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Graham Potter is reportedly in the frame to take over from Steve Bruce at Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Jones to take charge against Tottenham?

As per The Daily Mirror, the 60-year-old is reportedly going to be sacked this week following the takeover at St James’ Park by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

Graeme Jones would then be placed in caretaker charge for their match at home to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League next Sunday until the new owners bring in a new permanent manager.

The Latest: Potter in the frame

According to The Sun, Potter is now in the frame to replace Bruce at Newcastle as he is on the wanted list of the new owners.

However, whether he would be interested in leaving Brighton and Hove Albion for Tyneside is another question, with the Seagulls currently 13 places higher than the Magpies in the Premier League table.

The Verdict: Inspired appointment

Potter would certainly be an inspired appointment by the new owners at St James’ Park should they be able to persuade him to leave their Premier League rivals.

Described as a ‘fantastic’ manager by Alan Hutton for what he has done for Brighton, the 46-year-old could have a similar transformation at Newcastle.

Potter plays an attacking brand of football which is similar to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City (Brighton & Hove Independent), a sheer contrast to the negative tactics that Bruce has often been accused of playing.

With a potential squad full of star names at his disposal, it is mouth-watering to think what Potter could achieve with them if he becomes Bruce’s successor at St James’ Park.

In other news, find out which £31.5m-rated ace Newcastle are targeting

Celtic were undone by individual errors as their poor form in Europe continued at Parkhead on Thursday night.

Ange Postecoglou’s Hoops now sit bottom of Europa League Group G after they fell to a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen.

David Turnbull’s slip allowed Piero Hincapie to capitalise after just 25 minutes before Florian Wirtz chipped over Bhoys goalkeeper Joe Hart just ten minutes later.

The Premiership outfit then struggled to get going in the second half and were stopped in their tracks once again as the ruthless visitors found a third from the penalty spot, with Lucas Hilario slotting home, and that was before substitute Amine Adli fired in a fourth with the last kick of the game.

Anthony Ralston at right-back was one particularly error-prone individual at Celtic Park, but truth be told, there were plenty of other players who struggled against the German giants, including Tom Rogic.

Deployed in the no.10 role, the 28-year-old midfielder failed to have any sort of influence on the game and that much was seen by the fact that Hoops ‘keeper Hart recorded more touches (57) than the man deployed in the playmaking role (45), as per SofaScore.

From that tally, he provided only 22 passes, which was the joint-lowest of any Celtic starter, and again the last thing you want from someone in an advanced role. The Australian could not create a key chance from those attempts either.

In addition, Rogic lost possession a whopping 15 times, which was pretty much with almost every one of his passes. That was wasteful and merely gave Leverkusen scope to further dominate the game.

He also committed two fouls, handing the Germans a perfect opportunity to get the ball back into the box.

You could argue that this sort of sloppiness invited pressure on Postecoglou’s backline and enforced young and inexperienced players like Ralston into making such errors, and at this level, those are certainly punished.

It’s no wonder Rogic lasted just 66 minutes before being hooked. He was appalling and will do well to feature in the starting XI again anytime soon.

AND in other news, Forget Brady: Celtic must swoop for £5.4m-rated machine who can “sprint like Mbappe”…

West Ham United have reportedly agreed a deal with Martin Braithwaite…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Spanish outlet Sport, who claim the Barcelona striker has ‘a preliminary agreement’ with the Irons over a potential switch to the London Stadium this month, though it’s suggested that he’s holding out for local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The 56-cap Denmark international has only received a firm offer from David Moyes’ side, whilst he’s a very expendable option for the La Liga giants, especially in their bid to reduce their financial problems.

It’s thought that Barcelona would like to shift him on sooner rather than later but it remains to be seen exactly how much for. CIES Football Observatory currently value him at €20m (£18m), whilst he’s reportedly earning £105k-per-week at the Nou Camp.

Not the answer!

The fact that the Hammers are said to already have an agreement with Braithwaite is a major cause for concern.

Of course, it’s no secret that West Ham are absolutely desperate to sign a new striker before the end of the month as they cannot simply rely on the services of just Michail Antonio when they are soon to be competing in the Europa League.

But the 30-year-old flop is far from the answer. It would be a pretty reckless and disastrous move from Moyes and co, if these reports are to be believed.

In 53 appearances for Barcelona, Braithwaite has only found the net eight times, which is pretty disappointing when you had the likes of Lionel Messi, Pedri, Jordi Alba and many more providing you with creativity.

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Furthermore, his last stint in England failed to garner much success and it actually ended on quite the sour note.

