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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

A closer look at who Celtic have signed in the last two weeks of the transfer window in the past five years makes for worrying reading as the club prepare to sign as many five new players before September 2.

What’s the story?

An in-depth assessment of the last five years of transfer windows at Parkhead shows a club far from efficient in the market. Neil Lennon has admitted he wants as many as five players in, after securing a £25m windfall thanks to the sale of Kieran Tierney, and the list of late deals won’t fill anyone with hope.

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The list is filled with duds like Tyler Blackett, Colin Kazim-Richards, Cristian Gamboa and Jack Hendry, with only a few being deemed a success at Celtic Park. It shines a light on a grim history in the market for the Celts and could prove a sign of things to come as the club prepare to bring in multiple new faces late on in this window.

There have been a few decent signings, like Odsonne Edouard, but the 20-name list doesn’t bode well for Lennon and the Celtic board.

Ominous

That’s a truly tragic list of mostly flops and it should be a real worry for fans as the club go in search of new faces.

The Celts still need a lot and it’s no surprise Lennon wants a whopping five new players. The goalkeeping situation is a mess, the defence is in dire need of quality, Scott Brown could do with a rotation option, the club continues to be linked to wingers as Scott Sinclair’s future is unclear and Lennon has spoken of his desire to add another forward.

Is Neymar a footballing genius or overhyped brat? Fans discuss whether they’d want him at their club in the video below…

Their inefficiency in the transfer market has already hurt the side after the woeful Champions League exitÂto Cluj, so it’s imperative new signings in the next fortnight are more Edouard than Charly Musonda.

The club is running out of time as the window creaks shut and fans have every right to be worried after a shoddy summer so far and a history of pathetic late business.

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The Celtic fans are split over Kilmarnock’s reported £3m price tag for Greg Taylor, as Neil Lennon looks for a Kieran Tierney replacement before the end of the window.

Per The Daily Record, the Celts have been quoted a £3m asking price for Killie’s left-back- a figure that has got the supporters debating whether he’s worth such a fee or not.

The Parkhead club lost Tierney to Arsenal earlier this month, with his back-up Emilio Izaguirre also finding pastures new in Honduras. With only Boli Bolingoli coming in, Lennon is looking for another option for the left-hand side of his defence.

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Despite Taylor being a full Scotland international and Killie regular, the move for Taylor and the fee have garnered a mixed reaction from the Hoops supporters. Some are happy to pay the money for a good player in a problem position, while others don’t think the 21-year-old is worth such an investment.

Here’s how they reacted on Twitter to the left-back’s reported valuation:

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Paul Merson has questioned why Unai Emery did not try and sign Fabian Delph during this transfer window.

What did he say?

Fabian Delph spent four successful years at Manchester City, but he failed to secure a regular starting spot in Pep Guardiola’s side and, as such, he was moved on this summer during the transfer window. He ended up joining Everton in a deal which could be worth up to £10m.

Merson, however, believes that Arsenal should have made a move for the former Aston Villa man. He said on Sky Sports’ The Debate (via The Mirror):

“I look at him [Delph] and wonder why Arsenal didn’t sign him.

“He is better than the midfield three that played against Tottenham.

“He could have played at left back instead of Kolasinac on Sunday.

“I am a big fan of Delph. He can play in certain positions and is an excellent signing for Everton.”

“It feels like a loss” – that was the view of a Spurs fan after this weekend’s North London Derby in the video below…

Against the transfer policy

The 29-year-old has a wealth of experience he can call upon, having played Premier League football for a decade as well as earning 20 caps for England. Also, as Merson mentioned, he is versatile enough to fill in both in midfield and left-back, where he was often chosen for the Citizens.

However, his signing would clearly go against Emery’s transfer policy. If we look at the new arrivals at the Emirates Stadium this summer, they mostly have one thing in common: age. Of the group, only David Luiz is over 24, and he was signed on the final day when the Gunners were in need of a centre-back. There was clearly a strategy of bringing in young players and planning for the future, and the former Leeds man does not comply with that.

