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After an impressive cameo from the bench during the 8-0 victory over Hamilton Academical at Ibrox before the international break, Glasgow Rangers manager Steven Gerrard must reward Calvin Bassey with a start in the busy festive period.

Following the Scottish League Cup clash against Falkirk, Rangers will host Standard Liege in the Europa League on Thursday night in the hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.

The Light Blues started strongly against Benfica in their previous fixture but once again they blew a two-goal lead as the Portuguese giants stunned the Gers with a comeback to earn a draw at the Govan stadium.

Despite this obvious setback, several players produced a spirited performance, arguably none more so than Borna Barisic, who received a high rating of seven out of ten for his efforts from Glasgow Live.

Barisic has arguably been one of the club’s best players in recent weeks, with the marauding fullback racking up eight assists in 20 appearances in all competitions so far this season.

However, with the fixtures coming thick and fast as the Gers head into the winter months, Gerrard will be well aware he will have to rotate his squad to avoid major burnout.

So perhaps the Ibrox boss should start to think about rewarding Bassey, who has turned out to be a total revelation after his arrival from Leicester City in the summer.

In seven games this season, the 20-year-old is averaging 1.7 tackles per game overall, via WhoScored, which is more than the Croatian defender is currently managing (1.2).

Whilst his attacking output is nowhere near on the same level as Barisic as of yet, the raw potential is there for all to see, as he has made one key pass and one dribble per game in the Europa League, as per WhoScored.

It could be argued that the youngster, who holds dual English and Nigerian citizenship, has a lot to prove during his time at the Ibrox outfit, as he came through the ranks with Leicester City’s academy but wasn’t given the time to shine in the first team.

Rangers chief Ross Wilson secured the arrival of the versatile player from the Foxes on a four-year deal in the summer. Since his arrival, Bassey has made just eight appearances for the Gers in which he has started just two games (via Transfermarkt).

However, the Ibrox boss has described him as a “fantastic” talent, whilst Wilson recently revealed that backroom staff are pleased with his progress.

It’s fair to say that Bassey put his faith in Gerrard as he wasn’t exactly short of suitors as the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and West Ham were credited with an interest in the summer. Now it’s the manager’s turn to return the favour.

AND in other news, Zungu and Hagi start, no room for Cedric Itten: Glasgow Rangers Predicted XI vs Falkirk…

Speaking to the Shields Gazette, Newcastle Consortium Supporters Ltd’s Keith Patterson has dropped a huge takeover claim surrounding Tottenham and Daniel Levy as his own club’s saga continues – going on to say that Spurs ‘approached investors’ over a potential £3.5 billion total buy-out. 

As the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) takeover saga at St. James’ Park saga wages on, with the Premier League in hot water as Patterson and Gordon Stein take them to court for what could be a breach of anti-competition law, a Tottenham claim has now been thrown into the mix.

Indeed, speaking to the Shields Gazette, Patterson stated that Spurs were attempting to finalise a takeover last year as they approached Saudi investors over a £3.5 billion total purchase.

Levy and an alleged takeover

Chairman Daniel Levy, who has since invested heavily in his team over the summer after years of debatably under-cutting, apparently attempted to approach interested parties over a massive deal to take over Tottenham.

Patterson, speaking of his side’s takeover desires, accused Spurs as being one of the clubs who caused a deal to stall alongside Man City and Liverpool.

“Tottenham Hotspur, in a negotiation which broke down in March 2019, approached investors in the region we are talking about – two months before the Newcastle deal was ironed out – to buy the football club for £2.5billion, with a further £1billion in add ons.

“The deal was taken to the investors in Saudi Arabia, by a dealmaker named as Eldridge Investments, and rejected – the whole deal totals £3.5billion.

“Spurs came so close to pulling off a deal but then stood in the way of another? We will find out more with disclosure.”

Transfer Tavern take

While this revelation could intrigue Spurs fans, Levy and his key investments over the summer could attract praise – especially as Tottenham currently sit top of the pile.

It’s hard to argue against Levy proving his worth to the fans in the summer, but it will certainly be interesting to see if these rumours pop up again now they are out in the open. Was this his master plan all along?

In other news: Levy has plotted his next transfer move, find out more here. 

Leeds United will be hoping that they can do a number over close opponents Crystal Palace this afternoon. They will be looking to avenge their recent 4-1 loss to Leicester last time out, with individuals set to improve on disappointing personal performances.

Marcelo Bielsa made an odd call at half-time against the Foxes after he decided to bring on Ian Poveda for Jamie Shackleton. The right-winger’s presence meant that both he and Helder Costa were manning the right flank on paper, albeit Poveda drifted into the midfield a bit more. But to opt for a winger to do the job of a natural midfielder suggests something is off.

Shackleton to face the boot as Bielsa scrambles

Fan favourite Shackleton struggled for game time last season but has already made three Premier League appearances this term. However, he has also featured in both the Premier League 2 and reserve league EFL trophy. On the surface, this could hint that Bielsa is hoping for the 21-year-old to gain a bit more experience before he is fully deployed as a senior Premier League player.

However, Shackleton boasts 52 first team appearances for Leeds so far, which is certainly a stat to be proud of. He was recently lauded by Michael Brown for being a “breath of fresh air” in this Leeds side. The Premier League could be proving to be too difficult for the £1,500-per-week ace at the moment though.

Many have struggled to adapt to the gritty, high-intensity nature of England’s top flight. As such, it’s more than likely that Bielsa will opt to demote Shackleton to the bench or even the U23 league for this season.

Pascal Struijk is looking to be the man the manager will call upon for the rest of the campaign. His versatility to play across almost any defensive position as well as in midfield will be a huge boost for the Whites and will allow Bielsa to change up his formation as and when needed.

This could come into play as early as today, ensuring Crystal Palace don’t find a way into the back of the Leeds net.

In other news, Leicester loss to inspire Bielsa changes: Predicted Leeds XI vs Crystal Palace…

Everton Director of Football Marcel Brands has been forced into playing the pantomime villain role at Goodison Park this summer by terminating the contract of Shani Tarashaj.

What’s the word?

According to the Liverpool Echo, Tarashaj is no longer an Everton player after the Merseyside outfit terminated the striker’s contract upon his return to Finch Farm, following a failed loan spell with FC Emmen.

The Dutch side announced on Tuesday that the 25-year-old would be heading back to England mid-way through a two-season loan deal, having failed to make the grade in the Eredivisie through a string of injuries that prevented Tarashaj from ever making his debut.

Everton had extended the Swiss forward’s contract by 12 months last summer to see Tarashaj join Emmen on loan, who would have paid his remaining contract over two years rather than one.

It is not yet known if Everton have paid Tarashaj’s remaining contract off in full to release the attacker, or if the Goodison Park natives were able to reach a settlement agreement.

Tarashaj originally joined the Toffees from academy side Grasshopper Club Zurich in 2016 on a four-and-a-half-year deal, having been signed for around £3million but never played a first-team game and made just two U23 outings in royal blue before his release.

Brands: The needed villain

With news that Tarashaj is no longer an Everton player, his departure signals yet another needed step taken by Brands to clear out the woeful deadwood signed by his predecessors and avoid adding the striker’s remaining salary to a bloated wage bill.

Earlier this summer, Everton agreed to allow Sandro Ramirez to join La Liga side SD Huesca as a free agent three years on from his arrival, having managed just one goal in 16 Blues appearances before spending two-and-a-half-years away from Merseyside in various loans.

It is not Brands’ fault, nor head coach Carlo Ancelotti, that they have been left in a position where they must make the difficult decisions on the futures of players not of the standard needed at Goodison Park.

In Tarashaj’s case, particularly, Brands agreeing to extend the Swiss forward’s contract last summer to ensure he could join Emmen goes to show how the Dutchman did whatever was needed to help the player in an unfortunate situation, but things did not play out as planned.

