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The way that Steven Gerrard is going about life at Ibrox is mightily impressive and if he can carry on bringing in young hungry players then the Gers will be well set to compete with Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premier League next year. However, one signing that they have to make for that to happen is that of Ryan Kent, who could be re-loaned.

The young Liverpool winger has been nothing short of stellar at the Glasgow club this season. His return of six goals and nine assists in 42 appearances in all competitions have seen him named the Scottish Premier League’s Young Player of the Year and it will come as a surprise to no one that Steven Gerrard has been talking about potentially re-loaning the young attacker.

Kent is one of many loanees who has made his way to Ibrox this season, but he has undoubtedly been the most successful of the season. Gerrard didn’t have much luck with his other loanee from his former club when he brought Ovie Ejaria in, but Kent has more than made up for that. The 220year-old also faces some uncertainties of his own, as he’s unlikely to make the grade at Anfield, but has been a class above Scottish football.

Gerrard will know this as well as anyone. It won’t bother him one bit that Kent looks to be better than playing in Scotland and he will be as keen as ever to bring in the youngster for more season, even if it is just a temporary one in Glasgow. There is a lot about Kent to get excited about, and if Rangers get him for one more year then there is a real chance that they can end Celtic’s domestic dominance.

We’re not going to claim that Kent can help Rangers win a treble of their own, but if the £1.58 million ace, as rated by Transfermarkt, finds himself back at Ibrox next season then Gerrard will have a much better chance of winning silverware, even if only the Scottish League Cup. Nine in a row is going to be tough to stop next season, but if the Bluenoses are to do it, they will most definitely need Kent again.

Time to Bale: Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale offered a way out of Bernabeu nightmare with shock return to former side Spurs.

According to SunSport, Gareth Bale has been offered to Tottenham for the small sum of £10milion for a season-long loan.

As Zinedine Zidane attempts to raise his Madrid side from the ashes this summer, Gareth Bale is one of the names he is looked to offload.

The Madrid giants are that keen on offloading the player that they’re prepared to cover half his £600,000-per-week wages. Eye-watering stuff, and we don’t doubt Daniel Levy burst a few blood vessels just looking at the numbers.

It is said that Real will take an offer where a club pays around £250,000 a week for Bale’s wages, not forgetting the £10million fee they expect for a season.

Battling against one of the most spoilt and hostile rabble of fans known to the modern game, Bale has been booed at the Bernabeu for the entirety of this season, and almost 90 per cent of his haters have voted for him to be sold this summer.

Zidane has left him out of the squad for the previous two matches and is willing to let him rot in the under-23s team in an attempt to force him from the club. But Bale, ever the martyr, is said to be prepared to “see out” his contract by agent Jonathan Barnett – collecting him a cool £100million in the process.

You’ve got to say that if Spurs pulled off a summer move for Gareth Bale, it would be an absolutely sensational coup on their behalf. Renowned for spending relatively small amounts of money in the market – and none at all in the previous season – Pochettino has squeezed out of every last drop of ability from his team like valiantly scraping out the final smatters of butter for your morning toast.

If someone was to hand him access to actual quality in the market, then we dare say Spurs could do some serious damage in the league next year. Indeed, it’d ensure that this stunning journey to the Champions League final is merely the start of something special, not the end to a great team’s cycle.

A Son-Kane-Bale forward line-up is a bit filthy isn’t it, after all?

Spurs fans, would you like to see Bale back? Do you think his superstar status would interfere with current chemistry? Let us know in the comments below!

Finding a gem in this market is almost impossible, but Portsmouth have shown that it is still something clubs can do if you’re looking in the right place.

Ronan Curtis joined Pompey last summer as a relative unknown from Derry City, but nearly a year on from his signing and the Irish international has quickly established himself as one of the best players in League One and a testament to the concept that teams can find cheap gems in this day and age of the game.

