All posts by h79snht.top

Premier League rivals Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are not currently in negotiations over a summer transfer deal for Toby Alderweireld, according to Football.London. 

What’s the story, then?

The report claims that the top six rivals were in talks last month over a deal for the Belgian, but negotiations have stopped and are not currently taking place.

They go on to say that Spurs have offered the central defender £130,000 per week but he is demanding £180,000, which is well within United’s realm.

That may be a worry for United fans, who know their club need defensive reinforcements in order to close the gap to their bitter rivals Manchester City.

Could Alderweireld remain at Spurs?

The situation over Alderweireld’s contract would suggest that it would be tough to reintegrate the Belgian back into Mauricio Pochettino’s plans next season; he appears to have made his bed and will have to lie in it.

That makes it slightly perplexing that both sides are not pressing on with the deal, which looks there to be done – United need a centre-half and Davinson Sanchez has ably taken Alderweireld’s spot in the Spurs team.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Alderweireld is going off to the World Cup as well, before which time it would be wise for United to have their transfer business done, so the stalling is perhaps a concern.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]

Aberdeen fans are excited to see Stephen Gleeson play for the club next season after the club confirmed his signature earlier this week.

The former Ipswich Town midfielder joins on a two-year deal, having amassed plenty of playing experience in the lower leagues of English football.

Gleeson has spent the last four seasons playing regularly in the English Championship, so provides Aberdeen with the kind of quality they need to compete at the upper end of the Scottish Premiership once again next term.

Having won international caps with the Republic of Ireland too, he’s certainly a solid acquisition and Dons fans are looking forward to seeing him in the middle of the park alongside compatriot Chris Forrester, who also joined Aberdeen recently.

With Rangers strengthening under Steven Gerrard and Celtic pushing on with record transfers, it’s going to be more difficult than ever for the Dons to try and keep pace with the Glasgow duo next season.

Can Gleeson help them find consistency in the top-flight and push for the domestic trophies?

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his signing…

[ad_pod ]

Manchester United enter the new Premier League season hoping to not only close the gap on last term’s champions Manchester City but go one step further and beat them to the English crown.

Jose Mourinho’s side finished 19 points off the top during 2017/18, so there’s certainly room for improvement and Manchester United fans will expect it – for the second campaign in a row, the Portuguese’s negative tactics against certain opposition created division amongst the supporters and only highlighted the differences between the Red Devils and their noisy neighbours.

Already encouraged by the arrival of Fred, however, a hardworking midfielder who should give Paul Pogba the platform to truly thrive in the engine room, there’s already optimism for the campaign ahead. And now United fans can get a much clearer picture of how the season could pan out, following confirmation of their first six Premier League fixtures…

11th August – Leicester City (H)

18th August – Brighton (A)

25th August – Tottenham (H)

1st September – Burnley (A)

15th September – Watford (A)

22nd September – Wolves (H)

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255883″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Man United’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]

Verdict

Manchester United fans can’t have too many complaints about their start to the season, with only Spurs standing out in the first run of games. As the saying goes though, there are never any easy games in the Premier League, so Mourinho’s men will have to be wary of complacency against Wolves and Brighton in particular, as these are fixtures which have traditionally caught out United.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

The fixture list appears quite kind to Manchester United over the course of the season too, with few games against the so-called top six coming in clusters. Their end of season run-in will also be a relief to Mourinho, with only Chelsea posing a real threat in their final six games.

Fans will of course look to key matches against Manchester City on 10th November and 16th March which could well end up deciding where the title heads next season.

As reported by The Scottish Sun, Rangers could miss out on summer transfer target Harry Wilson after Norwich City opened talks with Liverpool about a potential move to Carrow Road.

What’s the story?

Steven Gerrard has already made a large amount of first team signings ahead of an important season for the Ibrox side, including utilising Liverpool links to land Ovie Ejaria on loan and the free transfer of defender Jon Flanagan.

The Anfield legend is however now facing an uphill battle to land one of his summer transfer targets.

The Scottish Sun say that Harry Wilson was on Gerrard’s list of potential arrivals at Ibrox this summer, but Championship side Norwich City have now moved ahead of the Scottish giants in the race to sign him.

