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Boli Bolingoli may have missed his ‘only’ opportunity to impress Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou, Alan Hutton has told Football Insider.

The lowdown

Postecoglou handed Bolingoli a start in the 1-0 defeat at Livingston last month.

It was the Belgian’s first outing for the club since a three-minute substitute appearance against Kilmarnock in August 2020.

He’d been sent out on loan to Turkish Super Lig outfit Istanbul Basaksehir in the wake of a coronavirus rule breach.

His return to the fold looks to have been short-lived. The left-back, who earns £12,500 per week, was an unused substitute for the cup win over Raith Rovers and didn’t make the matchday squad for the games against Dundee United or Bayer Leverkusen.

The latest

Hutton reckons that Postecoglou wanted to run the rule over Bolingoli and clearly wasn’t impressed.

And he fears that the outlook is now pretty bleak for the 26-year-old.

“You want to have a look at all your players within the squad,” he said. “He did that in the Livingston game.

“Obviously he didn’t do enough to keep his place in the manager’s eyes.

“Sometimes when you get given that opportunity from nowhere, it’s the only time you have to grasp it. Maybe he’s not done that.”

The verdict

Bolingoli might actually be a victim of the poor result, because his performance was decent.

He won seven of his 13 duels during the game and completed 85 of his 90 passes (via SofaScore).

Indeed, Frank McAvennie claimed that he was the best player on the pitch and deserved to keep his place against Dundee United.

But it certainly looks like the manager’s preference is to go with the teenager Adam Montgomery in the absence of Greg Taylor.

In other news, the latest Celtic injury timeline has been revealed. 

Manchester United have made many mistakes since Sir Alex Ferguson retired back in 2013, although arguably the largest errors have been in the transfer market.

When the legendary Scottish manager finally called it a day eight years ago, his trusted associate and former United chief executive David Gill followed suit in the same summer, leaving a significant void in the club’s boardroom.

Gill was largely responsible for the Red Devils recruitment during his time at the helm and that responsibility was then passed onto Ed Woodward, a former banker with minimal previous experience in the world of football transfers.

The situation has led to some rather baffling and frustrating ongoings in the market for United’s supporters in recent years, but one acquisition has exasperated the fanbase more than most.

Brazilian midfielder Fred arrived at Old Trafford via a whopping £47m deal from Shakhtar Donetsk back in July 2018 and has gone on to make 129 appearances in all competitions since.

However, he’s so far failed to live up to the expectations placed upon a player with such a sizeable price tag.

For a long time, it was unclear what Fred’s best role was or even what his best attributes were, and former United star Gary Neville was one of many pundits to criticise the South American during his maiden campaign on English shores.

“Fred at £50m, he started the first game of the season, and he looked bright, he looked tidy — but does he look like what you would expect for £50m?” the Sky Sports pundit said on the Gary Neville Podcast (as relayed by the42).

“Does he change a game? Does it look like he’s going to defend your goal? Does it look like he’s going to connect back-to-front? At this moment in time, no.”

But since then, Fred has made considerable improvements to his game. Last season, no United player averaged more tackles than the now 28-year-old’s three per league fixture, while only Luke Shaw bettered his tally of 1.8 interceptions, as per WhoScored.

His development hasn’t been enough to win over all of his critics, though, and ex-Aston Villa captain Gabby Agbonlahor was quick to slam the combative midfielder following another underwhelming display over the weekend.

“I say it every time I see him play, (Scott) McTominay is the better version of Fred, definitely, but every time Fred gets the ball he gives it away – sloppy passes when they’re trying to build attacks,” Agbonlahor said on TalkSPORT.

Fred’s largely disappointing form during his three-year stay at Old Trafford has seen his market value plummet to just £19.8m despite him being in the prime years of his career.

Arguably, the engine room operator is really a victim of his price tag, and if Woodward hadn’t overpaid for his services by such a large amount, then he wouldn’t be expected to do so much on the pitch.

But ultimately, he’s struggled to make the desired impact at United, and his purchase is one of many nightmare dealings that Woodward has overseen.

And, in other news…Murtough must seal Man Utd move for £70m magician, he’s “destined for great things” 

West Ham United have been linked with a move for Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie as manager David Moyes looks to add further reinforcements to his engine room options.

What’s the story?

According to The Sun, West Ham are keen to secure the 23-year-old’s services, with Juve placing a £25m price tag on the youngster.

However, the Hammers are set to face fierce competition for McKennie’s signature as fellow Premier League sides Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur are also listed as potential suitors.

The report also states that the Serie A giants would be prepared to let the American international depart on an initial loan deal in January as long as there is an obligation to buy.

