Sky Sports Pundit Rips Into Celtic Duo

Celtic duo Callum McGregor and Carl Starfelt have been slammed for their displays as the Hoops fell to a 3-0 defeat at Ibrox in the Old Firm derby.

What did Starfelt and McGregor do at Ibrox?

With the visitors already trailing 2-0, the defender and midfielder were caught out following a calamitous giveaway, and this allowed Fashion Sakala to net the third goal for Rangers.

It was a poor mistake from both players, and sealed their fate on the day as the Champions saw their 28-match unbeaten run come to an end.

Sky Sports commentator Andy Walker singled out both players for giving an easy goal to the hosts, who enjoyed a dominant victory against a rotated Celtic side.

"Credit to the goalscorer, but my word, what a mess from McGregor and Starfelt. It's a gift that secures the win for Rangers," he stated on commentary.

ange-postecoglou-manager-leeds-united-marcelo-bielsa-allardyce

What next for Celtic?

Despite putting in a thoroughly unimpressive performance at the home of their rivals, Celtic will likely not be too dismayed, given that they came into the game with the title secured, and made a number of changes to the lineup.

Starfelt has been a regular starter despite suffering from injuries earlier on in the season, and despite his poor display, will still likely keep his place going forward.

McGregor and Starfelt were both given 6.2 ratings by SofaScore given their role in the third goal, and neither player will have been happy with their showings on the day.

McGregor won just one of his five duels and lost possession five times, whilst Starfelt lost the ball nine times in a difficult afternoon.

The pair both attempted to seize on a loose ball in the Celtic half, and both lost out amidst confusion which allowed Sakala to pounce and eventually finish for the goal.

Celtic have now won the Premiership with just two defeats under their belt at this stage, and with the Scottish Cup final coming up, Ange Postecoglou elected to rotate his squad, with the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda on the bench.

It was a decision that ultimately backfired, but if Celtic do secure victory against Inverness in June, they will secure a dominant domestic treble, having beaten Rangers in the Scottish League Cup final and the FA Cup semi-final.

There has been speculation linking Postecoglou with a move to England, but if he stays at Celtic Park, it seems likely that another season of glory will await the Hoops next season.

Man United To Allow £8.6m Player To Leave Old Trafford

It appears that Wout Weghorst's time at Manchester United may be coming to an end, with Football Insider reporting that the club have no plans to keep him beyond this campaign.

What is the latest on Weghorst's situation at Man United?

The Premier League outfit have been desperate for goals this campaign, with the side managing only 51 in the top flight so far this season. Aside from Aston Villa, it is the worst record for goals scored in the entire top ten of the division.

With Anthony Martial managing only five efforts this campaign, it makes him the Red Devils' highest scoring 'out-and-out striker.' Marcus Rashford has 16 but is typically deployed in more of a winger role and the same can be said about Jadon Sancho, who also has five strikes to his name.

It led to boss Erik Ten Hag deciding to bring in Weghorst on a short-term basis back in the January transfer window to try and get his team firing and to help with their goalscoring woes. However, the Dutchman has not managed a single goal in the Premier League so far this campaign, despite playing in 15 fixtures. He has just one assist to his name.

Whilst Ten Hag has heaped the praise on the striker for his efforts in pressing the opposition and working hard on the field, he has now decided not to keep him at Old Trafford. According to Football Insider, United have decided not to keep Weghorst at Old Trafford beyond this campaign and will not try and tie him up to permanent terms. It means that the 30-year-old is set to return to parent club Burnley when the season comes to a close.

Should Man United be keeping Weghorst at the club?

Whilst there is no doubt a solid player in there, Weghorst is arguably not the type of striker that Man United need in their squad now.

The forward has previously proven his goalscoring ability and given the right system and team, he can thrive. With Burnley in the Premier League for example, he managed five goal contributions in 17 starts despite only coming in midway through that campaign. His showings with the Clarets also led to high praise from Ian Wright, who labelled Weghorst as "fantastic" in his positioning ability and "brilliant" in terms of his finishing back when Burnley sealed a 3-0 win over Brighton.

He's also previously hit double-digit goal tallies in Germany and his native country of the Netherlands. It proves that he can be a solid striker then but it just hasn't worked out at Old Trafford for him in terms of hitting the back of the net. Weghorst not being kept on then makes plenty of sense.

