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Gerard Deulofeu scored a hat-trick in Watford’s 5-1 win over Cardiff City in the Premier League on Friday night.

The Spaniard opened the scoring in the 18th minute, before netting twice in the space of two second-half minutes to secure the match ball.

Deulofeu now has six Premier League goals for the season and looks back to his best after missing the start of the campaign with a foot injury.

The Everton fans were closely watching what has happening in Wales and many took to social media to comment on the attacker’s treble.

Indeed, the now 24-year-old turned out for the Toffees during the 2013-14 season on loan, before joining the club on a permanent deal in July 2015.

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

Deulofeu scored eight times and registered 19 assists in 75 games for the Merseyside outfit and it seems that the club’s supporters still miss him.

Indeed, a selection of the Twitter reaction to his hat-trick can be seen below:

Manchester United have been in the process of appointing their next manager to take charge at Old Trafford this summer, and with Erik ten Hag the favoured manager to take the role new information has emerged about his potential coaching team that will work with him at the club.

What’s the word?

According to Chief Football Writer for The Mail on Sunday, Rob Draper, ten Hag is lining up Robin van Persie to join his management team at Man United this summer.

Draper tweeted late on Saturday night:

“Van Persie being lined up as Man Utd asst – but ten Hag still in talks, no deal yet.

“Ten Hag still wants assurances over how club will be run…”

Supporters will adore him

Van Persie provided a fairy-tale during his first season at Old Trafford, with the Dutch striker scoring “goal of the century” as claimed by Sir Alex Ferguson, to guide Manchester United to their 20th Premier League title victory in 2013.

The star forward scored 58 goals and provided 21 assists during his three-year tenure with the Red Devils, so the idea that he could come back and become part of the management team to guide United back to the glory days that once were will surely delight supporters who adore him.

The two time Premier League golden boot winner has the invaluable experience earned with Arsenal and Man United that could give ten Hag a real insight into the challenges of the league and can certainly help the current squad understand what it means to win trophies at the club.

Van Persie retired from playing football in 2019 hanging up his boots at 35 years old, and has since been making an impact in his assistant manager role at Feyenoord Rotterdam after being promoted from his technical coach role last summer. Coming back to the Premier League to work alongside ten Hag would be a huge next step in his career on the sideline.

With that being said, Manchester United have not even officially reached an agreement with the Ajax boss, and until ten Hag is confirmed we don’t expect other members of the coaching team to be decided until the deal is done, but the idea of Van Persie returning to the club will surely have supporters very excited.

In other news: MUFC make “shock approach” for “cold” £50m “warrior”, it’s bye-bye Rashford

Arsenal centre-forward Alexandre Lacazette is attracting increasing interest ahead of the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by French publication L’Equipe (via Sport Witness), who claim that Lyon are keeping an extremely close eye on the situation of the Arsenal centre-forward – whose current contract at The Emirates is due to expire at the end of the season – ahead of a potential move for the 30-year-old this summer.

However, the report goes on to state that Mikel Arteta’s side could yet offer the France international a short-term contract extension – believed to be one year plus the option of a further.

Arteta must axe Lacazette

While it is undeniable that Lacazette has quite significantly improved his form in recent weeks – scoring one goal and providing four assists over his last seven Premier League outings – the fact remains that the 30-year-old has never really lived up to his then-club record £46.5m tag back in 2017.

Indeed, despite being a fairly £18m-rated striker is far from being the deadly 20+ bagsman Arsenal require to fire them back towards the top of the Premier League table.

This is something that has been all too apparent over the £182k-per-week forward’s 23 Premier League outings this season, over which the player who Robin van Persie claimed is “not world-class” and Uche Amako labelled “shocking” has scored just four goals and missed six big chances.

As such, considering his hefty weekly wage – with the Frenchman currently being Arsenal’s highest earner – in addition to the fact he will turn 31 this May, Arteta must axe Lacazette this summer, as it is clear that the centre-forward is simply not clinical enough in the final third to justify his salary at The Emirates.

