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Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side face a break from their Premiership campaign on Saturday afternoon, when the Bhoys make the trip to Alloa Athletic in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.

And, with the Hoops’ opponents currently struggling towards the bottom of the Scottish League One table, the fixture presents the 56-year-old Celtic manager with a perfect opportunity to rest a number of his regular starters, as well as handing minutes to some of his peripheral squad members – in addition to those returning from injury.

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One player who falls into the latter category is none other than Christopher Jullien, the 28-year-old centre-back who last featured for the Bhoys all the way back in December 2020, with a recurring knee injury seeing the former France U21 international miss over a year of first-team football.

However, following the defender’s recent post on Twitter – in which Jullien shared a photo of himself in training at Lennoxtown alongside the caption “green light” – it would appear as if the Frenchman is now ready to make his long-awaited return to the pitch.

And, with the fixture against Alloa not likely to be the most strenuous game of the season for the Celtic backline, Barry Ferguson’s side could well be the perfect opponent for Jullien to ease himself back into the rigours of first-team football.

Game-changer

While the expression like a new signing is perhaps overused when describing a player returning from injury, should Jullien be able to refind the level of form he was in prior to his injury, the 28-year-old’s availability will undoubtedly be game-changing for Celtic’s title hopes this season.

Indeed, over his nine Premiership fixtures in the Bhoys’ 2020/21 campaign, the £4.95m-rated centre-back helped his side to keep five clean sheets, scored one goal and registered one assist, as well as making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 1.2 tackles, 3.6 clearances and winning 6.9 duels per game.

These returns saw the £20k-per-week defender average a rather astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.43, ranking him as the Hoops’ second-best performer in the league last season.

As such, in order to help get the Frenchman back up to speed as quickly as possible, Postecoglou simply must unleash Jullien on Saturday afternoon, as the return of the player who Noel Whelan dubbed a “leader” could well turn the tide in Celtic’s favour regarding the Premiership race over the coming months.

In other news: “Excellent” 23 y/o may have played his final game for Celtic as January deal is agreed

Leeds United failed to bolster Marcelo Bielsa’s playing squad with any additions during the January transfer window.

The Yorkshire giants have suffered from numerous injuries throughout the 2021/22 campaign, so it’s quite surprising to see them fail to make at least one signing, especially in the midfield department, where it has now been four years and eight windows without an incoming.

It’s not entirely through any fault of their own, though.

Michael Cuisance failed a medical in 2020, Conor Gallagher snubbed them for Crystal Palace in the summer and the Whites saw two bids rejected for Brenden Aaronson during the final few weeks of last month.

Bielsa really could’ve done with some form of reinforcements as the injury situation has been really severe in recent weeks. During a Premier League clash against West Ham United, he could only name one senior pro on his nine-man bench, meaning there were eight academy prospects in the squad.

And with Kalvin Phillips missing another month as he looks to recover from hamstring surgery, the Argentine needs an extra body in the heart of midfield.

He could well find a little solution in U23 gem Lewis Bate, who actually made his top-flight debut in that aforementioned win over the Irons, which suggests that Bielsa sees enough in him to feature in the big time.

The 5 foot 6 pocket dynamo has been likened to Clarence Seedorf due to his ability to run games from midfield, with the likes of Steven Gerrard and new Everton boss Frank Lampard being some of his idols.

“Primarily, Bate is a No. 6, able to play either role in a double 6, or in a 3 with two 8s. Despite being quick and robust for his size, the question during his transition into senior football is how much and how early he’ll be able to play as a solo No. 6., especially at a Premier League level,” once claimed U18 and U23 recruitment analyst Connor Rowden to LeedsLive.

“His ability to take control of the tempo of a game from deep, dropping into spaces and probing with his mastery of the short and long passing game is where he excels.”

Elsewhere, he has been dubbed “very gifted” and a “lovely passer” by The Athletic’s Phil Hay, who is already a huge fan of the 19-year-old prospect.

It’s that sort of ball-carrying and ball-retaining capability that is right up Bielsa’s street and in the absence of someone like Phillips, he could well be a presence that’s needed throughout February.

He may be vastly-experienced but the former Chelsea teen ought to be considered for a bigger role in the coming games, even more so after their gutting blow over Aaronson this January.

AND in other news, Bielsa made a huge January transfer howler at Leeds over £22.5m-rated “special talent”…

R Vinay Kumar removed Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu in one over to turn a cat-and-mouse game until then unmistakably Royal Challengers’ way, also taking them to the top of the table

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga20-Mar-2010
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outIt was one of the rare occasions when Vinay Kumar got the credit he rightfully deserved•Indian Premier League

R Vinay Kumar removed Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu in one over to turn what had been a cat-and-mouse game until then, unmistakably Royal Challengers’ way, also taking them to the top of the table. He benefited in part from the pressure created by his team-mates’ smart swing bowling, changes of pace, bouncers to Indian batsmen, and aggressive spin bowling by Anil Kumble. It was a fitting reversal of roles for a man used to being among the top wicket-takers in Indian domestic cricket, and then watching others steal the spotlight – not the least when his state-mate Abhimanyu Mithun made his international debut ahead of him after just one season of impressive numbers.There was no role reversal for Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey, though, who added 50-plus for the first wicket for the third time in a row to scythe through the target without breaking a sweat. Kallis tightened the orange cap around his head, taking his tournament tally to 264 undefeated runs, but Pandey missed a fifty after a good start for the third time in a row.The Bangalore openers will be the first ones to concede that the night belonged to their bowlers. Praveen Kumar and Dale Steyn laid the foundation by controlling the rampaging batting line-up that had scored 200-plus in both their previous matches. Praveen, with his swing either side in his first over, sent the message that scoring wouldn’t be that easy against this attack, and Steyn in his first removed Sanath Jayasuriya with a quick outswinger.Then Bangalore resorted to the nasty plan that has worked effectively for them so far: bounce the Indian batsmen out. Aditya Tare square-cut a short delivery from Jacques Kallis immediately before lobbing a sharp bouncer. Saurabh Tiwary – two fifties in two innings before this – managed to muscle a few bouncers away, but never looked in control. Anil Kumble then got him with a loopy googly in the man-versus-boy contest. Vinay followed the bouncer theme, and got Rayudu at the start of that definitive over.While Bangalore had toyed around with other batsmen until then, at the other end Tendulkar was batting in a sphere of his own. He played the flick shot at will, and manipulated the on-side field, but in nine overs he had faced only 21 deliveries. The 22nd that he faced, he tried to flick again, moved too far across and exposed the leg stump. If this was a slightly lucky wicket for Vinay, there was no luck involved in the pin-point offcutter that removed Bravo two balls later. In 10 balls Mumbai had gone from 71 for 2 to 76 for 6, in 11 overs.R Sathish and Kieron Pollard had to be circumspect for the next few overs, to make sure they lasted the 20 overs. After a five-over wait, Pollard opened up, hitting Praveen for a six and a four in the 17th over, taking Mumbai to 123. In the 18th, though, Steyn hurt them further. If Pollard was a touch unfortunate in hitting a full toss straight to deep point, the sharp bouncer was too good for Sathish. The running, tumbling catch that Rahul Dravid took at midwicket capped a night of near-perfect fielding.Praveen, though, provided a blemish on a night of near-perfect bowling, giving Zaheer Khan length balls, which he hit for a six and two fours to take 16 off the last over, but 151 was still going to be hard to defend at a ground that hosted 212 v 208 last weekend.Not with predictable bowling at any rate. Both Bangalore openers started off cautiously in the first overs from Zaheer and Lasith Malinga. Certain that there was nothing on offer that they couldn’t handle, both of them attacked their second overs. It all went to an expected rhythm when Bravo and Pollard inside the Powerplay, as opposed to Harbhajan Singh. Their slower balls failed to surprise the batsmen, and their regulation pace was cannon fodder. By the end of Powerplay, Bangalore had reached 55. Pandey was 24, and Kallis, on 29, had already set his sights on another asterisk against his score.Thereafter it was just a stroll in the park for Bangalore, made breezier by some lusty hitting from Robin Uthappa and Virat Kohli.

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Adama Traore to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by transfer insider Fabrizio Romano (via The Express), who recently revealed that Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici have identified the 25-year-old winger as one of Tottenham’s primary targets in the winter market, with Wolverhampton Wanderers reported to be willing to sanction the sale of the Spain international for just £18m this month.

Speaking about Spurs’ interest in Traore, Romano said: “[Traore is] super-appreciated by Fabio Paratici, super-appreciated. Super-appreciated by Antonio Conte. So it’s a name I would monitor… I’m sure that his name [is on] the list of Tottenham.”

Conte’s new Moses

When taking into account Conte’s penchant for turning wide attacking forwards into wing-backs, as the 52-year-old manager did with Victor Moses at both Chelsea and Inter Milan, Traore’s skillset would very much appear to make him a prime candidate for a similar transformation under the management of the Italian after a potential switch to Spurs.

While the £25.2m-rated man has lacked end product for Wolves so far this season, being yet to hit the back of the net or provide his teammates with an assist, the 25-year-old winger has nevertheless impressed at Molineux.

