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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer has suggested that Owls midfielder Liam Shaw will need a loan move in the future.

Shaw, whose time at Hillsborough is coming to an end, has agreed to join Scottish giants Celtic in the summer on a free transfer.

With Celtic expected to compete for the league title next season and set to feature in Europe, moving to Glasgow is a huge opportunity for Shaw.

Palmer, though, believes it may have come too soon for the 20-year-old, feeling that he could struggle to get game time at Celtic Park.

Discussing Shaw’s transfer to Celtic, Palmer told FFC:

“Liam is going to struggle going to Celtic that age to play. He’ll probably end up going there and going out on loan, I’m assuming, I don’t know.”

Speaking on the midfielder’s move further, the former Wednesday player added:

“If I was Liam, I’d be wanting to get out on loan somewhere where it’s guaranteed that he’s going to play because you can do that. I’ve done it before where I’ve taken a player when I was manager at Stockport and the manager’s come to me and said, ‘right, listen, I’ll let the player come, but he’s got to play.’ Bit like David Beckham when he went to Preston, that’s how they develop. They’ve got to play.”

Whoever is in the Celtic Park dugout next season will be demanding a lot from Shaw and his future team-mates. The Bhoys have been extremely underwhelming this term, surrendering their title to rivals Rangers while crashing out of the Europa League in disappointing fashion.

Many England fans were left to slam the display of West Ham United man Jesse Lingard despite their 5-0 home win over San Marino on Thursday night.

It was a very comfortable night as expected for the Three Lions with goals from James Ward-Prowse, Dominic Calvert-Lewin (two), Raheem Sterling and a debut strike for Ollie Watkins that sealed all three points and got Gareth Southgate’s men off to a perfect start in their group.

However, Lingard never managed to get himself on the scoresheet and was guilty of missing a lot of good chances in the game, with no fewer than ten shots taken in total, the most out of any player to have set foot on the pitch (Sofascore).

The attacking midfield player currently on loan from Manchester United also lost possession of the ball on nine separate occasions in the match, the fifth-most out of any of his teammates (Sofascore), although his general attacking play was easy to the eye at times.

Nonetheless, it did not stop several England supporters venting their frustrations with the 28-year-old.

England fan reaction to Lingard display

These Three Lions fans slammed his performance on Twitter, with one claiming that he was ‘very poor’ while another even went as far as to say that it was a ‘disasterclass’:

“Yeah Lingard just looked out of his depth tbh, wasn’t on it at all”

Credit: @1874adam

“Eminem could play football better than Lingard”

Credit: @bilsnm

“I thought Lingard was rubbish last night, should have scored at least 3”

Credit: @Mike50873271

“Lingard wasn’t good tonight but you won’t hear about it because his name’s not Kalvin Phillips”

Credit: @VidukaEra

“Lingard disasterclass”

Credit: @cpfcames

“Lingard was very poor”

Credit: @AndrewHornet77

In other news, find out what official club post Hammers have flocked to here!

According to a report by Italian outlet Corriere Granata, GSB and West Ham United are eyeing Torino star Andrea Belotti as the striker search brings up a new name – coming as the Serie A side wish to make a new contract offer to keep their captain.

GSB eyeing Belotti

The 27-year-old, who has amassed 32 caps at international level, is attracting interest from a plethora of Premier League sides with West Ham mentioned as one of the teams who are monitoring his situation in Turin.

Belotti has bagged 27 goals and 8 assists over the last two league seasons (WhoScored), with manager David Moyes said to be prioritising a permanent deal for Jesse Lingard alongside a new striker this summer.

The Irons have been most recently linked with the likes of Ivan Toney, Adam Armstrong, Tammy Abraham and Youssef En-Nesyri (ExWHUemployee), but according to Corriere Granta, Belotti has now entered the fray as the striker hunt takes another twist.

Transfer Tavern take

A proficient goal scorer and threat in the final third, averaging more shots per 90 (3.4) than any West Ham player in the league this season (WhoScored), it is understandable why GSB and co are monitoring his situation.

