Celtic are pushing to claim a fifth Scottish Premiership title in a row and could now turn to a star Wilfried Nancy has a working knowledge of to strengthen their backline.

Celtic line up new signings to aid Wilfried Nancy

In the grand scheme of things, Nancy has hardly had the most straightforward of tasks since being plunged into the deep end of life at Parkhead, though supporters will feel that the best is yet to come after two victories and four losses.

Implementing his system has been a challenging endeavour with a squad that has endured a fair amount of injuries, with key men such as Alistair Johnston, Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers scheduled to be out until well after the New Year.

There is also the question of square pegs in round holes to answer. Anthony Ralston has been thrust into a right-sided centre-back berth. At the same time, Hyunjun Yang and Luke McCowan are wing-backs within his system, a role neither had previously played since joining the Glasgow giants.

Hibernian star Josh Mulligan has been lined up by Celtic as a more natural solution on the right-hand side, albeit it remains to be seen if his current employers are willing to entertain offers in January.

Nancy saw off Livingston in chaotic fashion with a 4-2 victory last weekend, though it is clear that the Bhoys need to work on the defensive elements of their system to ensure they can shut up shop when needed.

Despite their free-scoring existence, Celtic are in need of solidity to make their 3-4-2-1 system fully ignite, and they could now turn to a star who the Frenchman knows from his time in the United States to shore up across their rearguard.

Celtic keen to sign Bournemouth's Julian Araujo on loan

According to The Scottish Sun, Celtic are in pole position to sign Bournemouth defender Julian Araujo on loan, who is seen as an ‘ideal’ fit on the right-hand side of Nancy’s 3-4-2-1 formation.

Formerly of Barcelona, the Frenchman has come up against Araujo both during his time with Columbus Crew and CF Montreal while the Mexico international was on the books of LA Galaxy.

Related Celtic line up move for "Rolls-Royce" who's been dubbed the new Gareth Bale

The Bhoys are lining up a homegrown star to strengthen under Wilfried Nancy.

Posts BySean Markus Clifford

Born in the United States, the 24-year-old switched international allegiance to Mexico in 2021 and has won 16 caps to date for his country and will be keen to claim regular game-time ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

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Predominantly a right-back, Araujo has featured once for Bournemouth this campaign against Brentford in the EFL Cup, though he was sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card offence.

After joining the Cherries for £9 million in 2024, Andoni Iraola is likely to sanction a temporary exit for the defender, and Celtic are now strong contenders to bolster their ranks with his signature.

West Ham United defender Sam Byram’s rare run of four straight Premier League appearances for the club came to an end when he was an unused substitute in the 4-1 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, and Irons fans have been discussing what the future holds for the 24-year-old.

The east London outfit signed the right-back – who can also play as a wing-back or winger – from Leeds United during the 2016 January transfer window, but the player has struggled to find form and been plagued by injuries since then, making just 35 appearances in all competitions.

The defender only made his first top flight outing of the campaign against Bournemouth last month as a late substitute, before he started both of the matches against Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion, before again coming off of the bench in the 2-0 win against Watford.

West Ham supporters have been talking about Byram’s future via social media, and it seems as though they wouldn’t be too upset if he left the club this summer.

While one said “he is average at everything”, another said “not good enough for the PL in my opinion”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch has suffered an injury blow over Diego Llorente ahead of his side’s Premier League game against Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.

What’s the story?

The Whites make the trip to the King Power Stadium later today hoping to get Marsch’s reign in charge off to a good start, but The Athletic’s Phil Hay delivered some late injury news.

He stated: “Llorente is probably out, as are Phillips and Cooper, but the latter two are making very positive progress, Marsch said.”

The new manager himself revealed in his pre-match press conference: “It’s difficult to say. We’ll evaluate Patrick and whether or not he can be on the bench, but he’s close, I can tell you that, he’s close. Diego Llorente was not in training today and he’s questionable for the weekend, and there are a few others that are step by step to make sure we prepare them as well as possible, but not too hard.”

Big blow for Leeds

While Llorente’s performance against Spurs last weekend certainly left a lot to be desired, the last thing Marsch needed ahead of his first game in charge is an injury to one of his senior players.