Delph is a good player, and will not doubt bring qualities to Everton that the Toffees need. But it would have been a mistake for Emery to make an exception and bring in a player that just doesn’t fit the club’s strategy.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

It feels like every day we get a different take on the whole Neymar Junior to Barcelona saga. Today, Sport have come out with an update stating that Barcelona are now ready to offer Jean-Clair Todibo along with Ivan Rakitić, Ousmane Dembele on loan and a large sum of money for the Brazilian. Even though that deal would be incredibly foolish, it should open a door for one La Masia graduate.

What’s the word, then?

The deadline day is almost upon us as 2nd September edges ever closer with each passing day. The clock is very much ticking for the Catalans if they really want to get this deal over the line. The ball, however, seems to be in Paris Saint-Germain’s court most of the time as Sport claim Barcelona have made them a brand new offer.

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And in this one, on top of getting Rakitić, Dembele on loan and €130m (£117.8m) they would also get the young defender, Todibo, who just arrived at Barcelona last year from Toulouse. The deal itself really looks to be a rather bad one for Blaugrana as they would be giving away some young players with high potential along with an experienced piece of the squad and a ridiculous amount of money.

But if this deal were to somehow happen, Barcelona would suddenly be short-staffed at the back and that’s when Chumi comes into play.

One door closes…

Juan Brandariz Movilla or simply just Chumi, is currently a Barcelona B player who plays as a centre-back. Chumi is only 20 years old and so far, his involvement with the senior team has been minimal, to say the least.

He only participated in three games with Barcelona but if this deal does happen, Ernesto Valverde should hand him a huge chance to really make a name for himself and establish his standing in the senior squad. After all, if Todibo does leave this summer, that would leave Barcelona with only Gerrard Pique, who’s 32 already, Samuel Umtiti, who’s had serious problems with his knee before and Clement Lenglet.

Three centre-backs to occupy two positions throughout a long campaign is not really ideal, especially considering one of them is over 30 and the other is still injury prone. Extra cover is needed, and Chumi should be the man who gets the opportunity to provide it.

So far, he’s managed 28 appearances for Barcelona B and 14 for their U19 squad, tallying one assist in the process across tenures with both teams, and while his capacity at the top level isn’t wholly clear right now, he’s a La Masia product through and through. Barcelona’s greatest successes have been built on the talent in their academy – Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta were all products of the setup – but such stories have dried up of late.

Chumi may or may not be the man to provide another, but Valverde won’t know for sure until he’s given a chance.

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Former Everton striker Jermaine Beckford has explained the reasons behind his Goodison Park departure for Leicester City in 2011, as told to the Liverpool Echo.

Beckford’s move to Leicester eight-years ago saw the striker return to the Championship having spent just a single season with Everton, having joined the Toffees on a four-year deal (BBC) following his release by Leeds United.

His transfer to the Foxes saw Everton land up to £4million (BBC), after rejecting offers in the region of £3m from the East Midlands outfit and reports of interest from Fulham to the tune of £3.5million (Goal).

London-born Beckford’s move to Leicester did not return a great future, though, as he would be offloaded to Huddersfield Town on loan in 2012, before being sold to Bolton shortly after his return (TransferMarkt).

With Everton, though, he enjoyed a moment of magic as he marked his tenth goal for the Merseyside outfit across all competitions, when he lifted the ball over Frank Lampard’s out-stretched leg, tapped it around John Terry and darted free toward Chelsea’s goal, where he chipped the ball over Petr Cech to break the deadlock.

Weeks later he was sold to Leicester, and Beckford has now explained why he felt he had to leave Goodison Park, having featured in all bar six league games during his season at the club (TransferMarkt).

“I’ll be honest, I wanted to stay [at Everton] longer but it was the minutes,” he told the Liverpool Echo. “I’m a football fan. I love to watch football and play football. I wasn’t asking to play every single game, but I was asking to play a few more minutes than I had done previously.

“When I was at Leeds, I played around 50 games that season, starting. Then I came to Everton, a completely different team, manager, everything, and I played around half of that.

“I had the bug to play and was told I wasn’t necessarily going to play as many minutes as I had done that season. I had a very, very difficult decision to make and it’s one I always look back on and think I should have stayed.”

Had Beckford stayed at Everton and fought for his place under David Moyes, he would have been competing for minutes with Victor Anichebe, Louis Saha, Apostolos Vellios, Magaye Gueye and summer signing Denis Stracqualursi, while Nikica Jelavic was acquired in the following winter, so the chances of the former Jamaica international playing more frequently would have been slim.

But only Jelavic proved to be a prolific scorer for the Toffees that season, with the Croatian the only man to hit double figures in the top-flight in Royal Blue despite his mid-season arrival at Goodison Park.

If Beckford had stayed and was able to replicate his goal against Chelsea, then Moyes may have been left with no choice but to entrust him more, but his form for Leicester – nine goals in 39 Championship games (TransferMarkt) – suggests that would not have been the case, and selling him for £4million was the right decision for all.

Everton fans, did Everton make a mistake in selling Beckford to Leicester? Let us know in the comments below…

It’s good to see that the Spaniard isn’t willing to doubt the Wolves cause, especially after they finished an impressive seventh last season.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what is letting Wolves down this time around – although the added burden of Europa League football is surely a factor – but their best course of action is to continue doing what made them so successful last term.

Luckily it seems as if the players still fully believe in the way they’re trying to play and the club’s ethos, despite the poor results.

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Today’s West Ham United roundup takes a look at the latest news surrounding the Hammers. Fans will be happy about Manchester United’s injury crisis, the club are monitoring Jack Clarke’s situation, and Winston Reid is on the comeback trail.

Man Utd injury disaster ahead of Sunday

Report: As per ESPN, Man United are set to be without Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial for their trip to the London Stadium on Sunday. All three have missed the last two games, with Shaw’s hamstring injury keeping him out, whilst the French stars have not yet returned to training.

Verdict: This can only be good news for West Ham. Pogba, despite his poor form, continues to be United’s main creative output bagging two assists in the four games thus far, just as Martial has netted twice and provided one assist in the three games he has played.

Ashley Young is expected to come in for the injured Shaw at left-back, which may play in the Hammers’ favour. Young has been a weak link in United’s side over the past year, and the 34-year-old has averaged just 0.3 tackles per game in his three Premier League outings this season.

Club ready to pounce on Clarke

Report: As reported by the Express, Tottenham Hotspur are poised to bring back Jack Clarke, who is on loan at Leeds United, with the Lilywhites set to immediately loan him back out. West Ham, amongst other Premier League sides, are keeping a close eye on the 18-year-old’s unhappy time with the Yorkshire club and are ready to pounce should he become available.

Verdict: Clarke burst onto the scene last season with Leeds winning the Young Player of the Year after bagging two goals and four assists in 22 Championship appearances. The teenager has returned to Elland Road on loan this season having signed for Spurs on a permanent basis, although, he has not yet been involved in a squad for a Championship fixture and has appeared just twice for the Whites in the League Cup.

Clarke may not boast the best goalscoring record as of now, but at 18, winning the Young Player of the Year for Leeds is both prestigious and proof of how important he can be. Indeed, the Hammers are certainly not lacking firepower on the wings this year, with Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko both starting the season in great form. However, Clarke could certainly come in as an alternative.

Reid set for U23’s test

Report: As reported by the Evening Standard, centre-back Winston Reid is set to play for the Under-23s as he steps up the recovery from a knee injury. The 31-year-old has been out of action since March 2018.

Verdict: Reid would be a welcomed addition back in the West Ham squad after he proved his importance time and again for the Hammers prior to his injury. Since 2012-13, when Reid became a regular at the back, he has averaged a performance rating of a 7 or above, and also won the Hammer of the Year in 12-13.

Despite Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna building a decent partnership this season, the New Zealander will certainly come back into the setup and provide admirable backup if one of them were to be sidelined.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking to episode 68 of the Inside Elland Road podcast, Graham Smyth has claimed that Helder Costa left Marcelo Bielsa visibly angry last Saturday.

What’s he said?

Leeds remarkably came away from their clash with Derby at the weekend with a 1-1 draw. The Whites were in control for the vast majority, achieving over 60% of the possession but still didn’t win despite missing a penalty.

Costa was brought on during the second half but didn’t have the desired impact as he failed to contribute in a way he has done previously.