Moreno Longo, who briefly took charge of Torino last season, lauded Belotti as an ‘extraordinary striker’ (via Football Italia), but only time will tell whether West Ham can realistically land him in the summer as his club prepare a new deal offer.

In other news: West Ham are also keeping tabs on this ‘relentless’ 6 ft 2 man, find out more here.

Swansea earned a hard-fought three points in their push for promotion on Saturday, as they defeated Luton Town 1-0 in the early kick-off in the Championship.

Connor Hourihane’s early goal was enough to see off the Hatters, who had a number of chances to equalise but couldn’t find a way past Freddie Woodman in the Swans goal.

The result briefly put Steve Cooper’s side in the top-two of the Championship, before Watford’s 2-1 win at Cardiff saw them jump back above the Swans into the automatic spots.

Although it was an important result, some of the performances from Swansea players were below par on Saturday, with Andre Ayew, in particular, disappointing.

As per SofaScore, the experienced striker would earn a 6.4 rating for his display, which was the joint-lowest rating, with Korey Smith, of any Swansea player who started the game.

During his 90 minutes on the pitch, the former Marseille man would have 41 touches of the ball and would complete just 18 passes, which suggests that he was rarely involved, as he has averaged 27.3 passes per game in the Championship so far this season.

Perhaps most disappointingly, the Ghana international struggled to hold the ball up for Swansea in his role as a lone striker, with the Luton defenders, particularly Kai Naismith, having the better of him during the game.

Ayew would win just 4/14 ground duels and just 3/11 of his aerial duels during the game, resulting in an overall tally of 7/25 – which saw him register a disappointing success rate of just 28%.

Naismith meanwhile, would win 15/17 of his duels during the game and earned an impressive 8.3 rating for his display, which definitely suggests that he won the battle between himself and Ayew.

Despite being rarely involved, the 31-year-old striker would also lose possession on 16 occasions, suggesting that his link-up play was nowhere near his usual standards at Kenilworth Road.

The £3.6 million-rated forward was also successful with just 2/7 of his dribbles against Nathan Jones’ side, whilst he failed to register a single shot on target, so he is perhaps fortunate that Swansea were able to come away with a win, as it is clear that he was nowhere near his best against the Hatters as he let Cooper down with an anonymous display.

Fans of Glasgow Rangers have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which highlighted footage of an Allan McGregor save in the club’s recent Europa League fixture.

In the footage, which was originally posted by the UEFA Europa League Twitter account, a Slavia Prague corner is whipped in during their clash against Rangers, with one of the attacking players subsequently getting a powerful header on target only for McGregor to somehow claw the ball out from the bottom corner, helping his side leave the Czech Republic with a 1-1 draw.

The Rangers Twitter account then quote-tweeted the footage, adding the comment: “Perfect from every angle.”

And, in response, fans of Rangers flocked to have their say on McGregor’s remarkable save, with many claiming that the 39-year-old’s acrobatics are up there with any save a goalkeeper has ever made, while others simply heaped praise on the ‘keeper for his general level of performance so far this season.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, one supporter even requested the club announce an extended contract for the Ibrox hero.

So, what exactly did these Rangers fans have to say in reaction to the footage of Allan McGregor’s save?

“Announce new contract for McGregor.”

@55ilverFox_55

“Incredible.”

@CraigCrgrob83

“Legend.”

@Theo93473341

“Insane goalkeeping Allan McGregor.”

@Blabber08756401

“Superglue gloves!”

@iain_renton

“Save of the century.”

@karentay3x

“Show me a better save…. I’ll wait.”

@Allan111Allan

“It gets better every time you see it.”

@legendsofibrox

In other news: many Rangers fans have slammed this Union Bears statement – find out more here!

Many Everton fans have been left to fume at an update from Paul Joyce on Gylfi Sigurdsson.

As per a tweet from The Times journalist, the Goodison Park faithful are going to offer the former Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City man a new deal in the summer, with Carlo Ancelotti saying that they are “happy to keep him”.