11 goals and 12 assists in the league have seen the 23-year-old attacker gain a reputation as one of the best wingers in the division, but heading into the play-offs, form as of late for Curtis has been lacklustre.

No goals or assists since early-March has seen Curtis catch cold feet heading into the biggest game of Portsmouth’s season when the south coast side have to overturn a 1-0 deficit against Sunderland in order to book their ticket to Wembley for a second time this year, and the winger needs to return to his peak form as soon as possible.

Curtis has been a large reason as to why Portsmouth find themselves in this incredible position to return to the Championship, and for the winger to go dip in form at this stage of the season is the last thing Kenny Jackett wanted.

If Portsmouth want a chance to walk out onto Wembley again this season, Curtis has to step up and deliver, otherwise, it is another season of League One football for a team that know they can do better.

Portsmouth fans, will Curtis turn up in the second-leg? Let us know!

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Newcastle United and Crystal Palace will both be looking to edge nearer to the ‘magic 40-point mark’ when they meet at St James’ Park on Saturday, with Stuart Attwell being appointed to officiate the match on Tyneside earlier this week.

Both teams come into the clash having suffered defeats this week, with the Magpies losing 2-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Monday, and the Eagles on the end of the same scoreline just a few miles down the road at Tottenham Hotspur’s brand new stadium on Wednesday night.

The south London outfit’s form in their previous six games in all competitions has certainly been up and down – mainly the latter in all truth – as they have been beaten four times and picked up all three points on two other occasions.

One of those was against already-relegated Huddersfield Town at Selhurst Park last weekend, where they really toiled before getting two goals later on in the proceedings.

The frustration with manager Roy Hodgson is there for all to see, especially at home where they have the 18th-best home record in the division.

Compare that to seventh-best away and it is clear to see where Palace are stronger, and the presence of Attwell in the middle of the park on Saturday may just be a lucky charm that hands Hodgson yet another reprieve.

The 36-year-old has officiated in 17 Premier League matches this term, with 41.2% of those ending with the away team winning, as per stats-based website WhoScored.

That is the fifth-highest percentage out of the 18 referees that have taken charge in the top flight during the current campaign.

When you combine that statistic with Palace’s record on the road, you would have to fancy Hodgson’s men to record another memorable away day – they’ve certainly had their fair share of those already this season.

A Crystal Palace fan shares his most gutting moment of the last 10 years supporting the Eagles in the video below…

The hosts will certainly have something to say about though and while they flatter to deceive on their travels, they have actually won their previous five fixtures at St James’ Park.

An interesting spectacle awaits, and Hodgson will hope that the gods are shining down on him against the Magpies to give him some more breathing space from an irritated and demanding set of supporters.

Rangers on course for runners-up medal after smashing Motherwell 3-0 on Sunday.

What a performance from Scott Arfield who bagged his first professional hattrick on Sunday to make it back-to-back wins for Rangers following the midweek victory over Hearts.

Two changes were made to the side who cruised to victory on Wednesday, the suspended Ryan Kent and Joe Worrall making way for Daniel Candeias and Nikola Katic.

The opening minutes produced scant little for the visitors to get excited about, and though Rangers typically saw most of the ball, it was the hosts who enjoyed the initial set of opportunities to take the lead, Jake Hastie shooting over while Charles Dunne fluffed his header wide from a corner.

After 22 minutes, however, it was the Gers who opened the scoring. Arfield, latching onto a move initiated by Daniel Candeias and Jermaine Defoe, kept his composure to silkily finish past ‘keeper Mark Gillespie.

Defoe continued to pressure in the forward positions and very nearly doubled Rangers lead but for the staunch work of Motherwell’s Gillespie, who did extremely well when meeting the Englishman’s low driven half-volley.

Arfield did what Defoe couldn’t minutes later. High pressure from Candeias and Ryan Jack retrieved the ball from the helpless Well defence, gifting the former the opportunity to play through the temporarily lethal Arfield, who again despatched his chance past Gillespie.

