Vitor Roque moved to Barcelona in Janaury and has failed to break into the team, with the Catalans now in talks with Al-Hilal over a potential move.
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Celtic have made a habit out of selling players for significant profit over the years through their model of buying young talent and developing them to sell on further down the line.
The likes of Virgil van Dijk, who is now captain of Liverpool and the Netherlands, Victor Wanyama, Odsonne Edouard, and Moussa Dembele, among many others, have come through Parkhead before being sold on to clubs in Europe.
Per The Scottish Sun, the two highest fees Celtic have received for players in their history both came within the last five years with Jota and Kieran Tierney's respective departures.
Arsenal reportedly splashed out a staggering £25m to sign the Scotland international left-back, who had come up through the academy in Glasgow, in the summer of 2019, before Al Ittihad spent the same amount on the Portuguese winger to secure his services last summer.
However, that does not mean that they are the club's biggest sales when you adjust for the inflation of transfer fees in football over the years.
When Celtic sold Stiliyan Petrov to Aston Villa in the summer of 2006, the Hoops played a blinder as they cashed in for a gigantic fee when you adjust for inflation, as the fee then exceeds what the Scottish giants raked in for Jota last year.
Former Bhoys head coach Ange Postecoglou swooped to sign Jota from Portuguese giants Benfica on loan for the 2021/22 campaign and the forward enjoyed a terrific first year at the club.
The exciting winger racked up ten goals, ten assists, and 17 'big chances' created in 29 Scottish Premiership appearances for the Australian boss that term.
Celtic, unsurprisingly, decided to activate the option-to-buy clause that they had in his loan deal, which allowed them to snap him up for a fee of just £6.5m.
|
2022/23 Premiership |
Jota |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
33 |
|
Starts |
26 |
|
Goals |
11 |
|
Assists |
11 |
|
Big chances created |
13 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
|
As you can see in the table above, Jota enjoyed another terrific season in front of goal last term as he produced 22 direct goal contributions in just 26 starts in the Scottish top-flight.
He also scored two goals and created nine chances for his teammates in four Champions League appearances for the Hoops during the 2022/23 campaign.
His sublime form for Celtic across those two seasons in Glasgow convinced Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad to swoop in with a £25m offer to take him away from Scotland.
Benfica were due £7.5m of that, due to the sell-on clause they inserted when the Hoops signed him in 2022, and that meant that the club made a profit of £11m in total on the £6.5m they had paid the Liga Portugal outfit.
This shows that Postecoglou played a masterclass with the signing of Jota as it meant that the Glasgow-based side made an £11m profit in just one year, whilst they also got two years of fantastic services out of the talented forward – including his season on loan.
The Hoops swooped to sign central midfielder Petrov from CSKA Sofia for a reported fee of £2.8m under John Barnes in the summer of 1999.
Sky Sports claimed that the Bulgarian dynamo struggled under the former Liverpool winger before going on to prove himself with Martin O'Neill in charge of the club.
The midfield star, who could also play on either flank when needed, only produced one goal and zero assists in 26 Premiership matches during his first campaign in Scotland, playing for Barnes and then Kenny Dalglish – who was in caretaker charge in the final three months of the season.
Petrov found his feet in front of goal under O'Neill with a return of seven goals in 28 league matches for the Scottish giants during the 2000/01 campaign, but he had failed to assist a single goal in his first two years in Glasgow.
|
Stiliyan Petrov in the Premiership |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Appearances |
Goals |
Assists |
|
99/00 |
26 |
1 |
0 |
|
00/01 |
28 |
7 |
0 |
|
01/02 |
24 |
6 |
6 |
|
02/03 |
34 |
12 |
10 |
|
03/04 |
35 |
6 |
9 |
|
04/05 |
37 |
11 |
3 |
|
05/06 |
37 |
10 |
5 |
|
Stats via Transfermarkt |
|||
As you can see in the table above, the Bulgaria international went on to thrive at the top end of the pitch in Scotland after his initial struggles in those first two seasons.
In fact, Petrov went on to rack up more than 100 goal contributions – with 64 goals and 40 assists – in 304 appearances for the club in all competitions before his move to Aston Villa in 2006.