David Moyes would love him

Given that McKennie is known to be available for transfer, GSB must complete a move for the box-to-box dynamo, providing Moyes with a top-class operator in the centre of the pitch.

After departing his homeland back in 2016, the 25-cap USA star joined Bundesliga outfit Schalke and soon established himself as one of German football’s most exciting prospects.

His tally of five goals and seven assists in 91 appearances for the Royal Blues earned him a high-profile move to Juventus last summer, and former boss Andrea Pirlo was a big fan of his.

Calling him a “rock“, the Italy icon added: “He’s young and can improve a lot. In my opinion, he’s a midfielder who can play as a No 8 in a three in midfield, right or left. He gets in the box and scores goals, but he’s also very good at winning the ball back.

“His role is in a three in midfield as one of the two players on either side of the regista. Last year we played in a different system, so he had to adapt.”

However, it appears as though new Juve chief Massimiliano Allegri doesn’t hold McKennie in the same high regard as his predecessor.

The youngster has completed 90 minutes just twice for the Old Lady in the opening weeks of the new campaign, leading to speculation that an imminent exit is on the cards.

As a result, West Ham must swoop for McKennie before their domestic rivals snap him up, supplying Moyes with an ideal replacement for the retiring Mark Noble and an up-and-coming prodigy that he’d surely love to work with.

His work ethic and all-round qualities are nothing short of a manager’s dream.

And, in other news…Newman could get West Ham fans purring with bargain swoop for “special” 31-cap beast 

Darren Ambrose believes that Newcastle United is a realistic destination for Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.

The Lowdown: Changing situation

As we know, the 28-year-old wanted to leave Spurs during the summer transfer window (Sky Sports) but despite interest from Manchester City, he ended up staying in north London.

Since then, Newcastle have been purchased by a Saudi Arabian consortium (BBC), giving them a bigger pool of funds, and there have been suggestions that they could make a move for the England captain.

The Latest: Ambrose makes Kane claim

Speaking to talkSPORT (via Shields Gazette), Ambrose believes that Spurs is now a realistic destination for Kane. He said:

“Say Daniel Levy puts on another ridiculous fee that no-one else is going to pay. And Newcastle say, ‘there is £150 million, we will match that.

“Who has more chance of winning a trophy? Tottenham or Newcastle now? Everyone is going to say (Newcastle) because they have got a project. They have got ambition. So, that could be realistic.”

The Verdict: Big players

The arrival of the consortium, fronted by Amanda Staveley, at St James’ Park is likely to change the future of Premier League football. Like Chelsea and Manchester City, the Magpies now have the funds to try and compete at the top of the game in this country.

As one of the best strikers not only in England but throughout the world, Kane is a hot commodity who only a few clubs can afford. Newcastle now belong to that group, so just as Ambrose says, they are a realistic destination for Kane, and Daniel Levy should be wary of any interest from the Tyneside club.

In other news, Spurs are interested in this controversial midfielder.

After sealing a 2-0 home victory against Burnley in their previous Premier League match thanks to goals from Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City now turn their attention to the Champions League with an away clash against Club Brugge on Tuesday evening next up for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Ahead of the match against the Belgian club, defender John Stones did not travel with the rest of the squad due to apparent personal reasons, as well as Ferran Torres who picked up an injury during the recent international break away with Spain.

Taking this into account and looking at the players who did travel to Belgium, here’s how we feel City will line up against Brugge with four changes made.

In goal, with Ederson being in contention to play in midweek after missing the Burnley game due to his recent involvement with Brazil shortly before the match against Sean Dyche’s side, we feel that Guardiola will start him in Belgium despite Zack Steffen managing to keep a clean sheet in his absence over the weekend.

For the defence, with Stones missing, we can see Guardiola recalling Ruben Dias to the starting XI alongside Aymeric Laporte after the Portuguese ace only came on as a second-half substitute against Burnley.

At full-back, we think Guardiola will put Joao Cancelo on the left ahead of Nathan Ake, leaving Kyle Walker to come back into the team in his favoured right-back position.

In midfield, we suspect the manager will stick with the same three that started against Burnley with weekend goalscorers De Bruyne and Silva on either side of Rodri.

For their attacking line, we think Guardiola could opt for Gabriel Jesus ahead of Riyad Mahrez in the right-wing position if he feels the Brazilian is ready to play following his recent international duty period alongside Ederson.

On the left flank, with Jack Grealish being an unused substitute at the weekend and the fact that the £72m-rated Phil Foden didn’t have a great individual performance against Burnley with SofaScore giving him a match rating of 6.8/10, we think Guardiola could swap the pair allowing Grealish to come back into the side.

Finally, we think Guardiola will stick with Raheem Sterling through the middle despite his lack of goals against Burnley. He has apparently impressed the City boss in that position in the past.

Whether Guardiola goes with this exact starting XI that we have predicted or not, we feel as though the club will undoubtedly be searching for revenge after they lost their previous Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain.

In other news: Pep must unleash Man City’s £54m-rated “unsung hero” vs Brugge, he’s a match-winner – opinion

Many Aston Villa fans were livid with Dean Smith’s decision to bring on Ashley Young as a midfielder against West Ham United on Sunday.

The Villans hosted the Hammers  on Sunday but was a bad day at the office for the Midlands outfit – they lost 4-1, with Ezri Konsa receiving a red card and Jacob Ramsey being forced off injured within the first 15 minutes. As it stands, Villa are 15th in the Premier League table and just three points above the relegation zone (Sky Sports).

By the time of Ramsey’s substitution, Villa were already 1-0 down, and it only got worse from there. Instead of bringing on a natural central midfielder to replace Ramsey, Smith instead decided to call upon 36-year-old wide man Young, and it was a decision which did not turn out as he probably would have hoped.

Many Villa supporters were vocal about their displeasure with Smith’s call, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts. One called for the manager to be shown the door and replaced by Graham Potter, who is currently excelling at Brighton.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about Smith’s substitution

“Can’t wait for Smith to get sacked so we can continue our progress as a club with our new owners. He deserves it purely for subbing Ashley Young on then leaving him on the pitch after the red card and subbing Buendia. Get Potter in ASAP”

Credit: @VillaWatch1

“Not just the players suffering from confidence crisis. That Ashley Young sub shows how little Deano has himself. Terrible decision. Not that Young was bad. Just shows his mindset.”

Credit: @delconnolly

“Bringing Ashley Young into midfield when you have apparently the best young centre midfielder in the country on the bench… That’s panic.”

Credit: @avfc_stef

“Bringing Ashley Young on to play in centre midfield is such a bizarre decision especially when Villa had the option to bring on the younger and more energetic Aaron Ramsey or Carney to try and press West Ham more while also offering a threat going forward, poor from Smith..”

Credit: @ElDeano_96

“If these kids aren’t a better option than a 37 year old Ashley Young playing in midfield then why are we bothering with them. I thought that was a strange decision.”

Credit: @PutinAVFC

“It didn’t take an expert to to know we needed a real good CM, not only to improve us but to strengthen to cover injuries etc. Ashley Young playing CM? It wouldn’t even happen in Championship. We bought good individuals but we didn’t buy for the team … I’m worried”

Credit: @beechy0202

In other news, ,any Aston Villa fans slammed this man’s performance against West Ham

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has delivered the latest on Aston Villa manager Dean Smith’s future at the club.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks had claimed that the Villa boss is currently fighting for his job amid a tough run of results, and the pressure rose even further at the weekend following their dismal defeat at home to West Ham.

Now, Preece has indicated that despite the recent downturn in form, the owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, are firmly behind Smith for now.

He said: “Dean Smith is down to even-money favourite to be the next PL manager to leave,” he began. “I have been told that the board remain right behind the manager. Southampton’s a big one this week. Villa must improve before heading into the international break which will give staff and players the chance to regroup and reset ahead of two pivotal matches against Brighton (h) and Palace (a).”

Villa fans may be worried

With a clash against Southampton on Friday night on the horizon, the pressure has really amped up on Smith and his time at Villa Park.

The Villa boss oversaw a summer rebuild that saw a number of marquee arrivals, including the likes of Emi Buendia and Danny Ings, while Jack Grealish made his long-anticipated departure to Manchester City.

Despite picking up a couple of notable wins in the past couple of months – not least away at Old Trafford against Manchester United – the four defeats in four games has really seen Villa hit a roadblock and it’s no surprise Smith’s future is in question.

Preece’s claim that NSWE remain fully committed to Smith might worry Villa fans on the basis that taking no action and letting this linger could prove to be a massive detriment to how this season pans out.

The club’s form is unsurprisingly the worst of any team in the Premier League, and they remain only just three points above the drop zone, while one of their fellow strugglers Newcastle, look set to appoint a new manager in the near future.

It’s nearing make-or-break time for Smith, and the game against Southampton could prove to be season-defining.

Meanwhile, Villa must finally unleash this academy starlet in the Premier League…

While West Brom may not have had a perfect start to their Championship campaign with 17 games played, the Baggies are still very much in the mix to secure a promotion place by the end of the season, currently sat in third place in the league table with 32 points from nine wins, five draws and three defeats under their belt.

