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As Sussex brushed aside their promotion rivals in three days at Worcester, the sense was that the balance of power was shifting in Division Two

Vithushan Ehantharajah at New Road08-Aug-20171:06

County Championship round-up: Warwickshire secure first win

On a day when those around them were hampered by the weather, Sussex completed perhaps one of their most professional wins of the season, beating Worcestershire and the deluge that engulfed most of the Midlands by nine wickets and a day. Having started the match in fifth, Sussex leap to third, with a game in hand on Worcestershire, whose lead in second has been cut to 17 points.Worcestershire were poor. It is hard to remember a Championship game where they have folded so meekly. To lose 12 wickets in five hours play is simply not what you would expect from a young side with a determination at their core that has seen them punch above their weight consistently over the last five years. This is only their third loss of the season but it is the manner of defeat that will jar even the most partisan Pear.Sussex, though, have unfurled a run that now reads five wins in seven, a streak brought about by returns from injury, to form and the sort of swagger that has characterised their teams of the past. Chris Nash’s revival with a first-innings 118, on a tricky day one pitch, wickets shared (Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer and David Wiese took 14 in the match between them) and an array of difficult catches held speak of a team peaking at the right time.Even with rain washing out the morning session, Sussex were still able to make significant strikes in the first passage of play, which started at 1.10pm, removing the remaining two wickets in the Worcestershire first innings – 162 behind – and taking out their top order to leave them reeling on 66 for 5 at tea in their follow-on innings.Aside from the rains, Ed Barnard was the only other uncontrollable that Sussex came up against today. The pick of the Worcestershire bowlers, he held firm to finish the first innings unbeaten on 65 – his third half-century of the season and fourth of his first-class career.His knock threatened to take the hosts beyond their follow-on target, attacking well as he managed the strike effectively with No. 11 and debutant Pat Brown. He managed to take time out of the game when he struck David Wiese for a towering six that landed in the car park towards Worcester Cathedral. However, two balls later, Brown edged behind and Worcestershire had to start all over again.Wiese continued from the Diglis End with an opening eight-over burst that saw him remove Daryl Mitchell, (bowled) Tom Fell (caught at second slip by Harry Finch, his sixth of the match) and then Clarke (bowled off an inside edge) – all three deliveries brought about by movement into the right-hander off the surface.For the second time in the day, it was left to Barnard to fight for Worcestershire’s pride. He took a couple of blows from Stuart Whittingham, who bowled with good pace to remove George Rhodes and Brett D’Oliveira for his first two wickets of the match. Both times, Barnard inspected his helmet and smiled like a man who had found a tenner in his spare pair of jeans rather than knocked on the bonce. If he was punch-drunk, he was snapped out of it by a cluster of wickets at the other end, as Jofra Archer removed Ben Cox, Joe Leach and John Hastings in the space of five balls. Barnard’s smile was long gone.Even in his grind, he was still able to show a wide range of strokes – his charge and thwack back over Wiese’s head for six was Kevin Pietersen-esque in execution and attitude. He had no interest in keeling over like the rest of his side.When he reached 35, he was given a round of applause from Worcestershire fans who had sat through the morning rain – it was his 100th run of the match, without being dismissed. Naturally, it was Barnard who put the hosts into the lead and he fell trying to add to it, skying Stiaan van Zyl to long on, where Whittingham ran in to take a catch (the same fielder had shelled Barnard in the first innings on 43).Naturally, Barnard picked up a wicket in Sussex’s chase of nine: Luke Wells chipping to skipper Joe Leach at midwicket after Mitchell had dropped the same batsmen at second slip. A streaky four through gully from Angus Robson sealed the win for Sussex. It may seem premature, but this match felt like two teams passing each other, with one very clearly on the way up.

All of the news surrounding Crystal Palace currently relates to the loss of Wilfried Zaha and understandably so. As a result, attentions now turn to the future of key attacking duo Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze.

Will Eberechi Eze Remain at Selhurst Park?

Every year, Zaha was linked with a move away only to stay put in South London. When he did eventually move on, it was on a free transfer and so the Palace faithful will hope that Eze doesn’t follow suit.

Talking of Eze’s contractual situation and his £30k-a-week deal will expire in two years' time, hence the desire to strike a new agreement. His exploits for the England national team will only see his stock rise higher to the point that bigger clubs who can offer bigger wages will come calling.