The American is already without the likes of Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper, while Patrick Bamford seems unlikely to make his comeback to the starting line-up for the trip to the Foxes, and is more in contention for a place on the bench.

Llorente’s performances towards the back end of last season in the Premier League showed the kind of quality he can bring to the table when he’s fully fit and firing, with former Leeds striker Noel Whelan championing the Spaniard’s leadership skills.

The 47-year-old raved: “He looked every bit that leader and that quality centre-half that we were all expecting when he signed for the football club. There was great excitement about him it took a long time to get to see him consistently.

“But when we did, we saw him grow and grow and grow. We saw him get stronger and better as the games went on. If you ask any Leeds United fan who watched him in that second part of the season and ask them who would be the first centre-half on the team sheet, they would say Llorente.”

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His absence prompts yet another line-up change that Leeds could have done without, and it’s a body blow which will surely leave Marsch gutted.

Meanwhile, Leeds have been handed a huge injury boost before Leicester…

Luke Ayling, Junior Firpo and Jack Harrison all struggled in Leeds United’s hugely disappointing 3-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa.

The Whites hosted Steven Gerrard’s side on Thursday evening, in what was another massive game in their fight to remain in the Premier League.

Goals from Philippe Coutinho, Matty Cash and a scarcely believable finish from Calum Chambers consigned Leeds to a grim defeat, however, as a return to the Championship feels increasingly likely.

According to Sofascore, these were the Whites’ three worst players on the night, out of those to have played at least 45 minutes of action – could all three be in danger of losing their place in Jesse Marsch’s team after letting him down this week?

Luke Ayling – 6.4

Ayling was used at centre-back by Marsch against Villa but didn’t have his best evening of the season.

The 30-year-old only managed to win one out of four aerial duels, not to mention being dribbled past a fairly alarming four times overall and losing the ball twice.

Ayling also failed to read the game well, not even mustering up a single interception against Gerrard’s men, understandably looking like someone playing out of position.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

Junior Firpo – 5.8

Firpo earned the lowest rating at Elland Road, as his disappointing first season at Leeds continues.

The former Barcelona man lost possession a sizeable 18 times in total and none of the six long balls he attempted ended up finding their intended target.

Firpo committed two fouls as well, prior to being stretchered off, which summed up his evening.

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Jack Harrison – 6.3

Harrison was the third Whites player deemed to be the poorest against Villa, with the winger struggling ever since his stunning hat-trick at West Ham in January.

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The 25-year-old didn’t make an interception all night, like both Ayling and Firpo, and he also gave the ball away on 19 occasions.

Harrison won only one ground duel of five, too, and failed to complete a successful dribble.

In other news, an injury expert has shared details regarding one Leeds player. Find out who it is here.

Everton may be teetering on the verge of relegation but they already planning potential incomings this summer.

What’s the news?

After scoring his 30th goal at youth level already this season, Reyes has reportedly attracted interest from not just the top clubs in the Premier League including Everton, but also the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Red Bull Salzburg, and most notably, Bayern Munich.

The 17-year-old has made just one appearance at senior level for West Brom, which came in the FA Cup, and should his lack of opportunities in the Championship continue, it’s quite likely that he will see his future elsewhere in order to continue his development.

Unique striker who can emulate Lukaku

Everton have usually had at least one clinical striker throughout the last 20 years or so, and despite being stuck in a relegation battle currently in the Premier League, they still have valuable strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison – who both would likely be sold if the club failed to secure their top-flight status at the end of this season.

In that event, it’s likely that boss Frank Lampard will look to sign a younger prospect to bring through alongside a more experienced striker, and that player could just be West Brom starlet Cleary – who has been described as an “uncut diamond” by Albion U23s manager Richard Beale.

It isn’t often that a young striker with a stocky figure attracts the interest from Europe’s top teams despite barely playing any first-team football, but Cleary has physically dominated defenders at U18 and U23 level already and has shown consistently how clinical he is.

This term alone, the Baggies youngster has found the net an impressive 20 times in just 21 outings, something he’ll be hoping to transfer into senior-team action.

