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Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Celtic are in contract talks with Anthony Ralston.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by the Daily Record, the 56-year-old Hoops manager confirmed earlier reports that Michael Nicholson has initiated negotiations with the right-back regarding the extension of his current deal at Parkhead.

Speaking about the defender’s new deal, Postecoglou said: “In terms of Tony, Michael Nicholson is in charge of that area. My focus is trying to make sure that Anthony continues his development because he’s been fantastic.

“Contract negotiations will take care of themselves. There’s very little need to feel angst about it. The club has a lot of faith in Tony. That’s why they gave him a new contract before I even started here. I gave him a chance and you’d have to say he’s grabbed it with both hands so far.”

Fans will be buzzing

It is hard to disagree with Postecoglou’s claim that Ralston has taken the opportunity handed to him so far this season, as in the absence of injured summer signing Josip Juranovic, the 22-year-old right-back has been one of Celtic’s most impressive performers.

Indeed, over his eight Premiership appearances, the £5.5k-per-week defender has already scored two goals, provided two assists and has created six big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 1.5 shots and making 1.8 key passes per game.

The player who Brendan Rodgers dubbed a “huge” talent has also impressed in metrics more typical of his defensive position, helping his side to keep four clean sheets, in addition to making 0.5 interceptions, 2.5 tackles and 2.1 clearances and winning 7.5 duels per match.

These returns have seen the 22-year-old earn an exceptional average SofaScore match rating of 7.78, ranking him as the Bhoys’ best performer in the league among those still at Parkhead.

However, it is not only Ralston’s domestic displays which have caught the eye but also the right-back’s performances in his three Europa League fixtures, having scored one goal, made six key passes and averaged a SofaScore match rating of 7.10.

As such, considering these statistics, the news that the club are hoping to extend Raltson’s contract should not come as a surprise to Celtic fans, who must undoubtedly be buzzing with what they have seen from the £270k-rated man so far this season.

In other news: Postecoglou must unleash “phenomenal” 21 y/o Celtic prodigy, he’s destined for the top

This season has started quite well for Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool side, having won four out of their opening six Premier League games of the season as well as both of their opening Champions League group matches.

However, a tough test is facing them this weekend with the arrival of Manchester City to Anfield on Sunday.

Henderson was quiet in midweek

One player who has been a regular figure in the team for Liverpool so far this season is club captain Jordan Henderson, having played in every game for the Reds across all competitions except for their opening league match of the season against Norwich City.

However, with Pep Guardiola’s side set to try and secure a consecutive league win at Anfield after beating them 4-1 last season, we feel that Klopp should consider dropping the skipper tomorrow to give the Reds a better chance of avenging February’s defeat.

Henderson, who is currently valued at £18m according to Transfermarkt, has made 400 appearances for the Merseyside club across all competitions, scoring 31 goals and providing 52 assists in the process.

So far this season, his performances in the Premier League have only earned him an overall season rating of 6.79/10, making him one of the lowest-rated Liverpool players so far this term according to WhoScored.

Looking at the Porto game in particular, Henderson failed to win any aerial duels on the night and lost possession on 13 occasions, while three of his four shots were blocked, according to SofaScore. That shows that he may not be the best option to start the City game in our view, especially given how the champions currently top the possession charts in the Premier League.

However, with Klopp recently revealing that Reds midfielder Thiago Alcantara will be out for the game through injury, perhaps this could allow Henderson to keep his place in the team.

Either way, it’s safe to say whoever the manager chooses to start against Guardiola’s side, either in midfield or any other position, must be at their best to overcome City, who boast the best defensive record in the league at the moment with just one goal conceded.

In other news: Klopp could finally replace Coutinho for Liverpool with “talented” £40.5m-rated beast

Former Premier League midfielder Paul Scholes has made a pretty brutal claim about Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane.

The Lowdown: Transfer saga

After over 330 appearances for Tottenham, Kane’s time at Spurs looked like it was going to come to an end over the summer as he was linked and targeted by Premier League champions Manchester City.

A bid was rejected and Kane was late to training before he returned to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side in the 1-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers before announcing he was staying at the club in a statement on Twitter.

Since then, Kane is yet to score in the league, with his two goals coming in the Europa Conference League competition against Pacos de Ferreira.