خاص.. ميكالي يغلق ملف ودية كولومبيا رسميًا بسبب دورة الإمارات

حسم المدرب البرازيلي روجيرو ميكالي المدير الفني لمنتخب مصر الأولمبي، موقفه من مباراة منتخب كولومبيا الودية، بعد استقبال عرض إماراتي لإقامة دورة رباعية.

ويجري منتخب مصر تحت 23 سنة استعداداته لخوض غمار منافسات بطولة دورة الألعاب الأولمبية “أولمبياد باريس 2024” المنتظر إقامتها في أغسطس المقبل.

خاص | موعد إعلان قائمة منتخب مصر الأولمبي استعدادًا لدورة دبي الودية

وعلم “بطولات” أن روجيرو ميكالي أغلق رسميًا ملف ودية كولومبيا، بعدما كانت الأخيرة مرشحة لمواجهة الفراعنة الصغار في يناير.

وأعرب اتحاد الكرة المصري عن اعتذاره لنظيره الكولومبي عن إقامة المباراة التي كان من المقرر إقامتها في مصر.

وفضل ميكالي أن يخوض منتخب مصر الدورة الرباعية في الإمارات والتي تضم منتخبي السعودية وقطر.

ويرى ميكالي أن الاستفادة الفنية ستكون أكبر بخوض تلك الدورة الرباعية عن ملاقاة منتخب كولومبيا.

الجدير بالذكر، أن الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم، كان سيتحمل تكاليف سفر وإقامة بعثة منتخب كولومبيا حال إقامة المباراة الودية.

Boehly expected to hold exciting Chelsea manager talks with one man

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is expected to hold talks with Ruben Amorim over the possibility of becoming the next permanent manager at Stamford Bridge.

Is Amroim the favourite for the Chelsea job?

The Blues have sunk further in the league over the weekend with yet another defeat at home – this time to Brighton & Hove Albion – seeing their gap to the top half now three points.

Frank Lampard was handed the job as the interim manager until the end of the campaign, however, since taking over, the 44-year-old has now tasted defeat in all three of his games.

The search for Graham Potter's permanent replacement goes on and there is a belief that Julian Nagelsmann is still the favourite for the job.

However, the German is not the only person in contention with the likes of Luis Enrique also believed to be a man of interest for Boehly.

And it seems as if the Spaniard is not the only potential competitor to Nagelsmann for the vacancy with Sporting CP's manager, Amorim, also on Boehly's radar.

Indeed, speaking on his YouTube channel, Fabrizio Romano has claimed the Portuguese manager is expected to hold discussions with the Blues ahead of the summer:

(2:45) "Ruben Amorim is appreciated by Chelsea. What I'm told, is that Amorim, of course, was not available during the season. And so Chelsea never had any possibility to convince him to join now because he's 100% focused on Sporting.

"But it's true that Chelsea appreciates Amorim. Chelsea will have some conversations also with him. But my understanding is that at the moment, Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique remain one step ahead of him in the Chelsea list."

Is Amorim the right man for Chelsea?

Amorim has received a lot of plaudits from his time at Sporting where he has been able to provide a solid return of over two points per game in his 153 games at the helm (via Transfermarkt).

Journalist Matt Law hailed the 38-year-old as an "exciting" young manager and that certainly seems to be the case with his side having already beaten Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in Europe this season.

However, this could well cause concerns from the Chelsea board that perhaps there is potential for the 38-year-old to suffer similar issues to what Potter did.

Ruben Amorim encourages his Sporting CP side from the sidelines.

Although Nagelsmann is still an extremely young coach, the German has already managed a side which is arguably one of the biggest in the world with Bayern Munich.

Whereas, Amorim has not quite managed a side of the elite level with Sporting being his biggest opportunity in his early career so far.

There are reports suggesting the Chelsea players did not necessarily take Potter seriously behind the scenes and Amorim's lack of experience – in comparison to other candidates – may leave concerns over this happening again.

Of course, he could still bolster his record with triumph in the Europa League this season, but perhaps his experience could cast doubts over his potential suitability for the role in west London.

Chelsea’s £86k-p/w Flop Has Rinsed The Club

Chelsea have distanced themselves from the reputation they had a few years ago of having a seemingly endless number of young players out on loan.

The likes of Matt Miazga, Lucas Piazon and Marco van Ginkel would all spend a number of years at Chelsea without ever really featuring for the first team but have all finally left Stamford Bridge on permanent deals.

However, one forgotten man from Chelsea's loan army is still contracted by the club, with Baba Rahman currently on loan with Reading in the Championship in what is remarkably the 28-year-old's seventh separate spell away from the west London club.

How long has Rahman rinsed Chelsea?

Chelsea signed the left-back from Augsburg in 2015 for a fee of £14m, which could have raised to £20m had he made more than 100 appearances for the Blues.

Considering his last appearance for the Stamford Bridge outfit came in the 2015/16 Premier League campaign, it seems unlikely that the Bundesliga side will ever see that £6m.

The Ghana international was expected to be a replacement for Filipe Luis when he made the move to Chelsea and he was something of a regular in his first season at the club, making 23 appearances in all competitions, contributing no goals and two assists. These would be the only showings he would make for the Blues.

He has since spent time with Schalke, Stade Reims, RCD Mallorca, PAOK and finally Reading, with his 49 appearances for the Royals the most of any club he has played for in his career.

A cruciate ligament injury that Rahman suffered at Schalke was seemingly the end of his hopes of making it at Chelsea, and his lack of appearances since then makes it difficult to understand why the £86k-per-week earner is still contracted at Stamford Bridge.

Ahead of his first loan spell with Reading in the summer of 2021, the Blues opted to extend his deal until 2024, perhaps in the hope that some strong performances in England would encourage a club to pay a fee for him, yet they sent him back out to the Berkshire side again last summer.

Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Group H – Portugal v Ghana – Stadium 974, Doha, Qatar – November 24, 2022 Portugal’s Joao Cancelo in action with Ghana’s Abdul Rahman Baba REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

He has made 18 appearances for Paul Ince's side this season in the Championship, averaging a woeful 6.43 rating from WhoScored for his performances, which well and truly hammers home that the Ghanaian won't ever be playing for Chelsea again.

Although his game time at Reading has allowed him to become a regular for the Ghana national side, it seems as if he hasn't impressed there either, with journalist Ohene-Bampoe Brenya dubbing him "terrible" during the World Cup.

Chelsea surely cannot allow Rahman to go out on loan again this summer, so Graham Potter must finally bring an end to his 2,788-day stay at Stamford Bridge.

Spurs: Conte must ditch Perisic vs Milan

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte is set to make his return to the dugout this evening, with the serial-winning coach hoping to steer his side past Italian champions AC Milan in the Champions League, last-16 second-leg encounter.

Trailing 1-0 from the reverse fixture at San Siro, the Lilywhites are still firmly in the mix to secure progression to the quarter-final stage for the first time since the surge to the showpiece during the 2018/19 campaign.

There will be concern, however, as to whether the north London outfit can overturn that deficit amid what has been a rather disappointing last few days domestically, having most recently lost away to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.

That frustrating defeat at Molineux may well inspire the returning Conte to ring the changes for the visit of the Serie A outfit, with veteran defender Ivan Perisic one man who could well make way following his drab performance against the Old Gold.

Will Perisic play against Milan?

Saturday’s defeat saw the experienced Croatian produce a distinctly underwhelming display at left wing-back, with the 34-year-old having won just four of his ten duels on the day, while his match rating of 6.4, as per Sofascore, was the joint-lowest of any starting player for the visitors.

It was the former Inter Milan man’s woes offensively that particularly caught the eye, however, as the versatile gem simply “contributed nothing in attack” in the words of writer Andrew Gaffney, having been a “liability”, completing just two of his ten crosses and laying on just a solitary key pass.

Those struggles also saw the 123-cap machine lose the ball a staggering 20 times from just 57 touches and record a pass accuracy rate of only 67%, having simply ‘lacked quality’ in the final third, according to football.london’s Alasdair Gold.

The hope will be that Persisic’s surprise inclusion – after having started on the bench in the wins over both Chelsea and West Ham United – was merely with tonight’s game in mind, with the £180k-per-week dud likely to drop out of the side once again.

Although the 6 foot 1 asset may know all about today’s opposition following his previous stint in Milan, he notably underwhelmed in the first-leg meeting between the two sides, having been ‘subdued and disappointing’ according to the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick.