Eight goals in 36 Championship matches is hardly outstanding, especially when you consider that one of the Irons’ former mooted targets Adam Armstrong bagged 28 goals in just one season, earning a move to league rivals Southampton this week.

Braithwaite kicked up a fuss to try and force an exit during his time at Middlesbrough under Tony Pulis and the Welshman lambasted his actions to the press back in March 2019. He said, via GazzetteLive:

“The biggest disappointment for me is he’s the highest-paid player I’ve ever worked with in the Championship,” before adding: “To show the disrespect he’s shown to this club by saying he’s not coming back, to Steve Gibson, who’s made him a multi-millionaire, let’s make no bones about it, the wages and what he’s earning are astonishing. I’ve dealt with players all my life, some can make your hair curl – not mine. But for him to come out and say that, it just puts him up there as such an ungrateful person.”

There are just too many red flags to warrant or justify the Hammers’ interest in Braithwaite, so Moyes must be risking an absolute transfer nightmare if he has truly agreed on terms with the Barcelona dud.

The Scotsman must turn his attention elsewhere before it’s too late. Braithwaite would be one desperate mistake in East London.

AND in other news, David Moyes dealt gutting transfer blow over top West Ham target…

With three matches in the space of a week, West Ham boss David Moyes has some tricky decisions to make as he targets top spot in Group H.

The Irons have already advanced into the knockout stages of the Europa League but can seal first place with a win over Austrian outfit Rapid Wien this evening, so it leaves him with a dilemma in terms of team selection.

There’s the small test of defending Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday before finally returning to the London Stadium to host Brighton and Hove Albion next Wednesday.

Moyes will also be looking for a reaction after a run of seven games without defeat was put to an abrupt end last weekend, with the Hammers being defeated by Wolverhampton Wanderers in an utterly drab affair.

West Ham talisman Michail Antonio’s struggles in front of goal continued but he also looked rather fatigued, having travelled back from Jamaica in midweek.

It’s now one goal from nine matches across all competitions from the 31-year-old, a disappointing return considering he began the season on fire with six goals and four assists in just seven appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

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Indeed, the £10.8m-rated Irons frontman “looked knackered” at full-time, according to The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas, and that’s hardly a surprise given the sheer volume of minutes he’s played this campaign (1,368), compared to this time last season (530).

Antonio, who is on around £70k-per-week, is hugely important to the Hammers’ success and will need to be fully fit and firing if they are to stand a chance of a result against Pep Guardiola’s side, especially after they defeated Paris Saint-Germain this week.

Only Jarrod Bowen (7.35) and Declan Rice (7.39) have managed a better average WhoScored rating than the 31-year-old (7.29) this campaign, whilst no one scored more goals than him last season.

Dubbed a “complete monster” and an “absolute revelation” by Daily Star journalist Paul Brown to GIVEMESPORT, Antonio is clearly a vital part of Moyes’ set-up in east London right now but his poor injury track record is worrying, so he ought to be rested for this trip.

It would be a ruthless call to make with the top spot on the line but a necessary one for the greater good of their season. Moyes must axe Antonio from his starting XI over in Austria tonight.

AND in other news, West Ham could discover their next Declan Rice in “clinical” 19 y/o “on the radar” of Moyes…

Everton are reportedly battling a club in the UEFA Champions League to sign Stefan De Vrij in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Successful season

It was certainly a successful 2020/21 season for De Vrij, as he helped Inter Milan win the Serie A title, playing in 32 games in total and scoring one goal (Transfermarkt).

He also played in every single match for The Netherlands in their Euro 2020 campaign as they cruised through the group stage, before they were knocked out by Czech Republic in the last 16.

The Latest: De Vrij wanted

As per Calciomercato, the Goodison Park outfit, as well as Atletico Madrid, have ‘set their sights’ on signing De Vrij, but he will not come cheap.

A price is not mentioned by the news outlet, but Transfermarkt currently value him at £45m.

The Verdict: Avoid

While De Vrij is clearly a good defender – his former manager Antonio Conte likened him to Euro 2020 winner Leonardo Bonucci back in October – he may cost a lot of money for someone who plays in a position that the Merseyside club are already very wealthy in at the moment.

Ben Godfrey, Mason Holgate, Michael Keane and Yerry Mina all remain in Rafa Benitez’s squad, and so to potentially spend a large transfer fee on another central defender would seem like a bit of a waste.

If Benitez is to sign another central defender, it should surely be a young player to come in and learn from the likes of Keane and Godfrey, who thrived last season.

In other news, find out what club update has Toffees buzzing here!

Police Scotland have released more photos as they continue their fight to bring troublemakers during Glasgow Rangers’ 55 celebrations to justice.