When asked a couple of months ago if he is playing the best football of his life though, as per the Evening Standard, the former Queens’ Park Rangers man had this to say: “Yeah probably. I feel like I’ve got the freedom to play, to do my thing. I’m just happy to be enjoying my football.”

This points towards his short-term future remaining at Crystal Palace, a club who he enjoys playing for. That being said, the departure of Zaha and lack of any fierce summer recruitment may have Eze nervous of the relegation zone looming again.

What is Alex Crook's update on Eberechi Eze?

He had this to say when talking to Give Me Sport:

“They want to tie Eze down to a new contract, but I’m not sure he’s going to be keen to commit his future yet. I think he believes that he’s going to get interest as well.”

It stands to reason that the club would be wanting to offer the 25-year-old a new deal given just how significant an impact he made last season. Not only did Eze reach his highest return of Premier League minutes to date but he contributed more goals and assists than the two seasons before combined. Eze appeared in every single league outing and across those games he amassed 10 goals and four assists, including some box office moments.

Who Could Join Crystal Palace Ahead of the New Season?

There is only one new arrival at Selhurst Park at the time of writing in the form of Jefferson Lerma. The midfielder arrived from AFC Bournemouth on a free transfer and is likely to be a very solid option in that area which is regularly occupied by Malian international Cheick Doucouré.

One name that has been heavily linked, as per Caught Offside, is Perr Schuurs. Palace are reportedly ahead of fellow Londoners West Ham United in their pursuit of the Dutch defender who currently plies his trade in Italy. The 23-year-old arrived in Turin just last year after a strong few seasons with Ajax. Regarding the fee and the whole process, “talks are at an advanced stage with [the] £34m-rated” centre-back, though it remains to be seen as to whether anything will get done.

Henry Blofeld, the Test Match Special commentator, signed off after nearly 50 years behind the microphone with the words “how lovely”

Andrew McGlashan09-Sep-2017Henry Blofeld, the commentator, signed off after nearly 50 years behind the microphone with the words “how lovely” and was given a standing ovation from the Lord’s crowd before embarking on a lap of honour when the final Test concluded.Blofeld, 77, announced earlier this year that this would be his final season in the commentary box as, “I can’t see as well as I used to… it’s better to go when people are prepared to clap you.” His final stint on air came as England closed in on their target to take the series against West Indies and shortly before the winning runs he signed off for the final time.”I’ve got no last word because handing over to next commentator has always been an adventure for me,” he said. “That ladies and gentleman is the end of it. It’s been wonderful talking to you. I will miss you something dreadful, I must try not to fall over when I hand over to the next commentary who I think is going to be Ed Smith. How lovely.”The Lord’s crowd, many of who were listening on earpieces, rose and gave an extended ovation as Blofeld moved out of his seat in a packed TMS commentary box.Speaking a short while later to he said: “I’m 78 next week – or is it the week after – and I don’t think I see as well as I did. You can only get worse so perhaps it’s better to go when people are prepared to clap you. It’s been a huge amount of fun. Some people call it work, it’s been terrific. I really, really have loved my life.”During his broadcasting career, Blofeld worked in television as well as radio although it was his long association with that cemented his status. His commentary – including his most well-known phrase, “my dear old thing” – was often interspersed with references to London buses or the various types of birds spotted around the grounds.He was invited into the England dressing after they had secured the series victory and presented with a signed shirt by Joe Root”What a credit he is to the game, I’m quite emotional speaking about it actually,” Root said. “It’s going to be strange listening to the radio and not hearing him commentating on not just the cricket but the rest that comes with it. He’ll be sorely missed by the players and I’m sure the public as well.”

Newcastle United's transfer window is close to bolting its latch, with manager Eddie Howe and technical director Dan Ashworth plying some impressive work over the past few months.

Playmaker Sandro Tonali has completed a £55m transfer from AC Milan, Leicester City have allowed winger Harvey Barnes to make a £39m move to Tyneside after their Premier League relegation and Southampton (also relegated) have sold Tino Livramento for £40m.

Allan Saint-Maximin has departed for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli, and while the Magpies will be ready and raring after qualifying for the Champions League this year, one more offensive signing looks to remain on the cards…

Who are Newcastle going to sign?

According to Turkish-Football, United have been in negotiations with Galatasaray forward Nicolo Zaniolo's agents all summer and are considering meeting the player's £30m release clause.

Read the latest Newcastle transfer news HERE…

However, transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Newcastle's Premier League rivals Aston Villa have registered a concrete interest following a recent ACL injury to Emi Buendia.

How good is Nicolo Zaniolo?