Indeed, over his 17 Premier League appearances, the £43k-per-week forward has created three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.2 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game.

The Spaniard has also won an average of 7.4 duels and has successfully completed a whopping 4.7 dribbles per fixture – ranking him by far and away as the best dribbler of the ball in the top flight of English football.

These returns have seen the player who Jurgen Klopp claimed is “undefendable” against average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.07, ranking him as Bruno Lage’s fifth-best performer in the league.

As such, it would very much appear as if Traore’s arrival in North London could well lead to Conte unearthing his new Moses, and, being reported to be available for just £18m, a deal for the forward is certainly one that Spurs would be able to afford this January.

In other news: 58% duels won: £93k-p/w Spurs beast may have changed Conte’s January plans on Saturday

Wolves have been tipped with a move for Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli in January. The Spurs playmaker has hardly played under new manager Antonio Conte and could be headed for the exit door.

What’s the story?

Having been branded “unbelievable” by Mauricio Pochettino and a “wonderkid” after his breakthrough 2015/16 season, in which he scored ten Premier League goals as a 19-year-old, the Englishman has seen his career go drastically downhill over recent seasons.

Alli reportedly fell out of favour with former manager Jose Mourinho and made just seven league appearances under Nuno Espirito Santo before he was replaced by Antonio Conte last month.

The 25-year-old has been limited to just two minutes in the league under the Italian and could prove surplus to requirements in January.

Speaking on Soccer Saturday, pundit Paul Merson claimed that Wolves need to buy a midfielder with more attacking threat and named Alli as a potential suitor. It has been reported by The Athletic that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is willing to allow the midfielder to leave North London next month.

According to Transfermarkt, Alli is valued at £27m, which would certainly make the transfer a hefty signing if it was to go through.

Forget Moutinho

It certainly seems to be the case that Wolves need more attacking input from the middle of the park. The West Midlands side are the top-flight’s second-lowest scorers with 12 goals in 16 games, with Rúben Neves the only midfielder to score a league goal this term with one.

Lage has tended to operate with a central midfield trio of Neves, Leander Dendoncker and Joao Moutinho, however, it could really do with some attacking flair.

The trio certainly isn’t sustainable for the long-term either, with Moutinho now 35-years-old.

Over recent campaigns, Dele Alli has been well below par but there is undoubtedly still talent there given the way in which the Englishman was playing earlier in his career.

Furthermore, it’s no secret that the 25-year-old’s dip has aligned with the departure of former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, under whom Alli was exceptional.

The 37-capped midfielder scored 28 Premier League goals in 70 appearances in his first two seasons at White Hart Lane, a key performer under the Argentine. Those are stats that certainly prove he’s better in an offensive situation than the aforementioned Moutinho as the Portuguese has only found the net three times in over 150 games for the Midlands club.

It would undoubtedly be a risk for Wolves to bring Alli to Molineux, however, action needs to be taken to add creativity and flair to their midfield, and the Englishman could prove to be the ideal solution.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Sa: 25 y/o Wolves “near miss” who made 7 passes failed Lage’s test…

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Hammad Azam, not for the first time, shepherded Pakistan to a tight win•Getty Images

Hammad Azam, not for the first time, guided Pakistan to a tight win to ensure their progress into the final of the Under-19 World Cup. West Indies, backed by Kraigg Brathwaite’s 85, had posted a competitive 212 and looked good defend it after an early burst by their seamers had reduced Pakistan to 49 for 4. But Hammad, aided by valuable contributions from Rameez Aziz and Mohammad Waqas, fought hard with an unbeaten 92 to seal victory by four wickets with nine balls to spare.With conditions supporting the seamers early on, Jason Holder, fresh from a match-winning five-for against England in the quarter-final, dented Pakistan at the start of their chase. He nipped out the openers Ahmed Shehzad and Pakistan’s highest scorer Babar Azam in no time. Pakistan captain Azeem Ghumman fell next after promising to revive his team in a 26-run stand with Ahsan Ali, but when both fell within a space of 14 runs, West Indies were favourties.Hammad has been Pakistan’s saviour with the bat in the tournament. He has proved extremely handy at the death, helping his side to nerve-wracking last-over wins against Bangladesh and India, but the challenge today was tougher. His partner Rameez held one end together, taking 81 balls for his 39 which included just two boundaries, but Hammad ensured the pressure of a creeping run rate did not hamper the stand. He found the fence with consistency and rotated the strike well to add 90 for the fifth wicket.Rameez’s dismissal gave West Indies another opening, but their hopes of choking the runs were thwarted by Hammad’s attacking partnership with Mohammad Waqas. They added 64 in less than nine overs, with Waqas racing to 29 in 23 balls to get Pakistan within striking distance. Waqas holed out to long-on in the 48th over but Hammad swept a boundary three balls later to bring the equation down to 6 off 13.Pakistan were given a reprieve in the penultimate over when Hammad was dropped by Trevon Griffith in the deep, and Sarmad Bhatti ended the suspense by smashing Akeem Dewar over extra cover.West Indies had been boosted by Kraigg Brathwaite, who continued his excellent run in the tournament, scoring his fourth half-century. His team had recovered from 7 for 2, thanks largely to a stand of 98 between him and captain Andre Creary. Amid a disciplined bowling performance from Bhatti and Raza Hassan, who took two wickets and effected a run out, there was some attacking batting towards the end of the innings by wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich that lifted West Indies to a competitive score. But it failed to measure up to Hammad’s determination, which guided his team to its fourth World Cup final.

يستمتع روبرت ليفاندوفسكي في كل لحظة من مرحلته الجديدة كلاعب كرة قدم في برشلونة، وسلط البولندي الضوء على جدية البارسا في التفاوض معه مقارنة بريال مدريد الذي ارتبط باسمه على مدار السنوات الماضية.

وانضم ليفاندوفسكي من بايرن ميونخ إلى برشلونة في انتقالات الصيف، بعد 8 سنوات قضاها مع الفريق الألماني.

وتحدث ليفاندوفسكي في تصريحاته لـ “Kwarttallnik Sportowy” البولندية وبدأ حديثه مقارنًا بين الدوريين الإسباني والألماني.

وقال ليفاندوفسكي: “في إسبانيا، تحظى الألعاب المهارية بتقدير أكبر، في ألمانيا، ينصب التركيز دائمًا على الترتيب والشدة والفوز بالمباريات، هنا، يتم تقييم كل حيلة فنية صغيرة أو مراوغة”.

اقرأ أيضًا | رونالدينيو يرفض اختيار ميسي كأفضل لاعب في التاريخ ويؤكد: برشلونة يملك كل شيء للعودة للقمة

وعن مفاوضات برشلونة، أفاد ليفاندوفسكي: “عندما رأيت مدى جديتهم، كنت أعلم أن هذه الصفقة أكثر واقعية من أي من روابطي السابقة مع ريال مدريد”

وأكد: ” العيش في إسبانيا واللعب في الليجا كان دائمًا حلمًا، وليس فقط في الرياضة، ولكن أيضا في حياتي الخاصة”.

وأتم بشأن خصوصيته: “الأمر ليس سيئًا، فالناس يحترمون خصوصيتي، بالطبع، برشلونة مكان سياحي، خلال الموسم، هناك العديد من الزوار، لذلك قد يتغير هذا نحن عائلة نشطة، ونحب المشي”.

BBC radio pundit Noel Whelan has been reacting to the news that Celtic will be without Jota for ‘a few weeks’.

The Lowdown: Jota’s form

The Portuguese maestro has been a regular under Ange Postecoglou after joining on loan on transfer deadline day over the summer, making 18 appearances in all competitions.

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The 22-year-old has been involved in 14 goals and picked up the Premiership Player of the Month award for October.

Celtic want to exercise their £6.5m option-to-buy clause for the winger before the end of the season as a result of his impressive form, but Postecoglou will be without Jota over the coming weeks.

The Latest: Jota out; Whelan reacts

The Hoops manager confirmed over the weekend that the 22-year-old will be missing for ‘a few weeks’ with a hamstring issue. Should that indeed turn out to be a fortnight, he could well be missing for the League Cup final with Hibernian on December 19; and if it extends into the New Year, he might also miss the derby against Rangers on January 2.

Whelan, who regularly contributes for BBC Radio, was talking to Football Insider about Jota’s injury. He labelled it as a ‘massive blow’ and described the attacker as ‘pivotal’ in recent months, saying:

“It’s a massive blow, he’s the one who is flying high at Celtic at the moment.

“He’s full of confidence, on loan and eager to make an impression – and the manager wants to keep him.

“Jota has been pivotal to their performances for the past couple of months – with goals, assists, creativity.

“To be missing him will be huge. Especially as you’re coming up to a big cup final. The tough fixtures over Christmas and the Old Firm game in January will also be in Postecoglou’s mind.

“You always want to have your best squad available for such massive games.”

The Verdict: Time for others to step up…

Jota has been a mainstay in the Celtic side due to his excellent displays, but his absence will now provide others with their chance to impress Postecoglou.

Mikey Johnston was handed a rare start against Dundee United in favour of Liel Abada, so you’d expect that the two youngsters could battle it out for a spot with Jota ruled out and James Forrest on the right.

Johnston and Abada may need to impress Postecoglou immediately if they want to feature more when Jota returns, though, and they could have up to four more games to do just that.

In other news: Sky Sports share more Celtic news with £20k-p/w colossus now ‘open’ to Parkhead exit

Tottenham Hotspur chief Fabio Paratici must look to offload Steven Bergwijn amid interest in his signature ahead of the January transfer window.

The 24-year-old is reportedly wanted by Eredivisie champions Ajax this winter, just two years after joining from their top-flight arch-rivals PSV Eindhoven in a £25m deal.

It’s fair to suggest that the Dutch winger has been far from inspiring since his arrival and that much is reflected by the fact that he has played just 13 minutes under Antonio Conte, who replaced Nuno Espirito Santo last month.

De Telegraaf journalist Mike Verweij even revealed that the Italian has previously rejected the chance to sign Bergwijn at Inter Milan and, since taking the helm in north London, he has barely spoken to the 24-year-old, which only goes to show how little his manager thinks of him.

“Conte is also the one who opposed Bergwijn’s transfer from PSV to Italy. Inter were an interested club at the time, but Conte did not need him. “Conte has only said two words to Bergwijn in two weeks at Tottenham Hotspur,” he told the Dutch newspaper’s podcast (via Sport Witness).

It’s not as if the £19.8m-rated dynamo was doing the business under Nuno or even Jose Mourinho, who was Tottenham’s manager at the time that he was signed. The Portuguese even revealed that he wasn’t keen to sign the player in quite a damning revelation during his time at Hotspur Way.

“Initially – and I’m always very honest on this – he wasn’t my first option when we decided to make a movement in the winter,” he told reporters (via the Evening Standard).

Indeed, it appears that Mourinho’s original fears have come to fruition as Bergwijn’s poor returns have seen him deliver only four goals and nine assists from 62 appearances, per Transfermarkt. That’s a direct contribution once every 244 minutes, which is pretty abysmal for an attacking player, even more so after averaging a goal or assist every 136 minutes at PSV.

That could suggest that he’s simply not up to the standard of the Premier League, as is often the case as the Dutch top-flight is some way off those levels. For instance, Sebastien Haller, who flopped at West Ham, is now scoring for fun at Ajax.

When factoring in his reported £73k-per-week wages, the Dutchman has cost Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and the club around £32.3m in total, meaning he has cost £8m per goal and £2.5m per goal or assist. Very poor value for money, it has to be said.

He is out of favour and isn’t in great nick either, as relayed by Lilywhites insider John Wenham to Football Insider, where he claimed that “Bergwijn has been terrible all season,” so it could be very wise to make a brutal decision to cut short his time in north London.

Ajax are reportedly keen, so Paratici and co would be foolish to not let him go for whatever they can recoup.

AND in other news, Conte could finally unlock Harry Kane with Spurs swoop for “incredible” 6 ft 1 beast…

Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has admitted it will be difficult for Leeds United to stay in the Premier League this campaign.

The Lowdown: Leeds struggling

In what is their second season back in the Premier League after a 16-year absence, the Whites are struggling at the the wrong end of the table.

As it stands, they are 17th in the top flight, just three points above Burnley in 18th (Sky Sports). They have won just one of their last four matches in all competitions and, with Leicester City, Tottenham and Brighton to come in the next three games, they may struggle to pick up more points for a while.

The Foxes are always a tough out, Tottenham will be enjoying a new manager bounce, while Brighton have just picked up an impressive draw at Anfield.

The Latest: Radrizzani makes survival claim

Speaking at the Lisbon Web Summit (via Leeds Live), Radrizzani revealed it will be difficult for Leeds to stay in the division. He said:

“This year it will be very difficult to stay in the Premier League but if we stay up this year we can do much more next year. Next, the top six over time and hopefully start to renovate the stadium and grow this club.”

The Verdict: More confidence needed

While it may be true that this season will be a struggle to stay up – nine clubs, in fact, have been hit by second-season syndrome in the Premier League (via Sports Economics) – it is not the best thing for the owner to say so publicly. After all, Leeds have splashed out £140m since being promoted on transfer fees (Transfermarkt), and manager Marcelo Bielsa is one of most influential bosses in the history of the game (BBC).

There are still 28 games left to play, and the omens suggest they will be ok – only Bournemouth have had at least 10 points by this stage in the season and still been relegated in the last three full terms (Transfermarkt).

Still, more inspiring comments than the ones from Radrizzani would not go amiss.

In other news, Leeds want to sign this Championship star.