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Glasgow Rangers may have brought in backup for Borna Barisic in the shape of Calvin Bassey, but they may well have another long-term replacement lined up for a future move to Ibrox if recent reports are to be believed.

What’s the story?

According to The Daily Record, Rangers are interested in signing Croatian left-back Marijan Cabraja from Gorica.

It’s claimed that the 54-time Scottish champions are closely monitoring his situation, with his agent Miroslav Bicanic adding that there is interest from Italy, Poland, Russia and the United States as well as from the Ibrox outfit.

Cabraja said: “It is true that Rangers are following me, contact has been established but it all depends on how the situation with Borna Barisic develops.

“I don’t believe that the Scots will pay as much as Gorica are asking for, but let’s leave that aside now, the only thing that matters to me is how we will play in Split on Sunday.”

Ross Wilson would be wise to secure his services as not only would the former Croatia U21 international be able to provide cover and competition for his fellow countryman and he’d also add an alternative threat in attack

Papac 2.0?

Ibrox has borne witness to some of the best full-backs ever to grace the Scottish game, but that hasn’t always been the case.

For every Arthur Newman, there’s an Agnestis Argyriou, although it looks like the club could land an absolute bargain in the 23-year-old defender.

Standing at 5 foot 9 inches, Cabraja is cut from a similar cloth to former Rangers left-back Sasa Papac, who spent six years with the Govan-based Glaswegian giants.

The Bosnian defensive stalwart, who stands slightly taller at 1.85m tall, was also known for his unflappable style of play, having scored six goals and supplied 14 assists in all competitions for the club, via Transfermarkt.

In 13 appearances in the HNL, the Pula-born left-back has bagged one goal and two assists in total, whilst he has played in every minute of every single game so far this season.

This kind of calm presence and confidence on the ball would be most welcome in Glasgow as the Gers crashed out of the League Cup after Calvin Bassey conceded a sloppy penalty.

To sign a player with Cabraja’s obvious potential, whose market value is estimated at as little as £585,000, to provide injury cover for Barisic, could be a shrewd bit of business.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must cash in on Greg Stewart in January…

Manchester City are reportedly considering a move for Everton defender Lucas Digne in the January transfer window and he could be the perfect successor to Benjamin Mendy with the Citizens.

According to The Telegraph, Pep Guardiola is keen to add a left-back to his side before the end of the window and is a huge admirer of the Toffees ace, although a move for him would depend on whether or not City could offload Oleksandr Zinchenko or Mendy.

The former Monaco man has struggled with injuries throughout his time in the Premier League and has never really been able to rediscover the electrifying form he showed in his 10 appearances in the 2018/19 season. 

Therefore, if City can cash in on the £25.2 million rated defender this month and bring in Digne as his replacement, it could add a whole different dimension to the way Guardiola’s side play.

This season we have seen City’s attacks down the left-hand side limited somewhat, with Guardiola regularly opting to play either Joao Cancelo or Nathan Ake in that position, meaning they have lacked a left-footed, attacking full-back.

Digne fits that mould perfectly, as on numerous occasions this season we have seen him bomb down the left-hand side for Carlo Ancelotti’s side before providing a pinpoint cross for Dominic Calvert-Lewin or Richarlison, with the former Barcelona man having registered four assists in eight games in the Premier League before his injury.

During his time with the Merseyside club, the 27-year-old defender has contributed an impressive five goals and 17 assists in 87 appearances so would add a real attacking impetus down the left if he were to join the Citizens this month.

Following a 5-1 win against Burnley back in December 2018, where the £29.7m-rated Digne scored twice, BBC journalist Garth Crooks was full of praise for the defender, saying:

“I don’t think you will see two better strikes from a wing-back all season. Digne not only has a taste for goals, but he has also adapted brilliantly to the demands of Marco Silva’s new-look line-up.”

Therefore, it seems clear that Digne would add something different to City’s first-team and could be an upgrade on Mendy, so it will be interesting to see if the Guardiola’s side are able to bring him in during the January transfer window.

And, in other news… Pep is sleepwalking into a nightmare with “incredible” sensation

Steven Bergwijn has been quite the enigma at Tottenham Hotspur since his arrival nearly a year ago.

The 23-year-old arrived from PSV Eindhoven last January for around €30m (£26.5m) as one of Jose Mourinho’s first signings at the club. He has since seen his value rocket to a whopping €70m (£62m) as per the CIES Football Observatory.

But why?

