Chris Sutton led the reactions as Celtic announced a new two-year contract for Scott Brown.
The 5 foot 9 Hoops skipper had attracted interest from Australia but after talks with Western Melbourne has decided to extend his stay with Celtic through until 2021.
Last season Brown was untouchable and unplayable as he swept the boards at the Player of the Year awards with Celtic’s success heavily dependent on his influence and drive.
When Brown suffered a knee injury last October there were fears that Celtic would suffer a dip in performance but as Ryan Christie was partnered with Callum McGregor, Celtic hit top form.
All of a sudden debates were springing up about Celtic being more effective without Brown but that argument came to a halt when the Hoops were left chasing shadows during the first half of the Europa League clash with RB Salzburg.
Brown was introduced at half time and although Celtic lost on the night his impact halted the exhibition play from the Austrians.
The 33-year-old has started all four of Celtic’s matches since the winter break with Wednesday’s dominating display against St Johnstone exactly what is needed as the title race reaches a critical phase.
The Daily Star recently reported that Chelsea are considering a summer bid to sign Everton star Richarlison. However, the Toffees are thought to want £80million in return for the 21-year-old forward.
Considering the Merseyside club paid an initial £35million – which could rise to £50 million – to prise the Brazilian away from Watford only last summer, it is unsurprising that they’ve put such a huge price tag on him.
The 5 foot 10 attacker is certainly a favourite of Marco Silva’s and is tied up in a long-term contract at Goodison Park. What’s more, he is also the club’s top scorer this season with ten Premier League goals, as per Transfermarkt’s statistics.
Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…
If Everton were to sanction Richarlison’s sale in the summer it would have some huge knock-on effects. We take a look at the potential consequences below…
Big money to reinvest
If Everton were to receive a fee in the region of £80million for Richarlison, then they could reinvest those funds into the squad. Even with Richarlison, Everton still need to find some more firepower this summer.
With that £80million though they would stand a great chance of finding a goalscorer capable of replacing Richarlison’s end product. The Toffees could perhaps even attempt a bold move to bring Romelu Lukaku back to Goodison Park.
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Manchester United paid £75million to sign the Belgian in 2017, but he has struggled this season and has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford of late. With Marcus Rashford clearly preferred by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Lukaku could be moved on at the end of this season if the Norwegian coach gets the United job on a permanent basis.
Everton could then swoop to bring back their prolific former marksman, paying for the deal with the proceeds raised from Richarlison’s exit. Lukaku would not only provide a more reliable goal threat than Richarlison, he also represents a huge upgrade on struggling striker Cenk Tosun.
Massive chance for Lookman
With Richarlison out of the picture, there’d be a gap in the starting XI for 21-year-old winger Ademola Lookman to potentially fill.
Since impressing during a loan spell with RB Leipzig last season, the England under-21 international has struggled to sustain a run in the first team on Merseyside. However, without the Brazilian ahead of him in the pecking order, Lookman may finally get the chance to prove his worth to Silva that he craves.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is another promising Everton youngster who may be afforded greater game time in the Brazilian’s absence.
All faith lost in Silva
Silva loves Richarlison. He first brought the forward to England during his time in charge at Vicarage Road, and was then instrumental in Everton acquiring his services a year later. Richarlison himself has stated that he sees the Portuguese coach “as a father”.
However, Silva is currently under pressure at Everton following a dismal run of results. He has admitted as much himself recently. Even if things improve before the end of the season, he will still have plenty of doubters amongst the Everton faithful heading into the new campaign.
Should Silva lose Richarlison – a player clearly so central in his plans – this summer, then that could be the final straw. The inability of the manager to retain his prized asset could see all remaining belief in his abilities to lead the club forward disappear.
The exit of Richarlison could bring about the ousting of Silva too.
Jadon Sancho landed at Wembley on Wednesday evening and, with the British media watching on with eagle-eyed intrigue, impressed in fleeting moments of devastating dynamism.
Missed opportunity
Naturally, Manchester City fans watching at home will have been looking on pondering what might have been, but Arsene Wenger ensured that feeling would extend to Arsenal supporters.
Indeed, the former Gunners boss appeared as a pundit on BeIN Sports for Tottenham Hotspur’s clash with Borussia Dortmund and he revealed that he wanted to sign the 18-year-old during his time as manager in north London, as per Daily Mail.
‘(Sancho’s) is an incredible story because the pressure now on these young boys from an early age is very big.
‘The second thing, is the pressure from all the clubs – I say that freely because I wanted to take him from Manchester City when he was not getting the games.
‘I tried to lure him, because he was from London, I tried to get him to Arsenal.’
