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Sunderland continued their march towards Championship promotion with a 2-1 win away at Gillingham in League One at the weekend.

Tom Flanagan and Aiden O’Brien scored the goals for the Black Cats, with Lee Johnson’s side now sitting one point off the top of the table and with games in-hand over first and second.

However, Johnson has a decision to make heading into their clash with Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday night as Elliot Embleton was shown a straight red card against Gillingham.

This means that Sunderland must bring in another wide player to cover for him in this clash. With Irish winger Aiden McGeady returning to fitness, Johnson must unleash the ex-Celtic flyer and hand him a start as part of the front four.

If he is fit enough to play, McGeady could fill in for Embleton and provide a useful outlet out wide to help Sunderland win another game as they attempt to rise back to the top of the League One table.

The forward has proven that he can be an outstanding player in the third tier. Speaking after a game in 2019, former Sunderland boss Jack Ross hailed the “special quality” of McGeady. He told Chronicle Live: 

“I thought he was bright today. He is the type of player who responds well to other players coming into the club and the challenge of proving the quality he has.

“In the first half I thought we were too short and too narrow in terms of how we made the pitch, so in the second half we widened and lengthened it a bit and that’s where the goal comes from. You had the execution of the pass from Grant [Leadbitter], but then you need that bit of special quality and Aiden has done that a lot for us this season.”

This highlights the level of ability the £19k-per-week wizard is able to provide Sunderland at this level. His statistics for the club speak for themselves; 21 goals and 24 assists in three League One campaigns in red and white. He has the magical spark required to open up a game and that is why he should replace Embleton in the team.

McGeady has proven that he can score and assist goals on a regular basis and Ross Stewart could potentially thrive on the service he is able to provide. The Scottish striker has scored seven goals in 11 games and could add to that tally by getting on the end of McGeady’s crosses.

AND in other news, Forget Flanagan: Sunderland gem with 100% dribble success stole the show vs Gillingham…

Upon signing for Leeds United, despite boasting a great deal of early career promise, Patrick Bamford looked as if he may be a footballer who would never truly fill his potential – a far cry from the player that the centre-forward has become under Marcelo Bielsa at Elland Road.

Indeed, having been on Chelsea’s books from 2012 until 2017, the 28-year-old spent a huge portion of his career being loaned from club to club, with his more notable campaigns coming for MK Dons in the first half of the 2013/14 season (14 goals over 23 League One appearances), Derby County in the second half of 2013/14 (eight goals over 21 Championship fixtures) and Middlesbrough in 2014/15 (17 goals over 38 Championship appearances).

However, there were also a number of unsuccessful spells at clubs such as Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Burnley, with the forward failing to score across 16 Premier League appearances for those three clubs – something which may have cast doubt as to whether Bamford was cut out for top-flight football.

However, following his initial £7m move to Leeds from Middlesbrough back in 2018, this is a reputation that the 28-year-old has massively overcome, with Bielsa turning Bamford into an incredibly prolific striker.

Indeed, over his 22 Championship appearances in the Argentine’s first season at the club, the forward bagged nine goals, registered two assists and created one big chance for his teammates – returns which saw the hitman earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.91.

Bamford continued his upward trajectory the following term, bagging 16 goals, providing two assists and creating six big chances over his 45 Championship fixtures in the Whites’ promotion-winning campaign – figures which saw the striker earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.88.

The £35k-per-week 28-year-old also took the step up to Premier League football comfortably in his stride over his 38 appearances last season, scoring a whopping 17 goals, registering seven assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, as well as earning a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.01.

As such, with Bamford now boasting a Transfermarkt valuation of £19.8m – 5.5 times his £3.6m worth at the time of his move to Leeds –  as well as being the joint-fourth top goalscorer in the 2020/21 Premier League, it is evident that Victor Orta struck gold in 2018 when signing the player who Jurgen Klopp dubbed an “exceptional” talent.

In other news: Orta could be heading for his biggest mistake at Leeds to date, Bielsa would be livid

Olivier Bernard has dropped a big claim on the potential takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

The Lowdown: Cases await

Mike Ashley is currently awaiting two cases against the Premier League over his stalled takeover deal with the KSA group.

One is the upcoming Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) hearing, which is set to take place on Wednesday at 10:30 am, and the other is the separate arbitration proceedings, which are set to commence next year after further delays (The Mag).

The Latest: Bernard on takeover

Speaking to The Chronicle, former Magpies player Bernard has now claimed that he still thinks that the proposed takeover will happen despite delays in proceedings, but admits that he cannot put a timeframe on its potential completion:

“There’s a lot of going on at the club in terms of selling to new owners. I suspect everybody feels the same way, some will feel it’s quite imminent but at the same time quite far.

“Everybody chooses to go week by week hoping for a better tomorrow. Even the owner has said himself it should be done in the next few months.

“It’s coming, I think there will be a takeover, the problem is when? It’s not clever for the owner to put money in when he thinks he’s sold the club.

“That leaves a difficult situation on the pitch because we as fans want more quality on the pitch. But at the same time, we all want the club sold and hopefully now the Premier League can decide if this takeover takes place or not.”

The Verdict: CAT case key

The upcoming CAT case is likely to be key in terms of the direction of where the potential takeover is heading.

A positive result for the St. James’ Park faithful would give them supreme confidence going into the arbitration process, whereas a negative one may even cancel the proceedings.

Nonetheless, the focus now should be about the team getting results on the pitch after a tough start that sees the North East club low down in the Premier League table, as relegation could spell the end of the takeover dream.

In other news, find out what double injury blow NUFC have suffered here!

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a major blow in their attempts to sign another centre-back this week…

What’s the word?

Over the past week, the north London outfit have been linked to further central defensive additions as sporting director Fabio Paratici looks to bolster Nuno Santo’s backline.

Two key names that have surfaced are Nikola Milenkovic and Pau Torres.

Sky Sports reported that Spurs were ‘in talks’ to sign the Fiorentina colossus after a potential move to Premier League rivals West Ham United seemingly fell through, whilst The Times suggested the Lilywhites would launch a bid for the Villarreal star.

However, it seems that neither has a chance of happening after renowned Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano dropped a huge claim to Twitter.

“Tottenham are not planning any bid for Nikola Milenkovic – after talks collapsed with West Ham he’s now discussing a contract extension with Fiorentina,” he said.

“No chance for Pau Torres deal, no talks with Villarreal and never been close – he wants Champions League football.”

Big blow

This will come as a massive setback to Nuno, Paratici and Spurs.

Of course, the Premier League side have already seen Cristian Romero walk through the door, signing on loan from Atalanta earlier this month but the arrival of just one centre-back isn’t going to cut it.

Spurs’ biggest problem last season was that backline and with several culprits still remaining in north London, it’s no wonder the club are seeking another addition.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-more” title= “Read the latest Spurs team and injury news, transfer rumours, gossip and much, much more!”]

The north Londoners recorded the worst defensive record of any of the ‘big six’ last term and that was largely down to a lack of leadership, following the departure of Jan Vertonghen, and several individual mistakes, leading to Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier being dubbed “one of the worst partnerships in the Premier League” by ex-midfielder Jamie O’Hara.

Both of the two error-prone centre-backs remain at the club and are now the likely partner to Romero after Belgian veteran Toby Alderweireld was granted a move to Qatar.

Whilst Joe Rodon is currently out through injury and lacks experience at this level.

Therefore, to not sign either of Milenkovic or Torres is a massive blow to Nuno and his chances of building on Sunday’s impressive victory over defending champions Manchester City.

Not only will the Portuguese be fuming by this fresh update but the fans will be too as many were very, very eager to see someone like the Spanish international arrive in N17.

Time is running out to find another centre-back, with less than two weeks to go until Deadline Day.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Hojbjerg: Paratici could form lethal Spurs duo by signing £26m “machine”…

Standard Liege are in talks with Everton over a loan deal for Niels Nkounkou, a source close to the player has told Sport Witness. 

The lowdown

The 20-year-old joined Everton from Marseille in July 2020 for a fee of just under £250,000. The left-back went on to make six senior appearances in his debut season, two of which came in the Premier League.

He was given his first minutes of the 2021/22 campaign in the Carabao Cup tie against Huddersfield Town last week.

The latest

As per Sport Witness journalist Sean Lunt on Twitter, ‘Everton are working on’ temporarily offloading Nkounkou to the Belgian Pro League outfit.

It will be a loan move without an option to buy, suggesting that the Toffees still view Nkounkou as part of their long-term plans.

The verdict

This is a slightly strange move from Everton in that Nkounkou appears to be the most natural left-back alternative to Lucas Digne in the squad.

However, they clearly believe that his development will benefit more from a season of regular top-flight football as opposed to under-23 outings and occasional cup runouts.

