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[ad_pod ]Leeds could be handed a big fitness boost in the next couple of weeks, as Phil Hay has delivered an update on the condition of Jack Clarke.Leeds have had horrific luck with injuries this season, made even worse by the fact that Marcelo Bielsa’s squad was relatively thin to begin with.Clarke became the latest man on the injury list at Middlesbrough, as the youngster was stretchered from the Leeds sideline during the 1-1 draw at the Riverside.Clarke was taken to hospital for tests, and it is now understood that he was suffering from a virus.According to The Yorkshire Evening Post’s Phil Hay, the teenager will do indoor gym work this week and return to outdoor training next week, though not yet with the first team.

A boost before the Baggies

While Clarke still has plenty of recovery time in front of him, the fact that he is looking to shake it off and return as quickly as possible is fantastic news for Bielsa.

Kemar Roofe is out with a knee injury and Pablo Hernandez will turn 34 in April and has played a lot of games this season, so depth is absolutely crucial as the Whites look to keep pace with the teams around them.

Clarke’s ability to beat a defender and whip in a dangerous cross is matched by very few wingers in the Championship, and while next Tuesday’s clash against QPR may come too soon, he is surely eyeing the hugely important fixtue at the start of next month.

Leeds welcome West Brom to Elland Road on March 1 in a match that could ultimately decide who goes up automatically and who endures the play-off gauntlet, and Clarke’s potential return will be giving the Baggies’ full-backs nightmares.

After Ange Postegoclou fielded an extremely young and inexperienced Celtic side in the club’s incredibly impressive 3-2 win over Real Betis last week, it would very much appear as if the future at Parkhead is a bright one.

Indeed, the 56-year-old handed Celtic debuts to both 21-year-old Osaze Urhoghide and 20-year-old Liam Shaw in the Europa League fixture, in addition to awarding first-team minutes to exciting prospects Liam Scales, Adam Montgomery and Ewan Henderson.

However, it is not only on the periphery of Postecoglou’s first-team squad where there are a number of promising talents, the club’s B team side also looks to be littered with up and coming gems – none more so than 16-year-old Rocco Vata.

Vata could be the next Moravcik

Son of Celtic cult hero Rudi Vata, Rocco put pen to paper on his first professional deal with the Hoops earlier this summer, and the attacking midfielder has been highly impressing in the Scottish Lowland Football League ever since.

Indeed, following yet another spectacular goal in Celtic B’s 1-0 win over East Stirlingshire on Friday – with the teenager turning on the afterburners in order to latch onto Mackenzie Carse’s defence-splitting through ball, before taking a touch and crashing his shot past the opposition goalkeeper off the crossbar – the reserve side manager, Tommy McIntyre, was rather understandably full of praise for the youngster.

McIntyre said: “We got a great goal. I thought it was a fabulous goal. He was probably the best player on the night so he deserved the goal. He’s got to get a lot of credit himself. He’s just natural. He plays and we coach him but he’s got to perform on the day. He’s certainly taking everything on board we’re trying to get out of him. There’s more to come from him, there’s no doubt, but he’s young. What a fantastic goal tonight.”

However, the midfielder’s special strike last week was by no means his first of the current campaign, as, during a Republic of Ireland U17 fixture against North Macedonia back in October, the teenager also bagged a breathtaking goal – turning a helpless defender before unleashing a thunderous 30-yard drive into the far corner of the opposition net.

And, although the youngster who The Celtic Bhoys dubbed a “star in the making” undeniably has a great deal of developing to do if he is to go onto break into the Ange Postecgolou’s first-team squad, there are undoubtedly shades of the Hoops’ former playmaker Lubomir Moravcik about Vata.

Indeed, in an article that could quite easily be describing the 16-year-old sensation, These Football Times wrote of the Slovakian midfielder: “He was one of those players who seemed to have more time on the ball than those around him. He dribbled superbly… and scored many spectacular goals from distance with both feet – a rare talent indeed.”

As such, should Vata be able to maintain his current level of performance over the next year or two, Postecoglou could well go on to unearth Parkhead’s next Moravcik in the youngster – something that would certainly delight the Celtic faithful.

In other news: Major Celtic transfer development emerges that’ll have Ange buzzing

Leeds United suffered their third Premier League defeat in a row tonight with a 4-1 defeat against Arsenal at Elland Road.

Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka put the visitors 3-0 up before half-time with Raphinha managing to pull one back for Marcelo Bielsa’s side from the penalty spot, only for substitute Emile Smith Rowe to seal the three points for the Gunners with another goal.