The Latest: Scholes makes claim

Speaking to Premier League Productions [via HITC], Scholes has claimed the striker was wishing he was at Manchester City when he saw the team on Saturday.

With Spurs missing Heung-Min Son and Davinson Sanchez, it was a weaker XI and the former Manchester United midfielder has made a strong claim on Kane’s thinking.

“It’s not a strong team,” he said. “I think Harry Kane will be in that dressing room thinking ‘I wish I was at Manchester City’ with that team they have got.”

The Verdict: Is Kane regretting decision?

Kane staying put at the club came from many things – his emotional connection with the Lilywhites support, Spurs rejecting City’s bids and the right money being offered. But after they fell to a shocking defeat at Palace on Saturday, where they conceded three goals in 15 minutes, Kane could be thinking exactly what Scholes has claimed.

Since City lost to Spurs on the opening day, Pep Guardiola’s side has won three straight games, scoring 11 goals in the process without a recognised striker.

It’s likely the situation between the two clubs will arise in January or next summer, but for now, Kane has no choice but to try and help Tottenham return to the top four.

In other news, an offer has been tabled to sign Serie A ace. Find out more here.

According to journalist Tom Leach, Southampton’s Yan Valery is set to complete a season-long loan move to Olympiacos in Greece.

The Lowdown: Not long left

It is has been a busy transfer period for the Saints, who have brought in six new arrivals throughout the window (Transfermarkt).

Now, the St. Mary’s Stadium outfit look set to turn their attentions to outgoings instead.

The Latest: Valery close to Olympiacos

As per Leach, £2.7m-valued Valery (Transfermarkt) is set to move on loan to Olympiacos, undoubtedly Greece’s biggest club with more than double the Super League titles of their closest counterpart.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has said he is happy for the 22-year-old to leave the club on a temporary basis and continue his development elsewhere.

The Verdict: Makes sense

This is a deal that makes perfect sense for all involved. Southampton brought in Valentino Livramento from Chelsea which means, along with Kyle Walker-Peters, the Saints have two options at right-back. That has only pushed Valery down the pecking order.

Hasenhuttl has previously called the defender “fantastic” a couple of years ago (via Read Southampton) – he is someone with plenty of ability, but he needs to play. Should the move to Olympiacos go through, this is a move Valery can grab with both hands.

In other news, Southampton fans were far from happy with this contract news.

Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has claimed that Jack Clarke will not make it at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lowdown: Clarke failing to make an impact

The 20-year-old made the move to Spurs from Leeds United in the summer of 2019 when Mauricio Pochettino was in charge, but he has so far struggled to make an impact at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

He has made just four appearances for the north Londoners (Transfermarkt), with him leaving the club to move on loan to Queen’s Park Rangers and Stoke City since that 2019 transfer, and even all four of those were as a substitute (Transfermarkt).

The Latest: Bridge sees no future for Clarke at Spurs

Although Clarke is still just 20, Bridge believes that he has no future at Spurs. The journalist told Give Me Sport:

“Even Leeds fans found it odd and then when he was loaned back Leeds fans were saying to me, they didn’t want him back.

“He didn’t get back into their team, so that was a season wasted for him. He’s had a lot of problems.

“He looks skinny to me, he hasn’t really bulked, he’s playing in the Under-23s, he’s never on the bench for the first-team.

“There becomes a time when they have to say, well have to sell him, he’s not going to make it at Spurs.”

The Verdict: Big improvement needed soon

With just those four appearances to his name, it could be argued Clarke has not been given a chance to really show his ability at Spurs. There has not been too much indication during his loan spells that he has what it takes to make it at the highest level, even if his former Stoke boss Michael O’Neill said that the 20-year-old has “great quality” (via Stoke Sentinel).

If Clarke is to make a telling contribution at Tottenham, he must do so quickly. At 20, it’s not as if his whole career is over, but you would have hoped for him to have done more than he has so far. The next 18 months could well decide whether it will ever happen for him at Spurs, with none of Pochettino, Jose Mourinho or thus far Nuno Espirito Santo putting much trust in him.

In other news, this man wants to leave Tottenham.

Express and Star journalist Luke Hatfield believes that Wolves are more than happy to keep hold of winger Adama Traore this summer.

Traore featured for Wolves on 41 occasions last season, scoring three goals and providing three assists, but has been linked with a move away from Molineux this summer.