The Split-born brute may have won eight of his nine ground duels in that narrow defeat as a marker of his commendable work ethic, but there was a lack of end product to go with that relentlessness, having again been careless in possession after losing the ball on 19 occasions.

As such, it would be no surprise if Ben Davies – who started at centre-back for the trip to the Midlands – is to revert back to his recent role on the flanks, with Perisic’s shortcomings set to cost him a place in such a crucial, season-defining fixture.

Newcastle eyeing James Maddison summer swoop

Newcastle United are still interested in the possibility of signing James Maddison ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.

Will Newcastle sign James Maddison in the summer?

The Magpies have been heavily linked with potentially signing Maddison in the past with the Toon believed to have lodged two bids for the Leicester City man over the summer.

Having seen those bids knocked back, it is believed this summer could offer the Magpies with another opportunity to land the England international.

Maddison will go into the summer with just one year remaining on his deal with the Premier League side as he reportedly seeks the possibility of playing Champions League football.

Speaking on the House of Champions YouTube channel, Fabrizio Romano has claimed the Tyneside club are in love with Maddison ahead of the summer window:

(6:45) “And then a creative midfielder, there is a player they really love who is James Maddison, who is doing very well for Leicester and he’s a player they always had at the top of their list. And I’m sure they will try again before the summer.”

Who else is interested in signing James Maddison?

It has been made apparent Eddie Howe’s men are one of the clubs who would be keen to bring Maddison in over the summer window, but reports suggest they may not be the only ones.

Tottenham Hotspur are another side who are believed to hold an interest in Maddison with the north London club currently battling the Toon for a spot in the top four this season.

And if Champions League football is something which Maddison is targeting then the final months of this season for both these clubs could be crucial in their believed interest in the midfielder.

However, in recent weeks reports have emerged suggesting Manchester City are another club that could look to sign Maddison over the summer.

The summer will offer Leicester their last real opportunity to bring in a decent sum of money for their midfielder if he isn’t to sign a new deal.

But for Newcastle and Spurs, the potential interest coming from City could prove a serious issue with Pep Guardiola’s side being able to offer him a regular battle for the Premier League title.

The issue with City may lie in whether the player feels he could secure himself regular football with the likes of Kalvin Phillips having recently moved to the Etihad Stadium and struggling to establish himself in the side.

Regardless of what teams are in the race to sign Maddison in the summer, it does feel as if landing a spot in the Champions League could be essential for the Toon if they are to pursue the 26-year-old.

Newcaslte may have made offer for Ziyech

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed that an unnamed club tried to sign Hakim Ziyech on deadline day, and evidence suggests this could have been Newcastle United.

What’s the word?

Earlier on in January, The Telegraph reported that the Chelsea man was of genuine interest to Eddie Howe and his side but no deal ever panned out.

Indeed, it looked as though the Moroccan midfielder was desired for a loan switch to PSG instead. However, that transfer failed at the last moment due to some technical errors which didn’t see the correct paperwork completed in time.

Speaking on his YouTube channel about the situation, Romano has now revealed that the player had “some other possibilities” but turned them down.

And while he was unable to name the specific teams interested, recent evidence suggests it would have been Newcastle.

The journalist explained: “One thing about Ziyech is that he also had some other possibilities. Now I can’t mention the clubs, because otherwise they kill me, but today another club called for Ziyech.

“And he said: ‘I want to go to PSG’. He only wanted PSG.”

He concluded: “Hakim Ziyech was approached by another club they are telling me right now and he only wanted to join Paris Saint-Germain.”

Big mistake?

Seeing as Ziyech was in Paris to complete a medical and a move but Chelsea’s supposed mishandling of the paperwork scuppered the deal, he may now be regretting his decision to be so steadfast about joining PSG over any other option.

Of course, we can’t know for sure if Newcastle were one of the teams in for the attacking midfielder but seeing as they had a past interest in the player it’s a strong possibility.

What’s more, the Magpies failed with their own attempts to bring in James Maddison after getting Anthony Gordon across the line, so it seems as though they were in the market for one more signing to add to the club’s attacking depth.

Of course, Newcastle can still go back in for Ziyech in the summer when his contract will enter its final two years and so it will be interesting to keep an eye on this to see if any stronger rumours develop.

Everton showing interest in Hakim Ziyech

Everton are in need of reinforcements in their team as the side struggles in another relegation scrap at the bottom of the Premier League table and now a reliable source has revealed a new potential transfer target.