The failing of Tarashaj’s time as an Everton player falls solely at the feet of the people who brought the 25-year-old to England originally, even if then-manager Roberto Martinez considered the 5-cap international to be a “special” talent.

“I would encourage our fans to look forward to a special talent,” Martinez said upon Tarashaj’s signing in 2016, via quotes by the Daily Post. “He is probably the best young talent in Swiss football.”

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti can look to exploit an “incredible talent” when Everton host Liverpool this Saturday.

Portsmouth boss Kenny Jackett remains keen on Stoke City defender Harry Souttar, despite his future with the Championship side being up in the air.

Pompey’s disappointing play-off campaign last term saw them fail to gain promotion for a second consecutive season and it was expected that first team boss Jackett would bring in a whole host of new faces.

However, limited arrivals have come in to Fratton Park with just Callum Johnson, Sean Raggett, Cameron Pring and Michael Jacobs signing on the dotted line.

One player continuously linked with a move to Portsmouth over the last few weeks has been Souttar, and that interest has now re-emerged.

Souttar, who Pompey showed interest in earlier in the summer could well remain at the bet365 stadium after being lavished with praise for his display in the 1-0 win against Wolves in the Carabao Cup last week by Michael O’Neill, leaving Portsmouth boss Jackett with a potential defeat in his pursuit of the defender.

That being said, The News now report that Pompey remain interested in seeing if a deal can be secured before the transfer window closes on October 16.

It will be a tough task for Jackett to secure a deal for Souttar, especially as Stoke City boss O’Neill has been impressed with his latest performance and may therefore want to keep him around.

However, it seems that Pompey will keep up their pursuit of the Australian international, who remarkably has four goals in just two caps despite being a defender by trade.

Do you think Portsmouth should go all out to sign Souttar before the transfer window shuts? Let us know in the comments section below…

The Tottenham faithful were unlucky last season and missed out on a Champions League spot, but did qualify for Europa League football for next season.

The next campaign will be Jose Mourinho’s first full season since joining the club in November last year, and will likely be making a few signings during the transfer window to make the squad his own.

In an interview with Sky Sports back in May – Mourinho stated that he didn’t feel Tottenham were going to have a very big transfer budget this window due to the impact of COVID-19, stating that himself and Tottenham would be sensible, balanced, and won’t be spending rivers of money – which is understandable given the current financial situation.

Despite this omission, the club will still likely make some signings to try and bolster their squad – with the Lillywhites already adding Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Joe Hart to the squad, but who else could the club realistically sign this summer?

Min-jae Kim

The 23-year-old defender has been in fine form for Chinese Super League club Beijing Sinobo Guoan – and has been linked with a move to Tottenham as a replacement for Jan Vertonghen, with a £15 million transfer after having two bids rejected by the Chinese club. Kim has been dubbed as the ‘South Koren Van Dijk’ – and has even been nicknamed “monster” due to his stature and aggressive style of play and physical strength.

Last season Kim averaged 1.3 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, and 3.2 clearances per game, as well as winning 1.8 aerial duels per game – and would be a great addition to Mourinho’s squad, with fellow countryman Heung-min Son already at the club.

Mehmet Zeki Çelik

The Turkish right-back has been linked with a move to the North London club over recent weeks, with reports even suggesting that the club are looking to sell Serge Aurier and Juan Foyth to raise the funds for the 23-year-old – with the sale of Kyle Walker-Peters to Southampton also leaving a void in the options for a right-back.

After 23 league appearances, Zeki Çelik has averaged 2.3 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, and 1.4 clearances per game, as well as registering 2 assists. It has been reported that the player would cost between €20-25 million, meaning that the sales of the aforementioned plays would be helpful to raise those much-needed funds.

Ivan Perisic

After reports emerged at the end of July that Tottenham had opened talks with Inter Milan over the transfer of Tanguy Ndombélé, attention instantly turned to the availability of Ivan Perisic.

The Croatian winger is said to be admired by Mourinho, with the manager even trying to sign him during his time at Manchester United. Perisic has been on loan at Bayern Munich this season, and has 4 goals and 3 assists to his name in the league – but it is his form in the Champions League that has impressed the most.