Rafael Benitez will need to shift a centre-back out to the left-hand side if he wants to give Digne a rest, or indeed if the Frenchman sustains an injury at some point during the season. This apparent decision to loan out Nkounkou may come under scrutiny further down the line.

In other news, Everton maintain an interest in this midfielder.

Celtic’s transfer window started off in a quiet fashion but now the campaign is underway, they are approaching the market with a sense of ruthlessness.

The Hoops have signed a title-winning goalkeeper in Joe Hart and signed a top-flight’s leading scorer in Kyogo Furuhashi.Now, however, they could welcome the son of a club legend to the club; Jordan Larsson.What’s the word?Speaking to Rekatochklart (via Glasgow Times) this week, former Sweden star Marcus Allback touted Henrik Larsson’s son as the ideal signing for the Hoops in a revealing interview.Jordan currently plays his club football for Spartak Moscow in Russia where he has caught the eye with his goal-scoring antics.Consequently, he earned a place in the Sweden squad for the recent European Championships.Speaking in light of that, Allback commented: “If Jordan Larsson was to sign for Celtic, I know that would be a great signing for both the player and the club.”Allback continued: “Jordan is a great player and has a lot of good qualities that he could bring to the team. He’s not the tallest, but he is strong, his mentality of working hard and always making runs, taking on players and his effort to defend, is something that would suit playing for Celtic.”Better than Henrik?Although the chance of Jordan signing for the Glasgow club has been ruled out in the past, stranger things have certainly happened in football.Valued at £13.5m via Transfermarkt, his price tag would surely be out of the range of Celtic – even if they do sell Odsonne Edouard.However, if the opportunity emerges to sign him, Ange Postecoglou must do everything in his power to lure him to Paradise.After all, this is an offensive player with the world at his feet, an individual capable of dominating defences and taking the opposition to the cleaners.Described as a “great talent” by Allback, he has 25 goals in total for Spartak, 15 of which came during a wonderful 2020/21 campaign in Russia. On top of that, he provided five assists for his teammates while completing two key passes per game.Larsson is yet to score this term but has racked up a jaw-dropping 4.3 key passes per match. In comparison, only Ryan Christie – 4.5 per outing – comes anywhere close to replicating those sorts of numbers this season.What’s most appealing, though, is the idea that he could become better than his father.Henrik will always go down in Celtic history as one of the greats to wear the jersey. The Swedish hero bagged 174 goals in 217 Premiership outings for the club for instance.His son doesn’t find the net with the same regularity but claims have already been made that he’s on the right path to stardom.Speaking in 2016, Henrik Larsson commented: “I have said all along that the only way to deal with people comparing him to me is to become a better player than I was.”“He is already on his way to doing that. Jordan is playing in a higher division than I was at his age and he has already been capped for Sweden – and scored – at under-21 level, again, something that I had not done at his age.”The 24-year-old has since become a prominent player in Europe and is well on his way to becoming a genuine star on the continent.Celtic would be foolish to pass up a transfer as romantic as this if a deal can be arranged.Sadly, that does feel slightly farfetched for now.AND in other news, Alan Nixon issues ten-word Celtic update that’ll surely leave Hoops fans buzzing…

As Celtic made it through to the next round of European qualification last Thursday, it marked an extremely positive turnaround in Ange Postecoglou’s short tenure at Parkhead.The Bhoys have bounced back in some fashion over the last few weeks and have now scored 13 goals in their last three matches.It’s safe to say we’re seeing performances that Celtic sides of old would have been proud of.However, Thursday night’s clash with Jablonec didn’t come without a negative. That happened to be the fitness of Liel Abada.The teenager has been exceptional since penning terms this summer and has surpassed expectations already.Though, he was missing from the squad entirely at Paradise in midweek. Fortunately, Postecoglou has helped to clarify the situation.In a huge boost to Celtic’s chances on Sunday when they face Hearts in the League Cup, Abada is set to be fit.Speaking pre-game, the Australian commented: “He pulled up a bit sore yesterday (Wednesday). He’s 19 and we’re throwing him in there.“He’s been unbelievable but I just felt it was about time to give him a rest. The medical team think he should be alright for Sunday. We erred on the side of caution.”This is news that is likely to delight supporters given his performances since penning terms on a permanent contract.Abada has been a breath of fresh air on the right-hand side and in just five outings he’s already contributed to four Celtic goals.The Israeli scored on his debut against Midtjylland and has continued to put in convincing performances courtesy of his pace, trickery and creativity.In his two Premiership matches, Abada has registered near-perfect statistics. Via WhoScored, his pass completion rate stands at 95% while he’s racked up four shots and three key passes per match.For context, no player has been a bigger threat at Celtic this term in terms of shots. As for key passes, only the effervescent Ryan Christie is ahead of him.Therefore, to have the 19-year-old back against Hearts will be a huge boost. That’s especially when you consider that the Bhoys lost to them on the opening weekend of the new season.They will need to be at their best if they want to secure their pathway to the next round. Abada returning to the fray should certainly help.AND in other news, Forget Rogic: Celtic must unleash “top-class” gem who’s never been seen at Parkhead…

