As reported by The Daily Mail, Celtic are interested in signing Chelsea duo Charly Musonda and Lewis Baker during this month’s transfer window.
What’s the story?
The Hoops have made just one addition to Brendan Rodgers’ first team squad this January, defender Marvin Compper.
With injuries mounting in other areas and big matches on the horizon, it’s a squad that could do with freshening up before the transfer deadline is up.
One player said to be firmly on their radar is Chelsea fringe star Charly Musonda, according to The Daily Mail.
The paper reckon that the club are interested in either a loan or permanent transfer deal, with the Belgian failing to win a regular start under Antonio Conte this season.
The report also says that the Hoops are interested in another young Blues star, Lewis Baker, who has spent the first half of the season on loan at Championship side Middlesbrough but could be recalled this month.
Problem solver
Now 21 years of age, Belgian youth international Musonda is at a critical stage of his development as a Chelsea player and it looks increasingly likely he will never make the vital breakthrough that will allow him to star regularly at Stamford Bridge. So far this season he’s featured just six times and has just 25 minutes of English Premier League action under his belt.
There’s no shame in not making the Chelsea team though and with loan spells at the likes of Real Betis behind him, he has the talent to make an impact in the Scottish Premiership.
A versatile player who has the ability to play through the middle or on either wing, he could provide much needed depth to attacking midfield areas, especially important considering Tom Rogic, Jonny Hayes and Patrick Roberts have all suffered long-term injuries this season.
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According to Transfermarkt, he’s rated at £4.5m, putting him within range of Celtic for a permanent transfer.
The Hoops have helped many young players develop in recent years and with a fine footballing education behind him and significant potential, Musonda could be an excellent signing indeed.
The Sky Blue half of one of England’s biggest cities has long lived in the shadow of its neighbours, but now City have recently emerged as, arguably, Manchester’s top force.
Their route to success has been fast-tracked by huge injections of money and the introduction of some of the planet’s finest talent – something that in the modern game is inevitable.
But lets get away from that, and focus on how good it must be to be a fan of City now. As mentioned before, dedicated followers of the Etihad Stadium side have been through the ringer over the years. City have long been nearly men, with promotion followed by relegation and off-field drama preventing them from taking their chances in the past.
All of this has occurred while across town United were scooping up lorry-loads of trophies and gracing television sets in some of European football’s top games and competitions. It must have been galling to turn up to work the next day to be confronted by a grinning United fan while your side was battling it out in the lower echelons of the game.
Thaksin Shinawatra’s takeover of the club in 2007 promised much, but ultimately failed to deliver, so City supporters were forgiven for greeting Sheikh Mansour’s arrival with a little pessimism. Yet, the Abu Dhabi billionaire has transformed the club with his vast resources, making them one of Europe’s strongest sides.
We can gloss over the FA Cup and Premier League wins – because lets face it if you follow football Sergio Aguero’s heroics are burned into your memory – and focus on where the club could be going ahead of the Capital One Cup Final.
As City prepare for their Wembley encounter with Sunderland, they are presented with the chance to lift the one English trophy that has evaded them since the new era began, and has actually not graced their trophy cabinet since the 70’s.
Manuel Pellegrini looks to be the manager they have long craved, and if he can nick a piece of silverware at the first time of asking, then it will surely serve to be a massive confidence boost for the Chilean himself and his talented squad.
Capital One Cup glory could really signal the start of a new phase in City’s development. The quadruple, albeit a distant dream, will still be alive, and in keeping such hopes burning then they really will have something to fight for between now and the end of the season
There is much to be excited about when it comes to this Man City team. The Capital One Cup could prove to be a turning point when we eventually look back on the Citizens story in the future – maybe this is when a footballing dynasty is born.
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Queens Park Rangers owner Tony Fernandes has asked for “patience” after a 2-1 home defeat against West Ham has kept Rangers rooted to the bottom of the Premier League.
With just two points from six games the London club are in genuine peril, following a large summer spending spree and players being enticed with lucrative contracts, the R’s ambitions were stationed well above a relegation battle.
Despite a disappointing start Fernandes has publicly backed his manager, taking to Twitter last night to show his support for the Welshman. The 48 year old said: “I’m calm I want to build stability which is what most fans want. There are many out there who are clueless.
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“Bad game but I expected it. Need all injured players back. After West Brom. And everyone back to match fitness. Patience. Keep calm. Six games does not make a season. I have learnt from many wise chairmen. Mark will sort it out look at his record. We would have won if we didn’t go down to 10. I am relaxed and confident. Let’s get all our players back and in form and fit and then let’s see.”
According to reports, Tottenham are tracking 21 year-old midfielder Yves Bissouma, but Manuel Pellegrini should steal the young midfielder for West Ham.
What’s the word?