Per Totally Money, the Hoops cashed in on the central midfielder ahead of the 2006/07 campaign for a fee of £9m as the Premier League side swooped in to secure his signature.
If you adjust for the inflation of football fees over the years, per Totally Money's index, that £9m fee would be worth a staggering £31.1m in 2024 money.
That is over £6m more than Celtic raked in for Tierney and Jota and would be their club-record fee had that transfer taken place in today's footballing economic climate.
This shows that the Scottish side struck gold when they signed him for £2.8m in the summer of 2019 as they made an actual profit of £6.2m and got years of superb service from the impressive midfielder, who could score and create goals, and raked in a fee that would be considered mind-boggling in the current day.
Petrov then went on to play over 200 matches for Aston Villa, including more than 100 in the Premier League, and racked up 105 caps for Bulgaria.
This shows that he enjoyed a good career in England after making the move from Parkhead, as the talented maestro played regular top-flight football in England over several years after his impressive time in Scotland.
Unfortunately, his retirement – at Villa Park – was then forced by his brave battle with leukaemia in 2013. Thankfully, though, he is now healthy and free of the disease, which cut his excellent career short, and that is the most important thing to note.
Chelsea's erratic strategy in the transfer market was always going to be a risky manoeuvre, especially given the huge influx of new players arriving at Stamford Bridge.
Players such as Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernández and Moises Caicedo have all made a positive impact at the club since arriving despite their hefty transfer fees.
Fernandez and Caicedo both cost the club over £100m in deals that broke the English transfer record, but have proved to be money well spent under boss Mauricio Pochettino.
It would be harsh to question Todd Boehly's ambition with his spending since the takeover. However, one thing that can be questioned is the erratic nature of the spending – with many players failing to match up with the hefty fees spent on them.
One player, in particular, has failed to live up to expectations after his own big-money move to join the club, with the £75m man only featuring a handful of times because of his relentless injury problems.
During his nearly two-year stint at Stamford Bridge, 23-year-old centre-back Wesley Fofana has only made 20 appearances for the club, after multiple injury struggles.
The defender made his debut in the 2-1 win against West Ham United in September 2022, before suffering a serious knee injury in his second outing against Crystal Palace.
Fofana was subsequently ruled out until February, with the Frenchman making his return during the 1-0 defeat at home to Southampton. He enjoyed a good run in the Blues side before the end of the 2022/23 campaign, before another injury setback during pre-season back in August.
|
Wesley Fofana's injury history at Chelsea |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Injury |
Days missed |
Games missed |
|
Knee injury |
71 |
17 |
|
Knee injury |
55 |
9 |
|
ACL tear |
250 |
41 |
|
Stats via Transfermarkt |
||
His awful run of injuries saw the defender suffer a fresh setback, as he suffered another serious blow and underwent surgery to repair his ruptured ACL.
Fofana hasn't featured at all during the 2023/24 season, with the defender still recovering from his latest injury setback which he suffered in pre-season.
Pochettino confirmed that the 23-year-old wouldn't feature for the Blues before the current campaign is over, with the former Leicester City defender aiming to return ahead of the start of the 2024/25 season in August.
After joining the club for £75m, his value has taken a nose dive given his extended period on the sidelines.
Although he joined the club with real potential, the centre-back, who was touted to be the next Virgil Van Dijk by former boss Brendan Rodgers, hasn't hit the levels expected due to injury, with the 23-year-old's market value taking a huge hit.
Fofana – who Rodgers said was "showing very similar [qualities] to what [Virgil] van Dijk was at Celtic" – is now only valued at £27m, as per Transfermarkt, a decrease of roughly 64% on the figure the club paid for him less than two years ago.
Whilst you could argue that it is harsh to blame Chelsea for his injury issues, Fofana missed a staggering 72 matches through injury during his time with Leicester, which shows that the warning signs were there.
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He's proved to be a huge "waste of money", as dubbed by Dutch legend Wesley Sneijder, with Fofana also taking home a weekly wage of £200k-per-week, which sees him rake in £10.4m every season.