More pressing from Rangers rewarded them with their third and final goal on the hour mark. Jack involved again, this time winning the ball from Turnbull, played through Defoe into a one-on-one situation, and though the Englishman could’ve quite easily scored, he unselfishly played through Arfield to round off his hattrick.

Unsurprisingly Scott Arfield claimed the Man of the Match award for his three goals. However, we’d like to give a special mention to Jermaine Defoe as our ‘unsung hero’ on this occasion. The veteran striker was in top form at the weekend, and though he didn’t claim a goal, there was every bit of evidence to suggest that he will be a very important player going forwards for Rangers.

Defoe’s experience allowed him to find pockets of space which would’ve otherwise been neglected, creating more headaches for the Motherwell defenders than they could cope with, and his admirably unselfish assist towards the end of the match helped Scott Arfield create a moment he’ll likely never forget.

Special player.

Rangers fans, do you think the Defoe project is starting to work? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

Keeping together a core group of players is a formula that great teams are built on.

The Class of ’92 infamously lead Manchester United to the most successful period in the club’s history, Arsene Wenger matured and crafted a team that went on to become Invincibles, and Barcelona’s La Masia academy has kept the Catalonian club in the top three best teams in the world for the past few decades.

For Steven Gerrard, the Gers manager has a crop of players that could go on to lead Rangers to domestic glory, but it is important the Liverpool legend keeps this core at the club.

Alfredo Morelos, Nikola Katic, Ross McCrorie and Glenn Middleton are a group of players who can remain Rangers for the coming years, and if the club is to compete with Celtic in the league it is vital Gerrard keeps hold of these four figures who can one day become heroes for the club.

McCrorie and Middleton are two players who have made the step up to the first-team football well this season, and although consecutive starts in Gerrard’s team has been patchy of late, there’s still no doubt these are two players who want to play for the badge and will likely be vital first-team players next season.

Current youngsters in the team aside, Rangers fans have plenty to be excited about in terms of prospects in the youth academy. The Scottish side last month became the first British team ever to win the Alkass International Cup in Qatar, an annual U-17 youth tournament that sees some of the best youth teams from around the world compete in.

Kai Kennedy, who has featured briefly for Rangers this season, was named Player of the Tournament and scored the winning penalty in the 9-8 penalty shootout against AS Roma.

As well as promoting from within and ensuring youngsters get regular time in the first-team, Gerrard has to make sure Morelos and Katic remain Rangers players for the next few seasons.

The Croatian centre-back has the potential to be one of the best defenders in the league, whereas we all know about the interest in Morelos from teams around the continent. These two central players have what it takes to push Rangers to that next level and become the most dominant team in Scotland.

It might take a season or two, but Gerrard has a golden generation of Rangers talent at his disposal for him to turn into a deadly force in the SPL, and finally get that sought after league title the fans are craving to have again.

Rangers fans, do the club have the current core of players to win the SPL?

[ad_pod ]According to talkSPORT, Leeds United are interested in signing QPR playmaker Luke Freeman in the approaching summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

The Whites are apparently keen on the 26-year-old, whilst they’re also monitoring Loftus Road youngster Ebere Eze too.

Are fans being priced out of the Championship as well as the Premier League? The angry Bolton fan in the video below certainly believes so…

Freeman would certainly be the more high-profile arrival of the two though, and would arrive at Elland Road expecting to become a regular starter under Marcelo Bielsa.

The midfielder has been in fine form this season for the Rs, and has racked up eight goals and four assists in the Championship, as per Transfermarkt’s stats.

The Arsenal academy product would certainly be an interesting target for Leeds to pursue. Considering the Yorkshire club are currently in the thick of a title race, they may well be identifying transfer options with promotion on the cards, in which case, they would be looking to Freeman to make the step up to the Premier League with them.

The next Saiz?

Whether or not they go up, Leeds will still need a new playmaker this summer to replace Samu Saiz, who joined Spanish side Getafe on loan in January, and according to trusted journalist Phil Hay, has no interest in returning to Elland Road.