Sky Sports claim both Everton and Tottenham are lining up a summer swoop for Yves Bissouma, with the young international also attracting interest from multiple European clubs.
Mauricio Pochettino is searching for a long-term replacement for Mousa Dembele, with the Belgian’s future in North London still uncertain heading into the World Cup.
The report from Sky Sports claims Spurs are also tracking Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure, Red Bull Salzburg’s Amadou Haidara and Inter Milan’s Geoffrey Kondogbia. However, it’s further added that no transfer plans can be finalised until Pochettino has held talks with the north London club’s chairman, Daniel Levy.
Although a central midfielder is reported to be one of Tottenham’s transfer priorities, that hesitance – which appears to have been generated by Pochettino’s doubtful remarks over his future on the final day of the season – could give West Ham a way in.
The east Londoners have not expressed an interest in the midfielder, but with Lille looking more and more likely to sell the youngster, who looks tailor-made for Premier League football, the Hammers would be foolish not to join the race.
Noble’s replacement?
Manuel Pellegrini was unveiled as the new West Ham manager on Tuesday, and one of the first things he said was he wants to bring “four of five” new players in.
These four or five additions will almost certainly be down the spine of the team, with the Hammers quite simply missing a backbone at the moment.
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Bissouma is a wiry, tough midfielder, who excels at reading the game and breaking up opposition attacks before they even begin.
The 21 year-old played 24 times in Ligue 1 for Lille this season, averaging 2.8 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game.
The Mali international is also impressive with the ball at his feet, completing over two successful dribbles per game this season.
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The Hammers are desperate for someone who can link defence and attack, all the while possessing the energy and desire to dominate the midfield, and Bissouma could be the long-term upgrade on the ageing Mark Noble.
Pellegrini would have his work cut out for him convincing the youngster to ditch Champions League bound Tottenham, but the promise of a starting role could just do it.
So, West Ham fans, would you like to see a summer swoop for Bissouma? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
Arsenal’s defence of the FA Cup has ended in shocking fashion after being defeated 4-2 by Championship outfit Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday.
The holders were soundly beaten in one of the weekend’s big cup upsets, leaving fans again fuming at Arsene Wenger and his under performing side.
It’s the first time since the Frenchman became manager of the Gunners that they have gone out at the third round stage, another sign that perhaps the best years of his reign are far behind him.
With the English Premier League title looking beyond them, it leaves the EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League as the only opportunities for silverware this season.
Fans were disappointed with the performance and had sharp criticism for their defence, with centre-backs Rob Holding and Per Mertesacker failing to cope with the lower league side across the 90 minutes.
Holding hasn’t had many Premier League opportunities so far this season and based on this performance, it seems likely his appearances will be limited to secondary competitions going forward.
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Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his performance…
Former Manchester United coach Carlos Queiroz is in the frame to replace Andre Villas-Boas as Tottenham manager, according to the Daily Star.
Queiroz is said to have revealed his interest in the vacancy, and Tottenham are understood to have enquired about his availability.
When asked whether the Tottenham job is something he would be interested in, Queiroz responded: “Absolutely. Tottenham is a club I really appreciate a lot and I have great admiration for.”
Iran chief Queiroz is eager for a Premier League return and has some ‘private connections’ with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.
“One of my coaching dreams is to get back to English football,” Queiroz added.
Tottenham bounced back from their 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool a week ago, by beating Southampton 3-2 at St Mary’s.
Interim manager Tim Sherwood spoke after the game about his desire to take on the job full time.
“I don’t want the job for 10 minutes. I want it long term or not at all,” the former Spurs midfielder said.
“I enjoyed it today, but one swallow does not make a summer. If we lose on Boxing Day, it is all doom and gloom again.
“I will talk to the chairman to see what happens. It has to be right for the club first, then worry about me.”
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Dutch pair Ronald Koeman and Frank de Boer have also been linked with the vacant manager’s post, along with former England bosses Glenn Hoddle and Fabio Capello.
Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley attracted just as much over the top praise as he did needlessly negative criticism for two displays in quick succession for England over the course of the last couple of weeks, but just how good is he?
Firstly, it’s worth remembering that Cleverley isn’t actually all that young anymore, at least not by today’s standards at least, given that he turned 23 last month. Michael Owen was at his peak by that point and has been playing catch up ever since. You also have to factor that he has made just 13 first-team appearances for his club Manchester United over the past year or so, which has been heavily disturbed by injury. This followed off the back of two hugely successful loan spells, firstly with Watford in the Championship and then with Wigan in the top flight, while he also played at Leicester for a while back in 2008-9.
Far too much pressure has been put on him and during his spells at Wigan and Watford, the latter in particular, he played a lot of his football on the right of a four-man midfield. While this versatility has made him a better all-round player, it’s worth drawing attention to the fact that he’s not played all that much football through the middle during his fledgling career to date and is still in the process of learning his craft, at one of the world’s biggest clubs to boot.