Given all the stats behind his failed move, Pochettino and the board should look to offload the Frenchman, with his value and wages going a long way to help the club in their battle against FFP.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been left shocked by Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca's nickname, after he was labelled a "diet Pep".
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Lionesses star Katie Zelem has joined Angel City on a free transfer following her exit from Manchester United.
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West Bromwich Albion will be very content with how their Championship season is currently unfolding, sitting comfortably in a playoff spot with confidence sky-high for a trip to Millwall today.
Carlos Corberan and Co will want to taste promotion success now having turned into a side in no danger of dropping out of the top six positions, knowing that will be obviously far more difficult than it sounds on paper.
Yet, slipping up and succumbing to a couple of defeats on the spin could sap the feel-good factor at the Hawthorns on the contrary with one defender in danger of dropping out after an underwhelming display against Bristol City last time out.
The Baggies might well have won 2-0 come the full-time whistle, but the player in question's poor 45 minutes against the Robins means he could face the axe by Corberan today.
Erik Pieters' shaky 45 minutes against the Robins didn't end up costing his side dear, but the West Brom manager will be cautious to start the former Burnley man again after such an off performance.
The versatile Dutch defender has been reliably filling in when other members of the back four at the West Midlands club have been sidelined, making 22 Championship appearances to date this campaign.
He might not be able to add a 23rd appearance to his season tally at the Den, however, having failed to put in a single tackle in the first half against Liam Manning's men in a timid showing from the 35-year-old.
The former Clarets man would also only win one duel from his torrid 45-minute spell at the Hawthorns, with his replacement at half-time now in line to start over him against Millwall.
Kyle Bartley has been nursing various different injury knocks, but Corberan will be tempted to throw in the former Arsenal man into the heart of defence from the start against the Lions to then ditch Pieters in the process.
Labelled as being an "incredible" talent by ex-Baggies centre-forward Kevin Campbell when Corberan first emerged onto the scene as boss, which saw Bartley breathe life back into his stuttering West Brom career, it's a no-brainer to bring the experienced head back into defence today.
The 32-year-old had been a colossus in defence before picking up a recent injury issue, scoring three goals from the back whilst also ensuring Alex Palmer has 16 clean sheets next to his name behind him with imperious displays.
Bartley's 75-minute display in West Brom's 4-1 win over Huddersfield Town earlier in March is reason enough to reinstate the centre-back into the lineup, with the towering Baggies figure bundling in an all-important goal to make it 2-1 on the day.
It wasn't just this crucial strike that saw Bartley receive plaudits off the back of this comprehensive win, with the 6 foot 1 defender battling away at the back to help his team pick up a fantastic victory on the road.
Making seven clearances and winning five duels, Bartley standing firm when the Terriers attacked with the purpose in the first 45 minutes then gave his side the platform to overwhelm their hosts in the following one-sided half.
|
Bartley's numbers vs Huddersfield |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
75 |
|
Goals |
1 |
|
Touches |
67 |
|
Accurate passes |
49/54 (91%) |
|
Duels won |
5/6 |
|
Clearances |
7 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
|
If West Brom are to shut out Millwall for the full 90 minutes, they'd do far worse than calling upon Bartley to take Pieters' spot in a change that could see the Baggies pick up another win in the division.
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West Ham United are ready to tempt a defender who manager David Moyes wants with a big-money contract offer, despite the uncertainty surrounding their boss.
As things stand, the Hammers head coach is on course to leave at the end of this season with his official contract expiring on June 30.
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According to Fabrizio Romano last week, West Ham are yet to make a final decision on Moyes' future as we slowly approach the final two months of his second tenure at the club.
"Rumours appear to be continuing on David Moyes but at this stage I’m not aware of decisions made about him by West Ham,” Romano said to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing.
“The club are fully focused on the Premier League and European football, so everything that comes next will be discussed later. I think many times we heard that Moyes was almost gone and he’s still there.
|
West Ham's next league fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Fulham (home) |
April 14th |
|
Crystal Palace (away) |
April 21st |
|
Liverpool (home) |
April 27th |
|
Chelsea (away) |
May 5th |
|
Luton Town (home) |
May 11th |
“Nothing is decided yet.”