In what was yet another disappointing night for Leeds, one player who stuck out for all the wrong reasons on this occasion was Tyler Roberts, who failed to have much of a positive impact on the pitch for his side and arguably let Bielsa down.

In his 90 minutes on the pitch, Roberts only had 42 touches of the ball, five fewer than Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier, and he lost possession on 13 occasions.

From an attacking point of view, while the Welshman – who is currently earning a weekly wage of £22k-per-week according to Salary Sport – had three clear shots at goal, only one of them was on target.

Defensively, things weren’t much better for Roberts either after failing to win any of his three ground duels, as well as failing to make even one tackle or interception to try and win the ball back for his side.

This display earned the 22-year-old an overall match rating of 6.2/10 from SofaScore, making him the second-lowest rated Leeds player on the day, highlighting how disappointing he was.

Leeds Live picked up on Roberts’ poor performance against the Gunners by saying that the attacker “time and time again found himself in a position to hurt Arsenal or create something for a teammate and repeatedly chose the wrong option or executed his decision badly.”

With Leeds having the likes of Patrick Bamford, Dan James and Rodrigo out injured, Bielsa is having to rely on Roberts among others to help the team score goals and get points on the board. However, this performance has shown that the Welshman isn’t capable of stepping up when he is most needed.

Moving forward, with Leeds set to take on Liverpool for their next league game, if players such as Bamford, James and Rodrigo aren’t fit enough to feature, the pressure will be on Roberts to at least deliver a better performance than the one he did tonight.

In other news: Phil Hay shares interesting update at Leeds United that’ll surely have fans buzzing

Ludogorets’ Kiril Despodov is on Rangers’ list of targets, according to a report from Tema Sport. 

The lowdown

Despovodov, 25, is predominantly a right-winger, but he’s capable of playing across the frontline.

He only joined Ludogorets permanently last summer, having impressed the Bulgarian club during his loan spell from Cagliari.

Despodov has two and a half years left on his contract and is valued at £2.88million by Transfermarkt.

Rangers have only made one addition so far in January, loaning James Sands from New York City FC.

They have, though, recalled two attacking players in the form of Cedric Itten and Jake Hastie.

The latest

The report states that Despodov has attracted the interest of Rangers, as well as Super Lig outfit Istanbul Basaksehir.

But he apparently ranks only fourth in their list of priorities behind fellow right wingers Akinkunmi Amoo (Hammarby in Sweden), Brian Ocampo (Nacional Montevideo in Uruguay) and Robert Muric (Rijeka in Croatia).

The verdict

Despodov boasts an impressive record this season with nine goals and 12 assists in 29 appearances across all competitions.

Two of those goal contributions have come in the Europa League, though he wasn’t able to prevent Ludogorets propping up Group F.

How does he compare to the other names under consideration?

Well all of the players appear to be in a similar price bracket – Muric and Ocampo are valued at £2.7million, with Amoo a marginally more expensive £3.6million.

It’s Despovodov who leads the way for goal contributions in the most recent season though, with Amoo next on 18 overall (13 goals, five assists), followed by Muric (eight, seven) on 15 and Ocampo on 12 (four, eight).

It feels a little harsh, then, that he’s only regarded as plan D.

In other news, this ‘powerhouse’ could soon leave Ibrox.

Liverpool are reportedly confident that Mohamed Salah will sign a new deal at the club, with Luis Diaz’s arrival not affecting the situation whatsoever.

The Lowdown: Salah’s deal expiring soon

The 29-year-old has arguably stood out as the world’s best player this season, scoring 23 goals and registering nine assists for the Reds in all competitions.

Worryingly, Salah’s current deal expires in the summer of 2023, and talks regarding a new-and-improved contract at Anfield are still yet to show any real signs of progress, at least from the outside looking in.

Of course, if an agreement cannot be found, it will surely cross FSG’s mind that they are better off cashing in this summer than losing him for free in 15 months time, but a fresh update suggests that Liverpool fans’ worries could be eased soon.

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The Latest: New update emerges

According to Football Insider, a Liverpool source believes a new deal may soon be agreed for Salah, revealing the Reds are ‘confident’ and acting as an enormous boost for anyone associated with the club.

It is stated that talks could ramp up once the forward returns from Africa Cup of Nations duty, with Egypt taking on Sadio Mane’s Senegal in the final on Sunday.

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The Verdict: Simply has to be extend

The idea of Salah moving on, either this summer or when his contract runs out, simply doesn’t bear thinking about, given his vast influence at Liverpool.

He is already undoubtedly one of the all-time great Reds players – his record of 148 goals in 229 appearances is astonishing. He has been hailed as ‘extraordinary’ by former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, and his incredible fitness levels suggest he will remain a top player well into his thirties.