Supporters on social media have gotten on his back at times, and on the face of it, it appears quite reasonable as he’s not scored since a 1-1 draw with Manchester City, which was Spurs’ first game back after the temporary break in June.

The general consensus

The north Londoners romped to a 3-0 victory over Leeds United on Saturday afternoon, a victory which moved them to third place in the Premier League.

Bergwijn was one of the few disappointments as he missed a sitter at 1-0. He also successfully pulled off just one of his three dribble attempts, fired three shots without scoring, won just 25% of his duels, and was dribbled past twice, via SofaScore.

It led to the following reactions on Twitter…

Unjust?

Indeed, the Dutch international has struggled in terms of goal contributions having provided only four assists in 19 appearances this term, but many in N17 need to realise the greater impact he is having under Mourinho.

In some ways, he has become his sacrificial lamb on that right-flank.

Per FBref, only three other players are pressing more than Bergwijn in the final third of the pitch and those three are managing more minutes, so it’s not completely reflective of his true potential.

This much is backed up by his heat map for the season, via SofaScore:

Clearly, he is involved way more than what is perceived – the map above shows he is contributing defensively just as much as he is up the field.

Without his presence against Leicester, Mourinho’s side were utterly dominated as the Foxes ran away with a 2-0 victory, so it can’t be a coincidence that Spurs pick up their first win in five games with Bergwijn back in the starting XI.

There’s a reason why journalists (The Extra Inch via This is Futbol) have lauded him a “really special” talent and “more effective than [Lucas] Moura” in the past.

Get off his back, Spurs fans.

AND in other news, Pathetic Spurs star who lost possession 19 TIMES badly betrayed Mourinho…

Celtic’s season has been nothing short of disastrous for a club of their stature and it got no better last time out.

A defeat to Rangers was the worst possible way to start the New Year and thus, changes could be afoot for Neil Lennon.

On the chalkboard

It’s not often that Celtic fail to score but against a watertight Rangers defence last Saturday, they failed to do so.

Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths formed a two-prong attack but try as they might they failed to find the back of the net.

A big part of that was down to the threat posed on the flanks. Only 14% of the team’s crosses were successful and furthermore, just 40% of their dribbles and take-ons actually amounted to a player beating their man.

It wasn’t the greatest attacking display and as a result, Lennon should think about switching his formation again.

The solution

Much has been made about whether Griffiths and Edouard can play together up front as a pairing but it’s hard to suggest it worked last Saturday.

With two men to aim for in the box, completing just three accurate crosses from 21 attempted is a woeful effort.

Thus, they should revert back to Edouard as the lone striker and bring in Mohamed Elyounoussi to play on the left-hand side.

The Norwegian hasn’t started for the Hoops since the Scottish Cup final win over Hearts before Christmas but he simply has to be unleashed against Hibernian on Monday night.

He put in what was described as a “lively” cameo against Rangers but unfortunately he wasn’t able to pick the lock of their backline.

Elyounoussi has a habit of beating his man and picking out a cross so perhaps with his addition from the off, Celtic can put themselves in a position to terrify Jack Ross and his team.

The winger completed just two passes against the Gers but should find a lot more space for himself when Hibs come to Parkhead. For starters, he won’t have the effervescent James Tavernier to contend with.

The 26-year-old has scored 12 times this term, registering five assists in the process, so it’s hard to stake a claim for leaving him out. Elyounoussi is too good to be kept out of the starting XI for this long.

Lennon must reintroduce him.

AND in other news, Edouard 2.0: Celtic must swoop for £7.2m beast who can “destabilise any defender”…

Tottenham Hotspur star Serge Aurier may have surprisingly found himself on the scoresheet up at Bramall Lane this afternoon, but he was still disappointing on the whole.

Jose Mourinho’s side romped to a 3-1 victory over Sheffield United to move back into a top-four place in the Premier League with Harry Kane and Tanguy Ndombele also grabbing goals apiece.

The Ivorian right-back headed home a Heung-min Son corner inside the opening five minutes, though when delving into the numbers, they may tell a different story as to how he performed.

In the past, Aurier has often been lambasted as a “liability” and had his defending described as a “madness,” and we saw small glimpses of that in a performance that’ll have had Jose Mourinho feeling more angry than pleased.

The 28-year-old was particularly wasteful in possession with the few touches (53) he had as he lost the ball a total of 14 times, meaning he handed it back to the Blades once every four times he had it, via SofaScore.

