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Celtic are edging closer to securing a deal that would see Jota make a permanent move to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Daily Record, who claim that Ange Postecoglou’s side are on the brink of securing a deal worth around £6m to convert the 22-year-old’s current season-long loan into a permanent switch to the Bhoys.

The report goes on to state that Celtic have been in talks with Benfica regarding a move for the Portugal U21 international for a considerable length of time, and that these negotiations have progressed in recent days, before suggesting that the deal now looks to be close to completion.

Fans will love it

Considering just how important a part of the Celtic side Jota has become since his temporary switch to the club last summer, the news that the 22-year-old looks set to become Postecoglou’s fifth signing in the January transfer window – following the arrivals of Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi, Daizen Maeda and Johnny Kenny – is sure to be an update Celtic fans will love.

Indeed, over his 11 Premiership appearances so far this season, the £4.95m-rated winger has been in remarkable form, scoring five goals, registering four assists and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of three shots and making 1.5 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £7.1k-per-week forward average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.38, ranking him not only as Celtic’s fourth-best performer in the current campaign – of those who remain at the club – but also as the sixth-best player in the entirety of the Scottish top flight.

Furthermore, Jota has also bagged a further two goals and two assists over his five Europa League fixtures, in addition to one goal over two League Cup appearances, taking his total to eight goals and six assists over just 18 games for Celtic.

As such, it would indeed appear an extremely wise move for Postecoglou to do all he can to tie up the transfer of Jota this month, as, at just 22 years of age, the winger is undoubtedly a player who boasts an incredible amount of potential – something which could see him become an extremely valuable asset for the Bhoys both on and off the pitch.

In other news: “Advanced stage..”: Joseph drops huge transfer update that’ll have Celtic fans buzzing

Liverpool are back in Premier League action this afternoon with an away clash against Wolves at Molineux in their latest push for the Premier League title. 

After seeing off their Merseyside rivals in midweek with a 4-1 victory over Everton, Jurgen Klopp’s side are in third place in the league table with 31 points, one behind Manchester City and two behind Chelsea heading into this weekend’s fixtures. 

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Klopp could choose to be in his starting XI to take on Bruno Lage’s side, one player that didn’t play against Everton that should be in the mix this afternoon is defender Ibrahima Konate, who Klopp has previously said has “massive potential.”

Given how the Everton game was only on Wednesday, perhaps this could be an area where Klopp could look to rotate his players and kill two birds with one stone by resting Matip, who played in midweek, and giving Konate some minutes under his belt. 

Standing at 6ft 4in tall, Konate has kept three clean sheets in the four league games he’s played in so far this season, showing that he is more than capable of playing at a high level in the top flight. 

One of those clean sheets came during Liverpool’s 5-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford where Konate managed to keep Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently hit the 800 career goals mark, quiet for the day, showing that the Frenchman can battle it out against dangerous attacking opponents.

This performance against the Red Devils led to Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders calling Konate a “beast.”

Overall, Konate has managed to rack up an average of 4.8 clearances per game, two interceptions per game and 1.5 tackles per game, as well as winning 69% of duels, which could make him a terrifying opponent for Wolves on this occasion.

Looking ahead to the Wolves match, this could be a great test for the £70k-a-week earning Konate to play against some of Wolves’ attacking players such as Raul Jimenez, Adama Traore and Hwang Hee-chan as the Old Gold will presumably be on the attack given how they’ve only managed to pick up two 0-0 draws in their two previous games.

In other news: Big relief: Klopp given major LFC boost as transfer claim emerges, fans surely buzzing – opinion

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left slamming the display of Ianis Hagi despite their 2-0 win at home to St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team came home from Ibrox with all three points thanks to goals from Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent, but Hagi, making up the final part of the front three, was certainly not as influential.

The Romania international lost out on five of his duels in total, the joint-most out of any of his teammates on the pitch, and failed to score with all three of his shots (SofaScore).

He was also unsuccessful with all of his dribble and crossing attempts, while Hagi was guilty of losing possession of the ball on no fewer than on 18 separate occasions in the match, the second-most out of any Light Blues player (SofaScore).

Rangers fans slam Hagi

These Teddy Bears slammed his performance on Twitter, with one Gers supporter even going as far as to claim that he was ‘non-existent’:

“Good half but Hagi has been stinkin’”

Credit: @jaayfc

“Btw Hagi is useless wide. We need to stop this”

Credit: @RheiceMulgrah

“Still don’t get Hagi, would love to know how many times he loses possession in a game by just falling down”

Credit: @de5erteaglegreg

“What do people actually see in Hagi?”

Credit: @WilliamGrimes_

“Hagi out wide is utterly depressing just get Fash on”

Credit: @LeighamMacleod

“Hagi non-existent here”

Credit: @L8522Mac

In other news, find out what official RFC post has fans gushing here!