Liverpool’s owners divide opinion amongst the fanbase but failing to sort a new contract for Salah would be inexcusable, potentially even defining their entire reign at the club.

In other news, Liverpool and Manchester City are reportedly tracking the same player. Find out who it is here.

Everton have already made two signings in just four days of the transfer window being open, in a bid to strengthen the struggling side, Rafa Benitez could be poised to make his third signing very soon.

What’s the word?

Italian football news outlet, Club Doria, has reported that Everton are amongst a number of clubs who are interested in signing Sampdoria defender, Omar Colley.

Newcastle United, Leeds United and Watford have all been named alongside Everton in the report that suggests the Premier League clubs are interested in signing the £4.5m-rated beast.

Colley who has been hailed “amongst the best defenders” by Sampdoria manager Roberto D’Aversa, has reportedly changed his agent, and is ready for a new adventure, setting his sights on the Premier League, where if the rumours are true, he is in high demand for signing with one of many.

The Everton manager has already secured the signing of two defenders, Nathan Patterson and Vitaliy Mykolenko, claiming in his pre-match press conference last week that the club wants “two or three” signings, with the Gambia international potentially the third target.

Rafa must swoop

With clubs in a similar position in the bottom half of the table speculated to be interested in the 29-year-old, Benitez must swoop as soon as he can to ensure he doesn’t lose out on the transfer target, amid further transfer rumours that Mason Holgate could be leaving on loan this month too.

Adding depth to the Toffees squad is essential for the Spanish tactician, as defensively they have been abysmal this season with the current side conceding the first goal in 14 of their 20 games in all competitions this season, including each of their last seven games.

Colley could surely add something to the side’s defensive play, with the defender having the second most pass interceptions and the third most tackles completed in his own half in the Serie A this season, according to One Versus One.

Everton will take on Hull City at the weekend in the FA Cup third round and Benitez will be under pressure to give Everton fans something outside of the struggles of the league they currently face, as speculation grows on the sacking of the Spanish manager.

In other news: Vecino swap deal could solve Rafa’s problems at Everton

Celtic are closing in on a deal to bring Daizen Maeda to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Yahoo! Japan, who claim that Ange Postecoglou’s side have come to an agreement with Yokohama F. Marinos regarding the transfer of the 24-year-old centre-forward, with the Bhoys looking set to take the Japan international on loan for the second half of the season, before completing an obligatory ¥200m (£1.3m) purchase of the striker next summer.

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Maeda has been in Japan this season, the news that Celtic look to be extremely close to completing a deal for the centre-forward is sure to have left the Parkhead faithful buzzing.

Indeed, over his 36 J League appearances this term, the £990k-rated man scored a whopping 23 goals, registered three assists and created four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.6 shots and making 0.9 key passes per game.

These returns saw the forward who Kevin Muscat dubbed a “dream” for a manager average a SofaScore match rating of 7.09, ranking him as his club’s joint sixth-best performer in the top flight of Japanese football.

As such, considering the amount of success Postecoglou has achieved with the signing of Maeda’s compatriot, Kyogo Furuhashi, already this season – with the 26-year-old having bagged 14 goals and five assists over 23 appearances for the Bhoys – the potential of the two international teammates linking up at Parkhead is certainly an extremely exciting one for all involved with the Hoops.

Furthermore, with it appearing as if the signing of Maeda has only cost Celtic a little over a million pounds, should the 24-year-old indeed go on to replicate the form of Kyogo in the second half of the current campaign, the striker would undoubtedly prove to be a contender for signing of the season.

In other news: Forget Rogic: “Brilliant” Celtic gem who won 78% duels made the “world of difference”

Everton are set to hold onto star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin for the remainder of the season at least with the Toffees planning to reject any potential offers that come their way for the striker in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to The Daily Star, Everton will block a potential exit for the Englishman before Monday’s deadline with Premier League rivals Arsenal keen on the 24-year-old.

The Toffees are set to appoint former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard as their new manager following the sacking of Rafa Benitez almost two weeks ago and the 43-year-old is keen to hold onto his star striker, for the remainder of this window at least.

Mikel Arteta is still in the hunt for a new striker after the Gunners missed out on signing former Fiorentina man Dusan Vlahovic who instead joined the Italian outfit’s Serie A rivals Juventus.

It has also been suggested that the Arsenal manager was confident of sealing a deal for Calvert-Lewin amid the chaos at Goodison Park surrounding the managerial situation. However, the striker looks set to stay.

Fans will be delighted

Before taking a single training session, let alone taking charge of a match, Lampard has already made a major scalp to kick off his tenure on the blue side of Merseyside with a bang.