To my knowledge at least, too much has was made of his central midfield partnership with Anderson at the beginning of last season; they may have excited the fans in an attacking sense, but they could be got at and they left gaping holes in the middle of the pitch at times for the opposition to exploit. There’s no denying that if it came to a big game in Europe or the Premier League now, that Sir Alex Ferguson would be likely to start with a pairing of Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick instead, simply because they’re more positionally aware, disciplined and keep the ball better.
It seems odd that Cleverley, despite his inexperience, has been deemed such a key player by England boss Roy Hodgson of late, starting the team’s last three games against Italy (friendly), Moldova and Ukraine. However, when you look around at the other options available to him, there’s really not that much else to choose from and you can hardly blame him for selecting what is undoubtedly an exciting talent as the national team continues to wait with baited breath about Jack Wilshere’s return and the effect that his year-long spell out with injury has had on him.
Hodgson didn’t help matters after Cleverley’s performance against Moldova by stating: “I suppose you could say Tom Cleverley is an attacking midfield player – but he’s an attacking midfield player in the same way Cesc Fabregas is. He plays in that position for Manchester United. He is quite capable of coming back into a central midfield role and winning the ball when necessary. Also, he took a bit more responsibility for getting closer to Jermain Defoe and allowing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard to get on the ball in deeper positions where they are comfortable.”
Now, while the quotes themselves are fairly innocuous, every tabloid ran with a headline along the lines of ‘Hodgson declares Cleverley is England’s answer to Fabregas’ which is quite clearly preposterous off the back of a couple of good performances in a friendly match and against an international minnow. His display against Moldova wasn’t as special as everyone made it out to be, nor was he as bad against Ukraine as his detractors suggested. Inconsistency like this is to be expected early on in his career and while playing for an inherently inconsistent side like England always prove to be.
As far as I can tell, Cleverley is the sort of player who is tidy on the ball, keeps things ticking over and is always looking to play a forward pass and most importantly, he appears to play with his head up. There’s nothing particularly world-beating about him, he’s just a decent player who could one day become very good, but because he’s fairly young and plays for Manchester United, expectations have been raised to a ridiculous level.
What is interesting is that he appears to be trying to make that no.10 role behind the striker his own but Wayne Rooney returns, he’s likely to play ahead of him. His ability to spot a pass, play intricate one-touch football and up the tempo of a game will stand him in good stead in the future. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to see him occupying that role as often for his club, with Shinji Kagawa, Ashley Young and Rooney all just as capable of playing there.
Legendary youth coach Eric Harrison, who nurtured the now infamous crop which included David Beckham, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt had this to say on Cleverley last year, telling Goal.com: “Tom for me is without question so good that he is the best young player at United since Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham came on to the scene. He is so special because he is supremely fit, 100 per cent committed and he is supremely talented. He is not lightning fast over 100 yards or anything like that but over ten or 15 metres he is lightning. He has got quick feet and the team look fantastic when he is in the thick of it.”
Of course, he will know probably better than me how good Cleverley could potentially become, but it appears among all the faux hype that we’ve lost some perspective. Much like Jack Rodwell didn’t at Everton, Cleverley struggles to get into a fully fit Manchester United side week-in, week-out. Nicky Butt rather reasonably argued last week that the time to truly judge him is at the end of a season after he’s played between 30-35 games.
Hailing him as the best thing since sliced bread has done him no good and I don’t think that I’ve ever seen the media build a player up only to knock him down so quickly before. Patience is required because the honest answer is, we don’t really know how good he can become yet because he hasn’t played enough football at the top level.
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He’s not going to suddenly become the saviour of English football, nor is he a recognised match-winner, but with an increasing emphasis put on how quickly a team moves in transition from defence to attack, he could have a valuable role to play for both club and country in the future.
He’s not a very ‘English’ type of player, but neither were Glenn Hoddle, Paul Scholes or Matt Le Tissier and that can lead to a certain degree of under-appreciation of his talents at times. There will be periods when he is anonymous just as much as there will be when he’s instrumental, but it’s all part of the learning process for him. There’s no denying that a bright future awaits him, we just have to hope that the crushing expectations don’t weigh him down in the meantime, just as they have done with Theo Walcott and countless others in the past.
As reported by The Scottish Sun, Celtic will have to battle two Belgian clubs if they want to sign Newcastle United defender Chancel Mbemba this summer.
What’s the story?
Despite winning an unprecedented double treble this weekend, this summer’s transfer window is set to be another one of improvement for Celtic as they look to bring first team quality to the club that can enhance their successful squad.
One player that could end up at Celtic Park is Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba.
That’s according to The Scottish Sun, who say the Hoops will have to battle with the likes of Anderlecht and Standard Liege for his signature.
