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Celtic missed a huge opportunity to strengthen their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table as they were held to a 3-3 draw on Sunday.
The Hoops had a 2-0 and 3-2 lead during the match at Ibrox but failed to pick up all three points, which now means that their rivals can move to the top of the division if they win their game in hand against Dundee on Wednesday night.
First-half goals from Daizen Maeda, who blocked James Tavernier's clearance to find the back of the net, and Matt O'Riley, who dinked his penalty down the middle, put the Bhoys in a commanding position at the break.
However, Rangers pulled it back to 2-2 thanks to a penalty from captain James Tavernier and a deflected effort from substitute Abdallah Sima.
Adam Idah then stepped up to score off the bench to make it 3-2, before Rabbi Matondo's late equaliser, and Brendan Rodgers must finally unleash the forward from the start after his Old Firm impact.
Kyogo Furuhashi was selected to lead the line ahead of the Norwich City loanee but did not make a telling contribution during his time on the pitch.
The Japanese forward has now scored one goal in his last six Premiership appearances for Celtic, and should now be dropped to make way for Idah.
|
Kyogo Furuhashi |
Vs Rangers (07/04/2024) |
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
69 |
|
Goal contributions |
0 |
|
Shots |
3 |
|
Duels won |
2 |
|
Pass accuracy |
58% (7/12) |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
|
As you can see in the table above, Kyogo was wasteful in possession, with almost half of his passes going straight back to the opposition, and did not find the back of the net with any of his three efforts on goal.
Idah, on the other hand, made a big Old Firm impact after he came on to replace the Japan international with just over 20 minutes left to play at Ibrox.
The Irish marksman showcased his physical presence at the top end of the pitch with four duels won out of six in 21 minutes, whilst Kyogo only won two in 69 minutes.
His strength and quality on the ball was on full display as he completed 100% (3/3) of his attempted dribbles and six of his nine attempted passes.
The big moment, as you can see in the clip below, of course, came just after Sima's equaliser as the 6 foot 3 striker brilliantly found the back of the net with a fantastic touch and finish in the box.
Whilst Matondo went on to make it 3-3, Idah's goal was still hugely important as it meant that Rangers did not have the chance to push on for a winner with the momentum they built from coming back from 2-0 down to make it 2-2.
The Ireland international, who has not started a league game since the 3rd of March against Hearts, must finally be unleashed from the start against St Mirren next time out.
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Idah, who journalist Ryan McGinlay once claimed offers something "different", has scored six goals in nine league appearances for the Hoops, whilst Kyogo has one strike in his last six, and deserves another opportunity to shine from the start.
Spineless, gutless, lethargic. Three words out of many which sum up the performance of Glasgow Rangers against Dundee on Wednesday evening.
The 0-0 draw might not have ended their chances of winning the Premiership in an official capacity, but two dreadful performances in a row indicate this group of players are not up for the challenge.
The Light Blues managed only five shots on target throughout the entire match, despite having 65% of possession, which is further evidence that Philippe Clement needs to overhaul his first-team squad in the summer.
Far too many of the senior players – Connor Goldson, James Tavernier, and John Lundstram – were posted missing in action yet again, especially when a reaction was needed after the defeat to Ross County.
Lundstram, in particular, was way below par at Dens Park and continued performances like this could see him released at the end of the season.
The midfielder has missed just one match since Clement took over at the Ibrox side, but after Wednesday evening's performance, he should be dropped for the remaining games.
His performance led to a match rating of 5/10 by Glasgow World, but in truth, it should have been lower given how little influence he had on the game.
|
John Lundstram's stats vs Dundee |
|
|---|---|
|
Accurate passes |
82/94 |
|
Total duels (won) |
7 (3) |
|
Key passes |
2 |
|
Dribbled past |
2 |
|
Possession lost |
12 |
|
Via Sofascore |
|
The former Sheffield United midfielder won only three of his seven contested duels throughout the clash, while losing possession 12 times as he struggled during his one-on-one battles.
He may have taken 104 touches, yet he failed to do much with any of them, setting the tone for the rest of the midfield as the Gers struggled to create any genuine clear-cut chances.