The supporters will be looking at Wenger’s claim and thinking ‘here we go again’. The Frenchman has made similar revelations before about a host of top players, but his latest admission is one which will resonate deeply with bitterly disappointed supporters.
Financial implications for Stan Kroenke
Not only will Wenger’s admission represent a huge disappointment from a footballing perspective, but also from a financial one.
After scoring seven goals from 21 Bundesliga appearances this season – averaging at one goal for every 194 minutes of football played – Sancho has seen his value rise at an exponential rate.
On June 5th 2018, Sancho was valued at just £13.5 million by Transfermarkt; now his value stands at an eyewatering £63 million.
His development shows that if you sleep on an opportunity to sign a player of Sancho’s potential, the financial implications can be huge.
In the modern economic climate it doesn’t take long for players with pace, trickery and end product to skyrocket in value, and Arsenal’s failure to translate their interest into a permanent deal will almost certainly force Kroenke to pay a premium price for a similar talent in the future – one which may well be beyond his financial capability.
If Arsenal want to compete on a level playing field with Europe’s most prestigious clubs, they simply cannot afford to let another potential transfer target of Sancho’s quality slip through the net while they remain available at an affordable price.
Spurs continue to trundle along nicely in the Premier League and remain in the title picture despite a host of bad injuries and a lack of spending in recent times.
Their new stadium is almost ready for it’s grand opening, and it’s certainly an exciting time to be a Spurs fan under the stewardship of Mauricio Pochettino.
However, we at the Tavern think the club do need some help up top, and we think they need to be making big moves in the summer to bring in some fresh faces.
That’s why we think they should make a move to sign Lazio forward Ciro Immobile, who has once again been in fine form for the Rome based club, firing in the goals once again to prove himself as one of the most lethal strikers on the continent when he is at his best.
Immobile would provide movement, finishing, and genuine class as back up to Harry Kane, and there’s an argument there to be made that both could form a fine partnership too if given the chance.
While Spurs would need to splash the cash on Immobile if they wanted to secure his signature, he would be value for money, and in a team which is ever improving, he’d even more quality and depth to the attacking aspect of the London club’s play.
If Spurs do want to take the title challenge seriously and make their move, then signing someone like Immobile is the perfect sort of statement to make.
Spurs fans, what do you think? Good signing? Let us know in the comments!
Jack Grealish has not played for Aston Villa since picking up a shin injury against West Bromwich Albion in December.
The midfielder has missed 13 straight Championship matches for Villa, the last of which was a 1-1 draw against Stoke City on Saturday afternoon.
However, the 23-year-old has fuelled suggestions that he could be involved against Derby County this weekend by posting a tweet on social media.
Grealish, who has scored twice this season, has been back in training for some time, but was not deemed ready to face Stoke last time out.
The attacker could well return to action on Saturday, though, and a number of Villa fans responded to Grealish’s post by commenting on his potential return.
Villa cannot buy a win in the league at the moment and are running out of time as they bid to make a late push for the playoff positions.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Marcus Edwards is a name that will be familiar to a number of Tottenham Hotspur fans.
This despite the fact that the attacking midfielder has played just once for the club, in a 5-0 thrashing of Gillingham in the third round of the 2016 League Cup.
The 20-year-old – then 17 – came on as a second-half substitute and played 15 minutes. There were warm ripples of applause when he came on the pitch, such was the excitement to see another academy product make his debut under Mauricio Pochettino.
And, since then, there has been little of note for Edwards to do in north London.
A loan spell at Norwich City did not work out; he played once before returning to Spurs, citing personal reasons. A Daily Telegraph report claimed that his attitude had been questioned at Carrow Road, as he repeatedly failed to keep good time when turning up to training and first-team meetings.
And yet there is a terrific young footballer within Edwards.
He has been capped at every England youth level from Under-16 to Under-20 and has scored for all of them.
In the Spurs’ youth academy, he has played 28 games for the club’s Under-23 side, scoring 10 goals and laying on seven assists.
This season, he has been playing senior football in Holland, with Excelsior. He has netted twice and laid on two assists, with a brilliant performance coming against FC Emmen in the Eredivisie, where he scored once and set up another.
Football.London’s Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold has been keeping a close eye on Edwards and said in a Q&A on the website that he believes this summer is make-or-break for him.
He said: “He’s been doing really well on his loan at Excelsior Rotterdam since the turn of the year. It looks like it’s clicked out in the Netherlands for Edwards and when he returns to Hotspur Way this summer it will be interesting to see what happens.
“He will have one year left on his deal and the young midfielder and Pochettino will need to have a chat about what his future holds. Will it be at Tottenham? If not then the club will likely look to do a permanent deal for him this summer in order to get something for his services.”
Such is his contract situation, it appears that it would take more than a few consistent performances this season for Edwards to work his way back into Pochettino’s plans.