The Lowdown: Controversial scenes

On May 15th, thousands of Gers fans took to the streets to celebrate their side being given the Premiership trophy after beating Aberdeen 4-0 at Ibrox.

While the scenes across the city of Glasgow were generally peaceful, there were some problems in George square – 20 arrests were made on the day (firstpost.com).

The Latest: More photos released

It seems Police Scotland are still looking for those who broke the law.

They have released 12 new images showing the faces of people they are looking to bring in – there are 13 people they wish to speak to (via The Daily Record).

The Verdict: Ugly scenes

Some of the scenes in George Square were particularly ugly. There were several scuffles that broke out and some damage to public property.

On what should have been a day of pure joy for the Gers supporters after ten long years without a major trophy to celebrate, a small few let down the rest of the fanbase, and the Ibrox outfit will surely be hoping these issues are resolved as quickly as possible so they can move on and focus on the new season.

However, on the whole, it must be pointed out the celebrations were peaceful. Unfortunately, no matter the event, there always seems to be a minority who ruin things for the majority. Hopefully, the Police can bring in who they need to speak to as soon as possible so the Gers can get back to the excitement of pressing on from their incredible season to go again next term.

In other news, Rangers fans lauded this man’s Euro 2020 performance.

An update has emerged on Leicester midfielder Hamza Choudhury, regarding Newcastle’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to Telegraph reporter Luke Edwards, Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury is closing in on a loan move to Newcastle on deadline day.

It was reported by John Percy on Monday that the holding midfielder is expected to depart from the King Power on a temporary deal, with Newcastle now poised to sign him.

Delight

Leicester fans will be delighted by this news as it means that Choudhury will finally be sealing his exit from the club. The Englishman wanted to leave in the winter window during the 2020/21 campaign, before ultimately staying and fulfilling his role as a squad option for Brendan Rodgers.

Earlier this year, Rodgers admitted that the player wanted to leave the club in January. He claimed that Leicester were prepared to let him leave if they signed a replacement, although that failed to materialise and he remained in the Midlands. Rodgers said:

“I said earlier in the window that he wasn’t a player that we wanted to lose. He’s a very important player for our squad, but of course, all players want to play.

“We were going to grant him that possibility if we could get someone in.

“I said to him on the Monday after training and framed it for him: ‘You may not get out, and if you don’t, you’re playing on Wednesday night, and that shows you how important you are to us, you’re going to play in our next Premier League game.”

This shows that Choudhury has had an exit on his mind for a while and the fans will not want to see a player in the squad who does not want to be there.

It is in the best interests of everyone involved to get him out of the door, albeit only on a loan deal at this point, as there is no point in keeping an unsettled player at the club as it could lead to issues in the dressing room.

Last season, the 23-year-old only played 10 games in the Premier League and averaged a dismal WhoScored rating of 6.19. The previous campaign was only slightly better for Choudhury, as he averaged a score of 6.35 in 20 league matches for the Foxes. This shows that he has not been able to perform to a high enough standard when given the chance, which is another reason why Leicester fans will be delighted that he is being shipped out on loan.

If he fails to catch the eye on loan at Newcastle then there could be a decision to make for Leicester next summer in terms of his long-term future at the club. A permanent exit could be the ideal move for all parties if he does not have a realistic chance of breaking into Rodgers’ XI.

—

UPDATE: As per Luke Edwards, this deal for Choudhury may not be signing. He tweeted at 11:11am: “Someone now appears to be briefing that Choudhury is not signing and business is done in this window. That would mean Bruce has been denied a loan he thought he could have. Whatever you think of him, this is scandalous. Leicester thought this was happening. So did player #nufc”

And in other news, Leicester agree a Deadline Day deal for star forward… 

Alan Hutton has claimed that a club in the Premier League are now eyeing up a move to sign Nathan Patterson from Glasgow Rangers.

The Lowdown: Everton bid

According to The Daily Mirror, Everton have made a £5m bid to try and sign Patterson before the summer transfer window ends.

However, The Scottish Sun have claimed that Liverpool have been following his progression since the beginning of the year, and so it could turn out to be a two-way tussle between the Merseyside clubs for his signature.

The Latest: Hutton on Patterson

Speaking to Football Insider, former Light Blues player Hutton has claimed that he has heard that Liverpool are eyeing Patterson, but wants him to stay at Ibrox and continue to fight with James Tavernier for the starting right-back spot:

“We’re looking at a guy with the potential to be very good.

“To be at Rangers for a number of years, to be a Scotland international for a number of years. We’re looking at potential, we’ve seen glimpses of him, I would like to see more.