Liverpool will take on Porto at Anfield this evening, and the side is expected to rest players due to an early qualification to the last sixteen thanks to going unbeaten in Europe this season so far.

The reds have taken maximum points from their first four games in their group, currently seven points ahead of their opponents on Wednesday evening.

Klopp has hinted in his press conference that he will be resting players in the fixture that has no effect on the side’s qualification in the tournament whether they win, lose or draw.

The German coach told the press;

“We always respect the competition but we have to think about ourselves, our schedule and the situation of our players first.”

With Liverpool’s injury crisis in mind – they are missing Curtis Jones and Naby Keita – there is one player that has been a hot favourite with fans for a start tonight in the European fixture. At just 19 years old, Tyler Morton is predicted to make his Champions League debut for the side ahead of the likes of Thiago and Fabinho.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-liverpool-news” title=”Check out the latest Liverpool news!”]

Hailing him as “brilliant”, Klopp heaped praise on the teenager a few weeks ago and talked about getting him ready for first-team football;

“You can see Tyler Morton, I told him now we pretty much have to send him directly to the gym now. Because if he gets a body, he’s a brilliant footballer.

“There’s obviously some things to come physique-wise, but the football brain is outstanding.”

Morton is no stranger to the first team this season, putting in a confident performance against Norwich in the Carabao Cup when he came on in the second half, and more recently made his Premier League debut, when he was subbed on for Thiago Alcantara in the final six minutes of the game against Arsenal in which the side ran away with a 4-0 win.

The youngster is set to get his first opportunity in the starting line up against Porto tonight and will be hoping to prove to Klopp that he made the right choice in introducing him into the first team, which he can achieve with a measured display

Liverpool will be hoping to remain unbeaten in Europe with a win over Porto tonight, where the Portuguese side will be hoping to steal a win at Anfield to widen the gap in second place holding back AC Milan and Atletico Madrid from qualification.

In other news: Liverpool predicted Champions League XI vs Porto

Leeds United may not have had the start to their second season back in the Premier League as they would have hoped based on their early results.

Injuries have also dampened their campaign so far with the likes of Patrick Bamford, Luke Ayling and Robin Koch being out of action for significant periods.

With this in mind and the fact that the January transfer window is approaching, the Yorkshire club could be forced into bringing some new players in to help strengthen Marcelo Bielsa’s squad and get them away from the relegation zone.

One player that Leeds could secure the signing of in January that they were linked with over the summer is Cagliari right-midfielder Nahitan Nandez.

Recent reports from Calcio Mercato (via Leeds Live) have claimed that the Italian club would be prepared to sell Nandez for lower than his €36m (£30.5m) release clause.

If these claims are true, this could provide Victor Orta with a great opportunity to deliver Bielsa his dream transfer that they missed out on in the summer without having to pay as much as they originally thought they had to.

Since joining the Serie A club from Boca Juniors back in the 2019 summer transfer window, the 25-year-old, who is currently valued at £18m according to Transfermarkt, has made 85 appearances across all competitions, scoring four goals and providing nine assists in the process.

As well as showing how much of a versatile player he is by playing in a number of positions across the midfield and attack for Cagliari in Serie A this season, Nandez has also managed to highlight how much of a well-rounded player he is by racking up an average of 1.1 key passes per game as well as 2.1 tackles per game.

This backs up why Serie A expert Conor Clancy previously described Nandez as a “powerful” player that has “really good ball control.”

Taking all of this into account, if Leeds see an opportunity to work out a financially viable deal with the Italian club to bring Nandez to Elland Road in January, then they should be all over it, as the Uruguayan has shown he could be a solid addition to their squad and suited to the physical nature of the Premier League.

In other news: Leeds plot January swoop for “very gifted” £9m-rated “beast”, Bielsa would be buzzing…

Liverpool have so far this season managed to score more goals in the Premier League than any other team with 22 in their opening eight games of the season as well as 11 goals in their opening three Champions League group games.

Despite this impressive start to the season in front of goal, it appears as though Jurgen Klopp’s side could well be looking to add another attacking option to his squad in January.

What’s the latest?

It has recently been reported by Florence-based newspaper La Nazione (via Sport Witness) that Liverpool and fellow Premier League club Manchester City have an advantage over other clubs in Europe to potentially sign Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic in the upcoming January transfer window.

That’s because they are financially capable of securing the striker in the winter for a fee rather than having to wait until the summer.

Added firepower

Vlahovic joined Fiorentina back in the 2018 summer transfer window from FK Partizan Belgrade. Since then, the 21-year-old, who is currently valued at £45m according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of 93 appearances for the Italian club across all competitions.

For the Italian side, he has managed to score 35 goals and provide five assists, proving why a number of clubs are after his signature.