The player is rated as worth £6.3m by Transfermarkt, putting him in the upper reaches of the Hoops’ available spending power.
What does he offer Celtic?
Dedryck Boyata and Kristoffer Ajer have emerged as Brendan Rodgers’ preferred options at centre-back this season and while they have both performed well in domestic competition, there are question marks when it comes to making the step up to European competition.
Still just 23 years of age, Mbemba is being kept out of the Newcastle side by the likes of Jamaal Lascelles, so there’s no disgrace to not currently getting a regular game under Rafa Benitez, and he has good experience for his age in English and Belgian football that could benefit the Hoops.
He also has two UEFA Champions League campaigns under his belt with Anderlecht, meaning he would be ready to perform in that competition too.
The DR Congo international has the ability to play out of defence with the ball at his feet and the versatility to be able to deputise at left-back if need be, making 5 appearances there for the Magpies this season.
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He’s a player that should definitely be on their radar this summer.
Stand-in Arsenal skipper Theo Walcott posted about the honour of leading the club out on his official Twitter account on Wednesday, following the 1-0 win against West Ham United in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night, and Gunners fans were quick to respond.
The 28-year-old has relied on playing in the cup competitions this term having been limited to just 46 minutes on the pitch across three substitute appearances in the Premier League, and Arsene Wenger handed him the captain’s armband against the Irons.
While the north London outfit progressed to the semi-finals of the competition thanks to Danny Welbeck’s goal, it wasn’t a night for Walcott to remember as he failed to add to the four goals he has scored this season by missing a sitter with his head.
Arsenal supporters took to social media to respond to the wide-man’s latest post, and while one said ‘thanks for the memories, now here’s the door’, another simply said “leave my club”.
Is this the charm of the Premier League at work? The most obvious may come out on top in May, but despite this season still being somewhat in its infancy, we really don’t have a clear cut winner marked out.
Even with Manchester City getting all their business done early, bar the throwaway signing of Martin Demichelis, they’ve been unable to avoid any problems early on. The loss away to Cardiff City may be seen as a fluke, a one off, but it would be wise to analyse the problems that lie far deeper than a simple bad day at the office.
It’s proof that getting all your business done early can count for very little, although maybe that’s just a further test of the Premier League. Good footballing sides won’t always win the day. City dismantled Newcastle on the opening weekend, and despite the problems Alan Pardew’s side faced, you’d expect nothing else from a squad as a strong and capable as the one at Manuel Pellegrini’s disposal.
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So when some sections thought it became clear that the wholesale changes in the City attack would allow Chelsea to step forward – in comparison, Jose Mourinho’s side made tweaks rather than major changes – the loss at Everton offered another early glimpse as to how difficult it can be for even the strongest to go through the first five or six games of the season with a 100 per cent record. The fact that Liverpool are top of the table, a team without European football this season, and Arsenal, the club in perennial crisis, in second, will offer further weight to the notion that England’s product is best. We want unpredictability and curveballs, right?
This is all great for the neutrals, although I’d really, really love to meet these ‘neutrals’ that are so often discussed. Let’s be honest, it’s a myth, isn’t it? Everyone has an agenda, one way or another. There’s always something riding on a match which features a pair of teams which you have no affiliation with. Arsenal fans would have backed Swansea in their 2-2 draw against Liverpool on Monday night, a great advert for the Premier League (another tired and ridiculous cliché), simply because they had an interest in staying top.
But the point is, the “rigours of the Premier League” isn’t a myth, unless teams really screw up their chances of landing the league title, such as last season, offering United a clear run. Managers are right when they say you don’t achieve your targets by the business you do in July and August. We should be impressed by Tottenham’s business, right? But what if Liverpool finish above them? What if City and all their spending early on prove to be little in the way of competition for Manchester United, who we all can assume at present are not really favourites to retain the title?
It’s a good thing for English football. Some people like equilibrium and the maintaining of balance; La Liga, therefore, is an attractive product with one or two surprises along the way, just to keep you young. The Premier League in contrast, and by compensating for a lack of a really eye-catching and attractive football throughout – whether it’s Southampton vs. West Ham or Manchester United vs. Chelsea – keeps people guessing. Yes it is a charm in a way. It’s sports that occasionally steps over the boundary into entertainment – and no, not like Vince McMahon’s lot.
It can be boring and anti-climactic when pundits talk up a season as the best ever. Manchester City’s late snatch of the title from United wasn’t really groundbreaking, was it? Just as always, it was two teams fighting for the title. The circumstances may have been entertaining, but it wasn’t really different. This season, however, there could be legs in the idea that the title could go more than one of two ways. Maybe not four or five, but you’d bet that six teams will be in the mix for the top four. That’s the near certainty and the entertainment factor of this season. The surprise at the end of the campaign in the form of a league champion is the bonus. In theory, of course.
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Will this be the most entertaining Premier League season?