To date, he has claimed three assists in all competitions but is yet to start a single game in the Championship. Judging by Smyth’s comments on the Inside Elland Road podcast, that might not be so much of a surprise. He said:

“There was an interesting little moment on Saturday when Helder Costa hadn’t been on long. Bielsa was trying to direct him to go wider to go out and hug the touchline the way Harrison had done to good effect in the first half but he trotted inside and took up a no.10 role and Bielsa was quite visibly angered by Helder doing this – maybe not listening to instructions or not doing what Bielsa had wanted him to do.

“I’m just wondering if he hasn’t had enough time under Bielsa yet to instinctively know where he should be when Leeds have the ball in a certain area of the pitch. I wonder if it’s just a time issue.”

Costa conundrum developing

This has given a fascinating insight into why Bielsa is insisting on starting the Portuguese winger on the bench.

Costa has contributed to 15 goals and 14 assists in two seasons in the Championship for Wolves and a lack of quality in wide areas, particularly from Jack Harrison, has seen Leeds supporters demand his presence in the side.

Harrison has only completed one accurate cross all season so those calls seem understandable.

However, if he cannot take on board the instructions from Bielsa perhaps it is just a matter of time and adapting to the Argentine’s methods.

Despite his poor end product, Harrison has proved himself to be a hard worker and it might be that aspect that Costa is lacking to really stake his claim.

This moment from Saturday’s draw is unlikely to help his cause too much.

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Leeds fans were left to wonder where things went wrong on Saturday as despite dominating their clash with Derby, they only came away with a point.

The Whites had over 60% of the possession and 13 shots but only drew 1-1 as Patrick Bamford hit the post and Mateusz Klich almost missed his spot-kick.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men received some good fortune in the first half when Max Lowe fired into his own net but that was all the luck they’d get as somehow Phillip Cocu’s men held the west Yorkshire side at Elland Road.

Understandably a host of their supporters were left angry by the result as some parts of the fan base decided to turn on their manager.

One suggested he was to blame for not starting Eddie Nketiah and Helder Costa which was a verdict echoed by other fans.

A further individual claimed the 64-year-old was very stubborn while another said they were sick of the loyalty Bielsa was showing to some of his players.

The Argentine has only made four changes to his starting XI in the Championship this season so it was perhaps unsurprising that he went unchanged against the Rams.

After dropping more points, however, he could be forced to change his ways.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

When things are going well in football, there is always the possibility that everything could come crashing down.

The manager could get poached by another club.

A star player could potentially want out.

Or simply, the pressure of maintaining such good form could overcome the players.

In this instance, the first point is the one under the spotlight as far as Charlton are concerned, amid James Nursey’s report linking Lee Bowyer with a move to Stoke.

Potters boss Nathan Jones has overseen a club-record winless run of 10 games on home soil at Stoke, and his job looks on the line as results show few signs of improving.

As a result, Addicks boss Bowyer has been linked with a move to the bet365 Stadium along with David Moyes and Chris Hughton – as Nursey mentions in his tweet – and it is something that the south Londoners will simply have to get used to.

Bowyer has worked miracles since replacing Karl Robinson at The Valley, taking a side languishing in ninth place in League One – with just one win in their last eight games – to a side now sat sixth in the Championship following a start to the season that merited four wins and two draws from the opening six games.

It is always attractive to prospective suitors to see a manager perform such a significant transformation, while Bowyer’s work under tight financial restrictions with Roland Duchatelet looking to sell the club only adds more gloss to his work.

Clubs such as Stoke will presumably look at Bowyer and think: “If he can do that with such little resources, imagine what he could do for us with a bit more money”.

Nationality arguably makes Bowyer that bit more desirable too. While foreign managers can often do a fantastic job – such as Daniel Farke and David Wagner – knowing the nuances of the English game and being aware of good-value players in the lower leagues can go a long way to being successful in the Championship.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder is a fantastic example of the aforesaid. The Blades manager navigated his side into the Premier League from League One with a predominantly British side, his vast experience in the English game proving fruitful.

Tellingly, this specific Stoke link comes just weeks after Bowyer was also linked with a move to Huddersfield after Jan Siewert was sacked by the Terriers, although they later appointed Danny Cowley.

Unfortunately, amid the good times at The Valley, these pestering reports linking Bowyer with a move away is just something the south Londoners will have to get used to.