Journalist Luke Hatfield believes that West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Sam Johnstone could stay at the club this summer and potentially leave on a free transfer at the end of the season.

The goalkeeper has been at the centre of a transfer saga throughout the transfer window, as he has been heavily linked with a potential move to West Ham United.

They have signed Alphonse Areola on loan from PSG instead, though, leaving Johnstone’s future up in the air.

Both Arsenal and Leeds United have also been linked but Hatfield is of the opinion that clubs may decide to wait until next summer, when they may be able to lure him away from The Hawthorns for nothing.

However, he admits that may be a risky strategy, as interest will surely increase given the affordability of a deal.

Johnstone impressed last season as the Baggies were relegated and actually made the most saves in the Premier League of any goalkeeper.

Hatfield said: “Yeah, there is always that opportunity because clubs will look at it and say ‘why should we pay money for you now when in a year’s time, you’re out of contract and we can sign you for free?’

“The risk that they play then, of course, is that the summer comes and then there are six or seven clubs interested in Sam Johnstone and all of a sudden, you’ve got to offer improved terms over all of those.

“You’ll maybe end up paying more wages than you’d hope to for him and a signing-on fee as well. Although you don’t pay a transfer fee, you’ll probably shell out a pretty hefty signing-on fee for him.”

Aston Villa journalist Luke Hatfield has told Football FanCast that there is “next to no chance” of striker Ollie Watkins leaving this summer.

Earlier, it had been reported that Liverpool were interested in signing Watkins, with the Villa forward impressing in his debut Premier League campaign.

In 37 games, Watkins went on to score 14 goals to help his side to a respectable 11th-placed finish.

It makes Liverpool’s reported interest in the 25-year-old more than understandable. Hatfield, however, is not expecting a Villa Park exit anytime soon.

“I’d say there’s next to no chance that Watkins leaves the club this summer,” the Express & Star reporter said.

“I think he’s happy at the club, the club are obviously very happy with him and they hold him in the highest regard.

“Considering they signed him for around £30m last summer, they’d want a real upgrade on that fee if they were to even consider a sale, which I don’t think they would.”

Indeed, it is hard to imagine Watkins leaving Villa in this transfer window, even if a big-money offer does come in.

The England international, who was recently given his first cap by Gareth Southgate, has a contract until 2025, meaning Villa are under no pressure to sell.

Ultimately, you would have to imagine that Liverpool, or any other team looking for a Premier League proven striker, will have to look elsewhere this summer.

Get French Football News’ Adam White fears Wilfried Zaha will struggle to show his best form under new Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira.

Former Arsenal captain Vieira was named as Roy Hodgson’s successor earlier this month, having seen the former England chief step down at the end of last season.

Vieira, however, was not Palace chairman Steve Parish’s first choice candidate for the top job. His appointment only came after the club failed to agree terms with Nuno Espirito Santo, who has since taken charge of Tottenham Hotspur, and Lucien Favre turned down the role.

Ligue One expert White watched Vieira closely when the ex-France international was in charge of Nice.

Having cut his managerial teeth in Major League Soccer with New York City FC, Vieira had a two-and-a-half year stint as Nice’s boss before being sacked last December.

White worries that Vieira’s style of play will not suit Palace’s flair players.

When asked by Football FanCast how Zaha and Eberechi Eze would fare, he said: “I think it depends on what formation he decides to land on. Does he play Zaha further forward or off the wing?

“If Vieira continues to use the style he did at Nice then it could be difficult because Zaha will not get lots of chances. He will be isolated, in theory, as well.

“It could be a tough season for Zaha and Palace in general. It will be interesting to see how he decides to utilise Zaha.”