The 30-year-old was even dribbled past on two occasions by a Dundee team well worth their performance, as they could easily have grabbed a winner.
During the opening few months of Clement’s reign, the Englishman was replicating the form he showed during the club’s run to the 2022 Europa League final, as he was dominating opponents in the heart of the midfield.
In recent weeks, however, this intensity has disappeared. He failed to track the Ross County left-back prior to him scoring their second goal on the weekend, contributing to the Gers' eventual defeat.
Clement is limited in his choices with regard to midfielders, but the summer transfer window should hopefully see seismic change at Ibrox.
Lundstram’s contract expires in the next few weeks and while previously it looked as though he would be the only player offered an extension out of the six players out of contract, this may no longer be the case.
The Belgian looks like he could have a busy summer ahead, but the first thing on his to-do list must be releasing the players out of contract in order to free up some of the wage budget.
Lundstram’s displays against County and now Dundee prove he doesn’t have the mentality for a title chase and this simply cannot be tolerated next season.
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Everton have enjoyed a brilliant week on the field, given all the controversy surrounding the Toffees' financial situation in recent months.
Sean Dyche's side have claimed back-to-back 2-0 Premier League wins against Nottingham Forest and Merseyside rivals Liverpool at Goodison Park.
However, after breaching the Premier League's PSR rules, the club were deducted eight points, dropping the club perilously close to the relegation places.
The club's defensive record has been a huge help in their bid to retain their ever-present Premier League status, conceding just 48 times – a record bettered by only the top three in the division.
However, it's their form in front of goal that has restricted Dyche's side as the Toffees have only found the net on 36 occasions in 2023/24 – with only bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United scoring less this season.
One player has often featured for the Toffees in the attacking third this season but has massively struggled, with the club needing to offload him over the summer.
After joining the club from Sheffield United back in 2016, striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin took time to settle into life at Goodison Park before making an impact over the next couple of years.
He remained a squad player up until the 2019/20 campaign, where he managed to achieve his best goalscoring campaign for the club, bagging himself 13 Premier League goals in his 36 outings for the Toffees.
However, Calvert-Lewin would better his impressive form from the season prior during 2020/21, scoring three more goals but featuring in three fewer matches – averaging a goal in 48% of his appearances that season.
Despite his goalscoring tally, the striker has only managed 14 Premier League goals in his last 63 outings, with Calvert-Lewin missing over half the games in 2021/22 and 2022/23 through injury.
He scored the crucial second goal against Jürgen Klopp's side in midweek, taking his tally to six for the current campaign, but ultimately, he looks a shadow of his former self.
Eight years on from his arrival at Goodison Park, the English forward now earns an eye-watering £100k-per-week, with the 27-year-old the club's fourth-highest earner behind Abdoulaye Doucoure, Jordan Pickford and Andre Gomes.
|
Everton's highest earners in 2023/24 |
|
|---|---|
|
Player |
Weekly wage |
|
Abdoulaye Doucoure |
£130k-p/w |
|
Jordan Pickford |
£125k-p/w |
|
Andre Gomes |
£112k-p/w |
|
James Tarkowski |
£100k-p/w |
|
Dominic Calvert-Lewin |
£100k-p/w |
|
Stats via Spotrac |
|
His huge weekly wage sees him earn over six times more than promising youngster Jarrad Branthwaite, with the defender only earning £15k-per-week despite the brilliant campaign that has seen him feature 31 times in the Premier League this season – attracting interest from Manchester United.
Given his poor goalscoring form in recent times, the club should look to part ways with Calvert-Lewin in the summer, with the club saving a potential £5.2m a year in wages – a huge amount in their battle with PSR.
The 6 foot 2 striker is out of contract in the summer of 2025, with this summer potentially the last opportunity for the Toffees to make any money from any sale of the long-serving asset.
However, the club may have to rethink their £40m valuation of the 27-year-old, with the Toffees highly unlikely to receive a fee in that region due to his recent injury record and contact situation.
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Arsenal are looking to move on as many as 10 players this summer, which could save them £680,000-a-week in wages.
As Arsenal continue to improve season by season under Mikel Arteta, their transfer spend has also seen an increase as they look to compete with Manchester City to be the most dominant team in the Premier League.