Given that he is 31 years of age now, and he already earns £100,000 per week at the Merseyside club, it may not be the wisest of ideas for the Toffees to offer Sigurdsson a new contract.

Although some of his displays for the Blues have been better of late, the attacking midfield player has not always performed well for EFC, most notably in the 2019/20 term when he only managed a mere three goals and three assists in 38 games in total over all competitions (Transfermarkt).

Everton fan reaction to Joyce update on Sigurdsson

These Everton supporters fumed upon reading the update from Joyce on Twitter, with one fan even going as far as to claim that it was ‘absolutely ridiculous’:

“Ah well, another couple of seasons already down the drain if this is our ambition.”

Credit: @melbourne1973

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”

Credit: @kevdev9

“Never ever learn”

Credit: @sayantan_01

“Love Ancelotti, but if there was any player a bigger symbol of the poor recruitment still at the club, it’s Sigurdsson. Overpaid, under performing (apart from 5 games as season), lacks drive and accountability. Got to be better ways of spending that amount of money.”

Credit: @carlw79

“Absolutely ridiculous decision.”
Credit: @ryanxdevlin

“Brands out”Credit: @paul1878___In other news, find out what early team news before Burnley has been slammed by Everton fans here!

Leeds United managed to acquire exciting prospect Joe Gelhardt in the summer and Phil Hay has revealed the crucial role Marcelo Bielsa has had in his development.

What Hay had to say about Gelhardt

Phil Hay has reported via The Athletic: “Leicester City had the same idea and made enquiries of their own but according to sources close to Gelhardt, he was “blown away” by the way in which Leeds’ director of football Victor Orta presented the offer from Elland Road to him.

“As Leeds like to do with senior recruits, they put together video packages comparing and contrasting his performances for Wigan with the way Leeds set up under Marcelo Bielsa. By then, the 18-year-old had made 18 appearances in the Championship, 16 as a substitute. Bielsa is understood to have taken part in one of the Zoom calls to Gelhardt’s agency and Gelhardt has lost significant amounts of weight since moving to Yorkshire, working towards a place in Bielsa’s match-day squad for the first time against Crystal Palace last week.”

Bielsa’s impact at Leeds is huge

The fact that the player looked to completely change his fitness regime following the Zoom calls Bielsa had with him and his agency shows the great impact the manager has in football and the crucial role he had in getting this deal over the line.

A report back in December revealed that Leeds had the highest sprint output of any club in Europe this season, and that’s directly as a result of the kind of conditioning work Bielsa surely does and the intensity to which they train and play.

Getting Gelhardt to buy into that and seeing him lose ‘significant amounts of weight’ is testament to the teenager’s work ethic, and the Leeds boss’ crucial hand in his development.

The young forward looks an exciting prospect and the fact that the 18 year-old has seven goals in 13 appearances for the U23 side (Transfermarkt), and has recently worked himself into Bielsa’s match day squad emphasises that Leeds could have a star in their ranks. Phil Hay spoke about the forward in the past on his podcast, calling him ‘massively talented’.

With Leeds comfortably in a mid-table position, it could be possible that fans will see Gelhardt feature in the Premier League before the end of the season.

In other Leeds news, the club have managed to tie down an exciting prospect. Have a read here!

Former Scotland manager Alex McLeish was left confused by comments made by Celtic manager Neil Lennon.

McLeish reacts

The 2020/21 campaign will be a season that won’t be glorified by the Bhoys like the past nine. They find themselves 15 points adrift of arch-rivals Rangers before Sunday’s trip to Victoria Park to face Ross County.

Both Lennon and chief executive Peter Lawwell have found themselves under the Green Brigade’s magnifying glass – with calls made for both to be sacked. Lawwell announced he would be stepping down at the end of the season.

But Lennon told the Daily Record that “mitigating circumstances” have played their part in how things have played out this season, which he added that he cannot publically reveal.

Speaking to Football Insider, McLeish was mystified by what Lennon said and speculated whether there could be some sort of announcement made at some stage.