While Zaniolo has not enjoyed the most seamless career to date, it's easy to see why European outfits such as Newcastle and Villa are eager to add him to the ranks, with the Italian's cutting edge and dynamism blending to create a truly deadly attacking outlet.

Zaniolo suffered a nightmare period in 2020 where he endured two ACL injuries himself, but has since rebounded and has caught the eye of many top outfits looking to add an extra dimension to their frontline ahead of the looming campaign.

Described as a "lethal playmaker" by journalist Zach Lowy, the 13-cap Italy international scored five times in the Turkish Super Lig despite only joining from Roma in February and starting two matches.

This follows on from the previous campaign where he scored eight goals and supplied nine assists for Jose Mourinho's Serie A outfit, netting the winning goal in the Europa Conference League final against Feyenoord.

Zaniolo also ranks among the top 3% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for total shots taken and the top 14% for touches in the attacking box per 90, as per FBref, illustrating his prowess at finding dangerous openings to sink the opposition with regularity.

Barnes is listed as a comparable player to the £76k-per-week gem, and Howe might actually be wise to make a move for a similar profile and provide healthy competition for his thriving squad.

Indeed, Barnes enjoyed an impressive campaign on an individual level despite the Foxes' relegation to the second tier, having scored 13 goals from 34 Premier League matches and earned praise for his presence as a "livewire" by pundit Alan Hutton.

As such, Barnes now ranks among the top 7% of positional peers for goals per 90, and while his clinical ability will bolster Newcastle's attacking impetus, given that the club will be looking to compete across four competitions this year, spreading the workload could be imperative.

Once dubbed a “frightening talent” by journalist Ben Jacobs, Zaniolo could shoulder the burden considerably, offering a different slant but maintaining Barnes' goalscoring knack, and both players could consequently thrive and take the next step in their development.

The excessive media coverage that followed his reporting of an allegedly corrupt approach frightened the Pakistan captain

Umar Farooq25-Oct-2017Sarfraz Ahmed was relieved and scared in the aftermath of being the target of an allegedly corrupt approach.The Pakistan captain reported the approach last week and though the PCB did confirm a player was approached with a fixing offer, it refrained officially from revealing the identity of the player at the time. It had passed on the information to ICC, internally allowing the global body to take over the matter.Speaking about the approach for the first time on Wednesday, ahead of Pakistan’s first T20I against Sri Lanka, Sarfraz said though he found himself relieved after reporting the incident, he was also “scared” watching himself excessively discussed on television.When the news first broke last Saturday, as expected, it was widely covered by the Pakistan media. Sarfraz was lauded for his swift response, but, given Pakistan’s history with fixing incidents, it understandably jangled some nerves.”Whatever happened, it is done and I did what I was supposed to do,” Sarfraz said in Abu Dhabi. “But I wasn’t frightened after informing; in fact, I was more scared watching myself on TV. I was discussed on TV so much that at some stage I started to feel fear. But by the grace of Allah, everything is getting normal. When you are going into a series you need to be normal and everything is going good so far.”Earlier this year, the second edition of the PSL, in the UAE, was disrupted by a spot-fixing scandal. A number of Pakistan players were the target of corrupt approaches there and have since been punished by the PCB – a few for failing to report approaches and two players – Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif – for more serious breaches of the PCB’s anti-corruption code.”To be honest the player reacted unbelievably well, he did everything required of him and we had a chat straight afterwards,” coach Mickey Arthur said on Monday after the incident.”It was handled brilliantly and I think that is a real example to our team and to the cricket world that a really important player was approached and acted to the letter of the law and did exceptionally well as a true ambassador of the game. I am very comfortable with our players they are outstanding and I have no doubt that if anyone is approached they will do the same way as the individual did.”Pakistan’s tour of the UAE has come down to the final leg, with the first match of the three T20Is against Sri Lanka on Thursday at the Sheikh Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi. A new-look Sri Lanka T20 squad was announced after several players, including regular limited-overs captain Upul Tharanga, had refused to travel to Pakistan to play the last match at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore. Despite clean sweeping the opponents in the ODI series, Sarfraz did not wish to take the young Sri Lankan side for granted.”They have a new team but I know them as I have played against them when they were with A team,” Sarfraz said. “I know Mahela Udawatte, [Danushka] Gunathilaka, [Isuru] Udana and T20 is a different form of the game and whoever plays better on the day will win. It will be an interesting series and fans will be able to see good cricket.”We naturally are very happy because we will be playing at home and if we can go on to lift the trophy in front of home fans, then nothing like it.”