The Daily Mail reported that should Harry Kane leave Tottenham in this transfer window, then Wolves are braced for an approach from Spurs for Traore.

The Spain international has two years left on his current deal with Wolves and Hatfield believes that the club value him highly, telling Football FanCast: “Yeah, I think he’s very much in a similar boat to Ruben Neves, in the fact that Wolves obviously value him highly, if they were to sell, they’d want a big fee and if no one’s willing to meet that then they’re happy to keep hold of him.

“The only difference is with Traore is that his contract still hasn’t been signed so he’s slowly running that down and it puts Wolves in a weaker and weaker position regarding him.”

The winger played the full 90 minutes of Wolves’ first Premier League match of the new campaign against Leicester City, and also featured in pre-season, so is clearly in the plans of new manager Bruno Lage.

Lage and Wolves have been active in the market this summer, signing five new players, with Jose Sa, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Yerson Mosquera, Louie Moulden and Francisco Trincao all arriving at Molineux.

With the 2022 January transfer window now open, this could see a number of Premier League clubs jump into action and make some business deals to strengthen their squads for the second half of the current season.

While it could be an exciting time for some teams, it seems as though Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa could be heading for a major transfer calamity that would surely disappoint a lot of fans at Elland Road.

According to a recent report in The Sun by journalist Alan Nixon, Leeds defender Charlie Cresswell has caught the attention of fellow Premier League clubs Manchester United and Liverpool.

As a product of Leeds’ youth academy, the 19-year-old has made 36 appearances across the club’s U18 and U23 sides, scoring four goals and providing one assist along the way.

Cresswell has also made six senior appearances for Leeds with four of them coming in the Premier League this season, the first of which being in their 2-1 defeat against West Ham United where he completed the full 90 minutes and had his performance described as “one of the finest debuts by a teenager in Leeds white for years” by Leeds Live.

His performance against the East London club was also labelled as “unbelievable” by Leeds YouTuber Joe Wainman, showing how capable he is of playing in the Premier League.

Taking all of this into account, it would be nothing short of a disaster for the club and potentially heartbreaking for the fans if Cresswell were to leave Leeds anytime soon, especially for a move to rival club Manchester United given how young he is and the potential he has to grow and develop into a regular first-team player at Elland Road.

Given how his current contract at Leeds isn’t set to expire until the summer of 2025 and the fact that Bielsa hasn’t been shy in giving Cresswell the chance to prove himself in the team, this should be reassuring for any fans that may be concerned about the teenager’s future in Yorkshire.

Even though he has missed Leeds’ two previous league games against Arsenal and Burnley with a shoulder injury, it would be good to see the centre-back get some regular playing time under his belt before the end of the season when he recovers to show that he can be a regular figure for the team in the future.

If he leaves, however, the club would be staring down the barrel of an early transfer blunder in the January market.

In other news: 10 defensive actions: £53k-p/w Leeds beast who had 70 touches stole the show v Burnley

Everton took a huge win from their clash against Manchester United at Goodison Park yesterday, with the side embroiled in a difficult relegation battle this season the three points couldn’t have been more crucial for Frank Lampard.

With reports that sources from Everton had claimed the Toffees boss would be sacked if he didn’t take points from Ralf Rangnick’s side on Saturday, Lampard definitely put up a fight to prove the doubters wrong in his pursuit to lead Everton to safety this season.

Although the manager can’t take all the credit, the team performance from Everton was outstanding in a rarely-seen impressive defensive display from the whole team who put in a shift to hold onto a clean sheet following Anthony Gordon’s 27th-minute goal.

Despite having less possession than the visitors, the Toffees made more tackles (18) and over twice as many clearances (35) throughout the game, with Jordan Pickford a clear contender for man of the match after making four saves and two clearances in a fantastic performance.

There was one player who did make an important return and huge impact on the team following his selection in the starting line-up alongside Alex Iwobi and Allan, with Fabian Delph proving that the side desperately missed his experience in the centre of the pitch.

According to SofaScore, the 32-year-old midfielder won 100% of his duels, made six clearances, three tackles and two interceptions, as well as offering up a pass completion rate of 80% (24/30) before he was taken off in the 84th minute to be replaced by Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Delph who was hailed a “leader” by Gerard Houllier, recently returned to full fitness following a number of injury issues this season including a hamstring injury that has seen him unavailable for selection for the entirety of 2022 so far, and he surely made up for it in his seventh appearance this season against Man United.

