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Second chances don’t come around very often, especially at Celtic Football Club.

For a club etched in so much history, it’s a team that will chew you up and spit you back out if disappointing performances arise.

Just ask a certain Leigh Griffiths, a man who’s had several chances to prove his worth at Parkhead.

Considering his record, the 30-year-old deserves to be respected a little bit more. He formed part of the teams that won nine in a row as he scored 123 goals in 262 appearances.

However, after a laborious attacking campaign in 2020/21 for Griffiths, he was called into question.

The Scot scored just seven goals and ended up being left out of Steve Clarke’s for the European Championships. It looked like he wouldn’t sign a new deal with Celtic either.

Though, Ange Postecoglou and Dominic McKay handed him another bite of the cherry by extending his deal by an extra year last week. It’s already started in torrid circumstances for Griffiths who has been sent home from the club’s training camp in Wales.

Griffiths will no doubt receive another opportunity to get into this side but if they sign another forward, he should remain on the sidelines.

The Hoops have been linked with a move for Kevin Nisbet, a man who may cost around the £4m mark this summer.

He was the second top scorer in the Premiership last term and made three substitute appearances at Euro 2020.

Improving all the time, the striker has been described as a “wonderful player” by pundit Frank McAvennie.

He scored 18 goals last term and if Celtic are able to lure him to Paradise, he could be another Griffiths.

Nisbet isn’t as hot-headed as the Hoops forward but his ability to find the back of the net is remarkably similar. They also both proved themselves with Hibs before being linked with pastures new.

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Celtic’s current number nine spent two years on loan at Easter Road from Wolves where he was in the form of his life.

The experienced attacker beat the goalkeeper on 38 occasions in 78 times for the Edinburgh club before earning his move to one of the biggest clubs in Scotland.

That meant he scored a goal every 164 minutes. Compare that to Nisbet and he has found the net on 18 occasions in 45 outings for Hibs; a goal every 197 minutes.

The Celtic target’s record might not be quite as impressive but he is still young at the age of 24, meaning he has plenty of time to develop and improve on that tally.

Postecoglou’s side have already proven in the past that luring the best forward players in Scotland to the club is a successful recipe.

Scott McDonald proved that by moving from Motherwell to the Hoops and scoring 59 times in 117 appearances.

They must use their experience there and with Griffiths to weigh up the pros and cons of landing Nisbet.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano delivers exciting Celtic transfer update, fans should be buzzing…

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could unearth his club’s new Sol Campbell in Eintracht Frankfurt powerhouse Evan N’Dicka.

What’s the story?

According to German publication SportBild (via Sport Witness), the Gunners are interested in signing the Frenchman this summer, with the defender’s advisors said to be looking for a potential move to England for their client.

The report added that the Bundesliga club would be looking for a fee in the region of €30m (£25m) to part ways with the centre-back.

Arsenal’s new Campbell

Campbell was part of the famous Arsenal side which went a whole season unbeaten en route to winning the Premier League in 2003/04, and it’s fair to say that the Gunners haven’t really had anyone since then match up to that level of quality and status.

There have been a number of pretenders to the throne, but in the 21-year-old N’Dicka, they could very well find the ideal man to do so.

A profile by Arsenal.com said of Campbell: “On the field, the east Londoner’s strength was his athleticism. His bludgeoning power and fearsome frame worked in tandem with fast-moving feet.

“And there was, strangely for a man of his build, serenity in the way he carried himself, too. He was never willing to throw in the towel and often appeared visibly hurt in defeat – characteristics that endeared him to his new fans.”

N’Dicka is in that similar mould of being extremely quick for a centre-back, but also having the physical power to deal with more rugged strikers too.

The 6 foot 4 beast is not only dominant in the air, winning 2.1 aerial duels per game last season in the Bundesliga, but is equally comfortable playing out from the back, averaging an 84.8% passing accuracy.

The centre-back has impressed his former manager Adi Hutter, who said: “I honestly have to say that I was surprised by his development. Evan has developed phenomenally. He’s very attentive in the analysis of his own game. He’s very modest and always takes a lot on board.”