What’s the latest?

According to the Daily Mail’s chief football reporter Sami Mokbel, Everton are showing interest in a loan deal for Chelsea playmaker Hakim Ziyech.

Mokbel tweeted: “Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech is interesting Everton, among other clubs, on an initial loan.”

Imagine him & Danjuma

It is no secret that the Toffees are in desperate need of more goal contributions from the attacking threat at Goodison Park with the second-worst goal tally in the Premier League currently which has led to their demise over the season so far.

Everton are 19th in the top-flight table after 20 outings with only 15 points collected out of a possible 60, which has led to speculation that Frank Lampard could be set to lose his job at Goodison Park imminently following the defeat at the London Stadium against West Ham United on Saturday.

Nevertheless, the club have been handed a lifeline with the January transfer window open which presents the Merseyside club the golden opportunity to strengthen their goal threat in order to give the team the best chance at securing survival over the 18 league fixtures remaining.

It was reported over the weekend that Arnaut Danjuma has completed a medical and will be announced as the newest addition to the Everton team shortly, so if the club could also acquire the services of Ziyech it would put the side in a great position to compete with their relegation rivals.

The £100k-per-week ace – who was hailed “world-class” by journalist Kevin Palmer – ranks in the top 10% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for shots on goal, passes attempted and progressive passes, whilst ranking in the top 15% for tackles and interceptions too.

Not only that, Ziyech offers wide versatility in his positioning with the talented Morocco international experienced in attacking midfield, right wing and central midfield roles, as well as delivering a strong output in front of goal with 125 goals and 135 assists tallied up so far over 440 career appearances – with a goal contribution every 127 minutes so far.

The Chelsea star’s versatility and consistent delivery of goal contributions make him the perfect player to partner Danjuma in the shake-up of the attacking threat at Goodison and combined could be the difference that saves Everton from a spell in the Championship.

Over this season Ziyech has shown stronger attributes than Danjuma in assists (1 v 0) shot-creating actions (20 v 12), dribbles completed (42.9% v 28.6%) and progressive passes (18 v 3).

That said, Danjuma has outperformed his positional peer in goals scored (2 v 0), shots on target rate (36.4% v 20%) and pass completion rate (73.7% v 62.7%).

As a result, combining the two players’ talents and strengths in the Everton forward line could be the key to unlocking the stale attacking threat on the blue side of Merseyside.

TalkSPORT man aims dig at Everton supporters live on air

Alan Brazil has slammed the Everton fans live on TalkSPORT after the club’s board of directors were told to stay away from the last home game.

The Lowdown: Chaos engulfing Goodison Park

At the end of last season when Everton confirmed their safety in the Premier League there were scenes of relief and jubilation at Goodison Park which will have filled fans with hope and optimism that something similar wouldn’t happen again.

However, that was seemingly only to be a dream as Everton find themselves inside the bottom three and facing a real threat of relegation, especially given their worrying lack of transfer activity.

It’s not just on the pitch that thing are going wrong for Everton though as last week their board of directors were urged to stay away from the ground due to threats to their safety, which was soon followed by claims of Denise Barrett-Baxendale having been put in a headlock when leaving the director’s box, although this is yet to be proven.

The Latest: Everton are in a huge mess

Despite those claims not being proved true, Brazil still didn’t hold back as he slammed the Evertonians for putting the board of directors’ safety at threat and not allowing them to attend a game.

He said: (0:00) “I understand the fans’ passion that Frank was relating to there but I’m sorry, this has gone too far when directors and don’t get me wrong we’ve got so many foreign directors now, when they feel it’s not safe to attend a football club they might as well walk away and say I’m out, I’m selling the share. That is a disgrace.”

The Verdict: Moshiri must get the club in order

Evertonians have every right to be angry and fed up with what their club and board are serving up and have been doing for several years now as they have thrown away so much money on transfers over the last few seasons.

However, the fact that directors were advised to not attend games is certainly not on and the threat appeared to be real given what happened to the likes of Ellis Simms and Yerry Mina after the game when they were trying to leave Goodison Park.

It’s very bizarre for Brazil to have gone on national radio to kick Everton fans when they’re already down and struggling to get behind their club, manager and players and face dropping out of the Premier League for the first time in their history.

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