The 28-year-old Spaniard was a key player for the Whites. He brought a great deal of flair and creativity to the side, and his influence is something Bielsa must find a way to adequately replace ahead of the new campaign.

It could well be that Freeman has been earmarked as the man to take up Saiz’s berth.

Manchester United look well on course for a fine end to the season which could well see them end up with a top four finish.

The sort of finish looked very unlikely under previous manager Jose Mourinho, but new man Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserves all sorts of credit for turning things right around at Old Trafford.

The January window though passed by for the club without much to shout home about, and it will be very interesting this summer to see if the Red Devils do indeed make a move in the market to try and compete with the likes of City and Liverpool next term.

Indeed, we here in the Tavern feel one or two players won’t go amiss, and one man we feel would be a fine addition is Napoli midfielder, Allan.

The Brazilian has developed into one of the finest midfield players in the game, and with United lacking someone right in the middle of the park who can boss games and take them by the scruff of the neck, Allan might be just the sort of signing they need.

Tough tackling but also excellent on the ball, Allan would provide a platform from the middle to allow the likes of Paul Pogba to keep playing in an advanced role, and he’s certainly a step up from certain players already on the books at Old Trafford.

Now 28, if Allan wants to prove himself in the Premier League then the time is now, and what better way to do so than joining one of the biggest clubs in the world and becoming a star for Manchester United.

Southampton look dangerously close to suffering relegation, and with that, they can wave goodbye to all the perks of being a Premier League side.

Amid fresh rumours that Southampton are ready to ramp up their interest for highly-rated French youngster Jean-Kevin Augustin, we find ourselves wondering why the striker would want to exchange Red Bull Leipzig for struggling Saints on the south coast (source: Daily Mail).

That said, here are TWO reasons we’ve decided their chase for the player is doomed…

Finances

First off, and perhaps most importantly, is the money.

Southampton are reportedly willing to meet Leipzig’s £35m valuation for the forward, which seems a little farfetched given their current circumstances.

Potential relegation into the Championship isn’t a calling for frivolous spending. It is the opposite. Clubs tend to buckle down financially and prepare for the long and arduous climb back into the topflight; no recruitment, no nothing; just saving and selling.

To suggest that the Saints, who aren’t exactly market powerhouses in the first place, are now willing to spend this much on a relatively unproven play is nonsensical.

Why would he?

It is naïve and almost insultingly arrogant to just assume any player wants to join the Premier League as soon as it comes knocking.

We’ve shown time and time again that players progress can be stunted by the warzone that is top flight team selection.

There’s a reason English youth players are looking towards Germany and other major leagues in Europe to get their chance, after all.

Think Jadon Sancho.

Augustin is playing at a club who have given him a good chance to further his career in one of the most progressive and forward-thinking divisions in the world.

Why would he give that up for an endangered Southampton side who already have a top quality prospect in Michael Obafemi?

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who made 280 Premier League appearances, has praised Stuart Dallas for his consistent performances this season and claims he has been one of their best players.

Leeds United are reportedly set to have talks with Dallas about offering him a new contract after an impressive debut season in the Premier League, which has seen him score seven goals and register two assists.

The Northern Ireland international has been a great player for Marcelo Bielsa with his versatility proving key, especially during games, as he can easily slot into left-back or centre midfield.

Speaking on how he has been a consistent performer this season and how he has gone under a lot of people’s radars, Lee exclusively told FFC:

“He’s been brilliant and he’s not one of their big-name players so he goes under the radar but every time I watch him play, he’s either Man of the Match or not far off it.

“He’s been different class and he has been scoring goals as well, so a new contract is the least he deserves.”

The £8,000 per week midfielder has been with the club since 2015 when he signed from Brentford and has gone on to make 226 appearances for the club.

Leeds have their sights firmly set on a top-half finish this season after a run of just one defeat in their last seven league games.