And while admitting that the SL batsmen let themselves down, Nic Pothas defended the shot selections that dismissed both Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur24-Nov-2017India are playing a Test series at the moment, but they have admitted, in almost as many words, that they are using it as a warm-up exercise for their upcoming tour of South Africa. They have rested players keeping that tour in mind, and have tried to simulate South African conditions instead of giving themselves the home advantage.Their opponents, Sri Lanka, have reason to feel miffed at this, but Nic Pothas, their interim coach, has maintained that he sees nothing wrong with what India are doing. He reiterated this on Friday after his side were bowled out for 205 in Nagpur.”Not at all,” Pothas said, when asked if he felt India were undermining Sri Lanka. “That’s a professional environment. They are planning. They are looking forward to another series that is coming up. They have every right in their country to prepare the wickets they want. That’s what every side does.”From our point of view, we are only concentrating on ourselves and playing our best cricket. The Indian team is doing exactly that, preparing for a series. That’s their prerogative and that’s their right. I have no problem with that.”The pitch in Nagpur had an even covering of grass, but it did not offer the fast bowlers anywhere near as much assistance as the one prepared in Kolkata for the first Test. Seven of Sri Lanka’s wickets, instead, fell to the spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Pothas said the pitch hadn’t helped the spinners to any great extent, and lamented that a number of his batsmen had fallen to the ball that didn’t turn.”The wicket has got no demons,” he said. “It hasn’t spun, it hasn’t seamed. There were six straight-ball dismissals. International level, no surprise. Ashwin and Jadeja got wickets bowling stump-to-stump. At this level, you can’t be missing straight balls.”Ashwin and Jadeja took 30 wickets between them on India’s tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year. Pothas said the pitches there had given them a lot more help than the one in Nagpur did.”In the last series, the wickets spun,” he said. “You are talking of the two top spinners of the world. It was a different kettle of fish. Here the wicket has not done anything. All that it has done is to skid on a bit. The first day of a Test match, what you have done on a wicket that has not done much is losing seven wickets to spin. It is a disappointed changing room and the guys have set themselves high standards. They are going to be disappointed. In any process you are going to have those disappointments.”Dinesh Chandimal made a dogged fifty•BCCIA couple of the dismissals were to aggressive shots. Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s captain, was out reverse-sweeping a ball that pitched within the stumps.”The captain made a decision at that time, we empower the batsmen to make decisions in the middle,” Pothas said. “He obviously felt that that was the way to score runs at that point – didn’t come off. I probably say that maybe the timing of that shot was, perhaps, not his best. He is playing well and he is confident and we back our batsmen to be positive. You can’t be there forever and block it.”Niroshan Dickwella charged Jadeja and fell while hitting over the top despite not reaching the pitch of the ball. That wicket began a Sri Lankan slide from 160 for 4 to 205 all out. Pothas refused to blame Dickwella for the collapse.”In hindsight, that’s what the numbers tell you,” he said. “We let ourselves down from that point onwards. You can’t say that Niroshan Dickwella gets out and the rest can get out. Dick is a positive batter and that’s a shot he plays well. I don’t want to stop him being himself.”I want people to bat the way they bat and he is kind of player who transfers pressure back onto the bowlers. Certainly not going to say that because Dick got out, others got out.”

Liverpool are entering the final phase of the summer transfer window and while the primary focus is on signing a defensive midfielder following failure in the race to sign Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, with both moving to Premier League rivals Chelsea, a defender would also be welcomed at Anfield.

Who are Liverpool going to sign?

According to reports in Germany – via Sport Witness – Bayern Munich's versatile defender Benjamin Pavard might have struggled during the club's German Super Cup defeat to RB Leipzig because of Jurgen Klopp's interest, with Manchester United also pushing for his signature.

The Red Devils are believed to have placed an official bid several days ago, swiftly rejected by the Bundesliga champions, with separate reports this summer claiming the club are holding out for €30m (£26m).

Read the latest Liverpool transfer news HERE…

While Manchester United appear to be favourites, Sport BILD claim that Liverpool are indeed firmly in the race, having done due diligence on a possible move right at the start of the window.

How good is Benjamin Pavard?

While Erik ten Hag's side might be in the driving seat for a transfer, Klopp and co will know all about hijacking the transfer of a rival following Chelsea and Todd Boehly's ruthless double swoop for the aforementioned Caicedo and Lavia.