By comparison, Eric Dier lost possession more times (16) but as he recorded a whopping 97 touches, it meant he only lost the ball once every six touches, which is far better than Aurier.

The Englishman took a lot of flak on Twitter because of his display – after all, Spurs did let the Premier League’s rock-bottom side score an easy goal in the second half.

One supporter claimed that Dier was their main problem at the back, whilst another slammed his inability to jump in the air. Some even believed the 27-year-old was at fault for the Blades goal.

However, Aurier was far worse and was rather lucky that his defending didn’t cost his side more. Indeed, he was the only Spurs player who recorded an error that led to a shot – had the attempt been better, then that could’ve quite easily been another goal.

The £18m-rated defender, who earns a reported £120k-per-week in N17, also recorded the joint-fewest clearances (two) and tackles (one) of any visiting defender, meaning he wasn’t strong defensively, especially as he’s averaged a massive 3.3 tackles and 2.9 clearances per game this term, per WhoScored.

SofaScore also graded Aurier (6.9) a lower rating than Dier (7.1), which only further proves that he was the more suspect of the two players.

The Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick was particularly scathing over his crossing too, he wrote in his post-match ratings: “His crossing, which was so good against Fulham, was inconsistent.”

Indeed, Aurier made only 71% of his passes and also failed to pull of a single successful dribble, thus finding it hard to contribute further up the field.

He might well have scored the opener, but aside from that, the former PSG man was ineffective in a display that ultimately let Mourinho down.

AND in other news, Forget Ndombele: “Magic” Spurs machine who had 93 touches stole the show for Mourinho…

David Moyes will not find his Youssef En-Nesyri alternative in Anthony Lozano amid claims West Ham United are considering a move to sign the Cadiz CF striker.

What’s the word?

According to Goal, the Irons have turned their attention to Lozano’s potential availability after Sevilla forward En-Nesyri declared he had no intentions of leaving his La Liga side this month.

Lozano is one of a number of options the Hammers have since turned to in search of a replacement for Sebastien Haller, with talks also said to have taken place with FC Girondins de Bordeaux over Sunderland product Josh Maja.

Cadiz are reluctant to part ways with Lozano mid-way through the season but will grant the 27-year-old a move should they receive offers worth at least €10m (£9m), as the sum would simply be too good for the Nuevo Estadio Ramon de Carranza natives to turn down.

Lozano, who only boasts a TransferMarkt valuation of £2.25m, has started 11 of Cadiz’s La Liga fixtures this term and made five appearances from the bench, while scoring two of his mere three goals for the season following the turn of the year.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation communicating that Lozano now has federal approval for Spanish nationality is thought to have acted as encouragement for those tracking the Honduras forward this month, including West Ham.

It has previously been speculated in the Spanish media that the Irons could offer as much as €15m (£13.5m) for Lozano, as Moyes strives to add depth behind Michail Antonio in his attacking ranks following Haller’s move to AFC Ajax.

Should West Ham sign Lozano?

Haller’s departure certainly left a hole in Moyes’ squad that the West Ham boss needs to fill before the winter market slams shut on February 1, as he can ill-afford to not replace the Ivory Coast international and see Antonio again be sidelined after two hamstring injuries.

But whether Lozano is the answer to Moyes’ problems remains to be seen, as it is very much unlikely that the 27-year-old would be anything more than an underwhelming addition doomed to fail in the Premier League.

The £7,500-per-week attacker has only scored three goals in 16 La Liga games this season, and is even underperforming with FBref data showing an expected goals of 3.8. Part of the problem for Lozano has been the timid nature of his attempts, with an expected goals per game of only 0.39 thanks to directing just 13 shots on target to date.

It is taking close to ten shots for Lozano to score in the Spanish top-flight this term due to his wayward efforts and the low frequency of his firing, while needing close to five shots to find the mark before one beats an opposition’s goalkeeper.

Lozano bringing an attacking presence beyond goals would be doubted, too, with only 0.1 assists per game – above his expected assists of 0.07. He has further made only 28 progressive carries to bring Cadiz further up the pitch, with 134 of his dribbles failing to see the Honduras international move play more than five yards with the ball at his feet.

En-Nesyri, for comparison, has struck home 12 goals in 19 La Liga games for Sevilla this season as the 23-year-old finds the net with one in every three shots taken, to see that he significantly outscores his expected goals of 6.9, per FBref.

With Moyes also playing with one centre-forward and favouring Antonio due to his high work-rate, it would be a wonder if Lozano even gets on the pitch when West Ham boast a fully-fit squad. This makes it ever more pressing that David Sullivan and Moyes walk away from any deal with Cadiz.