Former Eintracht Frankfurt star Alexander Schur believes that N’Dicka “shows no nerves” and “plays with great authority” – a real indication of the kind of leadership he possesses, much like Campbell in his prime in the Highbury days.

The £25m-rated powerhouse could add some real quality to Arteta’s options at the back, and provide a real throwback to when Campbell was at the club.

Meanwhile, Arsenal could sign their new Patrick Vieira in this powerhouse…

Liverpool are closing in on the signing of Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez as the Reds step up their efforts in the transfer market.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish publication La Razon, the reigning La Liga champions have agreed to sell the 26-year-old to the Reds this summer after extensive talks.

Saul is believed to carry a £60 million price tag, although Atleti are reportedly willing to negotiate a lower fee, given they are open to letting him move to Merseyside.

Imagine him and Thiago

Jurgen Klopp is believed to be in the market for a new central-midfielder after Gini Wijnaldum moved to Paris Saint-Germain last month.

The Dutch international featured in all 38 Premier League games for Liverpool last season, so his departure has left a sizeable gap in the club’s engine room.

And after impressing in the Spanish capital in recent years, Saul has been outlined as a prime candidate to replace Wijnaldum at Anfield.

In 337 appearances for his boyhood club, the dynamic maestro has bagged 43 goals and provided 19 assists for the Rojiblancos, winning the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey crown along the way.

His impressive performances have caught the eye of several pundits in the past, including former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.

“What a player. I’ve been harping on about Saul Niguez for a few years now. I think he’s a major player. He’s composed, calm, great left foot, lovely conductor, he can score goals, tactically he’s very aware,” said Ferdinand.

“You can see (Diego) Simeone, he gets his teams really well set up, and he’s in the middle orchestrating and dictating things.”

However, after missing out on a place in Luis Enrique’s squad for Euro 2020, Saul is keen to begin a new chapter in his career next season.

After making just 22 league starts throughout 2020/21, Saul is set to seek pastures new over the coming months, and he could be lining up alongside compatriot Thiago in the near future, providing a Spanish core to the site, one that possesses so many qualities.

Liverpool struggled in the recently concluded campaign, finishing in third place in the Premier League standings and a whopping 17 points behind champions Manchester City.

If the club’s director of football Michael Edwards wants to get the Reds firing again, then bringing in Saul would be a popular choice, and the club’s supporters will surely be urging him to get this deal over the line.

And, in other news…LFC handed transfer boost over “unplayable” 22 y/o dynamo, Klopp will be buzzing 

Peterborough United Director of Football Barry Fry has revealed that the club want to sign six new players this summer.

Posh are preparing for a season in the Championship after winning promotion from League One by finishing second behind Hull City.

The club have not been in the second-tier since 2012/13, when they finished 22nd under the management of Darren Ferguson, who is now in his third spell at the club.

They are looking to compete in the Championship this time around, though, and are planning for a busy summer that could see a number of players come through the door at London Road.

Peterborough have already announced a clutch of new contracts, tying down the likes of Ricky Jade-Jones and centre-back Ronnie Edwards among others.

And Fry has now confirmed that the club are in search of some experienced talent to bolster Ferguson’s squad ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, Fry said: “We tied six of our players who were already under contract with us to new three-year contracts because they got us there, and the spirit of everybody got us there, and we had the nucleus of a good side, so we want to keep that together.

“It is important in the Championship that we add to that and we would like to sign another six players to strengthen the squad, to go with the already very good, very hungry, very young squad.

“Apart from Beevers, all of our players are really young and you need one or two experienced players in your side that’s played in the Championship before to help the other lads. The other lads, some of the younger lads, have come on leaps and bounds.”

Crystal Palace must avoid former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard this summer as they continue to search for Roy Hodgson’s successor.

What’s the story?

It seemed as though ex-Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo was set to fill the Selhurst Park vacancy earlier in the week before some last-minute demands from the Portuguese tactician saw the deal collapse.

According to The Mirror, Lampard is now back in the running to fill the Selhurst Park vacancy, with Swansea’s Steve Cooper and Burnley’s Sean Dyche also in the mix.

Worse than Nuno Espirito Santo

The retired England international was sacked as the Blues boss back in January after just 18 months at the helm of the west London outfit.

Lampard took over from Maurizio Sarri in 2019, guiding Chelsea to a fourth-place finish in his first season in charge, but a poor start to 2020/21 saw the capital club fall to ninth in the Premier League table after 19 games, 11 points behind leaders Manchester United and five points off Liverpool in fourth.

It was only the 42-year-old’s second managerial position after a single campaign with Championship outfit Derby County and it perhaps came too soon for Lampard.

His exciting, attacking style won several plaudits throughout his time in the dugout, although a win percentage of 46.2% sees him lagging behind previous candidate Espirito Santo, who boasts a 47.8% success rate.

Although football isn’t always this black and white, in management, the numbers very rarely lie, and these figures indicate that turning to Lampard would represent a compromise in Palace’s managerial pursuit.

After all, the Englishman has been available for many months, so if chairman Steve Parish was definitely sure the young manager was the right man for the job, he would surely have appointed him by now.

Lampard may go on to have an excellent career in the dugout and lead one of his future sides to glory, but the huge task awaiting Hodgson’s replacement at Selhurst Park requires a more experienced head given the sheer amount of turnover that’s expected to take place in terms of the playing squad.

The former England boss brought stability to south London, yet has left behind a side in a state of disrepair. Parish is better off turning to someone who has been there and seen it all before, rather than someone who is still very much learning the ropes.

And, in other news…Parish masterstroke: Palace must swoop for £9m-rated prodigy, he’s an “absolute tank” 

With West Bromwich Albion’s search to appoint Sam Allardyce’s successor at The Hawthorns having drawn on for an excruciatingly prolonged period, a door may have just opened that would allow the club to move for the perfect candidate.

Having been rejected by a number of their first-choice targets already this summer, a list that includes the likes of Roy Hodgson, Frank Lampard, David Wagner and Michael Appleton, as well as the club’s owner, Guochuan Lai, personally vetoing a move for Chris Wilder, it very much appears as if West Brom are running out of options in their managerial search.

However, with The Telegraph reporting on Tuesday that Scott Parker looks set to leave Craven Cottage by mutual consent in the coming days, the Baggies’ fortunes could have just made a dramatic u-turn.

Parker could be transformational

Despite having overseen a second relegation from the Premier League in the space of just three seasons, Parker’s record in the Championship should provide Lai with more than enough incentive to make an approach for the 40-year-old manager.

Indeed, over the former England international’s 46 games in charge of Fulham during the regular Championship season, the young coach guided his side to a highly impressive 23 wins, 12 draws and 11 losses, results which saw Fulham secure a fourth-place finish in the second tier standings, just two points behind Slaven Bilic’s West Brom side in the automatic promotion places.

Parker then overcame Cardiff City with a 3-2 aggregate win in the play-off semi-finals, before defeating a heavily fancied Brentford side 2-1 AET in the final – meaning the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder had achieved the feat of leading his team back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

As such, with an immediate return to the top flight very much being the primary objective for West Brom next season, Parker’s appointment would appear to dramatically boost the Baggies chances of being successful in their quest to once again be playing Premier League football at the earliest opportunity.

Furthermore, with managers such as Pep Guardiola, Marcelo Bielsa and Jurgen Klopp all singling the 40-year-old out for his impressive brand of football at Fulham, with the latter of the three stating his belief that Parker is an “exceptional” manager, not only would his appointment increase the club’s chances of promotion, it would also bring a fresh, exciting and attacking style of play to The Hawthorns – something that fans must be longing for after half a season of watching Allardyce’s West Brom.

So, it would seem Parker ticks a great deal, if not all, of the boxes that Lai is likely demanding from the Baggies’ next manager, leading us to believe that the owner should be doing all he can to lure the Fulham boss to West Bromwich this summer.

Parker is reportedly a target for potential play-off rivals Bournemouth and that is said to be his most likely destination but with nothing seemingly signed with The Cherries yet, West Brom, having also decided not to sign Wilder, should make big push to convince the former England midfielder that Albion would be the best place for him to manage.

In other news: Lai could have just made his biggest West Brom mistake to date, fans are rightly livid

Sunderland fans appear to be surprisingly happy as it is suggested Charlie Wyke could leave the Stadium of Light this summer.

Wyke enjoyed a fantastic 2020/21 campaign. While Sunderland failed to earn promotion to the Championship, the 28-year-old enjoyed the best season of his career, scoring 30 goals in 54 matches in all competitions, 26 of which came in League One (Transfermarkt) – only Peterborough’s Jonson Clarke-Harris managed more in the third tier (BBC).

According to The Northern Echo, however, the Black Cats’ hopes of holding on to the striker have all but disappeared. Celtic are said to be heavily interested in his services, while he is believed to be in talks with at least three Championship clubs. However, despite the number of goals Sunderland stand to lose if he leaves, it seems the supporters would be happy to see him depart.

The news was shared on Twitter by journalist Scott Wilson, and the fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Wyke news below

“See ya”

Credit: @AndrewsPhilip7

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, one great season doesn’t detract from the dross he served up in the two years prior. Rebuild with as few of the failures as possible.”

Credit: @KyzenSAFC

“Am I the only person who is absurdly happy about this? He had a good season, but his general play is poor, hold up play non existent…and without McGeady looked punchless. We need better.”

Credit: @Grahame_psprare

“Said it when the season was finished. I’m sure he’s a good lad but I don’t want us to play the type of football needed to get the best out of him. Best of luck to him for the future.”

Credit: @RWMDAWSON

“Appreciate what he did last season and grateful for it, but think we are all pretty comfortable with Wyke moving on. It’s a nice thank you and goodbye from me.”

Credit: @Capt_Fishpaste

“30+ goals last season but he’s proved he can’t do it consistently over a number of seasons. Clearly he’s had a great season. Also proved he still misses sitters. Strangely not worried by him leaving.”

Credit: @paulthomase

In other news, Sunderland are said to be interested in signing this former Chelsea man.

Mumbai were bowled out for 255 in 78.2 overs shortly after the tea interval in the second innings of the West Zone Ranji trophy match at MIG, Bandra, Mumbai against Baroda on Monday.Mumbai set Baroda a target of 464 runs to win the match

Waleed Hussain25-Dec-2000Mumbai were bowled out for 255 in 78.2 overs shortly after the tea interval in the second innings of the West Zone Ranji trophy match at MIG, Bandra, Mumbai against Baroda on Monday.Mumbai set Baroda a target of 464 runs to win the match. Baroda were 75 for one off 22 overs when stumps were drawn on the third day. Earlier in the day, Mumbai resumed the innings at 32 for one lost regular wickets and were in a spot of bother at 117 for five off 44 overs at the lunch interval. With Sachin Tendulkar back in the pavilion for five runs, Baroda medium pacers Rakesh Patel and Zaheer Khan had their tails up. They were kept at bay by a gritty innings from Amol Muzumdar (81) and stumper Sameer Dighe (52). The duo added 91 runs for the sixth wicket off 30.2 overs.Allrounder Ramesh Powar gave the crowd their money’s worth with a swash buckling innings. He scored 36 off 24 balls, hitting seven of them to the fence and one over it. Rakesh Patel was the wrecker-in-chief for Baroda as he bagged a five wicket haul that included the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. Patel had figures of five for 84. Zaheer Khan bagged the solitary wicket of Robin Morris. He bowled 24 overs giving away 57 runs.Baroda needed an improbable 464 for victory. Ajit Agarkar picked up the only wicket to fall on the day and returned figures of 17 for one. Connor Williams was unbeaten on 26 off 65 balls with five hits to the fence he had with him Himanshu Jadhav batting on 11 off 31 balls with two boundaries to his credit. Baroda still need 389 to win in 90 overs on the last day.

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit and former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson has told Tottenham Hotspur to target Rangers boss Steven Gerrard.

The Lowdown: Spurs managerial search continues…

Many names have been linked in the press, including elite managers like Julian Nagelsmann, Antonio Conte and Hansi Flick, but the search goes on for Spurs’ heir to former boss Jose Mourinho.

Alasdair Gold reported that Tottenham are aiming to appoint their new manager by the end of this season, and while a shortlist has been drawn up, they’re fast running out of time.

The Latest: Tottenham told to target Gerrard

Robinson, speaking in an interview with Football Insider, has urged Levy to swoop for the Gers boss after he ended Celtic’s near decade-long dominance over the SPFL.

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“When I look at the list of managers nobody is jumping off the page at me,” he explained to the outlet.

“There could be a massive rebuild once again. Who do they trust to do it? They had the young exciting manager in Pochettino and they have had the serial trophy winner Mourinho. Neither return a trophy for Spurs.

“Where do they go now? The only one that would excite me, and he has not been talked about yet, is Steven Gerrard. I would love to see him there.

“What he has done at Rangers has been incredible. He is a young, exciting manager who has pull in the transfer market.

“Yes, Scotland is not anything like the Premier League but I like what he has done there and how he has gone about it.”

The Verdict: A credible outsider with one fatal caveat…

Gerrard has received no shortage of praise for his job at Ibrox, with former Spurs striker Jermain Defoe even likening him to Harry Redknapp last year due to his personable approach to man management (talkSPORT via the Daily Record).

As well as this, former Scotland international and Liverpool legend Graeme Souness has hailed him as ‘fantastic’ for the job he has done in Glasgow (The Athletic).

It is no secret he has achieved a brilliant turnaround for Rangers, but Gerrard’s lack of experience in a more competitive division like the Premier League could be the only caveat to his possible appointment.

In other news: Tottenham now set to interview this ‘top coach’, find out more here.

Glenn Hoddle has slammed Daniel Levy’s decision to charge fans up to £60 for a ticket for Tottenham’s home game against Aston Villa on May 19.

The Lowdown: Levy sets astonishing prices

After what has been a difficult year due to the global pandemic, there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel. For the last two Premier League matchdays of the season, it has been confirmed that supporters will be allowed to attend games.

That means Spurs’ match against Villa will be played in front of 10,000 fans. The prices for tickets for the fixture are astonishingly high, though – adults will pay £60, young adults must pay £45 and over-65s and under-18s will be charged £30 (Daily Mail).

By stark contrast, Burnley are offering 3,500 free tickets for their home clash against Liverpool on the same date (Sky Sports).

The Latest: Hoddle unhappy with decision

Club legend Hoddle was far from happy with the prices being charged by Levy and Tottenham. He said (via Daily Mail):

“If you’re going to do anything in life, you have to have harmony. At the moment, that isn’t the case. 

“The supporter trust wants change, that’s not always easy. Communication has to happen. Sit down with Daniel and talk it out. 

“If not, the war will get bigger on that front. The ticket scenario, I’m scratching my head at who’s made that decision. Give a gift back to your fans.”

The Verdict: Outrageous

It is hard to disagree with Hoddle’s point of view. The pandemic has had a negative effect on people all over Britain, especially from a financial point of view – although football clubs have lost income, they have not had to suffer like others given they have been allowed to play generally throughout. After the European Super League fiasco, Levy had the chance to build bridges with the fans, but he has once again misjudged the situation.

Supporters deserve more respect. These prices will bring in a minimum £300,000 to the club with an attendance of 10,000, and it will likely be a fair bit more than that amount, but it will still be miniscule in regards to the revenue clubs like Tottenham can generate. Hopefully, Levy has some other plans to get himself back into the good books of disgruntled Spurs fans.

In other news, Tottenham have been urged to sign this Premier League winger.