The paper reckon that the Canaries have opened talks with Liverpool about a possible switch, looking to replace James Maddison who left the club recently for Leicester City.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”258359″ player=”12034″ title=”The World Cup Twitter Report”]

Is it important Rangers sign him?

Harry Wilson demonstrated on loan last season that he has significant talent, shining for Hull City in the English Championship.

Signing for the Tigers in January, he scored seven goals and assists four more in 13 appearances, providing the kind of attacking contribution that would be a massive hit at Ibrox next season.

With the ability to play on either wing, he has the skill and versatility to play a massive role in Gerrard’s first season at the club and they should be making a renewed attempt to sign him this summer, despite Norwich’s interest.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Do you think Rangers need to sign Harry Wilson ahead of next season?

Have your say in our poll below…

As reported by The Scottish Sun, Rangers are interested in signing Malian international midfielder Lassana Coulibaly this summer.

What’s the story?

The Light Blues have already made seven first-team signings this summer following the appointment of Steven Gerrard, but the expectation is that they are far from adjusting their squad ahead of next season.

One player on their radar is Angers midfielder Lassana Coulibaly, according to The Scottish Sun.

They say that he is a loan target of Gerrard’s, although the player would require a work permit, which could complicate his arrival.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”259344″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch JeanClaude Billong quickfire questions”]

Who is he?

Still just 22 years of age, Coulibaly arrived at Angers last summer from fellow Ligue 1 side Bastia, but has failed to win a regular starting place in their midfield, starting just eight league matches last term.

The £1.1m-rated man has however made 64 career appearances in the French top-flight, demonstrating he likely has enough quality to his game to make an impression in the Scottish Premiership, which is a poorer standard of league.

A deep lying midfielder, he can provide competition for the likes of Graham Dorrans and Ryan Jack next term, giving Gerrard plenty of options and depth in the position next term.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Do you think Rangers should sign Coulibaly?

You can have your say in our poll below…

With the transfer window closing on Tuesday, Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal has a massive problem that could ruin his side’s hopes of a top four finish.

The Red Devils are really struggling in front of goal and certainly need to add a new striker to their ranks if their to successful secure a top four finish this season.

So far this term United have only scored once (own goals not included) in their first three Premier League games, despite favourable ties against Spurs, Aston Villa and Newcastle.

Wayne Rooney, the side’s, main striker didn’t even manage to register a single shot at goal in his first two appearances.

[ffc-gal cat=”manchester-united” no=”5″]

Van Gaal continues to deny the need for investment in his strike force, but with just an out of form Rooney, youngster James Wilson and an inconsistent Javier Hernandez as the available forwards, fans and ex-players alike have been leading the cries for one final big name addition.

Massive names like Neymar, Thomas Muller and Gareth Bale have all been linked with a move to Old Trafford by a variety of media outlets, with fees between £50m and £150m being thrown around.

However, there is a much more suitable alternative that would definitely solve the Red Devils’ striker crisis and would only cost the fraction of the price of a marquee player.

That man is Charlie Austin, who has been made available by current club Queens Park Rangers for around £15million.

Austin has seen himself linked with nearly all of the sides in the Premier League this summer, but surprisingly nobody has followed up that interest and made their move.

There is no doubting his ability, but unfortunately he is not the fashionable name that the big sides want. If he was a Brazilian called Carlos Austinio, then the elite sides would be queuing up to make £30million bids.

The striker scored 18 goals in the Premier League last season, which is a wonderful record for any striker, let alone one from a side that was relegated in the same season.

Austin can be a real nightmare for defenders. He is a fox-in-the-box, always on the move looking to get himself into a position to receive the ball and carve out a goalscoring opportunity. He deserves a chance to play at one of the top sides in the Premier League.

It is plain to see Rooney can no play as a lone striker. The England captain loves to come deep to gather the ball and create an attacking opportunity from alongside the midfield.

The main problem this has caused is when he picks up the ball in these areas, there is just a big space where the striker would be. In the past there has always been an out-and-out striker to aim for, such as Robin Van Persie, Ruud Van Nistelrooy or Carlos Tevez.