This time, the Reds will hope to turn the tables and leave an opponent rueing their lack of ruthlessness, with the Merseyside outfit's £111m bid for Caicedo evidence that the owners are willing to spend big to turn the tide.

Pavard has been impressive since signing for Bayern from Stuttgart for around €35m (£30m) in 2019, making 163 appearances, clinching 12 goals and assists apiece, and notably winning the Champions League and four Bundesliga titles.

The 27-year-old Frenchman, who can play both centrally and at right-back, ranks among the top 15% of positional peers for pass completion, the top 5% for shot-creating actions, the top 1% for progressive passes, the top 9% for progressive carries and the top 7% for tackles per 90, as per FBref.

Pavard could prove to be the perfect man to get the best out of Reds captain Virgil van Dijk, with the 49-cap international's ball-playing skills and robustness in his defensive work creating a truly fluid partnership.

Van Dijk, who has forged 223 displays for Liverpool since signing from Southampton for £75m in December 2017 and finished runner-up in the 2019 Ballon d'Or, could find that his own passing prowess, combined with Pavard's would restore the cohesion in the side and allow the team, collectively, to exert their authority and control in games in a far greater manner than last term.

The Dutchman ranks among the top 6% for passes attempted per 90 and the top 11% for pass completion, while also aerially dominant, ranking among the top 9% for aerial wins per 90.

There might be a preference to sign a left-sided centre-half at Anfield, but time is running out and there is a chance that assessed options in this regard will prove fruitless, as sporting director Jorg Schmadkte attempts to ensure Liverpool start the season confidently.

With that being said, it could prove to be a masterful signing to secure Pavard's signature and bolster the backline with a distinguished and versatile ace, capable of enhancing the passing play from the defensive third and offering protection across multiple positions to set Liverpool on their way and toward prominence once again.

Fans wishing to listen to commercial-free, ball-by-ball radio coverage of the Ashes series at the venue will need to bring their own radios after Cricket Australia froze out the ABC and the BBC

Daniel Brettig at Adelaide02-Dec-2017Fans wishing to listen to commercial-free, ball-by-ball radio coverage of the Ashes series at the venue will need to bring their own radios after Cricket Australia froze out the ABC and the BBC from the three-channel earpieces sold and distributed at each ground.The commercial networks Channel Nine, BT Sport and Triple M are the networks included on the earpieces, which have been part of the at-ground experience in Ashes Tests since 2010-11. In recent summers the earpieces have generally been tuned to take coverage from Nine, the ABC and Fairfax radio.The choice of broadcasters, omitting the two leading radio providers with long histories of covering the game in Australia and England, raised numerous eyebrows during the first Test of the series in Brisbane.It was initially thought that CA may rotate the networks used on the earpieces on a match-by-match basis this series, in part to acknowledge the bigger-than-usual array of coverage options available for the Ashes and its wider-than-ever attendant following.However ESPNcricinfo has learned that Nine, BT and Triple M will retain their places on the device throughout all the remaining Tests in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, with the only likelihood of change to be for the limited-overs matches that follow the Ashes.”We have five broadcasters and three channels,” a CA spokesman said. “The Nine Network is allocated one because it engages with the largest audience (8 million Australians watched the Brisbane broadcast), and BT provides English fans at the match with the English commentary.”This year we are rotating the third slot to be fair to our radio broadcasters: the ABC and Macquarie have each had a channel for a number of years, when we had just the one TV broadcast, and this year it is Triple M’s turn.”In its strategy document released earlier this year, CA stated that its goal for followers of the game is that: “We will give fans what they want and grow the Big Bash.”This summer is the last of the existing domestic broadcast rights deals with Nine for international cricket and the Ten Network for the BBL and WBBL, which were signed in 2013 and worth A$590 million over five years. Formal negotiations are expected to begin in the new year, following Ten’s successful acquisition by the American broadcasting giant CBS.

French side OGC Nice are hoping Chelsea make a move for goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel as a report from Europe shares some interesting news.

Who will Chelsea sign?

Mauricio Pochettino's side have been busy yet again this transfer window, having most recently beaten Liverpool to the signings of midfielders Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.

These transfer victories display the pull Chelsea very much still possess in the transfer market, even despite a disastrous 2022/2023 campaign, with the duo joining a plethora of other signings at Stamford Bridge.

Indeed, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Robert Sanchez, Angelo and young Brazilian ace Deivid Washington have also put pen to paper this window.

