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Crystal Palace could be boosted by the return of forward Jordan Ayew for Sunday’s clash with Liverpool after Ghana’s shock exit from the African Cup of Nations.

What’s the latest?

After travelling to Cameroon to compete in the African Cup on Nations with his native Ghana, which saw him miss Crystal Palace’s derby draw with Brighton last week, Jordan Ayew could be back in contention for the Eagles.

The Black Stars suffered a shock exit from AFCON, their first dismissal at the group stage since 2006, which therefore has seen Ayew return to south London.

Palace manager Patrick Vieira confirmed that the 30-year-old has returned to training ahead of the Reds’ trip to Selhurst Park and could be available for selection.

On Ayew, the Frenchman said: “We don’t know, we still have a couple of days before the game. He was in today [Friday] and took part in the first part of training. We will have a discussion tomorrow [Saturday] to find out how he’s feeling.”

Vieira will be delighted

Although he may not be fit to start, Vieira will be delighted to have one of his regular starters back available, especially after less time away than initially thought.

Before his departure for AFCON, Ayew had featured in all bar one of the Eagles’ Premier League matches this season. Although he has only scored once and assisted twice, the 30-year-old is a favourite of his manager for his work-rate and defensive contribution.

Last month, Vieira heaped the Ghanaian with praise, stating: “I think when he had his opportunity the focus was on what he’s doing for the team. He’s sacrificing himself for the team, working hard for the team. This is what we need and want. Goals will come.”

Moreover, the more players available the better for the south London side, who face the tall task of taking a result against a Liverpool side who have lost just one of their last ten Premier League matches and sit second in the table.

In other news: Reliable journalist gives update on Jean-Philippe Mateta

Aston Villa have been busier than most other clubs in the January transfer window in terms of bringing new players in, with the likes of Lucas Digne brought in on a permanent deal worth a reported fee of £25m from Everton as well as loan deals completed for Philippe Coutinho and Robin Olsen.

While there may only be a few days left until the window closes, Villa still have enough time left to end the month on a high note and bring one more player in that would really add some depth and extra quality to Steven Gerrard’s squad.

Having been mentioned with a move for Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah in recent weeks in a report from The Athletic by Villa journalist Gregg Evans, a late swoop for the 22-year-old could bring an end to the club’s latest period of spending and deliver Gerrard with an extra attacking option to his ranks.

Having racked up 69 goals in 154 club appearances throughout his career at Arsenal in their senior and youth sides as well as during a loan spell with Leeds United, the Englishman has shown he is capable of finding the back of the net when given the chance to play.

This, though, has not really been the case for the £9m-rated attacker this season, particularly in the Premier League with just four substitute appearances under his belt for Mikel Arteta’s team, showing that he’s not seen as much of an important player at the north London club despite being labelled as a “threat” in terms of his goalscoring ability by Aidy Boothroyd in the past.

With that in mind and the fact that his current contract at Arsenal is set to expire at the end of the season, this could convince the Gunners to sell him before the end of this month so they can get a fee for him if he doesn’t have any intentions on signing a new deal there.

Taking all of this into account, it could be worthwhile for Villa to try and work out a deal for Nketiah in the coming days to see if he could try and stake a claim in Gerrard’s side, which 68% of voters in a recent poll ran by Football FanCast would like to see happen as another potential transfer masterclass from the Midlands club.

Gerrard has also already shown his capability in the transfer market and bringing a hardworking offensive player with plenty of potential to the club from one of the biggest sides in the division would undoubtedly be a coup for the Villans.

With his fairly young age, the Arsenal striker could well become a future long-term replacement for Danny Ings who is considerably older than Nketiah and has only managed to score four goals in 17 appearances for Villa this season.

In other news: “I’m hearing”: Insider drops “emerging” AVFC transfer claim, Gerrard would be furious – opinion

Everton made an unsuccessful attempt to sign Luka Jovic on transfer deadline day, Fabrizio Romano has revealed. 

The lowdown

It was a largely positive deadline day for the Toffees as they announced the appointment of Frank Lampard as their new manager before sealing the signings of Donny van de Beek from Manchester United (on loan) and Dele Alli from Tottenham.

They finished January with five new additions, having recruited Vitaliy Mykolenko, Nathan Patterson and Anwar El-Ghazi earlier in the month. Only Watford brought in more fresh faces among Premier League clubs in January, and only Newcastle United and Liverpool spent more money (via Transfermarkt).

The latest

At 9:30pm on Monday night, Romano took to Twitter to claim that Everton had made a last-gasp bid to try and sign Luka Jovic from Real Madrid, but their advances were flatly rejected.

The journalist tweeted: “Real Madrid have turned down Everton approaches for Luka Jović today. No chance.”

The verdict

Was it a big blow to miss out on Jovic?

Everton have only scored 24 goals in their first 20 Premier League matches, but that disappointing return can largely be put down to the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Toffees’ top scorer from last season has only been fit enough to start six league games so far this term, which clearly has negated the team’s attacking threat.

Jovic, who has 57 senior career goals at the age of 24, may have been regarded as a more effective backup than Salomon Rondon, who has only netted once in 708 minutes of top-flight football in 2021/22, but the Serbian may not have accepted being a substitute at Goodison Park.

Perhaps the £18m-rated forward, who earns £152,000 per week in the Spanish capital, will be on Everton’s radar if Calvert-Lewin is lured to Arsenal, having been linked with the north Londoners lately.

In other news, Everton also tried to bring this man back to Goodison Park.

Newcastle United were very active in the previous January transfer window in terms of bringing new players to the club.

They were particularly focused on strengthening their defence after bringing in the likes of Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier and Matt Targett.

With the upcoming summer transfer window in mind, it seems as though a clue has emerged over another potential defensive figure coming to St James’ Park, which could finally see one current figure in Eddie Howe’s squad getting his bags packed and moving on.

What’s the talk?

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist and transfer insider Dean Jones was discussing the possibility of Newcastle making a summer move to sign Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly, who has been linked with a switch to St James’ Park in the past.

He said: “I think that it’ll be interesting to see if his head is turned by that interest, obviously, not only because of Newcastle’s ambition but because of the Eddie Howe link as well.” 

Since joining the south coast club, who were managed by Howe at the time, back in 2019 from Bristol City in a deal worth a reported £13m, the defender has gone on to make 82 appearances for the Cherries across all competitions, scoring two goals and providing five assists along the way.

Having appeared in 31 of Bournemouth’s Championship games this season and donned the captain’s armband in many of those, it’s safe to say that Kelly – who is currently valued at £9m by Transfermarkt – is an important figure for the club, who may not be too keen on selling him this summer.

From a Newcastle point of view, with Ciaran Clark having not been included in the Premier League squad after their January shopping spree and being slammed for his “shocking” performances earlier in the season, securing a deal for the 23-year-old could be the final nail in the coffin for the Irishman in terms of his tenure at St James’ Park.

Labelled a “Rolls-Royce” of a player by Jonathan Woodgate, the Bournemouth defender could be an ideal long-term replacement for Clark and give Newcastle the chance to finally get the latter’s £42k-per-week wages off their books once and for all.

In other news: Big twist emerges on £27m-rated Newcastle-linked “golden boy”, PIF will be buzzing

Leeds United are heading for something of a transfer nightmare this summer, if emerging reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

Not only is star winger Raphinha drawing interest ahead of the transfer window but first-choice goalkeeper Illan Meslier too.

According to the Daily Mail, the Yorkshire giants are braced to lose players before next season and both the Brazil international and the French shot-stopper are amongst their most attractive options.

It’s thought that the club’s recruitment team are already on the lookout for a replacement for Raphinha, with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona keen, though little is mentioned about a successor to the 22-year-old gem.

Transfer nightmare

Whilst the 25-year-old dynamo is undoubtedly United’s best player, leading the squad for goals (nine) and creativity (three assists, 2.1 key passes per game), via WhoScored.

But a winger is easily replaceable, especially given the options available at Jesse Marsch’s disposal already and the fact that they already appear to be planning for life without him.

Club-record signing Daniel James is one name that could fill the void on a more permanent basis, whilst the Premier League side have been linked to many alternatives in the past, including Club Brugge’s “phenomenon” Noa Lang and Georgian wonderkid Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

However, finding someone capable of shielding the goal for many, many years is harder to come by – not since their stint in League One (2006/07 to 2009/10), have they had a long-serving no.1 – that being Casper Ankergren.

Raphinha has often provided crucial input in the final third during Leeds’ few wins this campaign but the 6 foot 4 colossus has stopped many a goal at the other end of the pitch.

When compared against the rest of the Premier League and those goalkeepers that have started in at least 50% of games played, the £42m-rated Meslier leads the league for shots saved per 90 (3.68), via FBRef.

His shot-stopping abilities have been lauded as a “rare talent” by The Athletic’s Phil Hay in the past, whilst also claiming that “the potential in him is vast.”

Indeed, at just 22, the France U21 international has a bright future in the game and Leeds will be hoping that it’s in west Yorkshire for the foreseeable, though given these reports at this stage of the season, that seems rather unlikely.

As such, Marsch and director of football Victor Orta could be heading towards an absolute nightmare. They’ll be dealt a gutting blow if they have to try and find a new no.1 for next season.

AND in other news, Marsch dealt another gutting injury blow this international break…

The Daily Record have provided an update on Celtic’s pursuit of Bayern Munich teenager Christopher Scott.

The Lowdown: Scott links

Celtic appear to be making a head start on their summer business, with links of a move for Scott emerging earlier this week.

Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg revealed that the Hoops have held talks over a swoop for the 19-year-old, with Premier League side Brentford also following suit.

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Scott, an attacking midfielder who can also play as a central midfielder or second striker, has contributed to eight goals in 13 games for Bayern’s reserve side but does have two senior appearances for the German giants to his name.

The Latest: Source drops update

The Daily Record shared a story regarding Scott on Wednesday after being informed by a source close to the negotiations.

Bayern aren’t willing to let the teenager go on a free transfer and it would cost around €300,000 to €400,000 for his services.

A move to Scotland has been described as a ‘massive option’, with the source revealing that ‘Celtic are serious contenders’ in the race for Scott’s services.

The Verdict: Heating up…

It looks as if Ange Postecoglou and Michael Nicholson are extremely keen on bringing Scott to Scotland, and a fee appears to be well in the club’s price range.

He wants to play regular senior football, something Celtic may well be able to offer more of compared to both Bayern and Brentford.

Winning the Premiership and guaranteeing Champions League football could also be a huge factor in a possible move, so it seems as if a summer swoop does have legs following initial rumours.

In other news: Sky Sports: Celtic have opened talks for another player as well as Scott. 

Rangers travel away from Ibrox tonight as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men face the exciting prospect of competing in a European quarter-final in Portugal.

The Gers have battled their way through to the last eight and now come up against Braga as they look to make it through to the semi-finals, with the second leg coming at Ibrox next week.

Rangers head into the game off the back of a gutting 2-1 defeat to Celtic in the Old Firm clash in the Premiership on Sunday.

How many changes will he make to his side from that game?

We are predicting that he will make three alterations to his team, with Glen Kamara, Scott Arfield and Fashion Sakala coming in.

Rangers played a 4-2-3-1 against the Hoops and the head coach may look to switch back to a 4-3-3 to offer more balance between defence and attack. Whilst they will want to go and beat Braga on their own ground, taking a draw or a narrow win back to a bouncing Ibrox would be ideal – instead of going all-out and risking a heavy defeat.

This change requires a midfield three instead of two sixes and a 10. We are predicting that Glen Kamara will come in to play alongside John Lundstram and Ryan Jack, leaving Joe Aribo on the bench.

The Finland international has started seven matches in the Europa League this season and completed an impressive 87% of his attempted passes, whilst creating 0.8 chances per game. His ability to dictate the play in the middle of the park can help the Gers to control the game, which is why he may be named in the XI.

In what we are predicting to be the most surprising change of the night, Arfield could come in for Aaron Ramsey on the right.

This may sound like a wild suggestion after two goals in two Premiership matches, but he is still managing an injury concern and they cannot risk overworking him. He only played one game over the international break as Wales boss Rob Page admitted that he was carrying a knock, which suggests that he is not ready to play three games a week.

Ross Wilson dubbed the gem as an “inspiration” in January and he can provide a lift off the bench if needed. This will manage his minutes and ensure that he can play against St Mirren on Sunday and then in the second leg against Braga next week, with the experienced Arfield able to put a shift in for this match.

Ex-Gers fullback Alan Hutton previously lavished the attacker with praise, saying: “He’s like a firework, isn’t he? You just light him and watch him go. He’s one of these players who plays at 100 miles per hour, he takes players on, he’s aggressive, he can get shots off.”

FFC published an article explaining why van Bronckhorst must start the Zambian through the middle. His pace in behind can be crucial to Gers on the counter-attack and offer them an electric threat on the break with him and Ryan Kent in the front three.

AND in other news, Major blow: Gvb dealt fresh Rangers injury setback that’ll leave Ibrox faithful fuming…

Mark Douglas has now revealed some big Everton news involving both Farhad Moshiri and James Tarkowski.

The Lowdown: Centre-back wanted

The Goodison Park faithful have been linked with moves for the likes of Levi Colwill, Kim Min-Jae and Gleison Bremer in the summer, suggesting that they are after a new central defender.

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They have one of the worst defensive records in the Premier League, and Jamie Carragher has even went as far as to claim that they have a ‘Championship back four’ during the embarrassing defeat at Tottenham.

Nonetheless, it is one area that the Merseyside club will surely look to strengthen.

The Latest: Tarkowski eyed

Writing in his latest piece for iNews, journalist Douglas has revealed that Tarkowski has now ’emerged’ as a potential target this summer.

Senior sources at the Toffees have claimed that there is ‘no way’ that Moshiri is going to sell the club, despite Russian links with Alisher Usmanov, and Frank Lampard can ‘expect to be backed’ in the market.

The Verdict: No-brainer

Given the fact that Tarkowski is out of contract at Burnley in the summer, he will be able to leave as a free agent, and so it would be a no-brainer for the Blues to sign him up.

Described as a ‘real leader’ by pundit Noel Whelan, the 29-year-old could be the organiser at the back that Lampard’s team need in order to be more solid and ship fewer goals.

Of course, he has plenty of experience of playing in the top flight, and so should be able to settle in fairly quickly.

In other news, find out which EFC star Manchester United have now ‘discussed’ signing here!

Celtic have a handful of SPFL games left to play this season as they aim to secure the league title in their first campaign under the management of Ange Postecoglou.

Their next match sees them take on Ross County away from home this afternoon after they were knocked out of the Scottish Cup by Rangers last weekend.

Moving into this important period of the season, it seems as though the Hoops will have to make do without one of their key figures for the time being.

What’s the latest?

Speaking in his latest press conference ahead of today’s showdown, Postecoglou revealed that full-back Josip Juranovic will be out of action for “a couple of weeks” after he picked up an injury during last weekend’s semi-final defeat.

With that in mind, it seems as though the Hoops will be without the Croatian for their next Old Firm clash against Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side as well as today’s match against County.

Awful news for Postecoglou

Celtic signed the defender back in the previous summer transfer window from Legia Warsaw in a deal worth a reported fee of £2.5m.

Since then, the right-back has made 35 appearances across all competitions for the Parkhead club.

In those appearances, the 26-year-old has scored five goals and provided two assists, showing how useful he can be in an attacking sense.

From a defensive point of view, the summer recruit has been a solid addition to Celtic’s squad having made more tackles (28) than any other Hoops player as well as the third-highest number of interceptions (22) behind Carl Starfelt (37) and Cameron Carter-Vickers (36).

Taking all of this into account, while he may only be out of action for a couple of weeks, this will still be a big blow for the team and bad news for the manager to be without him for that period of time given how close they are to the title.

Moving forward, with Anthony Ralston replacing Juranovic at Hampden Park last weekend, it seems likely that the 56-year-old Hoops boss will be relying on him to fill in for the Croatian while he’s out.

Therefore, today’s game against County will be a good way for the Scotsman to show he has what it takes to do a job for the team once again.

In other news: Sold for £2m, now worth £540k: Celtic struck gold on £17k-p/w dud who “had issues”

According to a report from Calciomercato.it (via Sport Witness), Tottenham Hotspur could look to sign Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot during the summer transfer window. 

The lowdown: Illustrious career

Already a six-time French Ligue 1 title winner with Paris Saint-Germain, Rabiot has added a Serie A crown and a UEFA Nations League success with France to a bulging trophy cabinet since making the switch to Italy.

Previously a member of the Manchester City youth setup, the 27-year-old has forged an impressive career and has amassed an impressive 364 club appearances for Europe’s elite.

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Having conquered the domestic scene in France and Italy, a fresh report has suggested England could be next on Rabiot’s list…

The latest: Spurs in the mix

As per the Italian outlet, translated by SW, Tottenham are preparing a move should the 26-cap France star be made available.

Out of contract in 2023 (Transfermarkt), the report states that ‘a possible future away from Juventus and a flashback of Fabio Paratici should not be ruled out’ as the summer window approaches.

It’s claimed that Spurs’ transfer supremo Paratici, who originally took the cultured midfielder hailed as a ‘complete player’ by Italian legend Andrea Pirlo to Turin, could ‘attempt an offensive’ to sign Rabiot with €15million (£12.5million) enough to get the deal over the line.

The verdict: Gift horse in the mouth

At the mooted asking price, passing up the opportunity to bring a player of Rabiot’s calibre to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be a major oversight.

This season, the versatile star has earned a 6.98 average match rating whilst making 1.9 tackles, winning 5.6 duels and completing 1.4 successful dribbles per game across 28 league outings (Sofascore), showing the all-rounded and versatile skill-set which has found him a place in some of Europe’s top sides.

Antonie Conte currently has only Harry Winks, Oliver Skipp, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg available as frontline central midfield options, and would therefore surely jump at the chance to add the decorated Rabiot to the Lilywhites’ ranks, potentially as a replacement for Winks.

In other news: ‘That’s for sure’ – Sky Sports reporter now backs big transfer news out of Tottenham, find out more here.