“I think now where we’re getting to a stage where there’s interest in him from down south, from big clubs. I have heard Liverpool are now sniffing about him as well.

“Steven Gerrard will probably have a big decision to make in the coming months. Is it Tavernier or is it Patterson?

“Can he share the load with Tavernier? We know how good he’s been, he’s the captain, his numbers are excellent. Patterson’s really now starting to push him.

“It’s probably a headache, I was going to say that he doesn’t want, but it’s a good situation to be in.

”I’d love to see him push Tavernier all the way. I think he’s got all the makings of being an excellent full-back for Rangers.

“Two very good full-backs fighting each other for their place.”

The Verdict: Keep

With only a few days left of the window remaining, Steven Gerrard’s team must be looking to try and keep hold of Patterson now, as there would be so little time to find a replacement for him.

At just 19 years of age, he has already shown just how much potential he has by getting called up to the senior Scotland squad for Euro 2020, playing in two matches in total under Steve Clarke (Transfermarkt).

With the Gers involved in the UEFA Europa League group stages once more as well, Gerrard will need to rely on his whole squad for the season, meaning that Patterson may well get more minutes under his belt by rotating with Tavernier.

Nonetheless, his market value will only get bigger as he develops, and so now is not the right time to sell.

In other news, find out who RFC fans fumed at against Alashkert here!

Plenty of Crystal Palace fans have been having their say regarding the club’s pursuit of Burnley manager Sean Dyche.

The Eagles’ hierarchy reportedly view Dyche as a suitable candidate to take over at Selhurst Park and recently asked the Clarets how much it would cost to lure the 49-year-old to south London.

A £3m compensation fee is required to bring Dyche to Palace, but according to the Daily Mail, the huge expense of a deal is one of the reasons it is now being held up.

They claimed that a move for Dyche could end up costing Palace around £7m per year in wages and salary. Dyche would also like a £3m bonus included in any move for keeping the club in the Premier League, as he does at Turf Moor, and it is believed the Eagles are now considering other options as a result.

Frank Lampard, Chris Wilder and Steve Cooper are all thought to be on the club’s shortlist.

Palace fans react

@CPFCtransfersHQ shared the news regarding Dyche on Twitter on Friday evening. Here is what these Eagles supporters had to say in reply.

“He’s having a laugh if he’s asking for £135k a week”Credit: @StephenTCPFC”Wages and salary? Huh?”Credit: @TRJPCPFC”Move on. Ismael time”Credit: @Sumo08112″Yeah we’re not paying that”Credit: @bazbrown123″No thanks”Credit: @Kevbartleyy”No wonder he stays at Burnley, and why they have modest transfer budget.”Credit: @gidleymike

In other news: Many CPFC fans react to the club’s interest in international winger, find out more here. 

Everton currently find themselves in an unnatural territory as they bid to avoid being relegated out of the Premier League and into the Championship.

With six games left to play, the Toffees need as many points as possible and hope the teams directly above them can slip up and fall behind.

However, it seems as though talks have been going on behind the scenes to try and secure one potential deal for the upcoming summer transfer window.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from The Independent, Everton have had “productive meetings” with the representatives of Nottingham Forest midfielder Brennan Johnson over a potential summer transfer.

The same source suggests a fee in the region of £25m could be enough to secure his services.

Johnson has all the ingredients

As a product of Forest’s youth system, the 20-year-old has made a total of 105 appearances across their U18 and senior side as well as for Lincoln City, who he had a loan spell with last season.

In those appearances, the Welshman has racked up a combined total of 56 goals and assists, having found the net 33 times and delivered 23 assists for his teammates.

With 15 goals and ten assists to his name in this current Championship campaign, no other Forest player has been able to provide as many goal contributions as the youngster.

In fact, only six other players in the second division have managed to score more times than Johnson.

Labelled as a “special” player that is “destined for the top,” by Glenn Murray, Johnson has also received praise from Wales youth coach, Paul Bodin, who had this to say about the young talent.

He said: “He’s got all the ingredients, he’s got the right attitude, he’s got great family support, so the world is his oyster.”

Thinking about how Everton have struggled to score goals at times this season, with 11 league games in which they have failed to find the net, a player like the 20-year-old could be the exact sort of spark the Toffees need to freshen up their attack for next season.

Taking all of this into account, it’s easy to see why Everton have been in contact with Johnson’s representatives over a potential move to Goodison Park.

Whether the Toffees end the season in the Premier League or Championship, they should definitely do all they can to secure the Forest sensation’s signature in the summer.

In other news: Huge blow: Everton now dealt worrying injury setback, it’s terrible news for Lampard