AND in other news, West Ham are working on a deal to sign a £13.5m-rated striker on loan…

Celtic’s transfer deadline day is beginning to get rather exciting. The club are chasing numerous deals for defenders as Neil Lennon aims to get his side back on track.

What’s the word?

The Hoops are set to sign Jonjoe Kenny on loan from Everton while a temporary switch for Tottenham’s Japhet Tanganga could take place before the window slams shut.

However, someone the Bhoys were interested in earlier in the window is now catching the attention of suitors elsewhere.

According to Football League World, Derby would like to sign the player on loan on deadline day, which in turn, would see Manchester City recall him from Middlesbrough before sending him off to the Rams.

It was thought earlier in the window that City might recall him which had initially alerted Celtic to his availability.

Get it done

Whether or not the Hoops are still interested in a move for Roberts remains to be seen but judging by their current plight, he would surely be beneficial to Lennon and co.

Celtic are currently in real strife and are sitting 23 points behind their fierce rivals in a bid to win the SPFL. Add the fact that the manager has very few options out wide and things become even more troublesome.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-celtic-transfer-news” title=”Read this week’s Celtic transfer news!”]

Ryan Christie was dropped against Hamilton and with David Turnbull shifting into a wide area, it proved they do have another player capable of featuring on the flanks.

Yet, with James Forrest still missing through injury, adding a further winger should be of utmost importance.

Roberts has already had a stint at Parkhead where he featured 78 times. It was a spell that caught the eye of former manager Brendan Rodgers who reserved very special praise for the 23-year-old.

He once said: “Patrick is more a David Silva type, more on the inside. He looks like he has an eye for goal. He’s very young and he looks a talent.”

Celtic supporters won’t need telling just how good an eye for talent Rodgers has and they already know what he’s capable of in the famous green and white.

A winger by trade, he’d be particularly useful in the back half of the season.

AND in other news, Forget Duffy: Celtic must swoop for £25k-p/w gem “with pace” who “sees things quickly”…

Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland sent Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer an instant reminder of his obvious talents just a day before the Red Devils drew a blank with West Brom.

Haaland burst onto the scene last season at Red Bull Salzburg before Dortmund beat United to sign the Norway international from the Austrian side for a mere £17m in 2019.

In retrospect, that looks to have been an absolute snip, especially considering the price they paid, as the 20-year-old has scored 39 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions for the Bundesliga giants.

He is, by quite some margin, one of the most exciting and prolific strikers in European football right now, so it’s no surprise to see that he finds himself on the Red Devils’ radar once again, according to the latest reports.

However, despite Haaland and Jadon Sancho both finding the back of the net, Dortmund had to settle for a draw with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday as their struggles this season continued.

Although the towering 6 ft 3 in centre-forward was unable to arrest his side’s recent slump in form, as Edin Terzic’s side fought back to secure a point on the day, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have been left highly impressed by what he would have seen from Haaland had he been watching.

In one of the more controversial moments of the game, he scored a late equaliser after latching onto a misplaced pass before bursting into the box and firing home.

Ihlas Bebou’s header from close range gave Hoffenheim a well-deserved lead yet the Norwegian superstar stayed on the offensive as he tried to salvage a point for Terzic’s side, ending his 90′ minutes with two successful dribbles from three attempts, as per SofaScore.

He also won six out of his nine duels overall, showing that despite their best efforts the Hoffenheim defenders found it incredibly difficult to get the better of him with his duel success rate a fine 66%, which is more than can be said for Edinson Cavani, who was largely anonymous against the Baggies with the 33-year-old failing to win a single duel from two attempts, per SofaScore.

In addition, Haaland – who is currently valued at €200m (£178m) via CIES Football Observatory – took three shots in total in the entire game, including two on target, which is vastly superior to Cavani, as the Uruguayan striker couldn’t register a single attempt all game, let alone a shot on target.

Haaland finished with a match rating of 7.4 as per Sofascore, with only two other players on the pitch scoring higher, and showed off his credentials as a big-moment play by rescuing Dortmund in the final ten minutes of the game.

With Anthony Martial struggling to replicate the form that saw him score 17 goals in the Premier League last season, Haaland’s latest heroics will no doubt have sent the Old Trafford hierarchy an instant reminder that he needs to be their top priority in the summer.