The Gunners spent around £200m on players across the 2023/24 summer and winter transfer windows, close to £50m more than they splashed out the campaign prior. Now, it seems the 2024 summer window could see the north London outfit spend even more on incoming players as they aim to take another step towards reaching Manchester City's level from the past five years.
Reports earlier this week claimed that Arsenal have "shown their willingness to pay" £52 million for Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi – which just so happens to be the full value of his release clause. The Gunners have also held talks with Nico Williams as they seriously consider signing him for £43 million this summer.
Elsewhere, Arsenal have reportedly been "looking into" signing Mau Kone this summer, after reports from Sky Germany last year stated that he could cost around £34 million to be pried away from Borussia Monchengladbach. In what could be a major transfer, meanwhile, Arsenal are believed to be "pushing" to sign Ajax's incredibly exciting and highly rated young centre-back Jorrel Hato. In terms of a fee for Hato, journalist Suleyman Öztürk told Dutch website SoccerNews that he expects the youngster to be sold for around €100m, which is about £86m.
Should Arsenal indeed sign the aforementioned players for the reported fees, that would see Arsenal spending at least £215m this summer – around £15m more than 2023. That is also without potentially signing a full-back – an area Arsenal have lacked depth in this term.
In turn, it seems fairly obvious that Arsenal will also have to be quite active on the outgoings front this summer in order to fund their new signings.
Arteta and co are seemingly well aware of this as The Daily Mirror are reporting that Arsenal are ready to listen to offers for at least seven players this summer, with three separate exits are already set in stone.
Cedric Soares, Mohamed Elneny and goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo are due to depart the Emirates upon the expiry of their contracts at the end of June. Bids will be also be considered for Aaron Ramsdale, Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe, Kieran Tierney, Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Reiss Nelson.
At present, Arsenal are spending £3,298,000-a-week on player wages, but if the aforementioned 10 stars are moved on, it would save the capital outfit a combined £680,000-a-week.
Of the 10 players reportedly up for sale, Ramsdale is the highest earner with a £120,000-a-week base salary. This is followed by Nketiah and Nelson, both of whom are setting the club back £100,000-a-week at present.
Ipswich Town have not been in England’s top flight since 2002, with the Tractor Boys becoming Championship regulars over the last two decades.
Things hit a new low in 2019 when they sank to the third tier for the first time in nearly 30 years. Paul Lambert’s side finished rock bottom of the Championship and spent four years in League One before Kieran McKenna took them up in his first full season at the helm.
And rather than focus on consolidating their second-tier status like Plymouth Argyle, who beat them to the League One title last year, Ipswich sought even bigger dreams, with the team securing a return to the Premier League after defeating Huddersfield Town on the final day of the Championship season.
It has been a remarkable campaign from all those involved at Portman Road. But who are the players that have taken the Tractor Boys this far, and who could shine for them in the Premier League next season?
Football FanCast takes a look at their current squad to have featured in at least one game, ranked by their Championship goal involvement during the 2023/24 season, with the help of stats from WhoScored.
|
Ipswich Town players: 2023/24 Championship |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Joined club |
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
|
Conor Chaplin |
Jul 2021 |
44 |
13 |
8 |
|
Leif Davis |
Jul 2022 |
43 |
2 |
18 |
|
Nathan Broadhead |
Jan 2023 |
38 |
13 |
3 |
|
Omari Hutchinson |
Jul 2023 |
44 |
10 |
5 |
|
George Hirst |
Jul 2023 |
26 |
7 |
6 |
|
Wes Burns |
Jul 2021 |
35 |
6 |
4 |
|
Sam Morsy |
Aug 2021 |
42 |
3 |
6 |
|
Kieffer Moore |
Feb 2024 |
18 |
7 |
1 |
|
Kayden Jackson |
Aug 2018 |
29 |
3 |
3 |
|
Marcus Harness |
Jul 2022 |
34 |
4 |
1 |
|
Jeremy Sarmiento |
Jan 2024 |
20 |
3 |
1 |
|
Ali Al-Hamadi |
Jan 2024 |
14 |
4 |
0 |
|
Massimo Luongo |
Jan 2023 |
43 |
3 |
0 |
|
Jack Taylor |
Jul 2023 |
33 |
2 |
1 |
|
Cameron Burgess |
Aug 2021 |
39 |
2 |
1 |
|
Luke Woolfenden |
Jul 2017 |
41 |
1 |
1 |
|
Harry Clarke |
Jan 2023 |
35 |
1 |
1 |
|
George Edmundson |
Jul 2021 |
10 |
0 |
2 |
|
Brandon Williams |
Aug 2023 |
15 |
2 |
0 |
|
Axel Tuanzebe |
Sep 2023 |
18 |
0 |
1 |
|
Cameron Humphreys |
Jul 2022 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
|
Vaclav Hladky |
Jul 2021 |
46 |
0 |
0 |
|
Lewis Travis |
Jan 2024 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
|
Janoi Donacien |
Jan 2019 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
Dominic Ball |
Jul 2022 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
|
Gerrard Buabo |
Jul 2021 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Sone Aluko |
Aug 2021 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Christian Walton |
Jan 2022 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
All data correct as of 5th May 2024.