Speaking further of the teenager, Beale said: “If he keeps working hard and keeps his head, he has a mature head on his shoulders and he knows he needs to work hard, the bits he has to improve on. He can be anything he wants to be.

“It is a big step up to the first-team and he’s certainly got lots of work to do yet, but he’s in a good place. We’re really excited by his potential and what he could become.”

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Should he sign for Everton, Lampard could well mould him into the next Romelu Lukaku. He shone at Goodison Park during his time there following a spell where he starred with West Brom; something that Cleary is now doing as well.

It’s a mighty reputation to live up to but his goalscoring exploits, like Lukaku, speaks for itself.

In other news: Lampard has already found his new Mount at Everton in “top quality” £2.5k-p/w starlet

Celtic have told Vasilis Barkas that he is free to line up a transfer this summer, according to Football Insider. 

The lowdown

The Hoops paid £4.5m to sign the Greece international from AEK Athens ahead of the 2020/21 season, when Neil Lennon was still the manager at Parkhead. It’s the highest fee that Celtic have paid for a goalkeeper in their history.

The Greek stopper has made just 24 appearances for the club, conceding 23 goals and helping them to keep 11 clean sheets. His involvement this season has been minimal, with just one Premiership appearance to his name, the 3-1 win over St Johnstone on Boxing Day.

The latest

In a report published on Saturday morning, Football Insider claimed that Celtic are ‘willing’ to let Barkas leave in the summer transfer window.

As per a club source, they have even urged the £1.35m-rated ‘keeper to find a new club.

The verdict

Even from the early stages of his Celtic career, Barkas was – in the words of Hoops podcaster John McGinley – getting ‘slaughtered’ by pundits.

It’s worth noting that he would have been out the door already, had mooted January moves to Sheffield United and IFK Goteburg not collapsed.

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With the 27-year-old behind both Joe Hart and Scott Bain in the Parkead pecking order, and costing Celtic £9,000 per week (£468,000 per year), it’s probably in the best interests of all parties that he moves on in the summer.

In other news, Alex McLeish reacts to a big update on one Celtic player

Journalist Pete O’Rourke has claimed that Everton manager Frank Lampard will be fearful of the sack even if the Toffees retain their Premier League status.

The Lowdown: Lampard’s results at Everton…

Since arriving at Goodison Park, the 43-year-old has struggled to make a positive impact. In his first seven Premier League matches in charge, the former Chelsea boss has won just twice, having lost the other five games.

As a result, the Toffees sit dangerously close to the relegation zone, just three points clear of Watford in 18th. Whilst Everton have two games in hand over the Hornets, their upcoming fixture list – including the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal – looks rather daunting.

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The Latest: O’Rourke’s claim on Lampard

O’Rourke believes that Lampard will be disappointed with his lack of impact upon taking over from Rafael Benitez and will be fearful for his future at Everton.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the transfer insider was questioned over whether Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri could look to exercise the break clause in Lampard’s contract, whereby they could relieve the 43-year-old of his duties at Goodison Park at the season’s end without needing to pay any compensation.

In response, O’Rourke claimed: “It will be a real worry for Frank Lampard. It hasn’t worked out as he probably hoped when he took over in January from Rafa Benitez.”

The Verdict: Could be gone

Lampard was over the moon when his team beat a much-improved Newcastle side recently. However, any hope that it would spark an upturn in form quickly dissipated as the Toffees bowed out of the FA Cup last weekend after suffering a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Crystal Palace.

With such poor results, it would not be surprising to see the Merseyside club part ways with their manager, despite only appointing him in January. Whilst the situation may have been different if Lampard had been in charge from the start of the season, Moshiri could be hesitant to place his trust in the 43-year-old once again, even if he manages to keep them up this season.

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Having already gone through six managers (excluding caretakers) since David Moyes’ departure in 2013, the Everton chief is not slow to pull the trigger when he feels it is necessary, which could be a worry for Lampard.