Him and Austin could develop a wonderful relationship, with both players’ style of play complimenting the other. The partnership could work wonders for both club and country.

Austin would thrive off the kind of service United can provide. In his QPR days he was surrounded by a limited amount of ability, just imagine the possibilities with Rooney, Juan Mata, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Memphis Depay creating chances for him.

Van Gaal has been under pressure for several failures in the transfer market, in particular Angel Di Maria, who the Dutchman spent £65million on, only to settle for a £20million loss on the winger just a season after.

The relatively low fee for a home grown talent, and proven top flight goalscorer, would improve perception on his transfer dealings and ease the pressure surrounding United’s attack.

If Man United haven’t considered the 26-year-old as the answer to their problems, they really need to change something before another side beats them to the target again, just like the Pedro situation.

//embed.scribblelive.com/Embed/v7.aspx?Id=1397743&ThemeId=22054

The Spurs garden is pretty rosy right now. Only Arsenal are in better form in the Premier League over the course of the last six games, while a last gasp Europa League victory against Anderlecht on Thursday has effectively booked the club’s passage into the last 32. It all looks good for Mauricio Pochettino, it seems.

But there is one elephant in the room, the striking situation. Harry Kane has rediscovered his goalscoring form of late, but beyond the Englishman the London club have little in the way of centre-forward options.

Clinton N’Jie and Son Heung-min can be used in the role, but neither player possesses the physicality to lead the line alone, so suddenly the exits of Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor look a little short-sighted… even though they were both useless!

Luckily for Pochettino the January transfer window is opening soon, and the mid-season madness offers the chance to get a player in on loan to solve the issues short-term ahead of the more fruitful summer option. With that in mind, here are FIVE potential temporary deals for Spurs to consider…

Alvaro Negredo

https://vine.co/v/eIHmi1P0T19/embed/simple

Reports are already claiming that the 2013/14 Premier League champion is on Spurs’ radar, and the ex-Manchester City man appears to be a wise potential addition at White Hart Lane. 23 goals in 33 games by the end of January in his one season at the Etihad Stadium was mightily impressive, and even though his form tailed off he’s shown that he has what it takes to find the net in English football.

At 30, ‘The Beast’ boasts experience and, as his nickname suggests, he’s suited to the hustle and bustle of Premier League football.

Alexandre Pato

https://vine.co/v/eXpZOZLzOKE/embed/simpleA high risk, high reward potential addition, Pato on loan seems to be the safest bet from Spurs point of view. The Brazilian has spent his recent career shipped out to Sao Paulo from Corinthians, and even though his parent club have talked up an £18.6m sale amid interest from Spurs, it’s unlikely that they’ll be fighting off suitors at that price given his horrendous injury record. A loan deal appears to make sense for all parties as Tottenham could ‘try before they buy’ and Corinthians may get a better fee for their 26-year-old if he impresses in a European ‘shop window’.

Sebastian Giovinco

https://vine.co/v/eEQzbEBpivm/embed/simple

Major League Soccer is often associated with 30+-year-olds seeking one last bumper pay-day, but Giovinco, at 28, is in North America in his absolute prime. After struggling for game time at Juventus, ‘The Atomic Ant’ – a nickname given due to his slight 5ft. 4” frame but impressive strength – the Italy international joined Toronto FC earlier this year and is currently MLS’s joint top scorer with a stunning 22 goals. His side’s play-off loss at the hands of fellow Canadians Montreal Impact means that Giovinco’s 2015 toils are now over, and with the mid-season break in action a loan deal through January and into February could work out well for him.

The pint-sized attacker needs to maintain form and fitness with EURO 2016 on his agenda, and as he’s in his physical prime, Toronto need not worry too much about burnout.

Simone Zaza

Linked with a bizarre loan move to West Ham just months after signing for Juventus over the summer, Zaza’s situation in Turin remains unclear even now. Despite his fine form for Sassuolo and Italy, the 24-year-old has been used minimally by a struggling Old Lady side in Serie A action, and with the likes of Mario Mandzukic, Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala ahead of him, things don’t look great for the 6ft. 1” striker.

Game time with EURO 2016 looming is sure to be on Zaza’s agenda as he looks to win a spot in the Azzurri set-up, and Spurs could use his physical, yet technically adept, approach for a few months to keep their top four push on track.

Steffan Kiessling

Linked with Liverpool of late, the towering German is understood to be reviewing his future and could demand a move away from Bayer Leverkusen in January. The 31-year-old’s game time has been hit by the arrival of Javier Hernandez at the BayArena, and even his own proven record through the years in the Bundesliga is seemingly not enough to keep him in the frame.

His pace may be some way short of alternatives, but against a crowded defence Kiessling is a useful tool and could provide good cover for Kane.

Few Premier League clubs acquitted themselves in the summer transfer market in a better fashion than West Ham.

The likes of Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini have already justified the efforts the Hammers went to to lure them in, with their performances having been key in the club’s stunning form, which leaves them in fourth spot, ahead of the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs, and in the driving seat, for now, for the sought-after fourth Champions League qualification spot.

The majority of Irons supporters are not getting carried away just yet, but the longer Slaven Bilic can eek out the level of performance he currently is from his players, the more and more likely going a step further than last season – where a top four push seemed on until the winter period – becomes.

January offers a welcome re-fuelling stop for West Ham, with the chance to get in some fresh bodies and take advantage of the club’s position as being, arguably, more attractive then it’s ever been to potential signings to boost their hopes.

With that in mind, here are FIVE rumours that we feel are entirely realistic heading into 2016…

Keisuke Honda

Not so long ago a move for a player of Honda’s calibre would have been a pipedream at Upton Park, but the increased TV money in English football, the club’s on-field fortunes and a looming move to the Olympic Stadium make the Hammers an attractive proposition, and with suggestions that the Japan international is available for around £5m with his role at AC Milan in doubt, who knows what’s possible in January?

With 77-caps at international level and Champions League experience, the 29-year-old playmaker – who also has a reputation as being a set-piece demon – could be just the sort of mid-season injection of quality needed at West Ham to maintain their top four push, which was sorely lacking in 2014/15 as the Irons slipped away under Sam Allardyce.

Andrea Ranocchia

Standing at 6ft. 5”, Ranocchia appears ideally suited to the demands of the Premier League, and luckily for West Ham he’s grown discontented at Inter Milan. The Italy international was the Nerazzurri’s captain until manager Roberto Mancini stripped him of the armband earlier this year, and since then the former Manchester City tactician has bombed him out of the first-team.

Although this doesn’t bode well for a potential West Ham move, Ranocchia is a seasoned professional who could compete with the likes of Winston Reid, Angelo Ogbonna and James Collins for a starting berth.

Simone Zaza

Linked with a summer move from Juventus to West Ham despite having only signed for the Old Lady a matter months earlier, Zaza could be available come January. Despite being one of the Turin giants’ arrivals following the exit of Carlos Tevez, the 24-year-old has been used sparingly in Serie A action, with only 278 minutes of action under his belt so far this term.

With EURO 2016 looming large the six-time Azzurri forward will be aware that he needs game time to stay in the hunt for the trip to France, which he’s more likely to achieve in east London than northern Italy.

Oguzhan Ozyakup

A player Bilic coached at Besiktas and recently talked about in the same breath as Mesut Ozil, Ozyakup is a genuine talent. A wiry playmaker, the 23-year-old has been impressing in his homeland since leaving the Arsenal youth system in 2012, and he performances for the Istanbul giants have been enough to earn him 12 caps at international level.

Bilic, of course, knows him well from their time working together, which could be a factor in winning the battle for his services.

Alexandre Pato

https://vine.co/v/eYBaDiOPrqi/embed/simple

Even though any move for the Brazilian would be a HUGE gamble, West Ham are understood to be ‘favourites’ for his signature as interest from Europe heats up. Pato was considered to be one of the very best emerging strikers on the planet during the mid to late 2000s, but a series of injuries derailed his career, forcing him to leave AC Milan and head back to his homeland.

Corinthians gambled on him, and when things didn’t work out they shipped the now 26-year-old to Sao Paulo, where he has shone. But despite this they’re looking to cash in with an ambitious fee of £18.6m having been put out in the open, but realistically a player with his fitness record will surely go for closer to 50% of that sum.

High risk, high reward, Pato could add that star quality the Hammers may need to stay in the top four race.

I’ve been asked to have a look at the FootballFanCast Fantasy Football team and make some ‘educated suggestions’ regarding potential improvements… so, erm, yeah… no pressure there then!There are though, in all honesty, several things that I guess immediately jump out at me when looking at how the team performed in Gameweek 13, with the most glaringly obvious being the captain selection of Petr Cech.Now I have been assured the captain choice was made as the result of an online poll. With this in mind I have come up with five immediate reasons why Arsenal fans should be banned from all future online polls where this specific FPL team is concerned.

Harry Kane Jamie Vardy Riyad Mahrez Roberto Firmino Odion Ighalo

Now yes, there is a tongue in cheek, sarcastic as hell undertone here but essentially – when it comes down to it, offensive players offer greater scoring potential. Rocket Science 101, folks.

With Kane rediscovering his 2014/15 form in recent weeks, Mahrez making an absolute mockery of the £400,000 fee Leicester paid for him in January 2014, Vardy making a late run for Ballon d’Or, Ighalo showing a level of consistency Wayne Rooney can only dream of and Firmino now looking like an actual attacking threat under Klopp, I am of the distinct impression that there were better captaincy options than Petr Cech for the previous gameweek.

Onwards and upwards though. A score of 69 is more than acceptable when you consider an overall gameweek average score of 55. To put this into better perspective the average score from the top 10,000 players came in at 62 points, so I would take this score and run with it. Reason being that despite the reality Cech (sorry!) of a terrible captain decision this team also has something quite unforgivable at this point in the season… an Aston Villa defender. Whether Remi Garde is the man to re-float Villa’s boat is yet to be seen, but for the time being there are better defensive options out there.

I guess the coming weeks will all be geared towards the second coming of our Fantasy Football saviour: Sergio Aguero (It may actually be the third or fourth, I’m losing track of his injuries now). With this in mind we need to focus our attention on three key, core, fundamental questions in relation to this specific team and the delightful Mr. Aguero.

Who makes way up front for him? How the hell are we going to afford him? Should we sort out the defensive shambles of this team first?

In answer to the first question – the controversial thought process floating around this week has been the taboo topic of DROPPING JAMIE VARDY… I know, I know crazy right?! After 10 in a row surely we can’t be considering letting him go… Well actually yes, I’m considering it. @JohnOC1991 has already pulled the trigger and made the swap for his team – you can read about that here.

“Potentially, I have seen ahead of the curve, ditched an over-performing striker scoring at an unsustainable rate ahead of a much tougher run of fixtures, and brought in the best striker in the league before others have had the chance. Potentially. I have also potentially ditched the league’s in form striker, who comes at a bargain price, for an injury prone, unfit 13m player, and to get Vardy back, I would need to pay 7.4m+ having sold at 6.7m. If you want to challenge in the upper echelons of FPL, you have to take a gamble now and again.†Via FantasyYIRMA.com.

Vardy’s next five fixtures look like being where the run could stop and the world will return from being flat, grass will be once again green and sky blue. Think of it like the inevitable sugar rush come-down after eating a family size pack of Revels in a single sitting. Anyway I digress – the upcoming fixtures speak volumes and realistically should provide a real test for which direction Leicester City’s fantastic start to the season will move on from. Man United (H) Swansea (A) Chelsea (H) Everton (A) Liverpool (A).Â

In terms of the 2nd Question, How can we afford Aguero? I think that there are several areas of the team where we can make savings. Cech to someone like Jack Butland frees up a cool £million straight away. Defenders don’t like Kompany at set pieces and with that terrible, terrible pun Vincent could also see the chop to free up funds for the Argentine front man. Tottenham’s Eric Dier is a popular choice at this time and with good reason. The man is a defender playing in midfield… that’s Fantasy Football Out of Position (OOP) GOLD. Now don’t get me wrong it’s not half as good as the old days when Gareth Bale was listed as a defender but all OOP’s are worth consideration in my opinion.

