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Football Insider pundit Alan Hutton has urged Celtic to make a renewed move for defender Mario Vuskovic.

The Lowdown: Vuskovic to Celtic so far…

Reports last month linked the Hadjuk Split defender with a move to Parkhead, with Celtic willing to pay £5m for the teenager. The Hoops were willing to hand the centre-back a contract worth £12,000 per week and seemed to be closing in on Vuskovic.

However, rumours have gone quiet recently, and agent Craig Moore believes that Celtic have now ‘gone cold’ on signing the defender.

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The Latest: Hutton’s comments

Hutton was talking to Football Insider regarding Vuskovic and seemed to be all for a move, urging the Hoops to make a U-turn on the centre-back after seemingly cooling their interest.

The 36-year-old said:

“I’ve heard from people in the game he’s a very good ball-playing centre-half and he obviously plays for the Croatia Under-21s.

“Yes, he’s only 19 but everybody’s coming through a lot earlier these days. They’re taught a different way, to carry the ball out from the back and make attacks happen. This is the modern-day centre-back.

“They’ve obviously done their homework on him. They’re not just going to sign a 19-year-old for £5million if they don’t trust and believe in what he can bring to the team.

“Getting potentially £12million in for Ajer and spending £5million on a 19-year-old who can learn and develop under the new manager, that’s a good bit of business.”

The Verdict: All hinges on Ajer

Hutton mentions Ajer, and the future of the Norwegian could be crucial when it comes to Celtic possibly bringing Vuskovic to Parkhead.

The Hoops now want £20m for the 23-year-old centre-back, who has just 12 months left on his contract, and they rejected a bid from Brentford which could have been worth £15m.

Should Ajer depart, Celtic could go back in for Vuskovic as well as Carl Starfelt, with the Swedish centre-back another defender with whom the club have halted talks due to Ajer’s situation.

In other news: ‘Where are the brains?’ – Many Celtic fans react to Scott Burns’ transfer update.

Journalist Pete O’Rourke says that he ‘could see’ Celtic bringing in further attacking reinforcements before the window is out.

He was discussing The Hoops’ January transfer business with GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

Celtic have made four signings so far this month, shelling out a total of £2.2m. In addition to midfielders Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi, they’ve recruited Daizen Maeda, who can play as a left winger and through the middle, and centre-forward Johnny Kenny.

It is worth noting, though, that the latter is only 18 years old and is making a step-up from the League of Ireland (ranked 40th in Europe) to the Scottish Premiership (ranked ninth), so he may not be expected to make an impact at first-team level straight away.

The latest

O’Rourke alluded to how Celtic’s plethora of injuries, particularly among their forward players, has perhaps led to summer signing Jota being overburdened, but he believes the club could address that by doing further business in the remaining two weeks of the transfer window.

He told GiveMeSport: “I could see that being the case, that Celtic are looking to strengthen (in attack). Obviously, we know that they’ve had lots of injury problems this season.

“James Forrest has been in and out of the side, Mikey Johnson struggled as well. So, a lot of it’s been down to Jota, who is just recovering from injury himself.”

The verdict

Who could the next attacking addition possibly be?

One name to have been linked with a move to Celtic is Shabab Al-Ahli’s Mehdi Ghayedi. Varzesh Seh have reported that Ange Postecoglou is very keen to land the Iranian forward, who has been labelled an ‘extraordinary killer’.

The 23-year-old, who is valued at just shy of £1.1m by Transfermarkt, can play across the frontline, offering tremendous versatility. Also, with 41 career goals to his name, he could be a smart signing for the club if they can bring him in.

Given the injury issues that O’Rourke has mentioned, Celtic could do worse than further reinforcing their attacking ranks while they are getting the chance this month.

In other news, Celtic have taken this bold contractual step

Leeds United’s return to the Premier League saw them embark on a bit of a spending spree under Marcelo Bielsa, and the Whites’ most high-profile signing was undeniably the capture of Valencia star Rodrigo.

Reports claimed that the Yorkshire club shelled out a club-record sum to bring the Spain international at Elland Road, and almost a couple of years later, it’s quite safe to say things haven’t really worked out for the forward – he’s managed just 12 goals and three assists in 55 games across all competitions for Leeds.

What perhaps makes a move for Rodrigo even worse now on reflection, is that they were actually also attempting to sign Rafael Leao at the same time back in 2020.

Football Insider claimed that the Portugal Leao was of interest to Leeds, although it was suggested that luring him away from the San Siro may prove to be “complicated” as Milan still had “high hopes” for him.

It was added the Whites had made enquiries for the attacker, and that if Milan were going to sell, it would be for nothing less than the £20m they themselves have paid to sign him for French side Lille.