Lampard was full of praise for the £92k-per-week midfielder following the victory, claiming that they “missed him” in his post-match interview;

“Yeah we’ve missed him.

“Delph gave us a sense of calm, his positional behaviours — like when a centre-back is out of position he falls into the backline.”

Everton may have found the key to unlocking survival in the Premier League this season by unleashing Delph in midfield and Lampard will be hoping the former Man City star can continue to lead and dominate in midfield ahead of the remaining fixtures this season to give the side their best chance of staying up.

In other news: Fewer touches than Pickford: Everton’s 9-pass flop was “wasteful” once again vs United

Illan Meslier, Diego Llorente and Kalvin Phillips struggled in Leeds United’s 2-2 draw at home to Brentford in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Whites beat Crystal Palace in the dying seconds in midweek and this time it was a last-gasp equaliser for the Elland Road crowd to enjoy.

Tyler Roberts put Marcelo Bielsa’s side 1-0 up in the first half but goals from Shandon Baptiste and Sergi Canos turned the game on its head.

The returning Patrick Bamford made it 2-2 in stoppage time, though, leafing to scenes of joy inside Elland Road.

Here are Leeds’ three poorest performers according to SofaScore, only including those who played for at least 45 minutes.

Illan Meslier – 6.2

Meslier started between the sticks as usual, becoming the youngest-ever Premier League goalkeeper to make 50 appearances in the competition (21 years, 278 days).

It wasn’t the Frenchman’s best day at the office, however, with none of his intended accurate long balls finding a Leeds teammate.

On top of that, Meslier only delivered 50% of his accurate passes overall – nine out of 18.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375277″]

Diego Llorente – 6.6

Llorente was at the heart of Leeds’ defence but he was another who didn’t hit top form, as Leeds conceded twice to Brenford at home, which isn’t an ideal scenario.

The 28-year-old didn’t make a single tackle or interception against the Bees and he lost possession ten times in total, suggesting he was a little sloppy on the ball.

Llorente also failed to win a ground duel, losing his only on-field battle in that area.

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Kalvin Phillips – 6.6

Phillips has arguably been Leeds’ best player of the Bielsa era but he wasn’t at his best on Sunday, leaving the pitch with an injury in the second half.

The England international didn’t manage to play one key pass at Elland Road, losing the ball seven times and not making a single interception.

Phillips’ injury is hopefully nothing too serious but Leeds could do with his current form going up a notch.

In other news, a journalist has made a Leeds transfer claim regarding one player. Find out who it is here.

Leeds employee Noel Whelan has been left extremely impressed by the durability of goalkeeper Illan Meslier, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Meslier’s recovery

Meslier has kept up his record of starting every Premier League game this season, despite suffering an injury against Wolves last month.

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The 22-year-old, who has made the most saves in the Premier League this season, has featured against Southampton and Watford following the international break.

He was going to miss the win at Vicarage Road due to his hip issue, however, Jesse Marsch revealed after the win that Meslier made a ‘miraculous’ recovery 24 hours before the game to start.

The Latest: Whelan’s comments

Former Leeds striker Whelan, who is now an employee of the club, labelled Meslier as ‘an important player’ and hailed his mentality regarding that miracle recovery.

“He’s a really young, talented player.

“It’s good to see him hungry to play, no matter what the circumstances – and that’s the mentality with the young players all through this squad.

“Everyone wants to be a part of this because they know that Jesse Marsch will be taking stock ahead of next season.

“He’s such an important player for us, and it’s good to see him out there after that injury worry and getting a clean sheet.”

The Verdict: Fine for Palace?

Leeds aren’t in action now until April 25 when they travel to Crystal Palace, so the enforced break appears to have come at a good time for Meslier and the Whites.

Adam Forshaw missed the win at Watford with a calf strain, while Junior Firpo and Jamie Shackleton appear to be close to making a return to training.

Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips will also get the chance to build up their fitness with no game this weekend, so it does look as if Marsch could benefit from having no fixture this weekend.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano reveals big transfer blow for Leeds as key 21 y/o target now set to move elsewhere