Moyes has claimed that a new contract offer is there from West Ham, and it is him delaying the signing of it, but this has since been refuted by reliable media sources like ExWHUemployee.
The 60-year-old, following one of the most successful periods of West Ham's history, in which they've won a European trophy, could well be on the move if he doesn't make a success of these last few games.
A crunch Europa League quarter-final against German frontrunners Bayer Leverkusen awaits this week, which could be pivotal in determining Moyes' future, but an intriguing report by TEAMtalk has suggested that West Ham could also be planning for a future under their current manager.
Indeed, it is believed Moyes is a real admirer of Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo, which has a bearing on their transfer plans for the Englishman.
Amid Moyes' fondness for the 26-year-old, West Ham are said to be planning to make Tosin a lucrative contract offer in a bid to tempt towards the London Stadium.
The former Man City defender's contract expires at the end of this season, which has alerted a host of top sides, including the Irons, to the possibility of snapping him up for free later this year.
The 6 foot 5 centre-back has been brilliant for Fulham since returning from an injury earlier this season, and City boss Pep Guardiola has previously heralded Tosin's physical attributes.
“He is fast, strong in the air, and has the quality to look forward behind the line for the next pass,” said Guardiola (via GOAL).
“He definitely has a future in the first team. He is a nice guy, his mind is open, he listens, he trains every day like it’s the last training of his life and I like to work with these kinds of players a lot.”
Aston Villa progressed to the semifinals of the Europa Conference League with a penalty shootout win over Lille on Thursday evening – the first time they have reached the last four in Europe since 1982.
On that occasion, Villa won the European Cup and Unai Emery will be hoping to lead his side to another major continental triumph.
Despite sealing a last-four spot, the Midlands outfit didn’t play particularly well, having to rely on a late goal by Matty Cash to take the game to extra time, where Emiliano Martínez (who else) was the hero during the shootout.
Youri Tielemans in particular, failed to have much influence on the game and this could jeopardise his place in the starting XI ahead of the clash against Bournemouth.
The Belgian was tasked with controlling the game from the heart of the midfield while advancing forward whenever possible, yet he sat deeper than usual against the French side.
Throughout the 120 minutes, Tielemans took only 38 touches while completing 22 passes, evidence of his lack of impact for Villa. The midfielder also lost possession nine times, made only one key pass, and had no shots on dribble attempts during the entire game.
|
Youri Tielemans' stats for Villa against Lille |
|
|---|---|
|
Accurate passes |
22/28 |
|
Touches |
38 |
|
Key passes |
1 |
|
Total duels (won) |
7 (6) |
|
Lost possession |
9 |
|
Via Sofascore |
|
He was given a match rating of just 6/10 by Birmingham Live as John Townley stated that the former Leicester City star ‘had a limited influence on the night’ while he also ‘lost possession in a dangerous position’ towards the start of the second half, but Lille failed to take advantage.
It was a disappointing performance, but Moussa Diaby was arguably worse as he failed to offer anything in the final third.
The former Bayer Leverkusen winger was unleashed from the start against the team currently sitting fourth in Ligue 1 with the hopes he could cause some damage.
The Frenchman was subbed off in the 68th minute as Townley claimed he ‘struggled to involve himself in the game’ and was subsequently given a rating of just 5/10 for his uninspiring performance.
Indeed, Diaby only took 18 touches while completing eight passes during his time on the field, supporting the notion regarding his lack of impact.
He failed to take any shots or attempt any dribbles, while also making zero key passes or creating any big chances, looking lost as Villa pushed forward.
It was perhaps a surprise to see Leon Bailey fail to secure a start after his excellent cameo against Arsenal last weekend, but there is no doubt the Jamaican should be pushed back into the starting XI after Diaby’s display against Lille.
Emery’s side will have to improve massively when they face off against Olympiacos next month if they wish to reach just their second-ever major European final.
A response will be required as they welcome Bournemouth to Villa Park on Sunday, especially as the hunt for the fourth and final Champions League berth is beginning to heat up quite nicely.
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