The winger has 3 goals and 3 assists in 8 games – and has helped steer the club to the semi-finals of the competition. At 31-years-old, Perisic would bring a great amount of experience and quality for the young players in Spurs’ side.

David Brooks

Bournemouth’s relegation has meant that many of their best players will likely leave the club this summer – and Spurs have reportedly said they ‘admire’ the player, and Daniel Levy is ready to offer the south coast club £10 million for the Welsh midfielder.

Brooks had an injury stinted season this year, but the season before last showed the talent and potential he has – with 7 goals and 5 assists from midfield. The player would be a great fit for Tottenham, bringing some needed youth and ambition into the side, but Bournemouth won’t be wanting to lose the youngster any time soon.

Timothy Castagne

Another option at right-back, the 24-year-old joined Italian side Atalanta in 2017 and has gone on to help the club reach astronomical heights for the small city of Bergamo.

Atalanta finished third last season in Serie A, and at one point were contending for the Scudetto – the club also reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in the club’s first time in the competition. Castagne is a versatile player as well, having played in four different positions for the club this season.

The player himself reportedly stated he wouldn’t be able to turn down a move to Spurs, with Atalanta valuing the player at around £18 million.

A reported date has been set for the English Football League’s potential salary cap as per comments made by Portsmouth chief executive officer Mark Catlin.

Pompey missed out on promotion from League One to the Championship via the play-offs this term, being beaten by Oxford United in the semi-finals.

That disappointment is now expected to see boss Kenny Jackett make wholesale changes during the summer transfer window and look to bolster his squad.

However, the potential of a salary cap of £2.5m per season could restrict many moves and Catlin has now revealed a date that EFL clubs are set to vote on the matter.

Catlin told Portsmouth News: “I don’t think there is a certainty that the salary cap will go through.

“There seems to be an ever-growing number of clubs which may vote against it, but I think a lot of those may look at it and, given the financial situation, see it as the best of a bad job.

“It doesn’t tick everyone’s boxes, but, on the whole, it means clubs’ costs are going to be brought down.

“Unfortunately for us, they are going to be brought down to a level which is far too low for Pompey and too high for other clubs.
“I have been speaking to quite a few of the Championship clubs ahead knowing the relegation spaces, so they are up to speed with the situation and must now come to their own decisions.

“Obviously the three relegated Championship clubs all have their own internal issues at the moment financially, so we’ll have to see how they do this.

“I am pretty certain the vote will take place on August 6, so we will find out soon.”
Portsmouth are yet to sign anyone for the 2020/21 season, despite allowing the likes of Christian Burgess and Brandon Haunstrup leave.

Pompey’s whole summer transfer window could be decided by the potential salary cap and that could determine exactly how they will approach the new season.

With little transfer activity happening at the moment at the League One club, players like Burgess and Haunstrup will need to be replaced quickly and efficiently, but as mentioned, the calibre and quality of those potential replacements could be determined by the EFL vote.

It is fair to say that the outcome of the vote could have huge ramifications on Pompey’s 20/21 campaign.

Do you think the salary cap will be introduced? Let us know in the comments section below…

Leeds United’s promotion party is ready to begin.

The Whites are a Premier League side once again, and they’re going to cap off their season by lifting the Championship trophy.

Unfortunately, they will be without their star man for the conclusion of the season as it has been confirmed that Kalvin Phillips’ knee injury will keep him out of the remaining games.

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As heart-breaking as it is for the Leeds-born midfielder to potentially miss out on playing in the game prior to United lifting the title, it will allow another man to enjoy that moment, and he is more than deserving of it.

Indeed, playing without Phillips is nothing new for Marcelo Bielsa with the Yorkshire Pirlo missing a handful of games through suspension this term, and when he has been without the 24-year-old his go-to move has been to put Ben White into midfield and bring Gaetano Berardi into the fold.

The sun seems to be setting on Berardi’s Leeds career, his contract is up at the end of the season, and numerous reports throughout the campaign have suggested United aren’t going to be extending his deal.