Since that deal failed to come to fruition, Leao has come on leaps and bounds in his time in Serie A.

Now valued at £60m by CIES, the 22-year-old – almost a decade younger than Rodrigo – has really come to the party for Milan this season, bagging 11 goals and providing another six assists in 34 games across all competitions – including notching in the Champions League earlier this year.

The president of Leao’s former club, Lille, Gerard Lopez simply declared him the “Portuguese Mbappe”, while Sporting CP’s former youth coach, Tiago Fernandes, proclaimed: “I pushed (then-Sporting coach) Jorge Jesus to take him in the first team and I said to him: ‘Yes, Gelson Martins has talent but Rafael is the best player in the history of the Sporting Academy’. At youth level, he was better than Cristiano Ronaldo.”

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Dubbed as an “extraordinary talent” by Croatia legend Zvonimir Boban, it’s clear missing out on Leao may rank as one of  Victor Orta’s biggest howlers at Elland Road, especially when you consider how Rodrigo’s career has turned out.

The man with 34 career goals to his name could have been a superstar signing for the Whites up front.

AND in other news: Orta can now axe “awful” £55k-p/w flop as Leeds eye “underrated” £12.5m-rated “threat”

Having been winless in their last three games, Southampton went into Saturday afternoon’s home clash against fellow south coast side Brighton hopeful for their first win in almost a month.

The Saints had impressed in midweek as they took the lead twice against Leicester City at St Mary’s, but couldn’t secure a victory over the Foxes with Jonny Evans and James Maddison scoring in reply.

However, with Brighton winless in nine top-flight matches, a run which started back in September, it appeared the ideal opportunity for the Saints to record a fourth league win of the season.

All was going to plan when Armando Broja’s cool finish gave Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men a deserved 1-0 lead going into half-time, with the score arguably flattering the visitors. However, Neal Maupay’s 98th-minute tap-in secured a dramatic point for Albion which saw Southampton lose points from a winning position yet again.

Despite the draw, there was one man who deserved plaudits for the Saints, namely Nathan Redmond.

Today saw the winger become the first Southampton player to register an assist in four consecutive Premier League home games, as well as becoming the first to do so in the English top flight since Kevin De Bruyne in October 2019.

The 27-year-old’s flick-on proved vital as Broja latched onto the pass to coolly finish past Robert Sanchez in the Brighton goal in the 29th minute.

Throughout the contest, the £16.2m-rated man was a livewire for the hosts, constantly looking to get the ball forward. In fact, he produced two key passes and had a 63% pass completion rate.

Realistically, the Saints should’ve had the game wrapped up before the Seagulls’ equaliser. According to SofaScore, Hasenhuttl’s side managed four shots on target as well as a further six off target and four blocked.

Yet again, it’s an opportunity missed for Southampton, but Redmond once again proved his value to the side and will surely continue to be a regular in the Austrian’s plans.

Everton academy director David Unsworth is to leave the club to ‘pursue his managerial ambitions’, Sky Sports News report. 

The lowdown

In addition to overseeing the academy, Unsworth was also the Under-23 boss at Goodison Park.

He’s had two spells at the caretaker manager during his time at the club, first at the end of the 2015/16 season when Roberto Martinez left the club, and more recently in the autumn of 2017 following the departure of Ronald Koeman.

Unsworth, a left-back, spent 11 years of his playing career with The Toffees across two stints (1992-1997 and 1998-2004). Overall, he made 329 appearances and scored 40 goals.

The latest

Sky Sports journalist Tom White broke the news live on air on Tuesday morning.

Unsworth wants to step up from coaching youth football and occupy the hot seat at the senior level.

“Significant news coming out of Everton,” White said. “David Unsworth is going to leave his position at the club.

He added: “He’s leaving because he wants to become a first-team manager, so that will be elsewhere.”

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The verdict

Chairman Bill Kenwright says the club are ‘sad’ to see Unsworth after a lengthy period of ‘great’ service. He also hailed the 48-year-old as a ‘winner’.

Theoretically, Paul Tait, the current Under-18 coach, may now be promoted to the U23 role. He’s steered Everton’s teenagers to fifth place in the current U18 Premier League standings.

But could another coach follow Unsworth out the door in the coming years?

Ashley Cole, who joined Frank Lampard’s staff in February, has said he ‘definitely’ wants to take on a managerial position. If an opportunity to be the main man presents itself in the future, he may also be tempted, leaving Lampard with plenty of moving pieces in the summer.

In other news, journalist Paul Brown has dropped this Frank Lampard claim.

An update has emerged on Wolves centre-back Conor Coady, regarding Newcastle’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to The Sun, Frank McPartland, a leading advisor for Amanda Staveley, is championing a move for the England international ahead of the January transfer window.