In other news: Noel Whelan drops Richarlison transfer claim

Aston Villa will tell midfielder Morgan Sanson he is free to leave the club in the summer, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Sanson’s season

Sanson, who Dean Smith labelled as ‘frustrating’ last year due to injury problems, has made just three league starts all season in what has been a disappointing first full campaign at Villa Park.

Pundit Kevin Phillips believed the French midfielder even stormed off earlier this season against Newcastle, with Sanson also reacting angrily after not coming on against Arsenal back in October.

The 27-year-old started in the 2-1 defeat to Wolves on Saturday afternoon, but prior to that, a major update emerged regarding his Midlands future.

The Latest: Source’s reveal

A Villa source told Football Insider that Steven Gerrard wants to let Sanson go in the summer.

Villa chiefs will now tell the midfielder he can find a new club in the summer window, with Gerrard planning a major overhaul ahead of his first full season in charge.

The Verdict: Right call?

Things just haven’t worked out for Sanson at Villa Park under both Smith and Gerrard, so it seems to make sense to look to cash in ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

He has failed to nail down a starting spot under two different bosses with two different systems, even with Gerrard switching to a 4-3-1-2 system, which appeared to favour Sanson.

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Sanson has made just 20 appearances in all competitions and is under contract until 2025, so hopefully, Villa will be able to recoup a large percentage of the £14.22m fee they paid Marseille last year.

In other news: Villa and Lange now make contact with ‘tall’ forward’s agent; possible club-record move. 

Ryan Mason would have been cursing his luck as West Bromwich Albion manager as the Baggies succumbed to their tenth defeat of the Championship already, away at Hull City.

On another day, though, Mason’s men would have been travelling back to the Hawthorns with a rare away win in their back pocket, with 13 shots registered on the Tigers’ goal, next to the hosts’ ten efforts.

Depressingly for the under-fire manager, a contentious Oli McBurnie penalty would end up being the difference maker, with Isaac Price guilty of yet another wasteful performance as he continues to frustrate the restless West Brom faithful.

Price's drop-off at West Brom

After sealing a £2.5m move to England from Standard Liege, Price’s early form in the West Midlands showed off a midfield talent full to the brim with confidence.

Indeed, the Northern Ireland international would bag a sumptuous strike against Hull, no less, last season to get his goalscoring numbers up and running for the Baggies, with his confident displays resulting in then West Brom boss Tony Mowbray heralding him as a “very talented boy”.

He showed off the very best of his ability during Mason’s early tenure, too, with five goals and three assists collected earlier this season, seeing him tipped for a move back up to the Premier League, having once been on the books of Everton as a youngster.

However, in the here and now, he will be lucky to remain in his under-pressure manager’s first team plans, with the £2.5m splashed out on his services looking more steep by the game, based on his careless displays of late.

Across his last 11 second-tier games, Price has just one meagre assist to shout about, with a glorious missed chance against Hull from point blank range resulting in Sky Sports pundit Pete Graves hammering the out-of-form attacker for “somehow” squandering the opportunity.

Still, he has enough credit in the bank to justify that lavish price tag. Sadly, another big capture doesn’t.

West Brom have a bigger waste of money than Price

A large portion of West Brom’s highest earners could be moved on at the end of the season, with Jed Wallace taking home a high £25k-per-week salary, despite only starting four Championship games under Mason’s tenure. With his contract set to expire next summer, he will know he’s on shaky ground regarding his long-term Baggies future.

Daryl Dike is on an even more uneven footing, with the American attacker amazingly taking home the exact same pay packet, despite last starting for the second-tier outfit back in May, when bagging a rare goal in West Brom blue and white versus Luton Town.

When West Brom forked out a high £7m on Dike’s services in January of 2022, they would have been hoping that the ex-Orlando City striker’s goalscoring exploits would catapult the Baggies back up to the Premier League.

Instead, despite occasionally showing off flashes of his instinctive best in front of goal with nine strikes from 48 games, the overriding emotion involving the bumper deal right now will be one of immense regret, with the 6-foot-2 centre-forward horribly unlucky with injuries at the Hawthorns.

