearances in all competitions, the playmaker who is lauded for his creativity has only provided two goals and two assists, playing in a variety of roles ranging from no.10 to right-winger.

Three other players are actually recording more key passes per outing than Oztumer (0.9), too. Whilst seven players to feature for the Addicks this term would rank above him back in southeast London, only adding to the fact that he likely has no future under Adkins.

Once dubbed the non-league Messi at Dulwich Hamlet, it was no surprise to see the former Sivasspor prospect rise up through the leagues.

“It was such a privilege to watch Erhun at Dulwich and he’s honestly one of the most exciting players I’ve ever seen in the flesh,” said Hugo Greenhalgh, one half of the Forward The Hamlet podcast.

Oztumer quickly earned the praise of former Rovers boss Ben Garner too, after excelling in their FA Cup win at his former club, Walsall. “He was the brightest player on the pitch today,” Garner said. “Some of his quality, his link-up play was absolutely fantastic.”

However, matches like that have been few and far between, especially in an Addicks shirt, where he has only ever scored and assisted once in 19 appearances.

It’s time to wave goodbye to the 29-year-old this summer, with his contract up, it’s an easy decision for Adkins and Gallen to make.

AND in other news, THIS emerging prospect could save Charlton a lot of money this summer…

West Brom have been handed a double blow ahead of tonight’s crucial Midlands derby, the first of three matches against their nearby rivals…

What’s the latest?

Ahead of kick-off against third-placed Leicester City, Albion boss Sam Allardyce has revealed that he will be without the services of two Baggies stars, who have been ruled out through injury.

He told reporters (via BirminghamLive):

“We’re very good, the staff here in all areas have kept the squad virtually fully fit and that’s a great help to me when it comes to choosing systems and who we’re playing against.

“It’s just Robert Snodgrass and Kieran Gibbs who have slight injuries, not too bad, but they won’t be involved in the squad on Thursday night.”

On the former, he added: “The epidural is working, but not as quickly as we’d expected, so I would think that by the beginning of next weekend, he’d be fit to train and be selected.”

Double blow

Despite both players being on the fringes lately, it will still come as a huge setback ahead of what is one of their biggest games of the season.

Snodgrass has endured a troublesome time at the Hawthorns since joining from West Ham as Big Sam’s first signing back in the January transfer window.

The 33-year-old veteran was expected to play a big role on the pitch, with his leadership, attitude and versatility all key reasons to why the 66-year-old wanted him signed up.

But injuries have hampered his playing time, though when the Scotsman has featured, he’s delivered. Snodgrass instantly came in and improved on Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers’ output in midfield by averaging 2.1 tackles per game, via WhoScored.

Snodgrass’ vast experience would be an added bonus in games like this, as well as the next two, so Allardyce will surely be gutted that he’s not available for selection – even despite back-to-back wins in his absence.

Gibbs, on the other hand, has been usurped in the pecking order by Conor Townsend and has not featured since the 2-2 draw with Fulham at the end of January.

Now losing the former Arsenal man isn’t as gutting but if Big Sam’s first-choice gets injured tonight, then they have no out-and-out left-back ready to step in and fill the void.

Putting square pegs in round holes is probably the last thing a side fighting for their lives needs to do, so the sooner Gibbs is back, the better.

The 31-year-old will leave the Hawthorns at the end of the season to join David Beckham’s Inter Miami side, ending a four-year stint at the Baggies.

Without the duo, West Brom do appear to be a little weaker than they’d like and Allardyce will surely be hoping that they do not pick up any more setbacks between now and the end of the season.

A win tonight would put them to within six points of safety, with four games left to play after that.

AND in other news, Albion could find perfect Big Sam successor in “outstanding” gem with 61% win rate…

Think of a word to criticise something and it will have been applied to Celtic this season.

The Bhoys have been a complete and utter mess from the top of the club right to the very bottom; surrendering their dominance of Scottish football and enduring a trophyless campaign.

It will mark the first time in a decade that the Hoops haven’t taken home any silverware and they have several people to blame.

Neil Lennon’s coaching left plenty to be desired, with Celtic 18 points adrift in the league when he left in February. The hierarchy have also been questioned on a regular basis, with protests emerging outside Parkhead.

Fail to appoint the right successor to Lennon and there could be more protests next season. The 49-year-old hasn’t been at the club for two months now but Dermot Desmond and co are still struggling to find their next manager.

John Kennedy is in interim charge, while Roy Keane and Eddie Howe have also been in discussions about the job. However, Desmond should forget about waiting for someone like Howe and look elsewhere.

The 43-year-old has mucked Celtic around in recent months, with his representatives explaining he wouldn’t take up a new post until at least the summer. He has had requests relating to backroom staff knocked back and is now fielding interest from Brighton and Crystal Palace.

Truth be told, if Howe really wanted to come to Glasgow, he’d already be here.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-howe-lampard-klimala-ajer-gossip” title= “Read the latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

Instead, the board should turn to a certain Portuguese manager; Jose Mourinho. This would be a far-fetched move and one we’re prepared to admit is unlikely to happen, but he has been linked with the role in the last few days.

The 58-year-old was sacked by Tottenham earlier this week and his days at the top of the sport look numbered. He is a spent force, a manager who cuts a lonely, dejected and rather depressed-looking figure.

He has now lost his job at three consecutive clubs and everything which made him arrogantly profess that he was the “Special One” has been lost. However, as a multiple Champions League winner, Mourinho is still recognised across the globe as one of the best in his field.

During his days at Manchester United, Nemanja Matic said: “Mourinho is a brand, and the best coach I’ve ever worked with,”

The Serbia midfielder continued: “Sometimes it isn’t easy to work with him, because he always demands more. Even when you play the best match in your career, he considers that you can play better in the next match.”

With those quotes, it nicely explains why he’d be such a good fit at Paradise. These Celtic players have had an easy ride over the last few years in winning trophy after trophy, before watching everything crumble beneath them this season.

Lennon didn’t seem like the man to get stuck into them and evidently their methods on the training ground weren’t good enough.

However, Mourinho knows what it takes to get to the very top and stay there. He won FIFA’s Manager of the Year award in 2010 and has eight top-flight titles to his name; this isn’t a man to whom you can really say no.

Described as “world-class” by former Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers, it was the Portuguese icon from whom he gained so many of his coaching ideas. After all, the 48-year-old was a student of the game under Mourinho at Chelsea and thrived at Celtic as a consequence, winning seven trophies.

If the apprentice can succeed at Parkhead, then surely the master can as well? Money may well be an issue but it’s worth forking out for someone who has achieved so much.

That alone should be enough to convince supporters that he’s the right choice but his attributes are very desirable as well. He has become a defensive coach in recent years, becoming synonymous with the phrase ‘park the bus’. However, that could be truly beneficial for Celtic.

They shipped 19 goals in six Europa League matches earlier this season and have been made to bemoan shambolic defending across the entire campaign. Perhaps Mourinho is the man to correct those mistakes and revive Celtic.

Just think of the players and coaches he may be able to lure to Parkhead, too. It’s a dream worth playing out in your mind.

AND in other news, “I’m told” – Intriguing Celtic manager update emerges, Desmond is making a big mistake…

A number of Crystal Palace fans have been reacting to an update regarding the Eagles and AS Roma manager Paulo Fonseca on social media, with one fan calling the potential appointment ‘amazing’.

According to reports from Italy, relayed by Sports Witness, Palace have held a ‘direct’ conversation with Fonseca about potentially taking over from Roy Hodgson.

Hodgson, who will turn 74 in August, is out of contract at Selhurst Park in the summer, with the likes of Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Frank Lampard all being linked with the job.

However, it seems as if Palace’s interest in the current Roma boss is ‘concrete’ following discussions two weeks ago.

Reports claim that Fonseca looks set to leave Italy, and it seems as if the 6-2 defeat to Manchester United on Thursday has put the final nail in his Roma coffin.

Palace fans react

@cpfc_xtra shared the news regarding Palace’s contact with Fonseca on Twitter on Friday morning.

These Eagles supporters all had strong views on the update, with on describing a potential appointement as ‘amazing’.

“FLAT CAP IN THE DUGOUT AT SELHURST.. IT’S EVERYTHING I’VE EVER DREAMED OF!”

Credit: @Wheddsta

“They lost 6-2 last night but he’s young, he’s foreign and he’s not Roy so I’m on my knees”

Credit: @unknownbald

“We’d need some good investment obviously but this would be amazing if we can pull this off”

Credit: @CPFCMax03

“Still don’t believe it. Especially after last night’s disaster class, no way are the board gonna want to take such a huge risk with him”

Credit: @The_ArmaniCode

“Yikes, after Roma’s defensive performance last night this ‘risky’ shortlist choice doesn’t exactly get any safer.”

Credit: @OliverRender

“This is draining can we please just decide on a manager (preferably a good one)”

Credit: @localpla9tic

In other news: Many CPFC fans react at recent Wilfried Zaha development, find out more here. 

Former Manchester City Michael Ball has waxed lyrical over the ability of Phil Foden in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast after some mesmerising displays for the club in recent weeks.

Foden has developed into one of City’s most important players and has been a regular under Pep Guardiola this season.

The 20-year-old is still rotated, much like the rest of the Catalan’s squad, but he has made 45 appearances in all competitions, scoring 14 goals and registering nine assists.

That includes a goal in each Champions League quarter-final tie against Borussia Dortmund, along with strikes against Chelsea and Liverpool in the league.

Now firmly a big-game player, Foden, who is valued at £63m by Transfermarkt, could also play a central role for England this summer in the rearranged European Championships.

And Ball has been wowed by the youngster’s displays, as he kicks his game up a notch, with City now on the verge of winning the Premier League title and 90 minutes away from the Champions League final, after beating PSG 2-1 in the first leg of their last-four encounter.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, Ball said: “Foden just looks unbelievable right now, he’s on fire, teams are putting two or three players around him.

“He’s just going about them the way he is, he’s just got that awareness about him, and he’s playing alongside top, top players and that does help.”