Aside from academy graduates, nobody in this squad has been at the club for as long as the centre-back, and after sticking with the club for six years, it seems fitting that he’ll get to play out the final few games of United’s title-winning campaign.

The 31-year-old has been loyal to United, and while he hasn’t always been the most reliable player, setting the record for most red cards in the club’s history this season, he’s always played with his heart on his sleeve, and that has earnt him cult hero status amongst supporters.

Unfortunately, his final bow won’t be in front of a packed-out stadium with games going on behind closed doors, but it seems as though Phillips’ injury may open the door to him being able to end his Leeds career on the pitch celebrating the club’s greatest achievement in almost 20 years with his teammates.

Some Aston Villa fans have reacted to the latest claim linking the club with a summer move for Galatasaray defender Christian Luyindama.

Indeed, Turkish newspaper Sozcu (via Sport Witness) are reporting that the Villans are lining up a €15m (£13.5m) move for him, but only if they avoid relegation to the Championship.

The 26-year-old centre-back joined Turkish club Galatasaray in January 2019 on loan before completing a permanent move from Standard Liege last summer.

Despite his early impressions in the Super Lig, the DR Congo international has since found playing time hard to come by, making just 10 appearances during the 2019/2020 season thus far.

With interest now said to be developing from Villa for the defender, who can also operate as a defensive midfielder, the summer could prove to be an interesting one for the player.

Joining Villa with interest are said to be Premier League rivals Everton with Belgian news outlet Voetbalkrant reporting Carlo Ancelotti’s side have shown interest.

Villa currently sit 19th in the Premier League standings and are in desperate need to find a run of form when the 2019/2020 season resumes.

Reacting to the report via Twitter account @villareport, Claret and Blue fans gave their thoughts on the defender’s potential arrival. It seems opinion is split, some liked the fact that the club were planning for life in the Premier League, with one even suggesting they “sell Mings” – who has a WhoScored rating this term of just 6.63 – in favour of Luyindama.

However, others were less keen, with one suggesting they should “bring Tuanzebe home” instead – the Manchester United man enjoyed a positive 31-game loan spell at Villa Park last season.

Do you think Luyindama will be a good signing for Villa? Let us know in the comments section below…

Manchester United are considering a cheaper alternative to Jadon Sancho, according to reports from Italy. 

The Red Devils have been linked to Sancho for a number of months and the winger has reportedly told Borussia Dortmund that he wants to return to England. However, despite reports suggesting that United are the front-runners to sign him, nothing has materialised as of yet.

The board have now apparently turned their attention to AS Roma star Cengiz Under in the event that they cannot sign Sancho in the upcoming window. Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, as relayed by Daily Express, claimed that Roma are looking to make a profit this summer.

Under, who has been capped 20 times by Turkey, has scored three goals in 15 appearances in Serie A this season, taking 1.7 shots per game, averaging 1.6 key passes and completing 1.9 dribbles per game on average (via WhoScored).

Corriere dello Sport claimed that United have spoken to former Tottenham director Franco Baldini, who was involved in Chris Smalling’s loan deal and has offered the attacking midfielder to several Premier League clubs.

The Giallorossi are now willing to sell the 22-year-old for around £26.8m, amid interest from Arsenal and Everton. Turkey’s former manager Mircea Lucescu once compared Under to Liverpool superstar and Roma alumnus Mohamed Salah.

Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out he has received a lower WhoScored rating than Sancho for his performances so far.

Failing to sign Sancho would be a bitter blow for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Indeed, the manager has made it clear that the England international is his top transfer priority, while he missed out on signing high-profile target Erling Braut Haaland last year.

Dortmund currently value their ace at a staggering £115m, which has made Ed Woodward reconsider his options. Although the Englishman remains at the top of the board’s agenda, they are now drafting a list of possible replacements if the Bundesliga club refuse to budge.

United fans, do you think Ed Woodward should sign Cengiz Under over Jadon Sancho? Let us know in the comments below!