Dike’s overall West Brom numbers

Stat

Dike

Games played

48

Goals scored

9

Assists

2

Games out with injury

148 games

Days missed through injury

930 days

Transfer cost

£7m

Wage cost per week

£25k-per-week

Wage cost per year

£1.3m

Contract expiry date

June 2026

Sourced by Transfermarkt

The table above really illuminates how many injury crises Dike has suffered from at West Brom, with the 25-year-old no doubt battered and bruised by the whole ordeal, having now missed a staggering 148 games through injury, five seasons down in the West Midlands.

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The £7m originally forked out on his services now looks like money rashly spent, with his further wage costs seeing West Brom drop £1.3m on his salary yearly, only adding to their agony.

It looks likely that West Brom will pull the plug on Dike’s doomed stay come next June, when his contract expires, with the deal, ultimately, going down as a huge waste of money, even if he has shown off his goalscoring prowess when rarely fit.

Price won’t be dismissed just yet in the same category, with the 22-year-old still very much learning the ropes of the Championship as a purchase that should bear more fruit in the future.

Whereas, for his own sake, Dike must now be let go of, with Mason only utilising him sporadically for 15 minutes of league action this season, owing to yet more injury difficulties.

Related 0 duels won: Mason must drop West Brom flop who was worse than Gilchrist

West Bromwich Albion suffered another away defeat in the Championship this season at Hull City in controversial circumstances.

Posts 4 ByKelan Sarson

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has left his close circle surprised at what he said about the Blues recently, and the club are scratching their heads over it too.

Enzo Maresca faces long-term Chelsea uncertainty

While Maresca has publicly denied any interest in a return to Man City amid the concrete links, there are reports of some tension between the Italian and Stamford Bridge chiefs behind-the-scenes.

Maresca has transformed Chelsea’s fortunes on the pitch since being appointed, implementing a possession-based system that’s yielded impressive results across multiple competitions.

The 44-year-old guided them to two major trophies last season, a Conference League triumph and Club World Cup win, whilst also leading them to Champions League qualification.

His work with younger players and tactical flexibility have caught eyes across the Premier League, particularly at the Etihad Stadium.

City’s interest makes perfect sense given Maresca’s history with the club. He served as Guardiola’s assistant during their historic treble-winning campaign in 22/23 and absorbed the Catalan’s methods firsthand.

Related Chelsea now in advanced talks with 'rising star' Marseille forward after key meeting

The Blues have had a sit down with his representatives.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini

That familiarity with City’s culture and playing philosophy should give him a massive advantage over external candidates, with David Ornstein of The Athletic reporting that he is high on their wishlist.

Murmurs over Maresca’s long-term future have only intensified after the former Leicester City boss’ public outburst recently.

Following their victory over Everton in West London, Maresca insisted that the 48 hours leading up to that match was his worst during his time at the club — citing a lack of support.

When asked to elaborate, the tactician doubled down.

Now, The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg has shared how people behind-the-scenes reacted to Maresca’s controversial statement.

Chelsea bemused by Maresca statement with close circle surprised

According to their sources, Chelsea remain completely ‘bemused’ after Maresca created unnecessary speculation.

His rant even caught the coach’s closest circle by surprise, with sources suggesting nobody inside Stamford Bridge understands what prompted the public complaint.

Confusion reigns throughout the building as staff struggle to identify any obvious trigger for Maresca’s discontent.

What’s frustrated the hierarchy most is Maresca’s stubborn refusal to clarify his comments either publicly or privately. He’s rejected multiple opportunities to explain what bothered him so deeply during that brief period, leaving everyone guessing about the real source of his frustration.

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The lack of transparency has created an information vacuum that outsiders have filled with speculation about rifts between Maresca and Chelsea’s ownership structure.

Whether that reflects reality remains unclear, given the manager won’t actually explain himself.

People close to the manager share the club’s confusion, with some privately questioning why he chose to air grievances without providing context. The situation has now created unnecessary tension heading into a crucial period of the season.

Maresca needs to either explain himself properly or move on from whatever bothered him, because this ambiguity helps nobody.

Related Midfielder rejects Real Madrid after Chelsea talks in January boost for Maresca

He’s ‘closed the door’ on Xabi Alonso’s side.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini