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Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has said that only Callum McGregor, David Turnbull and Stephen Welsh stand out as players exempt from a looming squad overhaul at Parkhead.

Interim boss John Kennedy will oversee the concluding four games of the season before the club make a final decision on Neil Lennon’s long-term managerial successor.

Kennedy has been unable to salvage the Hoops’ campaign. On Sunday, they were beaten 2-0 by arch-rivals Rangers in the Scottish Cup fourth round, a result which confirms their first trophyless season since 2010.

They are also 20 points adrift of Steven Gerrard’s men in the league table, a damning state of affairs.

‘Practically a blank sheet of paper’ for incoming Celtic boss

Writing in his Record Sport column, Sutton predicted that Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer would follow loanees Mohamed Elyounoussi, Jonjoe Kenny and Diego Laxalt out the door.

In his eyes, only McGregor – set to take over as captain as Scott Brown heads to Aberdeen – midfielder Turnbull and centre-back Welsh are guaranteed to be part of the long-term picture.

“It’s practically a blank sheet of paper,” Sutton wrote.

“What’s on it? Callum McGregor, David Turnbull are on there, you maybe give youngster Stephen Welsh the benefit of the doubt even if he wasn’t at his best against Rangers.”

Sutton added: “It’s a heck of a shopping list at Celtic Park if they are to even think about having a chance of wrestling the title off Rangers next season.”

At the start of the month, it was reported that Celtic were on the verge of appointing former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe.

However, no announcement has followed, and Football Insider have claimed that the 43-year-old has entertained a rival approach from Crystal Palace.

Transfer Tavern verdict

If you were a Rangers fan assessing Celtic’s predicament, you would be licking your lips. With a summer of upheaval ahead, it seems unlikely that they will be unable to strike back quickly, even under new management.

Their crosstown rivals have looked a level above this season, progressing to the Europa League round of 16 and going 34 league matches unbeaten.

In terms of the players who will still be at Parkhead next term, Sutton is justified in advocating the cases of Turnbull, McGregor and Welsh based on their generally solid performances throughout the current campaign.

In other news, this reported Celtic managerial candidate fears he has been overlooked.

Liverpool failed to make it four consecutive Premier League victories on Monday as they drew 1-1 with Leeds United at Elland Road.

Sadio Mane looked like being the match-winner for the Reds on the night as he scored his first league goal in his last ten games by tapping home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s low cross.

However, the hosts were not to be denied as Diego Llorente outjumped on-loan Ozan Kabak to nod in a late equaliser for Marcelo Bielsa’s troops.

Despite turning in what was a confident first-half performance, the Reds shrunk after the restart, with Georginio Wijnaldum as guilty as anyone in Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

Starting in a midfield three alongside Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho, the Dutchman was drastically underwhelming throughout the evening.

Rated at £31.5m, Wijnaldum could only complete a total of 16 passes throughout the entire match according to WhoScored, with none of those being key to any of Liverpool’s attacking play.

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For context, Reds stopper Alisson managed to rack up 22 of his own – a damning statistic on the part of the former Newcastle United man.

He also had two shots on target for Liverpool too, frustrating his teammates by sending them both off target.

Whilst Wijnaldum proved to be a supremely wasteful figure when on the ball, he proved to be somewhat non-effective off of it when attempting to limit the home side to opportunities.

The Dutchman could only produce one tackle, an interception and a further clearance throughout the game. James Milner, who was playing alongside Wijnaldum in the heart of the Liverpool team, more than doubled that with his six defensive contributions.

So with Jurgen Klopp once again putting faith in the midfielder at Elland Road, the German will be bitterly disappointed by Wijnaldum’s utterly underwhelming showing.

AND in more news, read why Liverpool’s decision to enter the European Super League is the ultimate betrayal of Jurgen Klopp…

A number of Rangers supporters have been hailing commercial and marketing director James Bisgrove after some positive news emerged at Ibrox.

It has been a memorable season for Steven Gerrard’s side, who finally wrestled the Scottish Premiership title away from bitter rivals Celtic.

Rangers have completely bossed the league throughout the 2020/21 campaign, but it isn’t only on the pitch where they are now thriving as a club.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the Gers have joined a number of top European clubs and world-famous brands in being nominated for four awards at the Football Business Awards, which take place in London on July 6th.

Rangers are up for the Sponsorship/Partnership of the Year, Best Brand Activation (non Premier League) and the Best Use of Technology in a Football Club prizes, with the Rangers Charity Foundation also in the running for the Best Covid-19 Community Response award (non Premier League).

Rangers fans laud James Bisgrove

These Rangers fans took to Twitter to react positively to the news, lauding Bisgrove for the work he continues to do at Ibrox, with one supporter even calling the accomplishments ‘unprecendented’.

“James Bisgrove is lifting more trophies than Celtic this season”

Credit: @HeartandHutts

“We will be naming a stand after James Bisgrove – he’s truly been one of the best appointments we’ve made”

Credit: @55ilverFox_55

“Bisgrove RSC”

Credit: @Pena_Cartel

“Well done to all at the mighty Glasgow Rangers so proud of them when you consider where we were. Outstanding”

Credit: @WilliamSpeirs5

“6 trophies in one year. Unprecedented”

Credit: @JudeMcilreavy

“This is top notch! Well in Bisgrove and his team”

Credit: @SpeckyRSC

In other news, Rangers could be set to offload two players – find out who they are here.

Graham Roberts has exclusively told Football FanCast that Tottenham should have kept Kyle Walker-Peters instead of signing Matt Doherty.

Following a number of problems since the departure of Kyle Walker to Manchester City almost three years ago, the arrival of Doherty from Wolves was meant to solve Spurs’ ongoing right-back issues.

However, the Republic of Ireland defender hasn’t managed to become Jose Mourinho’s first-choice on the right, with Doherty mainly playing second-fiddle to Serge Aurier throughout the campaign after 24-year-old Walker-Peters joined Southampton.

Doherty has made just 12 Premier League starts this term, and has made a further 12 appearances in European and domestic cup competitions.

Part of his struggles have been down to the fact he was mainly deployed as a wing-back at Molineux, whilst he’s played almost the entire season at Tottenham at full-back.

And Roberts told Football FanCast that it was a strange addition:

“Doherty is not a right-back, he’s a right wing-back, so why would you buy a right wing-back? You might as well have kept Walker-Peters, that’s what I don’t understand.”

There was a great deal of excitement following Doherty’s arrival, but it simply hasn’t worked for either party, so much so that he’s already been linked back to Wolves less than 12 months after his departure.

A Michail Antonio brace fired West Ham United back into top-four contention and one step closer to qualifying for a place in Europe next season.

The Irons defeated Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor to move to within three points of Premier League rivals Chelsea, largely thanks to the goalscoring exploits of the returning 31-year-old forward.

But for Antonio, he will be bitterly disappointed that he didn’t walk away with the match ball after fluffing numerous chances whilst on a hat-trick, though he was awards Sky Sports’ ‘Man of the Match’ award.

And he, of course, deserves plenty of plaudits but there were others who made an underrated impact on the night and they merit just as much praise.

David Moyes had to tinker his starting XI as there was a surprise absence to Mark Noble. The 58-year-old opted for Manuel Lanzini in a deeper role, alongside Tomas Soucek, and what a decision that proved to be.

The Argentine, who has been linked with an exit from the London Stadium in recent weeks, delivered a midfield masterclass and was arguably Moyes’ unsung hero; he has every right to push Antonio for such high acclaim.

As per SofaScore, the £9m-rated dynamo was one of the Hammers’ most influential players on the pitch, recording more touches (90) than any other player.

It’s clear that most of the visitors’ play ran through him and he rewarded that faith with a very accomplished showing, both in attack and defensively, too.

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Lanzini provided one key pass from his 74 passing attempts, in which he completed 95% of his attempts. Again, the best of any player on the Turf Moor pitch on Monday night.

He very rarely lost possession, proving to be a hard man to get the ball off as he only lost the ball six times, which was the lowest of any Irons starter.

Furthermore, and perhaps surprisingly considering he’s an attack-minded option, the 28-year-old did his bit at the back by registering two clearances, winning two duels and making one tackle, via SofaScore.

This sort of industrious box-to-box display certainly proved to be a big reason why West Ham could dominate large spells of this game and subsequently why they were able to provide Antonio with plenty of golden opportunities.

Lanzini, who earns a reported £70k-per-week in East London, was even graded better than Soucek, Jesse Lingard and assist-maker Vladimir Coufal by football.london, and all three are arguably in the running for ‘Player of the Year’ so that speaks volumes towards just how good he was.

In what was his 156th appearance in the claret and blue, Lanzini was the Irons’ unsung hero and he quite rightly deserves such high acclaim.

AND in other news, West Ham handed significant blow over top striker target…

Newcastle United have received a big blow before their game away at Leicester City in the Premier League on Friday night.

The Lowdown: Newcastle are not safe yet

The St. James’ Park faithful may feel as if they are safe in the Premier League for one more season, but it is still mathematically possible for them to drop into the relegation zone at the end of the 2020/21 term.

Both West Brom and Fulham can still catch them with four games left to play, and it does not get any easier for the North East club as they play Manchester City after the Foxes.

The Latest: Schar red card stands

As per the official website of the Tyneside club, the red card that was given to Fabian Schar against Arsenal in their 2-0 home loss last time out in the top flight still stands after an appeal, in what will come as a huge blow to Steve Bruce.

The Verdict: Schar loss a big blow

The loss of Schar not just for the match against Brendan Rodgers’ side, but for the next three fixtures in total will be a big blow to the Magpies as they look to clinch one more win to guarantee their safety.

The Switzerland international ranks high among his teammates for both clearances (2.9) and blocks (0.7) so far in the division this season (Whoscored), showing he is a leader at the back for them.

A character like his would have been useful in the run-in, but the Toon will have to try and find a way to cope without him, while Jamaal Lascelles also remains out through injury.

In other news, find out what enticing transfer claim has been dropped by one Magpie here!

Many Everton fans have been left fuming over one incident from their 0-0 draw at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Thursday evening.

As shared by the Twitter page @EvertonNewsFeed, an image has emerged of the tackle made by Tyrone Mings on Dominic Calvert-Lewin, which only resulted in a yellow card for the Villa defender. VAR checked the incident but decided to stick with the referee’s original on-field decision rather than recommending it be upgraded to a red.

The image shows that Mings’ foot was very high up on Calvert-Lewin’s leg and could have easily broken it with excessive force. The tackle was clearly dangerous and so it is surprising that a red card was not given, much to the anger of many Everton supporters.

Villa going down to 10 men could have given the Merseyside club a better chance of winning the game, but in the end they had to settle for a point, which could prove costly in their hunt for European qualification.[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-updates-2/” title=”Everton updates! (2)” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”] Everton fans slam Mings’ tackle on Calvert-Lewin

These Toffees supporters fumed as the image of Mings’ lunge on Calvert-Lewin resurfaced on Twitter:

“Very poor tackle. McGinn could have had about four yellow cards before he was shown one too.”

Credit: @SteveMWilliams

“Absolute farce of a decision. And cost us the win as well.”

Credit: @markdoughty88

“Shocking”

Credit: @prawnhed

“Premiership referees and VAR are not fit for purpose, had DCL’s foot been on the floor this tackle would have snapped his leg in two, straight red card all day, retrospective 3 game ban immediately”

Credit: @BrierlyBill

“Nobody on this planet can convince me that somebody watched this in slow motion, from every angle, more than once. And decided that it was a clean tackle. Refs and VAR are a joke”

Credit: @dwfilm_

“The same fella who made this challenge made a last ditch tackle to deny a certain goal and then stayed on the pitch after 3 minutes down injured to clear the ball away hahahahah refereeing in this country is abysmal”Credit: @rimmerefcIn other news, some Everton fans slammed this man’s performance against Villa.

One of Celtic’s goals for the future should be to hand regular first-team opportunities to the younger players coming through at Lennoxtown.

The Hoops have begun to give them a better platform in the closing weeks of the season but there is still a long way to go before young players view Paradise as a place to rise through the ranks.

There have been exceptions at Parkhead in years gone by with young individuals like Kristoffer Ajer and Kieran Tierney make the breakthrough.

However, under Neil Lennon, he didn’t really give a second look at the reserve team.

Cameron Harper decided his future was elsewhere as he headed back to America while Armstrong Oko-Flex could have easily departed too.

Yet, there are now more positive signs. Karamoko Dembele has scored his first senior goal for Celtic and will be staying at the club this summer with his deal not expiring until 2022.

Many will be hoping to follow in his footsteps next term from Luca Connell who won League 2 with Queen’s Park to Leo Hjelde, a young defender compared to Virgil van Dijk.

One of their brightest prospects, though, is Adam Montgomery.

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Transformed from a striker to a left-back, he’s made his first-team breakthrough in recent weeks, starting against St Johnstone in the 4-0 win and then appearing as a substitute on the final day against Hibernian.

Compared to Tierney by John Kennedy, the 18-year-old looks ready to be given a full-time role at senior level next season. By doing so, Dominic McKay could save the club millions.

That’s because they’re targeting the addition of Bologna full-back Aaron Hickey. Once of Celtic, he left for Hearts and then made the brave jump to Serie A last summer.

He’s developed nicely but instead of bringing one of their ex-players back, they’d be better off investing their time in the development of Montgomery.

Hickey might be more experienced at senior level but they possess similar traits, meaning Celtic could save money to invest in other more important areas of the team.

Speaking about Montgomery after his senior debut, Kennedy commented: “Adam was unfortunate not to play before now. He has been around the first team for the last five or six months training.”

The interim boss added: “He is similar to Kieran [Tierney] in a way. With young players we bring them up to train and after a week or two he made an impression and we could see he could handle it.

“You just see they are good to go – and he was. It’s a great start for him, we have high hopes for him for the future.”

Montgomery showed on his first start that he’s one to watch heading into next season.

The youngster completed 90% of his passes and also won three tackles, demonstrating competency in defence and attack.

It’s been a strange journey for the 18-year-old, but one he’s relished: “When [changing position] was first to put me, I was a bit ‘ahh’. I am a tricky winger normally, I like beating players and getting at people, he said.

“The way Celtic play full-backs is very attacking so going back to full-back, it hasn’t been a massive difference for me. I’m really enjoying it,” Montgomery concluded.

Starting out as a striker in the reserve team, he’s had to learn the ropes defensively but already looks rather accomplished in that area.

That’s more than can be said for the erratic Diego Laxalt, a defender who was at fault considerably during his final few weeks in Glasgow.

Whoever the new manager is, they need to ensure he has a route to first-team starts next season. Signing Hickey would not allow that to happen.

AND in other news, Imagine him under Howe: Celtic must unleash rarely-seen 17 y/o with a “massive future” …

Barry Fry has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that Peterborough United will be forced to sell Rangers target Jonson Clarke-Harris this summer.

The 26-year-old is already a man in demand having scored 31 goals last season to help Posh end their long wait to bring Championship football back to London Road.

Clarke-Harris, who notched 33 goals in all competitions, has interest from several second-tier sides, although Scottish Premiership champions Rangers are also keen on the ex-Bristol Rovers frontman.

Steven Gerrard reportedly sent scouts to London Road to watch the striker play against Accrington Stanley in March, and he impressed by scoring a hat-trick in their 7-0 victory.

Peterborough sold Ivan Toney this time 12 months ago, with Clarke-Harris likely to join a long list of goalscorers that Posh have lost to bigger clubs in recent seasons.

And despite scoring the goals which saw the club promoted, Director of Football Fry told The Transfer Tavern that whilst he would love to keep Clarke-Harris, they’re resigned to losing him in the coming months:

“How can you stand in their way, because it not only affects their life, it affects their families, their parents and grandparents. It is life-changing and we must do it.

“Obviously, we would like to keep all our players – Dwight Gayle, Britt Assombalonga, Ivan Toney, Jack Marriott – what a team we would have had. We would have had 10 centre-forwards and no defenders!”

Everton’s clash against Manchester City on the final day of the Premier League season is a huge one.

Their campaign has been an inconsistent one but whether they secure European football all boils down to the last match of the season.

They will have their work cut out against the champions of England but if they win and Tottenham taste defeat or draw to Leicester, they will find themselves in the Europa Conference League.

A place in Europe would be a fine reward for the work Carlo Ancelotti has done with his players.

That said, their task of beating Pep Guardiola’s fierce team has been made harder by the fact that James Rodriguez will be absent from the game.

The Colombian sensation missed the win over Wolves due to fatigue but will now be absent for a successive game.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Ancelotti commented: “James unfortunately is not available for the game. He did not recover from the problem on his calf.”

Considering the former Real Madrid star is the club’s second-highest creator on nine assists this term, it will represent a huge blow to their chances.

Manchester City have kept 18 clean sheets this term and have the Premier League’s best defence with only 32 goals shipped.

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With that in mind, they’d find it incredibly tough to break the Citizens down even with James in their side.

He has carved out 1.7 key passes per game this season, the highest number of anyone at Goodison Park. James is one of the most impressive playmakers in the top-flight on his day so any team would struggle without him.

Calvert-Lewin’s route to goal will be made harder without him in the team, and as such, their chances of qualifying for Europe will also be more difficult.

Combine his injury with the fact club captain Seamus Coleman will also be missing and it doesn’t bode well for the Toffees on Sunday afternoon.

This is not the way they hoped their season would come to an end. Ancelotti has every right to feel gutted heading towards kick-off.

AND in other news, Brands must complete Everton swoop for £20m-rated “diamond”, he’s like a “Rolls-Royce”…