So far this season, the striker, who has been labelled as “incredible” by Conor Clancy, the editor in chief at Forza Italian Football, has managed to score six goals in nine appearances across all competitions.

With that in mind, we feel that a potential link-up with Reds winger Mohamed Salah, who has 12 goals in 11 appearances so far this season, could be a very exciting prospect for the Liverpool fans. The Egyptian has been mesmerising this term and combining him with Vlahovic would only add to the club’s already impressive attacking force, making a potential January move worth exploring for FSG.

Also, taking into account Vlahovic’s young age and the age of current Liverpool centre-forward Roberto Firmino (30) we feel that the Serbian could be a good replacement for the Brazilian and take the spot as Liverpool’s long-term first-choice striker if he did join in the coming months.

In other news: 3 key passes PG: Liverpool could have a perfect Henderson heir in “confident” 18 y/o – opinion

Celtic reporter Kieran Devlin has shared who was behind the signings of Hoops trio Jota, Josip Juranovic and Kyogo Furuhashi over the summer.

The Lowdown: Successful starts…

Celtic made 12 signings over the summer, with some more successful than others so far.

The likes of Osaze Urhoghide and Liam Shaw are yet to feature and are reportedly fighting for their Parkhead futures, whereas the likes of Jota, Juranovic and Furuhashi have impressed.

Jota, who joined on deadline day, has contributed to eight goals in 12 appearances. Juranovic, who cost £2.7m, has shown his versatility by filling in for Greg Taylor at left-back, while Furuhashi has been the star acquisition with 12 goal contributions in 16 games.

And Devlin has now shared who specifically from Parkhead was behind each respective deal ahead of the club’s clash with Ferencvaros on Thursday.

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The Latest: Devlin’s claim

Devlin shared a story on The Athletic on Wednesday, looking at where the Hoops could add to in the January window.

One supporter replied, saying whoever was behind the deals for Furuhashi, Jota and Juranovic should be able to do what they want in the New Year.

This is what Devlin had to say in response, sharing details of who was behind each transfer.

“First one was obviously Postecoglou, second two were largely scouting department but Postecoglou really wanted Juranovic too in particular I’m led to believe.”

The Verdict: Ange to strike again?

It’s good to see that the scouting department weighed in with moves for Juranovic and Jota, even though the club still remains without a director of football or head of recruitment.

Furuhashi meanwhile has enjoyed a brilliant start to life in Scotland, and Postecoglou will surely be granted the chance in January to bring more J1 League talent to Celtic Park given how that signing has panned out.

The likes of Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate have been linked with winter window moves, and if the pair make the switch over the coming months and have half the impact Furuhashi has made in the second half of the season, then you’d expect they would be shrewd signings and would only help Celtic in their quest for Scottish Premiership glory.

In other news: ‘Postecoglou will be gutted’ – BBC Radio 5 Live man reacts to ‘disappointing’ Celtic injury news. 

Tottenham Hotspur are keeping an eye on Dusan Vlahovic after an update on his future emerged this week…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Italian journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who delivered an exciting update to his ‘Here We Go’ podcast.

The Fiorentina striker has turned down a lucrative new contract extension that would have made him La Viola’s highest-paid player in their history and now Spurs, who were linked with the 21-year-old in the summer window, are watching his situation closely.

“Tottenham, they will keep an eye on this boy because Fabio Paratici always works like this. If he likes a player he will follow this player for a long time,” he revealed.

“So Tottenham will keep an eye on Vlahovic’s situation, but a lot of clubs in Europe will keep an eye on this situation. He is officially an opportunity, his contract is up in 2023 so Fiorentina need to sell the player in January or in [the] summer.”

Promising news

This news should leave many supporters around N17 absolutely buzzing as there is a chance that Spurs could land one of the most promising young forwards in Europe right now.

Vlahovic was in prolific form last season, bagging 21 goals in just 37 league appearances, and that has rolled into the 2021/22 campaign already, finding the net six times in eight matches, via Transfermarkt – that’s even despite the interest in his signature throughout the off-season.

“I think that after Haaland and Mbappe, he is one of the strongest in Europe,” is how former Italy international Christian Vieri once described the Fiorentina talisman.

Whilst the 6 foot 3 colossus has earned plenty of comparisons to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, too.

“He’s just a complete number nine and I know it’s just off the back of one season, but he’s strong, can link play up, can hold the ball up and most importantly, he’s scoring goals. He’s one of those players that when he looks confident, you almost expect him to score every time he plays,” claimed Serie A expert Conor Clancy to This is Futbol.

Harry Kane has struggled for goals so far this campaign, failing to score in five Premier League starts, whilst their 2-1 win over Aston Villa was the first time that Nuno Santo’s side scored more than once in any top-flight game this term.