Given how Bruno Fernandes had to be United’s savior once more at the weekend by dragging the team back into the game with a stupendous volley, Haaland’s arrival would give the Portuguese talisman a genuine world-class talent for him to supply.

The pressure would be off Fernandes’ shoulders, and the former Sporting man would be able to trust in Haaland to deliver the goods week-in and week-out for Solskjaer’s side just like he is doing at Dortmund.

Haaland’s display on Saturday sent Solskjaer a message that he could well handle the burden that comes with being a number nine for United, and would also have left the boss wondering just how much of a partnership he could strike up with Fernandes.

AND in other Man Utd news, Bruno Fernandes was Manchester United’s one shining light vs West Brom…

Leeds could find their next Stuart Dallas in Slavia Prague’s versatile midfielder Oscar Dorley.

What’s the story?

After keeping their powder dry in the January transfer window, Marcelo Bielsa’s side will no doubt be looking to make some major additions to their squad come the start of the summer.

And, according to Czech publication eFotbal, the Whites are eyeing a potential move for Dorley, and that a deal for the 11-cap Liberia international could well be in the pipeline.

Leeds’ new Dallas

Predominantly a central midfielder, Dorley’s versatility knows no bounds, being able to play further forward, out wide on both flanks, and even as a left-back – sound familiar?

Dallas of course has been a Swiss Army knife for Bielsa under his management, playing in a vast number of positions over the past couple of seasons – this season alone has seen him feature at right-back, left-back, central midfield, attacking midfield and as a right-winger.

In the 22-year-old Dorley, Victor Orta could find someone most similar to Bielsa’s Mr Reliable, especially when you consider how he’s performed in the Europa League this season.

The Liberian dynamo has averaged an impressive 2.2 interceptions and 1.8 tackles per game, which ranks him very favourably when you compare him to how Bielsa’s current options have done in the Premier League – only Liam Cooper has averaged more interceptions with 2.6 per match, while only six other players better his tackles ratio.

Dorley’s former manager at Slovan Liberec, said: “He is a very talented and promising young player who we liked from the very beginning, both in matches and in training. He has an above-standard first touch, he can give a final pass. For his age, he is definitely a very interesting player for Slovan. In addition, he still looks good in character, he is a modest boy who wants to move on.”

With his ability to deliver a “final pass”, his defensive strengths, and his very valuable versatility, he seems exactly like the kind of player who Bielsa would absolutely love to have.

Meanwhile, Leeds could sign Bielsa’s dream player in this “magical” winger…

Leicester City will play host to Europa League opponents Slavia Prague this evening following their 0-0 stalemate in the reverse fixture at the Sinobo Stadium. The Foxes are unbeaten in their last six fixtures and will hope that a win at the King Power will keep their positive streak running.

James Maddison will be unavailable for selection after he was forced off the pitch against Aston Villa. He sustained a hip injury and Brendan Rodgers confirmed he will miss out on the Europa League action, but admitted the midfielder shouldn’t requite any more surgery.

Whilst this will be a blow to Leicester in midfield, all eyes will be on how they set up without the influential England international. Football FanCast has predicted what team Rodgers will field this evening…

With Maddison not available to slot into the attacking midfield role as normal, Rodgers may opt to revert to a 3-4-3 formation and make use of his full-backs. This could see both Luke Thomas and Ricardo Pereira start in a more advanced role in order to contribute to the attack. The latter started further forward on the right flank against Villa and put in a solid performance considering it was out of his comfort zone.

In the heart of the midfield, Youri Tielemans’ presence will add creativity, but Wilfred Ndidi could be demoted in place of Hamza Choudhury. Leicester have a Premier League match against Arsenal just three days after their meeting with Slavia Prague and Rodgers can’t afford for key players to burn out. This could also be the reasoning behind a Cengiz Under start, which will be just his ninth for Leicester if he’s named amongst the 11 tonight.

The £94,000 per week loan signing has been limited with his game time since joining the Premier League outfit, but has been given a good run in the cup competitions. As per Transfermarkt, Under has played just eight league matches but has been a regular in the Europa League. He will fill in for Marc Albrighton, who was quite disappointing in the reverse fixture. He managed just 11 passes and 32 passes in total, which was less than goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel with 20 and 47 respectively, according to Sofascore.

With all to play for, Leicester must strike early and ensure the grab themselves the upper hand on home soil. An attack of Under, Harvey Barnes and Jamie Vardy will be hungry secure their spot in the next round of the Europa League.

In other news, Steve Howey labels James Justin injury as a “huge blow”…