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Celtic’s season has been a disastrous state of affairs at all reaches of the football club.

Whether it’s the Hoops hierarchy getting an earful from the Green Brigade or the playing staff dishonouring the famous Bhoys jersey with abject performances, it has not been a good campaign.

They’ve now also been missing a permanent manager in the Parkhead dugout for the best part of nine weeks.

It has been over two months since Neil Lennon departed Glasgow but the club still isn’t really any closer to welcoming a successor.

Eddie Howe has long been talked about and a deal is thought to be reaching a conclusion.

Though, if Dominic McKay and Dermot Desmond have an opportunity to change their minds and perform a U-turn, they should turn towards Young Boys coach Gerardo Seoane.

Football FanCast have already waxed lyrical about his qualities and why he’d be an ideal fit for the Bhoys.

For starters, he plays a very offensive brand of football. When the 42-year-old’s team won the Swiss top-flight in 2018/19, they scored a mighty haul of 99 goals, 28 more than any other side in the division.

They are one of the most vertical teams in Europe too, playing an average of 82.81 progressive passes per 90 minutes. This would be ideal for Celtic because the Glaswegian side average 85.05 per 90 themselves.

At a time where Celtic are in such a big transition, they will also need to find a manager that’s adept at working with young players. Fortunately, Seoane is an expert in this regard.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/celtic-manager-transfers-eddie-howe-jesse-marsch-ryan-christie-siriki-dembele” title=”Read the latest Celtic managerial updates, transfer news, rumours and gossip!”]

His Young Boys team is built around a collective group of players who are yet to reach their prime.

Seoane’s side possesses just three players over the age of 30 while six players in the squad are below the age of 23. Only five individuals are over the age of 25; typically the peak of a footballer’s career.

One of the stand out individuals for Young Boys down the years has been Jean-Pierre Nsame.

Coincidentally, he’s been linked with a move to Celtic in the last few days. He has netted 96 goals for the Swiss champions, 82 of which have been scored under Seoane’s watch.

Speaking about the striker earlier this season, his manager commented: “Jean-Pierre Nsamé has had an extraordinary season. He has really progressed especially in terms of taking responsibility in the team.”

Seoane added: “He is very physical, with an unbelievable ability in front of goal.”

Therefore, if McKay can lure the pairing to Paradise this summer, he’d potentially create a dream duo.

Seoane appears a perfect fit on the manager front while Nsame is a fearsome striker, someone who could replace Odsonne Edouard at Celtic if he finally departs.

AND in other news, Lennon will have every right to be fuming with Desmond after big Celtic manager update…

Sunderland are currently stuck in a horrible rut.

Lee Johnson’s men haven’t won in five matches and in the space of a fortnight; they’ve seen their automatic promotion hopes dusted.

On the chalkboard

Sunderland’s chances of securing promotion this season won’t be made any easier by the news emerging regarding Aiden McGeady.

The Irishman missed their 2-2 draw with Hull City in midweek because of a bruised foot which, given he’s got 13 assists to his name this term, was a huge blow.

It doesn’t look good for McGeady’s involvement this weekend either. Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon, Johnson admitted: “I would put him at 50-50.”

The boss continued: “He is tough and he wants to play, but his foot is still very bruised even though it is only a superficial injury, if you like – it’s nothing bone or ligament related.”

Consequently, the manager may have to start thinking about alternatives.

The solution

When the Black Cats drew with Hull it was Jordan Jones who started on McGeady’s favoured left side.

Next to Jones were Josh Scowen and Lynden Gooch but they put in two different performances.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-sunderland-transfer-rumours-and-news-grigg-denayer-louis-dreyfus-sanderson-melamed” title=”Latest Sunderland transfer news and views!”]

Gooch stood out on the right-hand side and was a menace for the Tigers’ backline. Scowen, however, isn’t particularly adept in forward areas.

Thus, in order to extract more from Sunderland’s front line, Johnson should consider unleashing Chris Maguire.

The Scot hasn’t started for the Mackems since the current manager’s very first game in charge, a 1-0 defeat to Wigan Athletic.

That’s a run of outings stretching back to the 5th December, a painstaking 27 straight league matches.

Though, there was a spell within that, specifically towards the end of February and the beginning of March where he showed his quality.

Dubbed “very talented” by Steve Parkin, he hasn’t shown many glimpses of that apart from a three-game run.

During the aforementioned time frame, the 32-year-old scored a superb goal against Crewe while picking up assists against Fleetwood and Swindon.

Maguire made his feelings felt in a recent U23 match. He let rip from range and scored a breathtaking strike from long-range against Burnley.

Having endured a spell in the youth team to get his fitness up to scratch, Johnson needs to bring him back into the first team.

AND in other news, SAFC can finally axe McFadzean by signing 18 y/o that Jack Ross thinks is “brilliant”…

Peterborough United Director of Football Barry Fry has told Football FanCast that West Ham have done excellent business in the January transfer window but fears for the club if Michail Antonio is injured.

The Hammers are currently fifth in the Premier League table and are continuing to push for qualification to the Champions League.

With nine games of the season remaining, David Moyes’ side are just two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and seven behind Leicester City.

The Irons have a reasonable run-in too, as they only play two teams who are above them in the league: the Blues and the Foxes.

Moyes’ side have won just one of their last four games, however, which included games against Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal, and Fry thinks the club may be left in trouble if Antonio suffers an injury.

The striker has scored seven goals and laid on five assists in 20 games this season in the Premier League and is the club’s only out-and-out forward as they failed to sign a new centre-forward in the January transfer window.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, Fry hailed the signing of Jesse Lingard, who has eased the goalscoring burden on Antonio with five goals in seven games since his loan move from United, but sounded a note of caution.

He said: “In Lingard, I think that was a magnificent signing and the icing on the cake.

“I’m a little bit worried if anything happened to Antonio, they’re a bit short in that department.”

Fry revealed in a separate interview that he told West Ham to sign Ivan Toney from Peterborough United before he moved to Brentford.

أعلن روبرتو مانشيني المدير الفني للمنتخب الإيطالي عن قائمة الأزوري لمعسكر يناير الذي من المفترض أن ينطلق يوم 26 يناير الجاري.

معسكر منتخب إيطاليا لن يشهد مباريات دولية لأبطال أوروبا، لكنها ستكون فترة تحضيرية قبل تصفيات كأس العالم لقارة أوروبا، وتحديدًا الملحق المؤهل للمونديال في مارس المقبل.

تم استدعاء 35 لاعبًا من قبل الإيطالي روبرتو مانشيني، أبرزهم كان ماريو بالوتيلي بعد غياب أكثر من 3 سنوات، بينما انضم ماركو كارنيسكي لأول مرة للمنتخب.

طالع أيضًا.. مدرب إيطاليا السابق: وافقت على تدريب الأهلي الأعظم في إفريقيا

وكانت آخر مباراة شارك فيها بالوتيلي مع المنتخب الإيطالي، يوم 7 سبتمبر في 2018.

ومن المقرر أن ينطلق المعسكر يوم الأربعاء 26 يناير، بعد المؤتمر الصحفي الذي سيعقده مانشيني بعد الواحدة ظهرًا، ثم يقوم بأولى الجلسات التدريبية. قائمة منتخب إيطاليا لمعسكر يناير

حراسة المرمى: ماركو كارنيسكي (كريمونيزي) ، أليسيو كراجنو (كالياري) ، أليكس ميريت (نابولي) ، سالفاتوري سيريجو (جنوى)

الدفاع: أليساندرو باستوني (إنتر) ، كريستيانو بيراجي (فيورنتينا) ، دافيد كالابريا (ميلان) ، جورجيو كيليني (يوفنتوس) ، ماتيا دي تشيليو (يوفنتوس)، جيوفاني دي لورينزو (نابولي) ، أليساندرو فلورنزي (ميلان) ، لويز فيليبي (لاتسيو) ، جيانلوكا مانشيني (روما) ، لوكا بيليجريني (يوفنتوس) ، جورجيو سكالفيني (أتالانتا) ، رافائيل تولوي (أتالانتا).

وسط الملعب: نيكولو باريلا (إنتر) ، بريان كريستانتي (روما) ، نيكولو فاجيولي (كريمونيزي) ، دافيد فراتيسي (ساسولو) ، مانويل لوكاتيلي (يوفنتوس) ، ماتيو بيسينا (أتالانتا) ، صامويل ريتشي (إمبولي) ، ستيفانو سينسي (إنتر) ، ساندرو تونالي (ميلان).

الهجوم: : ماريو بالوتيلي (أضنه دميرسبور) ، دومينيكو بيراردي (ساسولو) ، فيديريكو برنارديشي (يوفنتوس) ، سيرو إيموبيل (لاتسيو) ، لورنزو إنسيني (نابولي) ، جواو بيدرو (كالياري) ، جياكومو راسبادوري (ساسولو) ، جيانلوكا سكاميا (ساسولو) زاكاني (لاتسيو) ، نيكولو زانيولو (روما).

It’s been a tough season for Tottenham Hotspur summer signing Matt Doherty, and things went from bad to worse on Saturday evening.

The 29-year-old right-back joined from Wolves in a £15m deal and has struggled to live up to expectations, so much so that Serge Aurier and Japhet Tanganga have often been preferred by Jose Mourinho.

There have even been claims that the Portuguese boss is prepared to put the defender up for transfer in the summer should his form not vastly improve, as per ESPN’s senior writer James Olley.

It’s also suggested in that report that the Spurs boss has been seen berating Doherty for his performances at times, notably against Liverpool, in which they were defeated 3-1 at Anfield.

The international break was perhaps a nice opportunity for the Irishman to step back from Spurs duties and deliver a statement that he can still forge a career in north London.

But on a night the Republic of Ireland were embarrassingly beaten and many a Irish casino online was visited, Doherty’s struggles continued.

Stephen Kenny’s side were humiliated by Luxembourg in their second World Cup qualifier, meaning their hopes of making the 2022 edition are all but over already.

The Boys in Green’s intent was shown from the off as both wing-backs, including Doherty, lined-up on the halfway line for kick-off with Kenny clearly wanting them to be on the front foot.

But Doherty’s showing lasted just 45 minutes before Ireland were defeated.

The £16.2m-rated dynamo was withdrawn after injury but it’s not as if he was fulfilling the attacking impetus Kenny was looking for whatsoever.

As per SofaScore, the former Wolves star was graded as Ireland’s worst defender with a rating of 6.7, which is a surprise considering the backline leaked a goal to lowly Luxembourg.

In 45 minutes, Doherty failed to make a single tackle, interception or block, which is fair game considering the home side were expected to dominate the encounter but nor did he contribute in the final third, as he didn’t make a single cross, key pass, dribble or even attempt a shot.

Aside from making 32 passes, you would’ve hardly noticed him on the pitch.

The latest knock could now add further salt to his wounds as game time may be harder to come by, having been restricted to only 15 league appearances this term.

Mourinho will surely be far from impressed with his nightmare evening and now the subsequent injury blow, too.

AND in other news, Spurs interest in “decisive” £18m-rated gem could be the final nail in the coffin for Mourinho “weak link”…

أعلن إيهاب جلال المدير الفني لفريق نادي بيراميدز قائمة مباراة الاتحاد السكندري في مباراة الجولة الأولى من دور المجموعات لبطولة كأس رابطة المحترفين.

ويحل الاتحاد السكندري ضيفًا على نظيره نادي بيراميدز في الخامسة من مساء الأربعاء على استاد الدفاع الجوي، في إطار الجولة الأولى للمجموعة الأولى من دور المجموعات بكأس الرابطة.

طالع | شريف إكرامي: تعرضت لأعمال السحر.. والشيخ نصحني بعدم ترك متعلقاتي في غرفة الملابس

وخضع إبراهيم عادل لاعب الفريق الشاب لمسحة كورونا مؤخرًا، وجاءت النتيجة سلبية، ليقرر الجهاز الفني ضمه للقائمة المختارة.

ويدخل الفريق معسكرًا مغلقًا بداية من الثلاثاء ويخوض مرانه الأخير على استاد الدفاع الجوي استعدادًا للمباراة. قائمة بيراميدز لمباراة الاتحاد السكندري في كأس الرابطة

حراسة المرمى: شريف إكرامي – مهدي سليمان – أحمد دعدور.

خط الدفاع: أحمد أيمن منصور – علي جبر – أحمد سامي – أحمد فتحي – حسين السيد.

خط الوسط: عمر جابر – إسلام عيسى – أحمد توفيق – نبيل دونجا – هشام محمد – إبراهيم حسن – عبد الله مجدي – وليد الكرتي – إبراهيم عادل – عماد ميهوب – محمود صابر – صلاح يحيى.

خط الهجوم: ناصر منسي – محمود “دودو “الجباس.

Liverpool have reportedly been offered West Ham centre-back Winston Reid ahead of transfer deadline day, but signing him would be a big mistake by the Reds.

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Star, West Ham have offered the Reds the chance to sign Reid before the transfer window shuts, as an alternative to Issa Diop – who has also been linked with a move to Anfield in recent days.

Liverpool already look set to bring Preston North End’s Ben Davies to Merseyside, but according to the print version of the Monday edition of The Times they could look to bring in another defender too on deadline day.

The 32-year-old would offer Jurgen Klopp some experience in his backline, something which he currently lacks, and is reportedly readily available, having recently featured for the Hammers’ U23 side.

Would he be a good signing?

Reid’s best days are unfortunately behind him. The New Zealand international was regarded one of the best defenders outside the top six a few years ago but now hasn’t appeared in the top-flight since the 2017/18 season.

Injury issues have proved to be a real problem for the 6 ft 3 centre-back, with his most recent knee injury ruling him out for as many as 53 games between 2017 and 2019.

In fact, he appears to be even more injury-prone than Liverpool’s Joel Matip, who has spent a significant amount of time on the sidelines in recent seasons, but his longest lay-off was for 20 games in the 2019/20 season.

The experienced defender spent last season on loan with Sporting Kansas City in the MLS, where he would make 12 appearances in all competitions, which will have helped to build his fitness back up, but it is hardly of the same standard of the Premier League.

Therefore, it would be a baffling decision to bring in Reid, who has managed just one appearance in the Premier League 2 this season, as the last thing Klopp needs in his squad is a defender who is likely to spend more time on the sidelines than he will on the pitch – so sporting director Michael Edwards must steer well clear of him in the next couple of days, no matter how desperate Liverpool get.

And, in other news… LFC handed big transfer blow as reported bid for “natural leader” CB rejected

كشف عبد الظاهر السقا المدير الرياضي لنادي فيوتشر إف سي، عن أهداف الفريق خلال مشاركته الأولى في الدوري المصري الممتاز، هذا الموسم، وموقف الزمالك من استعادة عمر كمال عبد الواحد في الموسم المقبل.

فيوتشر يستعد لمواجهة الأهلي يوم الأحد 26 ديسمبر الجاري، في إطار منافسات الجولة السابعة من عمر بطولة الدوري المصري.

طالع | فيوتشر يستعد لـ الأهلي بخماسية نظيفة أمام جينيس وديًا

وقال السقا خلال تصريحات لبرنامج “بوكس تو بوكس” على قناة “ETC”: “أول موسم لنا بالدوري، وهدفنا أن نكون متواجدين بقوة ونقدم مستوى مميزًا”.

وأضاف: “إضافة إلى تسويق وتكوين شخصية النادي وشعاره ثم يأتي الجميع بعده، شخصية اللاعبين داخل غرف الملابس كانت أساس اختياراتنا”.

وأكمل: “تعاقدنا مع عمر كمال عبدالواحد لمدة ثلاثة سنوات مع حرية تحديد مصيره بعد الموسم الأول بالاستكمال معنا أو العودة للزمالك، فإذا رغب في الانضمام للأبيض خلال الموسم القادم سيتم ذلك وفقًا للعقد”.

وكان نادي فيوتشر إف سي تعاقد مع عمر كمال عبد الواحد، على سبيل الإعارة بداية من الموسم الحالي، بعد قرار إيقاف القيد في القلعة البيضاء.

وتابع: “لم أتفاجأ من تألق أحمد رفعت مع المنتخب، وحتى الآن لم يستفد المنتخب من إمكانيات اللاعب بشكل كامل رغم تألقه”.

طالع .. فيديو | مباراة ساخنة أذابت ثلوج الإسكندرية.. الاتحاد وسيراميكا يتعادلان برباعية في الدوري

وواصل: “حزين على استبعاد طارق حامد لاعب الزمالك من قائمة المنتخب ببطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا”.

وأتم: “لا يوجد مدير فني مصري قادر على تنفيذ اختيارات كيروش، خبرات المدرب البرتغالي ترجح كفته أمام انتقادات قائمة المنتخب”.

Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw is still not ready for action after a horrible 15-month lay-off.

In response to supporters on Monday, The Athletic’s Phil Hay claimed the 29-year-old “has been trying to get over the last hurdle for a long time”

A hip problem has seen Forshaw sidelined since September 2019 with his final appearance in a Whites shirt being a 45-minute stint against Charlton.

The former Brentford and Middlesbrough man has played a total of seven matches since the start of the 2019/20 season and underwent surgery nearly a year ago in the United States.

With the emergence of Jamie Shackleton, the signing of Rodrigo and Stuart Dallas a natural central midfielder, it’s hard to imagine Forshaw ever playing for the Yorkshire giants ever again.

And because of that, it would be wise for Victor Orta to look to move him on at the earliest convenience, as ruthless as that would be.

Leeds are merely wasting financial resources keeping players like this at the club.

Between Forshaw (£60k-per-week) and Gaetano Berardi (£35k-per-week) alone, they are spending nearly £100k-per-week on a pair of players who aren’t going to contribute one minute to their cause this term.

Those wages could be spent elsewhere – on a central defender who is going to help shut up shop, perhaps?

Indeed, the 5 foot 9 maestro has cost the club around £500k-per-game since the start of their Championship-winning season and overall, around £265k-per-match since his £4.5m arrival in 2018.

It would be a brutal call to sack him off, but United need to look at the bigger picture to help their chances of remaining in the top-flight.

Noel Whelan believes Forshaw would even welcome fresh start elsewhere, he told Football Insider: “The January window has obviously just opened and I’m sure he wants to go and get settled in a team where he can play football. He’s a good footballer, so I’m sure that will be on his mind.”

Orta must show no mercy over the “exceptional” and long-serving midfielder this month.

AND in other news, Orta can find Bielsa his next Kalvin Phillips in £13m BRUTE…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Dean Windass has tipped Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish to walk into Manchester City’s starting line-up tomorrow.

The former Hull City and Middlesbrough striker believes Pep Guardiola’s Citizens, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur are the only clubs Grealish would leave the Villans for, as Manchester United would refuse to meet the asking price set by Villa’s owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.

Villa recently increased their valuation of Grealish to £100m and set a marker for any potential suitor to make the five-cap England international the most expensive British player in history, after he penned a new, five-year contract.

The 25-year-old has endured a troubled week after being banned from driving for nine months and fined more than £80,000 after pleading guilty to two motoring offences.

Windass would not hold the incidents against Grealish, and firmly believes Sawiris and Edens are well within their rights to demand a British record fee for the midfielder.

He told FFC:

“Yeah, in today’s market, forget about what he’s done off the field, we all make mistakes, I’ve been there and worn the t-shirt.

“But he’s a talent, local boy, he loves the club, he’s going to make mistakes he’s a young boy, he’s a young kid, and these young kids just need reminding every now and then.

“They’re on that much money now that the world is their oyster. Yeah, he’s been done drink driving, and now he’s paid the price, does it really hurt players nowadays that they’ve been done drink driving? You can afford to get a driver, it’s not as if they’ve got to get the bus.

“It’s wrong what he did, he’ll pay that price, and you’ve got to learn from it. We’ve all got learn from mistakes. I’ve been there. You learn from mistakes, and Dean [Smith]’s probably good for him, pull him to the side [and say] let your football do the talking and stop doing daft things off the field. But he’ll learn from that.

“But £100m, I think it was £80m before he signed his contract, he had an £80m clause in his contract. So £100m is a fair valuation now without a shadow of a doubt.

“He could go in Man City’s team tomorrow, and he’d be a good player. That’s the only teams he would go to, Liverpool or Man City or Tottenham. Manchester United would sign him tomorrow, but they won’t pay £100m.”

Grealish has been in outstanding form under Smith this season, providing five goals and six assists in 11 Premier League games ahead of the Birmingham-based outfit facing West Bromwich Albion on Sunday night.

Manchester United were linked with a potential move for the midfield maestro in the summer but baulked at Aston Villa’s £80m asking price, with Executive Vice-Chairman Ed Woodward adamant that the figure in question was unrealistic.

Any move by the Red Devils would now likely face competition from their Etihad Stadium neighbours, with Guardiola said to have discussed a move for the 25-year-old with Kevin de Bruyne after marking Grealish as his top target.

AND in other news, Sold for £1.5m, now a PL winner: MCFC made a big mistake selling “world class” leader…