Christian Walton was gifted the last few moments of Ipswich's promotion campaign, having spent the league season looking on from the subs' bench after recovering from injury early on. He can now say he played his part on the pitch, though whether he can truly claim to have gone the whole year without conceding might take some convincing.
Sone Aluko is one of Ipswich’s more experienced players, and although he played a minimal part in their promotion push with just one league appearance off the bench, he remains an important figure for the team off the pitch.
He also scored in the Tractor Boys’ EFL Cup victory over Bristol Rovers back in August.
With just three Championship minutes to his name this term, Gerrard Buabo has been firmly on the fringes of the first team in recent months. But given he was also handed runouts in Ipswich’s FA Cup run, the 18-year-old could yet be in McKenna’s long-term plans.
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Dominic Ball found minutes hard to come by this season, but remains a trusted member of the squad after helping the club to promotion from League One.
Ball has struggled with injuries which have restricted his time in Ipswich colours, though he is an experienced player at this level, having previously turned out for QPR and Rotherham United, as well as Rangers when the Scottish giants were in the Championship.
St Lucia international Janoi Donacien is another who has been unlucky with injury, as a groin problem has severely derailed his campaign, having been a mainstay as Ipswich won promotion from League One. He started each of Ipswich’s opening three games but has not featured for the first team since November.
Lewis Travis became a useful option for McKenna’s side since joining on loan in January from Championship rivals Blackburn Rovers.
Yet to lose in Ipswich colours, Travis’ highlight arguably came on his debut when his defence-splitting pass helped Kayden Jackson to score a vital equaliser in their comeback win over Sunderland.
Vaclav Hladky clocked up more minutes under his belt than any other Ipswich player, with the Czech shot-stopper playing all bar the final seconds of their final-day victory.
A vital component of the team’s success this year, Hladky is also no stranger to a yellow card – he picked up three in Ipswich’s opening six games. However, he has also been impressive in penalty shootouts at his previous clubs, so could be worth considering as a budget goalkeeper in next season’s Fantasy League.
Cameron Humphreys became a key player in last year’s promotion run, but had to be patient for opportunities this term, having mainly featured in Ipswich’s cup fixtures.
Humphreys’ best moment in his limited Championship minutes this year came in the dramatic 2-2 draw at Birmingham City in November, when he kept Omari Hutchinson’s cross alive before Marcus Harness superbly volleyed home.
Axel Tuanzebe made his name at Manchester United, and via loan spells in the Championship and Italy’s Serie A, the DR Congo defender joined Ipswich’s promotion push after finding himself without a club in the summer.
His versatility has come to the fore in more recent months, with the defender filling in at right-back in 12 of Ipswich’s last 14 games, of which they lost just one.
Another talent from Man Utd’s production line is Brandon Williams, who has spent the current season on loan at Portman Road. Unfortunately for the 23-year-old, he has suffered multiple injury setbacks this term.
He had started the season in impressive fashion, too, having grabbed an important equaliser at Huddersfield Town before scoring again in Ipswich’s win over Preston in October, all while ending on the winning side in eight of his first ten matches.
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