Celtic fans are happy to move on without Patrick Roberts this summer

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Patrick Roberts is on the verge of a move to Norwich City and Celtic fans are happy there’ll be no protracted rumours about a switch to Glasgow.

The Scottish Sun report that the the Man City winger is set to join the Canaries on a season long loan, with a medical on the way before his move is confirmed.

Norwich won the English Championship this season and will be hoping to survive in the top-flight next term, clearly hoping that Roberts has the ability to make a big attacking impact.

Celtic were linked with a move for Roberts last week, as the club seem to be in every transfer window since his exit, but supporters are happy to move on with the options currently available to Neil Lennon such as new signing Maryan Shved and stand-out James Forrest.

With emerging talents like Karamoko Dembele and Mikey Johnston also impressing of late, there’s plenty for fans to look forward to in the wing positions.

These Hoops supporters have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts on his potential move to Norwich…

Pundit View: Chris Sutton warns Celtic against signing David Turnbull

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Chris Sutton has warned Neil Lennon against signing David Turnbull and adding a passenger to his title-seeking squad at Celtic, writing in his Daily Record column.

What’s the story?

The Hoops are said to be in discussions with Motherwell about signing the 19-year-old this summer after an incredible breakthrough season in the Scottish Premiership.

Sutton though isn’t convinced he can displace any of the midfielders currently at Celtic Park and reckons Lennon can’t afford to have anyone in the squad not pulling their weight in terms of appearances.

“Lionel Messi is Barcelona’s James McFadden!” – Watch Scottish football fans name their clubs’ Lionel Messi in the video below…

Writing for The Daily Record this weekend, the former Celtic striker said:

“The biggest issue for me surrounding Turnbull is would he get a game for Celtic? Will Turnbull take Celtic to the next level?

“That’s the big conundrum.

“If you look at the Celtic midfield area then you have to ask where would a player like Turnbull fits in at the minute. There may well be places up for grabs in Neil Lennon’s new look Celtic team. Who would Turnbull get a game in front of right now?

“Unless players make way then there is no room to accommodate Turnbull at Celtic. The teenager needs to play regular first team football and capitalise on the magnificent season that he has just had.

“I am not being disrespectful to Turnbull or Motherwell but Celtic cannot afford to carry somebody this season and give them time to bed in.

“This is the nine-in-a-row campaign and the Champions League which is going to be crucial will soon be upon them again.

“Players that are brought to the club need to hit the ground running due to the enormity of what is at stake both domestically and in Europe.”

Turnbull’s credentials

With 15 goals and six assists from midfield last season, Turnbull was one of the stand-out talents in the Scottish Premiership and given he is still just a teenager, it’s a contribution that many think points to enormous potential.

Sutton is right to suggest the midfield positions are Celtic are currently well stocked but with Tom Rogic losing form in 2019, adding another attacking option to the central area doesn’t sound like the worst idea in the world.

Scott Brown is ageing too and could play a reduced role next season.

Having Turnbull in the mix, especially against teams Celtic are expected to dominate possession against, could give the team that extra spark when breaking down the opposition.

The Motherwell man ticks plenty of boxes for the Hoops this summer and although he may not play 40+ games at the club next term, he should get enough action to show he is a player that can be important for Celtic in the future.

Sutton’s warnings are well intended, but he may just be surprised about what the young Scottish talent can provide the Premiership champions.

Henrik Larsson return could help Neil Lennon win over remaining Celtic doubters

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Celtic manager Neil Lennon is considering appointing Hoops legend Henrik Larsson as a member of his backroom staff, according to The Scottish Sun.

The paper say that Larsson is on a shortlist that includes former Celtic defender and assistant manager Johan Mjallby, along with a number of other names.

Having been appointed on a permanent basis last week, Lennon is busy building the team he thinks is good enough to win a ninth league title in a row next term.

John Kennedy, Damien Duff and Stevie Woods have already been confirmed as staying on as part of the unit in charge of the first-team, but the addition of a legend like Larsson would really capture the imagination of supporters.

How does Neil Lennon turn his doubters into believers? The answer lies in the video below…

Unfashionable choice

Despite delivering excellent trophy success to club in his two spells as manager so far, it’s fair to say that Lennon was far from a unanimous choice when it came to who fans wanted to see take charge of the club next season.

He doesn’t have the elite coaching pedigree Brendan Rodgers has away from Celtic and having left Bolton and Hibs since this last spell, he wasn’t the most fashionable pick to come and replace the former Liverpool boss.

The addition of Larsson to his staff though could be a managerial masterstroke. Not only does it create buzz and boost morale amongst supporters who are concerned about the summer transfer window, it also legitimises this new Celtic era.

Legend Larsson

Despite leaving the club over 15 years ago, the Larsson name still carries excellence with it at Celtic Park. If he arrives in Glasgow as a formal part of the Hoops’ trophy hunt, it will be an endorsement that he thinks the good times will continue to roll at the club.

The man known as ‘The King of Kings’ in Glasgow, who scored 242 goals in 315 appearances for Celtic, wouldn’t risk tarnishing his legacy by joining a poor project at the club and fans know that.

With regards to player recruitment it could be a benefit too – what attacker in the world wouldn’t want to work under an icon like Larsson?

Doubters remain, but the appointment of Larsson could could a long way to winning over the vast majority of the support when it comes thinking of Celtic’s future.

2 reasons Aston Villa will regret £20m bid for Jack Butland

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The Sun have come out with a story claiming Aston Villa are ready to bust into the transfer market with a huge £20m bid for Stoke City and England goalie Jack Butland. The Potters are adamant in their £23m estimation of their man in-between the sticks but Dean Smith is hopeful that this big money swoop will be a success since he wants a “top class keeper with Premier League experience” in his team.

But as much as Butland has seen success before and is definitely experienced, here are two main reasons why Villa are headed for a huge transfer blunder with this potential deal…

Buying Butland would greatly benefit Villa’s bitter rivals

Sometimes you simply have to consider all angles before making the final decision on such a big deal. Sure, on the face of it, buying a 26-year-old goalkeeper with some mileage already in his shoes seems like a good decision, but you have to ask yourself: is it worth it?

And in this specific case, the answer is no, it’s not. Not when you’re, first of all, overpaying if you meet Stoke’s £23m estimation. But that’s not even the worst thing here. Sure, going for Butland would fill the pockets of Stoke significantly but 20% of that sum would, the Sun warns, go to Villa’s rivals Birmingham. That’s £4m straight into the budget of their bitter enemies because of a deal that now, technically, has nothing to do with them.

Check out a fan’s outrageous call for England to take a leaf of out cricket and rugby’s book after a limp Nations League performance in the video below…

Can Villa really afford that, let alone accept it?

Butland is not that much of an upgrade

Aston Villa didn’t really have a true first-choice goalkeeper in their latest Championship campaign with that position jumping back and forth from the Norwegian Ørjan Nyland and the Englishman Jed Steer.

Sure, Butland’s pedigree and reputation certainly put him above the goalie duo Villa have at their disposal but seeing how they improved so much defensively during the last few months of the season, one could question if such a pricey acquisition is really necessary when they can probably make do with what they currently have. Steer was the hero of the playoff semi-final and has been completely transformed since his loan spell at Charlton.

Would Butland be an improvement on Steer? Probably, yes, but the price is too big to pay to find that out when there are other departments that require improvements this summer too. With Tammy Abraham’s future uncertain following his year-long loan, Villa’s priority should be signing a new goalscoring centre-forward rather than personnel at the other end of the pitch.

Manchester United target Hysaj is a worthy alternative to Wan-Bissaka

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According to Gianluca di Marzio, Manchester United have made contact with Napoli defender Elseid Hysaj ahead of a potential move for the 25-year-old this summer.

What’s the word?

The report simply claims the Red Devils have registered their interest in the Albanian but that the club could face competition from Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side.

Reports in recent weeks have seemed to suggest United’s main target for the right-back role will be Crystal Palace’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka with Sky Sports claiming that the Manchester side had a £50m bid rejected.

Having seemingly found a deal for the Englishman difficult to get over the line, the links with Hysaj are understandable and upon a deeper look at the situation, United’s failure to capture Wan-Bissaka might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Could Harry Maguire be on his way to Old Trafford? Check out the video below to see why it would make so much sense…

A more suited fit for United

Valued at £20.7m by Transfermarkt, Hysaj is an archetypal modern full-back with a lung-busting engine and desire to get forward as often as possible. Games in Italy have always been thought of as being much slower and more tactical, but top-flight football in the UK is considered much more end-to-end.

Blessed with real pace and understanding of how to time his runs, the 25-year-old would relish playing at the quick intensity Ole Gunnar Solskjaer desires. Indeed, his former Albania coach Gianni De Biasi noted that Hysaj was “very intelligent, very balanced”; a combination of skills that should ease United’s concerns on potentially missing out on the defensively strong Wan-Bissaka.

The one area where Hysaj really outstrips his English counterpart is on the ball. Indeed, against France on Tuesday night, Wan-Bissaka was guilty of some sloppy passes throughout the game. Napoli’s defender on the other hand, is extremely at ease on the ball. Di Biasi added that the right-back had “great technical ability” and that’s most clearly shown by his impressive 85.6% passing accuracy and 56.4 passes per game; significantly more than Wan-Bissaka’s 73.4% accuracy and 33.7 passes respectively.

So whilst going for a young homegrown talent is understandable, Hysaj has proven during his time in Italy that he is more than capable of playing for a side intent on playing attacking football.

Redknapp tips West Ham to finish in Premier League top six

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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…

Harry Redknapp believes West Ham United can finish in the Premier League top six this season, per TalkSport.

What’s he said?

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The Hammers have signed Pablo Fornals from Villarreal this summer, paying £24m for the attacking midfielder, while they have also secured goalkeepers, David Martin and Roberto.

Football FanCast understands that the club are still pursuing a deal for Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez and could also sign Salomon Rondon from West Bromwich Albion this summer.

And Redknapp believes that the Hammers could be well placed to take advantage of any significant slips by the top six in the coming months.

Speaking on TalkSport (08:16 am, June 27, 2019), he said: “I think West Ham are going to be closer next year, West Ham have bought a couple, made a couple of good signings.

“They could be a team that could certainly get close and I think next year we could see one of the big six dropping out.”

Stability is key

West Ham finally have some stability under Manuel Pellegrini and he is attempting to build the squad in his own image.

It appears that he wants the club to become an attacking force and they have perhaps the best front four outside of the top six, with Marko Arnautovic, Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and Fornals.

A deal to bring in Gomez would only add to that feeling.

And with Chelsea facing a transfer embargo, Arsenal in transition under Unai Emery and Manchester United yet to make any significant additions in the transfer window, one feels that there could be a gap opening up.

The Hammers would be well-placed to take advantage, particularly with such a star-studded forward line.

Can West Brom convince Shinji Kagawa to join them this summer?

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According to Turkish outlet Sabah, Slaven Bilic is trying to convince Shinji Kagawa to join West Brom this summer.

If the deal went through it’s safe to say it would be one of the most bizarre of 2019. After all, this is a footballer who has plenty of European pedigree, playing the brunt of his career with Borussia Dortmund in Germany.

Kagawa joined the German club all the way back in 2010 and has since gone onto score 41 Bundesliga goals in 148 matches, as well as assisting 37 strikes.

Coupled with that, he’s won two league titles out in Germany, as well as winning the Premier League in his stint with Manchester United too.

As a result, it would likely take some convincing for him to drop down to the Championship.

The 30-year-old spent a period on loan at Besiktas last term, playing just 14 times but managing four goals in the process.

However, it now appears as though he’s attracting the interest of the Baggies.

A switch involving the pair seems unlikely, so with that in mind, what do the writers at Football FanCast make of it? Check out their thoughts below.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

James Beavis

“Despite the quality Kagawa has shown during his career – spells with Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund prove that – West Brom should not be considering signing him this summer. The 30-year-old may have a wealth of experience and showed glimpses of his brilliance last season – five assists in a 5-0 win against RW Essen and two goals in nine minutes on his debut for Besiktas – but he isn’t a player that strikes you as being ready for a long and arduous season in the Championship.

“It is hard to imagine the Japan international being anything other than a luxury player at this level, rather than somebody who will give absolutely everything over a 46-game campaign, and that isn’t what the Baggies need as they look to return to the Premier League at the second time of asking. All in all, this deal would make even less sense than signing Tyrone Mears – something Albion did last summer – with the experienced 36-year-old only going on to play 381 minutes of league football.”

Charles Jones

“You can’t fault Bilic’s ambition in trying to get this deal done, but it seems a bit unrealistic to me. Kagawa is still good enough to play for a Europa League team, and six goal contributions in just 549 minutes for Besiktas shows that he is still a good player. This is a man who’s spent the bulk of his career at Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United, so stepping down to the Championship at the age of 30 doesn’t seem likely.

“West Brom would likely need to offer him a hefty wage to bring him in, but even then it is a tough sell to get a player of his calibre to drop down to England’s second division. If you don’t ask the question you won’t get an answer, but in this case, I can only imagine the answer being no.”

The fans in the video below had some very strong words for Michel Platini who was detained over alleged corruption this week…

Harry Sherlock

“Kagawa is a bit above West Brom. That’s not to disrespect what Bilic is trying to build but this is a player who was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson for Manchester United. To expect him to rock up at the Hawthorns is a fantasy. He’s 30 and is still on the books at Borussia Dortmund, a genuinely elite European club. Beskitas took him on loan but one cannot expect the Japan international to decide that his future lies in the West Midlands. Bilic can certainly try – there’s no harm in asking the question – but it’s difficult to imagine it actually coming off.”

Everton fans react as Sandro edges towards exit

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Lots of Everton fans have been reacting to a possible summer exit, as Sandro Ramirez has been linked with another return to Spain.

According to Sky Sports, the striker is in talks over a move to Real Valladolid.

Reports in Spain (via Sport Witness) broke the news on Tuesday morning, with one journalist claiming Sandro’s switch to Valladolid is getting “closer and closer”.

The 23 year-old has played just 16 times for Everton’s first-team after joining in the summer of 2017, and he has since been loaned out to Sevilla and Real Sociedad.

He hasn’t exactly set the world alight during those two loan spells either, not registering a single goal in 44 combined appearances between the two clubs. This is clearly a striker bereft of even the smallest shred of confidence.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

And while many fans are happy to see the back of him, others are worrying whether it’s a permanent or loan deal – the reports say it is not yet clear if the move is permanent.

Take a look at some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Sheffield United fans buzzing about Freeman signing

[ad_pod ]Sheffield United fans on Twitter are ecstatic after their club announced the signing of Luke Freeman from QPR.

The attacking midfielder’s fee wasn’t disclosed, but it can be inferred that he cost the Blades at least more than £4mÂafter it was announced as a club-record signing.

The former QPR man was also linked with Leeds United during this transfer window, but Chris Wilder’s side have beaten out their Yorkshire rivals in the race for his signature as they gear up for life back in the Premier League.

Wilder has seemingly been after a new number 10 this summer after being linked with Everton’s Kieran Dowell, and now he has got his man.

Which Sheffield United players won’t cut it in the top-flight next season? Ingood Nick discusses in the video below…

After putting up seven goals and six assists last season it looks like he could be a great signing for the newly-promoted side and could compete with Mark Duffy for a spot behind the two strikers in the Y0rkshire outfit’s starting XI.

Understandably, United fans took to social media to share their delight about this signing.

Here’s what the Bramall Lane faithful have been saying on Twitter…

Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah showered with praise on Instagram following great display

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Arsenal’s 2019 summer pre-season is already long underway.

The Gunners are now in Los Angeles as they await their second challenge of the US tour which will be against Bayern Munich.

The first game saw them face off against Colorado Rapids in a game the London team won 3-0 while deploying a rather young squad. Unai Emery tested the waters with some fresh faces and it ended up paying off.

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Eddie Nketiah, Arsenal’s rising star in a centre-forward role, was among the standout performers as he recorded an assist to his name, thus making his mark with his manager.

He immediately took to Instagram to celebrate it with a great message to the fans and his teammates.

And it didn’t take long for other stars to notice it as they showered the youngster with praise after a really great opening to the pre-season tour.

Many of his friends and teammates were extremely impressed with what they saw against Colorado and they all sent their best wishes and messages of support to Nketiah.

The youngster played a total of 20 games in all competitions at different levels in 2018/19 season and managed to score 11 goals, 10 of which came in Premier League 2.

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