“When you make a statement like that then it does raise eyebrows,” he said.

“Whether we’ll hear something at a later time, you would probably imagine that something would come out. Maybe now’s not the right time for them to release it.

“That is their prerogative, you can’t force Celtic to give answers, it’s possibly not the time to announce anything.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

These comments by Lennon may open a new can of worms which, most likely, will not help the club in any shape or form.

After previously undermining his chief executive, it now appears that the supporters are set to be put through further misery, rather than the team focusing on the task at hand on the pitch.

We are not sure how this season could get much worse for Celtic. But if those details are revealed, it may do exactly that.

In other news, Uncertainty creeping in regarding Celtic future of ‘metronome.’

With their Scottish Premiership title defence lying in tatters, Celtic are in desperate need of hitting the reset button ahead of next season.

That doesn’t mean to say however that this current campaign should be completely written off. Instead, Neil Lennon can bring back some desperately needed excitement and pride by turning towards some of the club’s younger players, not least Stephen Welsh.

The 6 foot 3 centre-back has made five appearances this season, including 84 minutes of the Old Firm clash against Rangers back in mid-October.

At the moment, Lennon seems intent on continuing to stick with the Hoops’ more experienced campaigners, a tactic made all the more baffling given that it’s not producing results – they lie 21 points behind their arch-rivals.

Phasing out the likes of Nir Bitton and Shane Duffy, and instead giving the likes of Welsh some first-team experience ahead of the seasons to come could be vital in their growth and development.

Speaking after his performance against Hibernian earlier this month, Alex McLeish raved: “It does give the supporters a wee bit of respite when they see some good young players coming through, there’s no doubt about that, and Welsh has acquitted himself well.

“He didn’t look out of place the other night and he’s the one for the future – but the Celtic fans are only thinking about the present.”

And after being dropped for the game against Livingston last weekend, plenty of Celtic fans revealed their frustrations behind Lennon’s decision to leave Welsh out of the starting line-up, and instead going with Bitton and Duffy.

It’s time for a fresh start, but Lennon continues to hold the Hoops back by playing those who represent Celtic’s past. Welsh could be the future, and all he needs is an opportunity and a run of consistent games in the Scottish Premiership.

Meanwhile, Celtic are keen on this Premier League starlet…

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Carlton Palmer has delivered his verdict on Leeds’ interest in Julian Draxler.

The Germany international was linked with a move to Elland Road in the summer but a switch failed to materialise.

However, there has now been an update on the attacking midfielder’s future. Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness) reportedly recently that Draxler could become a free agent this summer.

As a result, Leeds are pondering a move for the German who initially cost PSG £30m in 2017. They will reportedly face interest from Hertha Berlin for his services so it won’t be an easy pursuit.

Speaking about the report, Palmer exclusively told FFC that he’d be brilliant for Leeds, citing his style of play as a key reason.

When questioned whether he’d be a good acquisition, the pundit said: “The way he plays, yeah. You know what, the way Bielsa plays, there is nobody that is going to fit into his system if you haven’t got high tempo and can get around the football pitch.

“That’s the way he plays, so for sure, he’d fit into Bielsa’s team and I’m sure that Leeds will do a bit of business in the January transfer window just to get some reinforcements in of quality because now they’ve established a foothold in the Premier League.”

Draxler would be a stand out signing if he does indeed move to Elland Road in January or the summer.

He is capped 56 times by his country and is a World Cup winner so has plenty of pedigree. His opportunities this term have been limited to just ten games but the 27-year-old has contributed to three goals in the process – certainly not a bad record.

Although Draxler sometimes struggles for consistency, he would be a considerable coup for Leeds, a team who broke their transfer record on a further attacking midfielder in Rodrigo last summer.

With his contract expiring in a matter of months, Victor Orta could conclude a bargain deal here.

AND in other news, Kebe 2.0: Radz will be raging if Orta brings “wonderful” £10.8m-rated ace to Leeds…