The report claims that it would take an offer in the region of £20m to prise him away from Molineux, along with big wages to tempt him to quit Wolves.

Fans would be fuming

PIF must avoid their first major blunder as owners of Newcastle following this update on Coady. The fans would surely be fuming if the club splurged out on £20m for the centre-back when it could be better spent elsewhere.

Coady is renowned for his leadership and personality on and off the pitch. He has been the captain at Wolves since Nuno Santo initially joined in 2017 and his former Liverpool teammate Adam Morgan once hailed him as a ‘mentality monster’, saying:

“Some players leave a big club, their boyhood club, and they struggle to adjust. They can’t get their head round the fact they’ve dropped down.

“I couldn’t. I wasn’t mentally strong at that time. I am now, but I wasn’t then. Conor was different.

“A lot of football is played in the head, and Conor is as mentally strong as you can get. That’s a quality you can’t buy, but he had it in abundance. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realise Conor Coady was going to be OK when he left Liverpool. He was always a mentality monster.”

This suggests that Coady would be a fantastic presence to have around the club with the way he conducts himself on and off the pitch. However, you also want a top-class player if you are paying £20m and splashing out on significant wages. Simply, his statistics for Wolves do not suggest that Newcastle would be getting one.

In the 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns, Coady averaged WhoScored ratings of 6.45, 6.51 and 6.53 respectively. During that same period, Lascelles, who is one year younger than the ex-Liverpool man, averaged scores of 6.80, 6.70 and 6.60. This suggests that the current Magpies defender has performed to a significantly higher level, despite declining each year, which is why the supporters would be furious to see such a fee spent on the Wolves man.

Therefore, PIF would be committing their first real blunder by spending big money to bring Coady to the club. Instead, they should look to bring in a player who can stand out on the pitch in the Premier League whilst also offering leadership in the dressing room. A daunting task… but one that could be worthwhile if they can unearth a gem in the transfer market.

AND in other news, Forget Wilson: Newcastle beast with 8 clearances stole the show vs Palace…

As shared by The Evening Standard, West Ham United boss David Moyes has been dealt a blow for Thursday evening with defender Vladimir Coufal still out of action.

The Lowdown: Coufal ‘discomfort’…

The Czech Republic star, who has been a revelation since his 2020 move from Slavia Prague, missed West Ham’s last Premier League game away to Everton due to injury.

Moyes, providing a cryptic update on Coufal’s condition after their 1-0 win at Goodison Park, revealed that he missed the trip due to ‘discomfort’ he has been carrying for a ‘few weeks’ (West Ham Zone).

The Latest: Coufal set to miss Genk…

While the Scotsman didn’t provide an update on the right-back in his pre-Europa League press conference yesterday, a report from The Evening Standard has shared his condition.

According to their confirmed team news and injuries piece, Coufal is indeed still out and set to miss tonight’s highly-anticipated clash at the London Stadium.

They say he is still nursing the groin injury and Moyes will also have to cope without summer signing Alex Kral, who has come down with COVID-19, and potentially Ryan Fredericks too, who is a doubt.

The Verdict: Blow for Moyes…

After winning their first two matches, West Ham could take one giant leap towards finishing top of Group H with another victory tonight.

If Moyes’ men can secure top spot, they would immediately qualify for the post-Christmas round of 16 as per the new Europa League format.

Tonight certainly comes as a big occasion in east London and losing Coufal through injury is undoubtedly a blow, especially considering he was a key player last season and lauded as ‘absolutely sensational’ by Stuart Pearce (Super Six Podcast via HITC).

In other news: ‘Yes yes yes’, ‘No brainer’…West Ham fans excited as contact made to sign ‘big’ striker, find out more here.

Former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Mark Crossley hopes that Brennan Johnson stays at the City Ground this summer. 

The 20-year-old has featured in all four of Forest’s opening Championship fixtures providing an assist for Lyle Taylor on the opening day of the season against Coventry.

The youngster spent last season out on loan at Lincoln City and was in fantastic form, scoring 13 goals and providing 14 assists and helped Lincoln reach the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

His performances have captured the attention of Premier League newcomers Brentford but the Athletic reported that Brentford had been unsuccessful with their latest bid for the attacking midfielder and said that Forest value Johnson at around £10m, but the Bees’ bid fell considerably short of that figure.

Crossley hopes that Johnson stays at the City Ground, telling The Transfer Tavern: “I’d like to see him put pen to paper, sign a new deal. His career is more important moving forward rather than instantly going to a Premier League club where he probably wouldn’t play on a regular basis. 

“I’d like to see him stay at Forest because I really like him, I think he’s an excellent talent and for Forest to do well they need to keep hold of the talent that they’ve actually got.”

With just a week to go in the transfer window, will Nottingham Forest be able to stave off interest in Johnson and keep him at the City Ground?

As per Torino Granata, a promising update has now emerged on Tottenham Hotspur’s plans to sign Torino defender Gleison Bremer.

The Lowdown: Spurs in centre-half hunt?

Lilywhites boss Antonio Conte and Spurs transfer chief Fabio Paratici have been tipped to raid Serie A for talent, with centre-backs especially appearing to be on the agenda.

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The likes of Stefan de Vrij and Matthijs de Ligt are two big defensive names to be linked with a move to north London recently, while Bremer of Torino is another one to have emerged.

Praised as one of the Italian top flight’s best performers and a standout in the division so far this term (Calciomercato) – he has the fifth-highest performance rating of all Serie A players in 2021/22 as per WhoScored metrics – Spurs have apparently let their interest be known as Torino Granata provide the latest.

The Latest: Spurs ‘pressing’ insistently…

As per the Italian source, Tottenham’s ‘pressing’ for the Brazilian has become ‘insistent’, with Conte personally adding Bremer to his list of targets for next season.

Torino president Urbano Cairo, who is keen to avoid the prospect of losing him on a free deal akin to Andrea Belotti potentially, is now ‘already listening to possible proposals’ for his centre-back as Bremer’s contract expires in 2023.

That’s where Spurs come in, as they now push hard to meet the 24-year-old’s asking price. Cairo has apparently requested ‘over €20 million (£17.1m)’, a figure which Spurs can ‘reach’ according to this report.

The Verdict: Get it done…

A mooted fee of £17.1m is nothing short of a bargain for a player of Bremer’s calibre, form and age, so we strongly advise Paratici to back Conte with his signing.

According to WhoScored, the Brazilian has averaged an incredible 3.7 interceptions per 90, almost double that of Tottenham’s highest interceptor Sergio Reguilon, thus highlighting Bremer’s real tenacity in defence.

In another incentive, out of all Spurs’ regulars with more than one start, only Eric Dier has averaged more clearances per match (4.3) in that time than Bremer (4.2). In terms of aerial duels, Torino’s mainstay has made more on average than any Lilywhites player, and it’s clear that his colossal presence could be a real asset to Conte.

Described as ‘strong’ and ‘powerful’ by Italian football expert Conor Clancy (via Football FanCast), this could be a very shrewd move by Tottenham if they can execute it.

In other news – Talks ongoing: Spurs in contact to sign ‘incredible’ £29.9m man, club open to temporary deal, find out more here

Southampton have been linked with a move for RB Leipzig striker Alexander Sorloth recently, and the Norwegian could be a big upgrade in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s attack.

What’s the word?

Following Danny Ings’ shock move to Aston Villa earlier this month, it appears that Southampton are in a hurry to add a new striker to their squad ahead of their Premier League opener against Everton on Saturday.

The Athletic have claimed that the 25-year-old Sorloth is one of the names they are considering as a replacement for the England international, with Hasenhuttl said to be a fan of the former Crystal Palace man.

Would Sorloth be an upgrade on Southampton’s current options?

Following Ings’ departure, Hasenhuttl is looking desperately low on goalscorers in his current squad, with Che Adams yet to hit double figures in the league since his arrival from Birmingham City.

Whilst Nathan Tella and Michael Obafemi have both impressed in attacking roles in pre-season, neither can be expected to fill the void left by Ings, who hit 34 goals in the previous two Premier League campaigns.

Sorloth has experience in the Premier League with Crystal Palace, where he managed just one goal and one assist in 24 appearances in the Eagles.

However, he enjoyed a sensational run of form when on loan with Trabonzspor in the 2019/20 season, managing 33 goals and 11 assists in 49 appearances for the Turkish side, which earned him a move to RB Leipzig.

After one season with the Bundesliga side, in which he managed six goals and three assists in 37 appearances, it seems as if he could be on the move once again this summer, and he could be a big upgrade to the current options available to Hasenhuttl, provided he doesn’t replicate his previous form with Crystal Palace.

The £14.4m-rated forward won a lot of plaudits during his time in Turkey, with his Norway teammate Erling Haaland singing his praises in 2020, dubbing him the “King of the North” on Instagram.

At 6ft 4in, Sorloth would certainly give Hasenhuttl a very different option up front, and would free up the possibility of sending more crosses into the box and more long balls forward, which is something they struggled to do last season when deploying a partnership of Ings and Adams.

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Whilst the 25-year-old might never be a prolific Premier League striker, he could help to increase the output of someone like Adams, so he could be well worth the money if Southampton do bring him to St Mary’s this summer.

And, in other news… Imagine him and JWP: Semmens should seal Saints swoop for Euro 2020 star