But stranger things have happened. The likes of Andros Townsend and, of course, Harry Kane have embarked on numerous loan spells before making their breakthroughs at Spurs.
Edwards, once feted as one of the best talents of his age in the country, could well do similar.
This season and this summer will shape the remainder of his career and his destiny at Spurs.
Of course, fans have their different opinions on Brendan Rodgers’ departure but one thing that supporters can agree on is the fact that Neil Lennon has already done a solid job.
Although, Lennon’s long-term future at Parkhead remains uncertain as the Daily Mail reported that Alex Neil was being considered for the managerial vacancy after Brendan Rodgers’ departure.
But, The Sun have now reported that Alex Neil has ruled out becoming Celtic’s next manager.
Here’s what the Preston North End boss had to say:
“I have no thoughts about moving club or anything like that.
“I am the Preston manager and I am enjoying my time here and we have a lot of scope to improve. Being the boss here has my full focus.”
So, with Celtic already facing rejection in their pursuit of Brendan Rodgers’ long-term successor, here are the potential consequences…
CELTIC FACE MANAGERIAL DILEMMA
Celtic supporters would never have imagined that Alex Neil would reject the chance to take charge at Celtic, but they’ll now have to face the harsh reality as the managerial hunt goes on.
Indeed, the Hoops now face a dilemma as they’ll have to weigh up their options and consider a different target, which isn’t exactly convenient as Alex Neil had everything that Celtic want in a manager, with experience in Scotland, a record of developing players and constant progression at Deepdale.
NEIL LENNON OVER THE MOON
Interim boss Neil Lennon will have his sights set on becoming Celtic’s permanent manager in the summer after enjoying a strong start at Parkhead, so hearing news of Alex Neil’s snub will delight the former Hibernian boss.
Neil’s snub will come as a big boost to Lennon and things could get even better if he continues to secure positive results and silverware in the current campaign, with fans surely calling for him to be appointed if that’s the case.
Celtic fans, do you think the club should appoint Lennon on a permanent basis? Surely there’re better managerial options out there…
Southampton supporters will probably be fearing another defeat with a Premier League clash against their former manager Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham approaching.
The Saints’ upcoming opponents are also expected to welcome back one of their key players Dele Alli from injury to make things even more difficult.
The Breakdown
“I think Dele is close, we will see if it is possible for him to be involved on Saturday against Southampton,” Pochettino was quoted as saying by the Daily Echo in a blow to the home side.
Alli, of course, is a player who can hurt the Saints, as he has done in the past. However, given some of their performances against the Premier League top six under Ralph Hasenhuttl, there is reason for fans not to fear the worst.
Southampton have already beaten Arsenal with Hasenhuttl at the helm, taken a point away from Stamford Bridge against Chelsea and recently put up a very good fight versus Manchester United in a 3-2 defeat.
If they can perform like how they did in those matches against Tottenham, regardless of Alli’s presence, it could be an interesting game.
Anything less, though, and Alli and co could so easily hand Hasenhuttl and his men a hiding.
Southampton fans, are you worried about Alli’s potential return?Join the discussion by commenting below.
Middlesbrough are facing the very real threat of dropping out of the playoff positions in the Championship table.
Indeed, Boro have not actually won a league game since beating Queens Park Rangers 2-0 at the Riverside Stadium on February 23.
They drew with Wigan Athletic at the start of this month, but have lost their last three to Brentford, Preston North End and Aston Villa.
Saturday’s 3-0 loss at Villa was particularly hard for the Boro fans to take and many have been on social media calling for head coach Tony Pulis to be sacked.
As it stands, the team are still in the playoff positions – fifth – but they are only one point clear of seventh-placed Preston North End.
Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…
At the moment, it seems unlikely that Pulis will be sacked, but there is certainly a chance that the club could panic if results continue as they are.
A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Boro supporters can be seen below:
According to WhoScored, Liverpool midfielder Fabinho had a pass success rate of 91% in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Fulham, whilst he also made two tackles and won three aerial duels.
It would be fair to say that the overall performance from Liverpool was not exactly fantastic, but they did enough to collect all three points, with James Milner netting a late penalty.
It is results rather than performances that matter most at this stage of the campaign and Jurgen Klopp’s side boosted their title challenge in the English capital.
Fabinho – a 2018 arrival from Monaco – was making his 22nd Premier League appearance of the season against the Cottagers.
It took the Brazil international a little bit of time to settle at Liverpool, but he has now played every minute of his team’s last seven Premier League matches.
The Merseyside club’s fans have been delighted with what they have seen from the midfielder in recent weeks and that was again the case at the weekend.
A selection of the Twitter reaction to Fabinho’s performance can be seen below: