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Things have been looking increasingly on the up for Celtic under the leadership of Ange Postecoglou in recent weeks at Parkhead, with the Hoops securing their first two away wins of the league season in their last couple of outings, as well as clinching a much-needed three points in Europe on Tuesday.

This impressive run would continue when St. Johnstone visited Parkhead on Saturday, with Celtic putting on an extremely dominant performance in the 2-0 win over the Lions – boasting 79% possession of the ball, completing 731 passes and creating three big chances.

Indeed, these are statistics that would suggest Ange-ball is finally beginning to pay dividends for the Bhoys, while the performance of Callum McGregor on Saturday afternoon highlights his importance within the 56-year-old manager’s system.

126 touches

After something of a shaky start to life under Postecoglou towards the beginning of the current campaign, McGregor has started to turn in consistently impressive performances in the heart of the Celtic midfield in recent weeks – with his performance against St. Johnstone being one of his best of the season so far.

Indeed, over his 90 minutes on the pitch, the £6.3m-rated man enjoyed 126 touches of the ball, made 105 passes, attempted six long balls, completed one dribble and made two key passes.

The £20k-per-week central midfielder also won three of his five duels, made two tackles, two clearances and took four shots at the St. Johnstone goal.

These returns saw the player who Postecoglou dubbed “outstanding” earlier this season, earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.5, his joint second-highest rating received so far this season.

As such, if McGregor can maintain, or even improve on, this level of performance going forwards, Celtic will undoubtedly be in with a shout of reclaiming their Scottish Premiership crown come the end of the season – something that looks increasingly likely, with the Bhoys now just one point behind the league leaders.

In other news: Kyogo 2.0: Celtic nearing exciting deal for 18-goal machine, Postecoglou will love him

Celtic have been dealt a huge injury blow regarding Karamoko Dembele ahead of their upcoming Premiership fixture.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on his Instagram account (via Daily Record), the 18-year-old winger – who has been sidelined since Celtic’s pre-season tour of Wales – revealed that he has suffered a setback in his recovery from injury, having to undergo surgery on an ankle fracture, which will keep him out of action until at least the turn of the year.

Regarding his injury, the England under-18 international said: “Unfortunately I’ve had some problems with the healing process of my ankle fracture, so I’ve had to get surgery done. Back on the field soon!”

Fans will be gutted

Considering the sheer amount of potential Dembele seems to possess, the news that he looks set to remain sidelined until at least 2022 is sure to have left the Parkhead faithful gutted.

Indeed, the £225k-rated teenager had started to feature more regularly for the Bhoys towards the back end of last season, playing in three of the club’s last four fixtures of the 2020/21 Premiership season, in which the winger scored his first senior goal for the club in a 4-0 drubbing of St Johnstone.

Prior to his injury, Dembele was also heavily involved in Celtic’s pre-season fixtures, featuring in both the 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic – a game in which the 18-year-old opened the scoring for the Hoops – and the 0-0 draw with Bristol City.

However, following his recent update, it now looks as if the teenage forward will not only miss Saturday’s visit of St Johnstone but also many more fixtures before he makes his return to first team action. That will undoubtedly come as a huge blow to Ange Postecoglou, who had admitted that he was looking forward to working with the youngster upon his arrival at Celtic this summer.

In other news: Ange makes approach for tough-tackling £3.2m sensation, Celtic fans will be buzzing

Aston Villa target Todd Cantwell could seek a move away from Norwich City if their form does not drastically improve by the turn of the year, according to Dean Windass.

The Canaries are back in the Premier League after sealing an immediate return thanks to clinching the Championship title last season.

But they have made an underwhelming start to the new campaign and suffered back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City.

The setback comes after seeing talisman Emiliano Buendia depart the club in favour of a club-record switch to Aston Villa despite playing a vital role in Norwich’s rise to the top flight.

It has looked as though Villa could return to Carrow Road for another of their key players, with Cantwell on boss Dean Smith’s radar.

While a move has failed to materialise so far, Windass believes Villa could look to seal a deal for the 23-year-old winger if Norwich are still struggling when the January transfer window opens.

The former Premier League striker exclusively told The Transfer Tavern: “It’s one of those situations where you’ll know where Norwich will be by January. You’ll know whether they’re going to be in a relegation battle or sitting pretty in mid-table.

“I think January will be the only time that he will move if Norwich slump like they did in the Premier League before.”

Lots of Everton fans have been left reacting to some more transfer news that has emerged on Lucas Digne.

Reports this week linked the France international with a move to Italy, and now Fichajes report that Diego Simeone is interested in signing the left-back for Atletico Madrid, after Digne reportedly had a row with Rafa Benitez, which saw him dropped for their 2-1 win at home to Arsenal on Monday night.

Admittedly, Digne has not performed to the best that he can this season so far, recording no assists in the Premier League this season compared to the seven that he made last term (WhoScored).

However, he remains the Goodison Park faithful’s only senior left-back available in the squad, and so Benitez looks to have a big decision to make in the January transfer window.

Nonetheless, given the sheer number of assists that he has supplied for the Merseyside club since signing, it may be time to patch things up.

Everton fans on Digne transfer news

These Toffees supporters seemed split as the exit rumour was shared on Twitter:

“Says everything the level of club that would be looking at him. Rafa is mad.”

Credit: @followeverton

“Benitez actually gonna sell our only recognised LB mid-season”

Credit: @Tom_A72

“Brilliant 3 better teams monitoring him, well that’s him gone in the summer. Another masterstroke thanks Rafa, born genius”

Credit: @kevin84734358

“28 – his game is better going forward than defending and injuries and knocks catching up with him – sell.”

Credit: @chr509740634

“Digne for Trippier I’ll be happy”

Credit: @zMxstyy

“I still like Digne. Been a great signing for us all those years but if we got £40 million for him I hope we’re all over it. That’s the type of money we need to rebuild and to send FFP away”

Credit: @bluetom_tom

In other news, find out whose return ahead of Crystal Palace has Blues fuming here!

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United supporters have been in full voice after club insider ExWHUemployee’s update on exciting youngster Conor Coventry.

Coventry, who has impressed for West Ham throughout pre-season, has been tipped by a section of fans to be the Hammers’ next breakthrough academy star after Declan Rice.

Some comparisons to the England international have even been made, and given this is club legend Mark Noble’s last season in Claret and Blue, the 21-year-old could be useful to reinforce the defensive midfield position.

Manager David Moyes is fighting on the Europa League front as well as domestically for the 2021/2022 season but only has Rice and Tomas Soucek as natural options to sit in front of the back four.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-gossip/” title=”West Ham latest gossip…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

ExWHUemployee (via Hammers Updates), bringing news on Coventry’s position, now claims that the starlet could in fact be allowed to go out on loan to Peterborough United.

Indeed, The Posh have submitted an offer for the midfield man and it is believed that West Ham are prepared to accept it – with the final decision resting on Coventry himself.

Discounting Manuel Lanzini, who has been utilised as a makeshift deep-lying playmaker by Moyes, it’s little wonder supporters believe Coventry should stay and fight for a senior spot this season given their lack of depth.

As a result, many fans are simply baffled that West Ham and GSB are prepared to let Coventry move away.

Find all of their best verdicts, in response to Hammers Updates who shared the news, down below.

West Ham fans erupt over Coventry update

“This is ridiculous. He needs to stay. We are terrible at transfers and he is more than ready”

Credit: @westhamhour

“This is madness”

Credit: @AndyWHU1987

“This will be utter madness if we send him out on loan. Screams of what we did to Josh Cullen last year”

Credit: @JH_Journalism

“Nah this club is actually dusted omds”

Credit: @Jackcoyi

“This can’t happen with how painfully thin our squad is right now.”

Credit: @tosman30

“Incomprehensible”

Credit: @LiamMalone12

“This would be the most dumb transfer we have sanctioned in a long time.

And that’s really saying something.”

Credit: @njp6439

“Grady last season, Conor this….our owners really do enjoy taking a swipe at the fans don’t they.”

Credit: @rustyk1971

In other news: ‘Yesssss’, ‘What we’ve been asking for’…West Ham fans flock to official club post, find out more here.

Andros Townsend has made a major admission, regarding his thoughts on a potential transfer to Rangers.

What’s the talk?

Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend has admitted that he would be open to signing for Steven Gerrard’s Rangers side this summer following his exit from the Premier League. Townsend is out of contract at the end of the month and is set to leave Palace on a free transfer.

The winger was recently asked if he would consider signing for Rangers or Celtic in Scotland and opened himself up to the idea. He told TalkSPORT, as transcribed by Glasgow Live:

“I’m open to everything.

“If there’s an option that presents itself and it’s the best one for me and fulfils my needs, I wouldn’t turn it down just because it’s in another country.”

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson hailed Townsend for his versatility and defensive work rate, whilst also being a “flying” winger for the club. He told Sky Sports:

“With England, he was just a flying winger, wasn’t he?

“He has shown this season that he can do a lot more than be a flying winger. He can play as one of two wide forwards playing much more centrally.

“He has also shown defensive aspects to his play that perhaps were not quite so eminent. All I am concerned about is that he does what we would like him to do every day on the training ground and every matchday.”

Wilson must swoop

Ross Wilson must swoop to snap Townsend up following this major admission by the former England international winger. Townsend is a proven Premier League performer and could be an excellent addition to Steven Gerrard’s squad next season, offering another impressive wide option to compete with the likes of Ryan Kent and Iannis Hagi in the Scottish Premiership.

With his contract expiring this month, it could also be an ideal opportunity for Rangers as they would avoid having to pay a transfer fee for his services and that could make it a bargain deal for Wilson.

Townsend is vastly experienced at the Premier League level. He has played 243 games in the English top-flight, producing a respectable 22 goals and 33 assists playing for Tottenham, QPR, Newcastle and Crystal Palace. This suggests that he has the quality to come in at Ibrox and make an instant impact next season, as he has been able to consistently perform in the Premier League and is still at a good age at 29.

The £80k-per-week dynamo provided five assists for Palace in the Premier League last season. Only three players bettered that for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, with Kent managing seven and two players – James Tavernier and Hagi – locked on nine.

This shows that he could add further creativity to Gerrard’s squad and provide more service for a player like Alfredo Morelos to help the forward score more goals next season. This is why Wilson needs to pounce on the chance to sign Townsend after his admission.

AND in other news, Wilson must ruthlessly axe “deceptive” £33k-p/w Rangers star, it’s time for him to go…

Aston Villa have been handed a major injury boost over Ollie Watkins ahead of their Premier League clash against Chelsea later today.

What’s the story?

The England international had been out of action for Villa for the opening two Premier League games before coming on as a substitute late on in the draw against Brentford last time out.

Dean Smith’s side travel to Stamford Bridge to take on the reigning Champions League holders on Saturday, and via a tweet from the club’s official social media channels, Smith said: “We should be welcoming Ollie Watkins back. We’ve also got Leon Bailey back to full fitness now. Bertrand Traore has trained the last couple of days as well. John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey have recovered from their Covid-19 situations too.”

Villa fans will be buzzing

Make no mistake about it, while Danny Ings got his Villa career off to a decent start with a goal on his debut, missing Watkins for those opening couple of games would’ve come as a massive blow to Smith.

The striker led Villa’s charge up the table last term, bagging 16 goals in all competitions (including 14 in the Premier League alone) and netting in home and away fixtures against both Liverpool and Arsenal. Such were his impressive performances in his debut campaign in the top flight that reports even suggested that the Merseyside club were interested in signing him in the summer transfer window.

Indeed, former Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor has even touted Watkins with winning the Premier League’s Golden Boot award, saying: “I think people might look at that statement and say ‘no chance’, but you look at last season, his first season in the Premier League, Watkins was scoring goals galore, he wasn’t even taking penalties and still got into double figures.

“I think if he is to win the Golden Boot he’d need to be on penalties, so we need to get El Ghazi off of them. But, he’s an outstanding striker, he’s got his England caps and he’s getting better and better with each game he plays in the Premier League.”

Dubbed a “machine” by Chris Deacon, programme editor at Watkins’ previous club Brentford, the £34m-rated star’s return is sure to have fans buzzing.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa had a transfer masterclass with this ace…

Ipswich midfielder Sam Morsy has made his aims for the season clear following his transfer from Middlesbrough… 

What’s the talk?

Ipswich’s final summer signing, Sam Morsy, has outlined his ambitions for the 2021/22 campaign following his move from Championship side Middlesbrough.

The midfielder, who worked with Town boss Paul Cook at Wigan, has stated that the immediate aim for him at Portman Road is a promotion from League One.

He told Ipswich IFollow, via TWTD:

“The immediate aim is to get promoted and that’s what I’ve come to the club to do.

“You can’t dress it up, the aim is promotion given the size of this club, the players and the manager.

“I know the owners want to invest in the squad and want us to be a force in the Championship.

“They’ve backed the manager and the manager has been promoted from this league before so it’s exciting.

“There’s some very good players here. With Kyle Edwards, my good friend, Lee Peltier [Middlesbrough right-back] has had nothing but good things to say about him and about how good he is.”

Fans will be buzzing

Ipswich fans will surely be buzzing after reading these comments from Morsy. The midfielder has not joined the club to be content with challenging for a top-half finish or just making the play-offs, he wants to get promoted out of this division and feels like Cook has put together a squad capable of doing just that.

These are the type of positive quotes that Ipswich fans will be desperate for given the club’s dreadful start to the campaign. The Tractor Boys are currently sat in the relegation zone after picking up three points from their opening five League One matches, drawing three and losing two.

Fans will be wanting to cling on to any positives they can to give them hope for the rest of the season and these comments from Morsy offer that.

It would be strange for a player of his experience to drop down into the third tier if he did not genuinely believe that Ipswich could get promoted, as he had the chance of playing Championship football with Middlesbrough, which means that supporters can believe what he is saying.

Therefore, fans will be buzzing with Morsy’s quotes as they have a good reason to trust his judgement. He already started three second-tier games for Boro this term, which shows what he has given up to come to Portman Road. Would he do that if he did not truly believe that this Ipswich squad can win promotion? It seems unlikely on paper.

It is now down to Morsy, Cook and the rest of the players and staff to realise their ambitions and start getting wins on the board to erase their poor start to the season. For now, though, fans will be delighted with the clear goal set by Morsy.

AND in other news, Possession lost 79x: Ipswich dud let Cook down with 71% pass accuracy during August…

Forza Italian Football Editor-in-Chief Conor Clancy has exclusively told Football FanCast that Paulo Dybala and Harry Kane would be unstoppable together with the Argentine once again being linked with a move to North London back in April.

Tottenham were linked with a sensational £80m move to bring the South American to north London two summers ago.

However, the deal collapsed late on Deadline Day in August 2019, with the Serie A giants reportedly not willing to sell one of their best players, whilst problems with image rights were also cited as reason for the deal not being completed.

Following his decision to stay in Italy, Dybala enjoyed an excellent campaign, scoring 17 times and adding 14 assists as Juventus won their ninth Serie A title on the bounce.

However, injuries and a loss of form have seen Dybala struggled to replicate that form last term, with the 27-year-old contributing just five goals, which was by far his worst return as a Juventus player.

A ligament problem saw Dybala, who ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has raved over previously, miss 16 matches in all competitions, but he was generally used as a bit-part player and has been linked away from Turin with just 12 months left on his deal.

With that in mind, should Harry Kane remain at Tottenham, Clancy believes the pair could form a formidable partnership.

He told Football FanCast:

“I feel like he’d be unstoppable with Kane because he’s not a number nine, so he’s got to be playing alongside a striker like that.”

But where does Clancy believe Dybala would play should he sign for Spurs?

He added: “I’d have him as a number 10, like that support striker which will give him a little bit of freedom to move.

“And I think Spurs’ squad is quite suited to that because the three that play behind Kane can move round a little bit and can accommodate for Dybala just floating round a little bit.”

Manchester City have received ‘enquiries’ from Barcelona and Juventus for striker Gabriel Jesus, ahead of a potential exodus from the club this summer.

The Lowdown: Jesus to follow Sterling?

The Brazilian has struggled to force his way into being a regular part of Pep Guardiola’s plans this season, often finding himself on the substitutes’ bench.

Jesus has only started 16 out of 32 Premier League games, as well as forcing his way into the starting lineup just once in the Champions League to date.

With Erling Haaland looking likely to join City this summer, it could be that their current No.9 is deemed surplus to requirements, following reports that Raheem Sterling could leave, too.

According to the Italian press, Sterling could join AC Milan because he is ‘no longer on good terms’ with Guardiola.

The Latest: Contact made

As per a report from Lance [via Sport Witness], both Barca and Juve have made ‘enquiries’ about Jesus, while it is claimed that he is ‘likely’ to be at another club next season.

The 25-year-old’s current deal expires at the end of next season, which increases the chance of him leaving this summer, in order for City to receive a fee before the risk of losing him as a free agent next year.

The Verdict: Time to move on

Jesus’ City career has been a curious one in many ways, with the Brazil international showing immense talent but never quite managing to kick on and become the true heir to Sergio Aguero.

While 89 goals in 229 appearances is not to be sniffed at, it is damning that Guardiola has often opted to play with someone like Phil Foden as a false nine instead, suggesting he doesn’t think his striker is good enough.

It feels like the right time for Jesus to move on and enjoy a fresh challenge, with a move to Barca allowing him to follow in the footsteps of Brazilian greats such as Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

In other news, a journalist has shared a major City transfer breakthrough. Read more here.