AND in other news: Arteta can finally axe £27m-rated “practice dummy” as AFC bid for “sneaky” £13m dynamo

Crystal Palace left-back Tyrick Mitchell could miss the FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea through injury, according to The Evening Standard.

The Lowdown: Mitchell goes off

Labelled as ‘popular’ by former Eagles boss Roy Hodgson, the defender was forced off against Leicester City in his team’s 2-1 defeat on Sunday.

The 22-year-old has been a key member of Patrick Vieira’s squad during his first season in charge, starting every Premier League game.

However, he had to make way against the Foxes after just 34 minutes with what appeared to be a calf problem, and along with Michael Olise, he could now be in a race against time to feature at Wembley.

The Latest: Nervous wait

The Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick shared a story regarding Mitchell on Monday.

He revealed that the full-back was due for scans on the problem on Monday, with Palace facing a nervous wait on the extent of the damage.

The Verdict: Fingers crossed

As mentioned, Mitchell has been an ever-present figure at Selhurst Park this season, so it would be a major blow if he is unable to feature at Wembley next weekend.

The Palace academy graduate has been their best-performing defender, as per WhoScored, and he is the only senior out-and-out left-back on the books for the Eagles.

Vieira will be keeping everything crossed that Mitchell can recover in time, as otherwise he will have a few selection headaches over the coming days.

In other news: Vieira now wants Parish to bring 25-assist star to Palace; club preparing to lose their player. 

Southampton could be set to offload as many as six first-team players in the summer transfer window according to journalist Tom Barclay, who was talking to GiveMeSport.

The lowdown: Overhaul incoming

Saints’ boss Ralph Hasenhuttl looks set to oversee a hectic summer at St Mary’s with six senior stars all out of contract at the end of the season (Transfermarkt).

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On-loan striker Armando Broja also seems likely to head back to parent club Chelsea, as things stand, whilst it remains to be seen whether the south coast club will have money to spend following a takeover in January.

Now as the end of the 2021/22 campaign looms and another season in the Premier League beckons, three first-team regulars could already be on the transfer list…

The latest: Barclay predicts exodus

Talking to GMS, Barclay suggested that chief executive Martin Semmens could sanction a raft of high-profile departures this summer with Theo Walcott, Moussa Djenepo and Nathan Redmond already tipped with moves away.

He stated: “I don’t know if they’d sell all of them. It depends on the offers.

“From what I’ve heard, they are open to offers on those three. There could be quite a few who leave Southampton. There could be five or six, so we’ll see.”

The verdict: Fresh faces needed

Having already secured top-flight football for another season the Saints are once again on the proverbial beach heading into what is ordinarily the business end of the campaign.

Whilst steering clear of the threat of relegation could be seen as mission accomplished, for the new owners and indeed Hasenhuttl, there is likely to be a strive for more success over the coming seasons.

Walcott, Djnepo and Redmond have managed a combined 41 Premier League outings so far this term (WhoScored), and as three attacking players would suggest that Semmens may already have set about what area of the squad is in particular need of strengthening.

Allowing the aforementioned trio to leave would not only free up the wage bill but also bring important funds into the club and may therefore be seen as a relatively small risk worth taking given the success of recent Hasenhuttl purchases such as Mohammed Salisu, Kyle Walker-Peters and Che Adams.

In other news: Journalist makes transfer claim involving Southampton! Find out more here.

According to reliable reporter Gary Jacob of The Times, a transfer update has come out of Tottenham Hotspur involving Atletico Madrid striker and Juventus loanee Alvaro Morata.

The Lowdown: Spurs linked…

As manager Antonio Conte reportedly seeks a new forward addition before this window’s closure, with Alasdair Gold revealing it is one of the Italian’s four priorities, links have emerged to ex-Chelsea striker Morata.

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Indeed, a report out of Spain from El Partidazo de COPE recently claimed that both the Lilywhite and Newcastle United are in the picture to sign him before January 31 – with the overseas source even believing there is an offer from managing director Fabio Paratici.

Eligible striker targets are waring thin at Tottenham given long-time target Dusan Vlahovic has now sealed a blockbuster move to Juventus, while links to other names have been fairly scarce.

The Latest: Jacob makes Morata claim…

In what could be an opportunity for Spurs and Paratici, they have apparently been ‘offered’ the chance to sign Conte’s former star in a late window development.

Indeed, according to Jacob, writing for The Times, the Spain international has reportedly been placed on the table and Tottenham could sign him on a loan deal.

The Verdict: Take it?

The 29-year-old has endured a mixed senior career to say the least, showing signs of real promise last season during his first year on loan in Turin.

Morata racked up 11 Serie A goals and 11 assists under ex-boss Andrea Pirlo over 2020/2021 – not even including his six goals in eight Champions League appearances that year.

However, at Chelsea, the Spaniard’s poor final season return of five in 16 Premier League outings saw him part company for Atletico.

He was perhaps most in-demand when playing for Real Madrid at the end of the 2016/2017 season – with his former club even once placing a £90 million price tag on his head (The Sun).

Morata, clearly, comes as somewhat of a mixed bag.

However, on loan, it could be a gamble worth taking given Spurs are arguably in dire need of an alternative to Harry Kane.

In other news: Spurs now preparing last minute marquee bid to sign ‘special’ forward for Conte, find out more here.

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic are on the road once again this afternoon with an SPFL clash against Ross County.

After getting knocked out of the Scottish Cup last weekend following a 2-1 defeat to Rangers in the semi-final, the 56-year-old manager will be hoping his side can bounce back by securing all three points today – and, in doing so, take a step closer to the title before next weekend’s Old Firm showdown.

Speaking in his latest press conference ahead of today’s game, the 56-year-old revealed that his side will be without Josip Juranovic through injury, but that Giorgos Giakoumakis will be in contention this time around.

With that in mind, here’s how we feel Celtic could line up this afternoon.

Firstly, having played in all but two of Celtic’s league games this season, it’d be hard to see anyone other than Joe Hart start in goal.

For the back four, with Juranovic out, it seems likely that Anthony Ralston will come in at right-back alongside the centre-back duo of Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers, with Greg Taylor in the left-back position.

In the middle of the park, we think Callum McGregor will lead his team out once again but see a different pair of midfielders line up next to him from the two that he played with last time out.

Having claimed to have “lost his edge” by Pat Bonner, Tom Rogic could be set for a place on the substitutes bench this time out, alongside Reo Hatate – who also failed to impress in last weekend’s defeat at Hampden Park.

With that in mind, we think Postecoglou will give starts to Matt O’Riley and David Turnbull – the latter of whom has been praised for his “phenomenal” performances in the past – to see if they can freshen things up in that area of the pitch.

Then, for the final three attacking positions, we predict that Jota and Liel Abada will keep their places in the side, but also that Kyogo Furuhashi will come in and play through the middle, leaving Daizen Maeda on the substitutes bench.

Whether the 56-year-old Hoops boss goes with this exact starting XI that we have suggested or not, he will undoubtedly want to see a reaction from his players in response to last weekend’s disappointment.

In other news: Sold for £2m, now worth £540k: Celtic struck gold on £17k-p/w dud who “had issues”

After the closure of the January transfer window, Leeds United are still showing an interest in signing Nottingham Forest midfielder Brennan Johnson, according to sources at the Championship club.

The Lowdown: Johnson impressing for Forest

The 20-year-old has emerged as arguably one of the best young players in the Championship, catching the eye with his performances for Forest.

Johnson has scored seven goals and registered six assists in 29 league appearances this season, even being hailed by David Beckham, who lauded his ‘great performance’ in the FA Cup win over Arsenal last month.

A fresh update regarding the youngster’s future has now emerged – one in which Leeds get a key mention.

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The Latest: Leeds eyeing up move

According to Forest sources at Football Insider, the Reds are ‘preparing’ contract talks with Johnson in order to tie him down to a new deal, following recent interest from Brentford.