Calvert-Lewin is undoubtedly one of Everton’s most valuable possessions and the Toffees will be very keen to hold onto their star striker, at least for the remainder of the season, with their position in the Premier League an uncomfortable one.

Currently sat in 16th, the Toffees are dangerously close to the relegation zone with just four points separating them from 18th place Newcastle United. They do, however, have two games in hand on the Magpies.

The Englishman will prove vital if Lampard is to steer the Toffees clear of any relegation concerns with his goal scoring record a major asset.

Although he is yet to score in his three games since returning from a three-month layoff caused by a toe injury, the 24-year-old is still the club’s best goalscorer.

Calvert-Lewin netted in each of Everton’s three opening league games before his injury and also ended last campaign with 21 goals in all competitions.

At 24, the Englishman will only get better and, once he rediscovers his form, Everton will have a major weapon in their arsenal once again.

Meanwhile, Patrick Boyland has dropped another Everton transfer update…

Leeds United missed out on Ben Godfrey as a teenager amid comments that the centre-back was snubbed by the club following a trial…

What’s the story?

After being released by Middlesbrough as a youngster, Godfrey would then go on trial at Elland Road, Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday, with none of them leading to a contract, thus leaving the defender contemplating his future in the game.

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He said: “It felt a little bit like the dream was over. For them to say no was a massive confidence-breaker, really. It looked like the end of the journey.

“The moment that stands out massively is after that Leeds United trial. The coach told me they were not going to offer me anything but to go and prove him wrong. That stuck with me. I was desperate then. I could not wait to go and prove them wrong.”

Godfrey’s rise to the top

Daniel Farke, Godfrey’s former boss at Norwich, once tipped him to reach the very highest level, declaring: “Whoever signs Ben Godfrey can be unbelievably happy. It is no coincidence he is captain of the England Under-21s. This club has had some decent players in the past so to be rated the biggest transfer fee for a figure that is on the world level says everything about his potential.

“I am pretty sure he will play for best clubs in the world one day and he has the potential to captain England. That is what I wish for him. He is one of the best centre backs in the world in terms of potential.”

While Godfrey hasn’t exactly emerged as a real cornerstone of England’s defence, he has picked up a couple of caps for the Three Lions and earned himself a high-profile move from Norwich to Everton just a couple of years ago while Carlo Ancelotti was the manager on Merseyside.

Indeed, the 24-year-old’s potential and ability was on clear display just this past weekend, when the Toffees ran out 1-0 winners against Manchester United at Goodison Park. Godfrey was instrumental at the back, making a whopping game-high 13 clearances (more than double that of the man in second), and he wasn’t once dribbled past either.

Described as an “absolute baller” by Everton’s official Twitter channel, the £25m-rated Godfrey has certainly carved out a fine career for himself since that rejection from Leeds a number of years ago.

The 6 foot ace has proved not only the Whites wrong, but all those other clubs who snubbed him too.

AND in other news – Signed for £5m, now worth 700% more: Orta struck dream Leeds deal with “quality” 22-year-old

Fabrizio Romano has shared some ‘bad news’ for Manchester United regarding forward Edinson Cavani.

The Lowdown: Cavani’s injury problems

Cavani’s 2021/22 season has been one to forget, with the striker missing large parts of the campaign due to quarantine issues, knocks, tendon irritation and most recently a groin problem.

The 35-year-old has been limited to just six Premier League starts as a result, making a return to action against Tottenham prior to the international break.

He went away with Uruguay and featured against both Peru and Chile, however, Cavani appears to have picked up a fresh problem during the international break.

The Latest: Romano’s post

Romano took to Twitter in the early hours of Wednesday morning to relay news of Cavani’s latest injury. He said:

“Bad news for Manchester United as Edinson Cavani leaves the pitch with an injury during Uruguay game. New problem for el Matador.”

Manchester United have since confirmed that the striker is now a doubt for the match with Leicester City on Saturday following the fresh problem.

The Verdict: End of the road?

Cavani impressed during his first season at Old Trafford, scoring 17 goals in all competitions to earn him a new 12-month deal.

Unfortunately, the experienced striker hasn’t been able to replicate his form this year, so a summer exit could well be on the cards.

It looks set to be a summer of change for the Red Devils off the pitch, with a new manager coming in to replace interim boss Ralf Rangnick.

Cavani is just one of a number of United players out of contract at the end of June, so his days at the club could be numbered following this latest injury blow.

In other news: ‘Led to believe…’ – Insider now drops major claim on Bruno and Ten Hag following Man Utd talks.