One player that has played a big part in West Brom’s season so far is defender Conor Townsend, who has started all 17 of their league games and ultimately played more minutes than any other Baggies player, showing just how important he is for Valerien Ismael.

In addition to this, the 28-year-old has also highlighted his versatility on the pitch by playing as a centre-back, left-back and left-midfielder at times this season, which is a big sign as to why Ismael has picked him to start so many times.

Regarding his performances, from a defensive point of view, Townsend has racked up an average of 2.8 aerials won (47 in total), 1.8 tackles, 1.5 clearances and 1.4 interceptions per game in the Championship, proving himself as a vital part of West Brom’s back line.

As well as his defensive contributions, Townsend has also proven himself to be a useful attacking outlet for the team, contributing an average of 1.5 key passes per match, with the Englishman securing two assists for the team which came during their 2-2 draw against AFC Bournemouth on the opening day of the season followed by their 1-1 draw against Millwall back in September.

Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say that Townsend, who has been described as a “confident” player on the ball by Baggies journalist Steve Madeley, has been a real hero for Ismael this season given his versatility, reliability and all-round ability up and down the pitch.

Moving forward, with Dara O’Shea still out injured for the next few months and the fact that Kean Bryan has now been ruled out for the remainder of the season through injury, Ismael will undoubtedly be hoping that Townsend will be able to keep fit for the rest of the campaign.

He’ll need to keep delivering the sort of performances that he has been doing, as he could give the Baggies a great chance of securing a place back in the Premier League.

In other news: WBA must secure deal for “wonderful” 6ft4 beast, it may be season-defining for Ismael – opinion

A number of Liverpool fans are delighted after a club tweet showed Harvey Elliott making more positive progress in his injury recovery.

The Reds have experienced bad luck with injuries to midfielders so far this season, with Jurgen Klopp struggling to get a settled unit on the pitch. Liverpool are currently without Naby Keita, James Milner and Curtis Jones, as well as Elliott, who has been missing since September.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375258″]

The 18-year-old suffered a dislocated ankle in the 3-0 win away to Leeds United two months ago, with a long spell on the sidelines expected after confirmation of the injury.

Elliott seems to be making impressive progress, though, and on Thursday, an official club tweet showed the midfielder working hard in the gym, not looking a million miles away from a return to action.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-11/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans react to Elliott latest

It is promising footage which has got some Liverpool supporters excited – these fans took to Twitter to show their delight at seeing Elliott taking the next steps in his recovery.

“Tears in my eyes…”

Credit: @joeeyson

“Oh yeah”

Credit: @barrnnss

“Like a new signing”

Credit: @BobTetteh

“This is great to see”

Credit: @dantunna

“Our comeback is soon”

Credit: @KD1892

“Starboy”

Credit: @NegusSabali

In other news, some Liverpool fans have gone wild over one transfer claim. Read more here.

Many Everton fans have been left erupting as some transfer news emerged on Jordan Pickford.

As per The Daily Telegraph, Antonio Conte now wants to sign the goalkeeper for Tottenham Hotspur, and sees him as the ideal successor to Hugo Lloris.

Of course, Pickford would be a difficult player to replace, given that he is very much Rafa Benitez’s number one and has not missed a minute of Premier League football so far this season when he has been available (Transfermarkt).

It would not be ideal either to sell him to a rival in the top flight, and moving to Spurs would not exactly be a big step up for Pickford, given that there are only two places between them in the league at the moment.

Nonetheless, as a full England international as well, the Goodison Park faithful should be demanding a huge transfer fee for him, otherwise opting not to sell him at all.

Everton fans on Pickford transfer news

These Merseyside club supporters erupted as the transfer news was shared on Twitter:

“Not a chance literally our only world-class player……. Huge money £80+ mill”

Credit: @11thommo

“I wouldn’t even sell for £80 mill. The only person who will see a benefit to this is the accountant and his spreadsheet.”

Credit: @gareth_90210

“Why are we even asking this question?”

Credit: @CalMcKay3

“No way would I sell him”

Credit: @amandahufton

“I would not sell him at all, I know you will have the usual few that don’t like him and say sell and get the likes of Dean Henderson etc, but it’s a no for me, I don’t think Pickford even when some moaned about him was not anywhere near as bad as some made out”

Credit: @EFC_Mike79

“Not a chance easily been top 4 keepers in the league the last season and a half, only if they pay us £80 million”

Credit: @EFCMichael7

In other news, find out what transfer news has Toffees talking here!