As per WhoScored, the north Londoners are also fourth-from-bottom for average number of shots per game (10.4).

It’s clear that there has been a real problem in the final third for Spurs and Vlahovic’s impressive record surely makes him an interesting and potential solution.

Therefore, the fact that Fabio Paratici is keeping an eye on the Serbian talisman is certainly reason to get excited. If Tottenham can complete a deal for him in January, then they absolutely should do it.

AND in other news, “I saw him limp”: Reliable journo drops Spurs injury claim, fans are surely worried…

Christopher Jullien and James Forrest should be back available for Celtic in the ‘next couple of weeks’, according to The Athletic’s Kieran Devlin.

The lowdown

Jullien has been out of action since last December when he ruptured his cruciate ligament against Dundee United.

Forrest, meanwhile, was sidelined for much of the 2020/21 campaign with a stress fracture in his ankle and has encountered ‘muscular issues’ this term (via The Daily Record).

Former Scotland boss Alex McLeish says the return of Jullien will be a ‘massive’ boost for Celtic, while Chris Sutton has called Forrest ‘a huge miss’.

The latest

Devlin was asked for ‘the latest on the injury front’ in The Athletic’s matchday discussion ahead of the Motherwell game.

With Forrest and Jullien now back in training, their return should be fairly close.

Elsewhere, Josip Juranovic ‘could be back’ for Thursday’s Europa League clash with Ferencvaros, while the timeline for Greg Taylor’s comeback is ‘unknown’ after he underwent shoulder surgery.

The verdict: Great news

Jullien’s return will be particularly welcome. Celtic’s defensive vulnerabilities have been brutally exposed in their European games, and the Frenchman should elevate the whole backline.

There may be concerns about initial rustiness, but based on the performances of ex-Hoop Virgil van Dijk this season, he’ll be okay if his recovery has been properly managed.

As for Forrest, he may find it tricky to get back into the side ahead of Liel Abada, but will certainly boost Ange Postecoglou’s squad depth.

In other news, Frank McAvennie has picked out three Neil Lennon scapegoats.

West Ham United’s summer transfer window was almost perfect.

David Moyes bolstered his playing squad with some solid additions, including Champions League winner Kurt Zouma and a new playmaker to fill Jesse Lingard’s void in Nikola Vlasic.

However, there are still some gaps to plug, particularly up front and out wide.

The 58-year-old only has one recognised striker, whilst you could argue that his full-back options aren’t the strongest aside from starting duo Aaron Creswell and Vladimir Coufal.

It’s exactly why a new signing in the role was thought to be among the list of priorities this window, as per Sky Sports back in May.

However, Moyes may have a long-term solution to that problem right under his nose, if he chooses to keep the faith with young defender Ben Johnson, whose versatile nature of being able to play on both flanks and in the middle could be a game-changer for years to come.

The 21-year-old gem has played just one senior minute so far this campaign but that took his total number of appearances for the east London outfit to 25 across all competitions.

In his first start for the club in 2020/21, Johnson found the net against Brighton and went on to win the club’s Young Player of the Year award.

Across 19 Premier League games, he has proven his ability at the very top – as per WhoScored, the Rush Green graduate has averaged 2.1 tackles per 90 minutes at a success rate of 77.7%, as well as 1.6 interceptions, 1.4 aerial duels won and 1.1 dribbles per 90 minutes.

His tackling rate suggests that he is more than capable of battling with top-flight opposition. By comparison, this would rank him very favourably against both Cresswell (two) and Coufal (3.3) based on the current season so far.

Plenty around the club and those who have watched Johnson closely have regularly praised his ability. Irons legend Frank McAvennie dubbed him “a joy to watch” to Football Insider back in June 2020, whilst Gary Neville waxed lyrical about him on Sky Sports after his showing against Manchester United.

“I had a good look at him (Johnson) on Friday night, really impressed,” he said (as sourced by Hammers.News). “I’m always interested when a right-back comes into the game, (especially) a young player. His body shape was good on crosses from the opposite side, he did the right things when he was one-on-one, he understands the position. (He) looks an excellent defender.”

Meanwhile, the West Ham Way’s Dave Walker dubbed him “one hell of a player” earlier this year, saying: “He’s got a big future at West Ham. He’s been with us since he was seven years old. He’s blown me away recently, I like him a lot.”

With a congested fixture list on the horizon for the Hammers, Johnson should start to see more minutes on the pitch, and if that’s the case, he could well show Moyes and the club that he’s the long-term heir in the full-back position.

Johnson can save GSB millions for years to come if the Scottish head coach continues to develop the impressive Irons talent.

AND in other news, West Ham may forever regret Moyes’ big summer blunder on “unstoppable” £18m-rated gem…