The real savings however are in the midfield. Eden Hazard is undoubtedly one of the best players in the Premier League – however, for whatever reason he has decided to play hide and seek with his form so far this season. I am 100% positive Hazard will have a big week and come back into some sort of form as Chelsea inevitably regain momentum, but at this point in time he is much too expensive to command a place in this team and again in the interests of my key objective – Eden, you my friend would be first out the door.

Three options for consideration coming from different price brackets present themselves as potential replacements – Mesut Ozil (£9.1m), Ross Barkley (£6.9m) or a potential cut price differential of Manuel Lanzini (£5.4m) who in the absence of the unfortunately injured Dimitri Payet has an opportunity to step up for West Ham.

If you are however banking on a Chelsea renaissance, you could even look at a direct swap of Hazard to Willian who looks as if he has been practicing free kicks with a golf ball and a tea cup in recent weeks and would ensure you some Blue coverage in the middle of the park, and let’s face it enough money to buy Aguero and probably a Maserati for the Mrs also. As for the third question – what to do with the defence? – it will depend a lot on whether or not Kompany makes a return from injury on time for City and if Louis van Gaal brings back Matteo Darmian into his United backline after leaving him on the bench in GW13.

If they both return, I reckon the FootballFanCast team can ride this storm out for another week. With that in mind and my recommended word count obliterated, vote below for a £6.4m-rated Hazard replacement so we can get Aguero into the FFC 15… Â

As always you can read our dedicated weekly Gameweek Preview and Review exclusively on FantasyYIRMA.com.

Written by Ryan

For his sins, Founder of FantasyYIRMA.com

FantasyYIRMA.com established in 2012, is a niche Fantasy Football site focused on providing news, views and insight for the English Premier League. Solid gameweek articles and Club features in addition to a top ranked free to play mini-league makes #FY a must read Fantasy source!

Find us on twitter @FantasyYIRMA

It would be quite a shock to see Martin Odegaard make the move to Celtic, but that shouldn’t deter the Scottish champions from making a move for the Real Madrid starlet.

Celtic will want to make a name for themselves in Europe next season and additions will be crucial to make sure that their squad can compete at the highest level, particularly with the low quality of Scottish football at the moment.

Trying to attract a player to play in Scotland is always going to be a bit of a challenge, isn’t it? Dodgy weather, detached from the main European cities and an undoubted drop down in standard from where most expect to be going in their career.

Celtic are, of course, top of the table at the moment, but the insane level of pressure on any manager of the Scottish giants means you can always be a couple of defeats away from losing your job.

Here are FIVE reasons Celtic must try and sign this Real Madrid youngster…

European ambition

Seeing as Celtic are repeatedly conquering Scotland, they must be eyeing up a greater challenge in Europe.

First of all, quality depth will be key to the squad if they are to bulk up their fixture list with more games, but they will also need to make sure they have the quality to compete at the very highest level, like Odegaard.

Profile raiser

If there is any club to bring players in from, it has to be Real Madrid.

A signing of a player who half of Europe fought over would show that Celtic really mean business heading into 2016 and a signing of his calibre could be a stepping stone to bring in other big name players.

Creative class

When facing a lot of Scottish sides who want to sit deep against a huge side like Celtic, having players who can break down a deep defence is absolutely crucial.

Odegaard has the dribbling ability to make an opportunity out of nothing and the free spirit of a young player who will try the extraordinary to create a chance.

Fresh legs..

Every club is beginning to tire by this stage of the season and the Celtic players will be no different.

The injection of fresh legs is always helpful, but a player of Odegaard’s age will be particularly fresh as we go into the second half of the campaign.

Glass ceiling

Odegaard, despite a quiet few months, still has an extraordinary potential and could carry Celtic up to the next level.

Bale may one day be playing alongside the starlet and Celtic would do brilliantly if they could get the youngster to play for them, even on a temporary basis.

Odegaard, if he could be signed permanently, would be a massive signing for the club and a player to build around for years.