It is also stated that he is being ‘closely monitored’ by Leeds and other Premier League clubs, however, with a summer exit potentially on the cards.

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The Verdict: Solid squad addition

Johnson is a hugely exciting prospect so it is only natural that the Whites are eyeing him up and he could be a great signing if a deal materialised.

The Welshman is someone who would come in as a squad player to begin with but hopefully mature into a key man, bringing more guile to the midfield. He averages 1.2 key passes and dribbles apiece in the league this season.

Johnson already has seven caps to his name for Wales, further outlining his pedigree, and the fact that he can play centrally and in both wide areas is an extra bonus for Marcelo Bielsa.

In other news, a positive update has emerged regarding one Leeds hero. Find out who it is here.

Keith Downie has now dropped some exciting Sunderland manager news, with three potential candidates for the job named.

The Lowdown: Search goes on

The manager search at the Stadium of Light goes on following the departure of Lee Johnson, with the likes of Neil Warnock and Roy Keane named as his potential successors.

However, a new coach is unlikely to be appointed before their game against Doncaster Rovers in League One on Saturday, meaning that the board will have time to analyse who the right person is for the job.

The Latest: ‘Several candidates’

Taking to Twitter, Sky Sports journalist and North East reporter Downie has now revealed that the plan is for the Black Cats to talk to ‘several candidates’, with Keane as well as Neil Lennon and Grant McCann among the names currently being ‘considered’:

“Roy Keane set to be interviewed for the Sunderland vacancy, but we’re told the plan is to talk to several candidates.

“Neil Lennon & Grant McCann are among those being considered.”

The Verdict: Patience

The SAFC board must make sure that they get the next appointment right above all, and so should take their time to analyse who is best fit for the job.

Keane of course has Transfermarkt).

Lennon has achieved a lot of success with Celtic, including a domestic treble in the 2019/20 term, and so should also be considered.

Nonetheless, other coaches will no doubt be studied as well in the lead up to the appointment, and the board cannot afford to rush to the wrong decision in the race for promotion up to the Championship.

In other news, find out what significant manager update James Hunter has dropped here!

Ange Postecoglou has revealed that Celtic have been dealt yet another injury blow, this time concerning Yosuke Ideguchi.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by the Glasgow Evening Times, the Bhoys boss revealed that, despite stating after the 2-1 win over Alloa Athletic last weekend that the central midfielder’s injury was not too severe, the 25-year-old is still in a considerable amount of pain from the horror challenge of Mouhamed Niang.

Speaking about the current condition of Ideguchi, Postecoglou said: “[He’s] not great. I think I said after the game that it didn’t look too serious but I didn’t really get a good look at him. It was a terrible tackle and one that should’ve been addressed by the referee on the day. He hasn’t come out of it too well and he’ll be missing for a little bit.

“He’s still pretty painful. Again, I know the kind of character he is so for him to stay down and have come off I knew it was significant. I was optimistic it wasn’t anything too bad but, as everyone saw from the footage, it was a tackle that should never have happened and should’ve been addressed on the day.”

Postecoglou will be seething

With Celtic having brought in three central midfielders this winter – in order to provide greater depth in the position ahead of the second half of the Premiership campaign – the fact that both Callum McGregor and Ideguchi have already been sidelined as a result of injury after just two games since the conclusion of the winter break is sure to have left Postecoglou seething.

Indeed, with David Turnbull still out with a hamstring injury and Tom Rogic being called up to international duty with Australia, the 56-year-old Hoops manager has been left considerably short in the middle of the park once again, with only James McCarthy, Nir Bitton and Ismaila Soro – none of whom have been first-team regulars under Postecoglou – in addition to winter signings Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate, currently being available for selection.

And, with some extremely challenging fixtures coming up for the Bhoys in the next 14 days, including the Old Firm clash on February 2, the fact that Celtic are still short of options in central midfield despite their transfer business this month will undoubtedly come as a gutting blow to the Greek-Australian manager – who must be cursing his bad luck regarding injuries.

In other news: Postecoglou drops teasing 8-word Celtic transfer hint, Nicholson must now act