The aforementioned will come in to replace Kalidou Koulibaly, N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Cesar Azpilicueta, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ethan Ampadu – who have all sealed moves elsewhere.

Chelsea's expenditure totals a seismic £267 million this window, with attention now turning to Pochettino and whether the Argentine can start making a success of owner Todd Boehly's reign.

Read the latest Chelsea transfer news HERE…

Despite this series of investments, the Blues could yet make more signings.

Schmeichel, who was a mainstay for Nice last term following his 2022 exit from Leicester City, could apparently come in to bolster their goalkeeping options.

Mendy's move to Saudi Arabia and Arrizabalaga's temporary transfer to Real Madrid could mean that Chelsea need a proven back up to summer signing Sanchez from Brighton.

The Denmark international icon is apparently despite to leave Nice before deadline day, as explained by French news outlet Nice-Matin (via Sport Witness).

It is believed that Nice want Chelsea, or any other interested side for that matter, to make a move for Schmeichel who has now been demoted in their goalkeeping ranks.

The 36-year-old is so eager to leave the club, that he is "less demanding" in regard to his potential destination, meaning that Chelsea wouldn't face any problem in convincing the player to join.

How good is Kasper Schmeichel?

Schmeichel started 36 Ligue 1 games for Nice last term as their mainstay and number one goalkeeper, but these reports out of France indicate his future lies elsewhere.

The veteran 6 foot 2 keeper has vast Premier League experience, particularly at Leicester City, where he won the title, FA Cup and Community Shield during his time there.

Former Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers, heaping praise on Schmeichel for his importance at the King Power Stadium, claimed the keeper's mentality is "very strong".

"His devotion and mentality has really seen him excel at the highest level," said Rodgers on Schmeichel in 2021.

"He doesn't get tired every day of doing the right things and I can't speak highly enough of him

"His spirit is very strong and he wants to win. He's very, very competitive. He wants to win every game in training and he takes that into matches."

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is now looking to bring in several reinforcements before the transfer window closes, according to latest reports.

What's the latest news involving Celtic?

The Hoops are in the midst of an injury crisis in central defense and may need to enter the market to add another body to their rearguard following injuries to Maik Nawrocki, Stephen Welsh and Cameron Carter-Vickers, who will all be out for up to two months with various concerns, as per BBC Sport.

Cited by the outlet, Celtic boss Rodgers has confirmed that he may enter the market to bring another centre-back into the fold at Parkhead, stating: "It's an area we're light in. We have to look at it, no doubt. Obviously [it's] disappointing for us. Stephen Welsh had an operation just the other day so he's come through that well. The other two, we hoped they'd be back sooner."

Speaking to The Herald, Rodgers has also confirmed that Canada international right-back Alistair Johnston is now available to play after escaping the shackles of an injury complaint, saying: “He will be available for the squad Ally, he’s looked good over the last 11 or 12 days. We didn’t involve him on the Astro [at Kilmarnock], but he’s had another good week this week so he will be available, which is really good news for us."

Greek journalist Giannis Chorianopoulos has indicated that Aris Thessaloniki winger Luis Palma will miss his side's clash on Sunday against Lamia amid speculation surrounding his future at the club. Celtic are favourites to land the Honduras international and he also has two offers on the table from outside of Europe.

Celtic winger Sead Haksabanovic has grown frustrated by his lack of involvement at the club and may seek an exit between now and the transfer deadline, with clubs around Europe believed to be willing to offer him a Parkhead escape route, as per Football Insider.

Who else could Celtic sign?

According to a separate report from Football Insider, Celtic want to wrap up a whopping five more signings in an end of window 'blizzard' of incomings at Parkhead.

Bringing in a goalkeeper, left-back, central defender and striker are believed to be areas of priority for Celtic as they seek to bolster the ranks to help maintain their Scottish Premiership crown.

Cited by The Daily Record, Celtic boss Rodgers issued a plea for signings following the Hoops' 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock in the Viaplay Cup last weekend, stating in an interview: "You can see we need that quality and we have had quality go out the building. So we definitely need that quality in but we will work very hard to get the players in that can improve us and make us better and that is something we will do over the period of time now between now and the close of the window."

Given the injury list at Parkhead, the Hoops look to have no intention of letting their star players go this window and have rejected a bid for Denmark Under-21 international Matt O'Riley from Serie A outfit Bologna, according to The Scottish Sun.

Looking ahead, Celtic fans will be expecting an exciting end to the transfer window and plenty of incomings could be afoot in the east end of Glasgow.