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Andriy Shevchenko has been linked with a move to Celtic following Ange Postecoglou’s tricky start to life at Parkhead, The Sun have reported.

The Lowdown: Shevchenko at Ukraine

Shevchenko’s only experience as a manager has come at international level with his native Ukraine. The 45-year-old took over after a stint as assistant back in 2016 and took charge of 52 matches, the last of which came in a 4-0 defeat to England in the European Championship quarter-finals in July.

It now seems that he wants to try his hand as a club manager, with Celtic Park namechecked as a possible destination.

The Latest: Nixon’s late-night claim

Alan Nixon of The Sun shared a story late on Saturday night regarding Shevchenko. He claimed that the Ukrainian wants to make the move to Britain as a manager, which has put Celtic on alert.

Nixon added that Shevchenko’s availability has placed him on wish lists and that he could be a surprise choice for Celtic if things don’t work out with Postecoglou.

The Verdict: Nicholson looking at alternative targets?

Michael Nicholson was installed as the club’s interim CEO following Dominic McKay’s abrupt Parkhead exit, so he could be the man looking at Shevchenko.

Time should be on Postecoglou’s side, though, due to a number of incomings and outgoings over the summer and having to deal with numerous injuries in recent weeks.

However, it appears as if the Hoops could be exploring possible contingency plans, so results may need to improve soon if the 56-year-old is not to be jettisoned.

In other news: News Celtic and Ange could do without emerges regarding Kyogo Furuhashi

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United side host Leicester City at St. James’ Park in the 14:15 kick-off this afternoon, with the Magpies looking to continue their recent ascent up the Premier League table against a similarly resurgent Foxes outfit.

Indeed, despite losing three of their last five league outings, Newcastle have picked up an incredibly impressive 23 points over their 12 top-flight fixtures in 2022 – a return only bettered by Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.

Meanwhile, following an extremely poor first half of the season, Leicester are currently on a run of five games without defeat in all competitions, with three of these coming as victories.

As such, the encounter between the two sides this afternoon certainly promises to be an exciting affair, with a victory for the Geordies potentially closing the gap to their ninth-placed opponents to just three points.

So, will Howe make any changes to the side that started the 1-0 win over Wolves last time out? Here’s how we think Newcastle could line up against Leicester, along with the latest team and injury news…

With BBC Sport recently reporting that Ryan Fraser looks set to miss out after picking up a hamstring injury last time out, as well as revealing that Joe Willock could be in line for a return to the XI despite nursing an ongoing knee issue, we predict that Howe will make two changes to the team that started against Wolves.

The back five remains unchanged, with Martin Dubravka starting between the sticks, while Matt Targett, Dan Burn, Fabian Schar and Emil Krafth make up the Magpies’ defensive quartet.

In the middle of the park, the £80k-per-week Joelinton – who journalist Aaron Stokes dubbed an “absolute monster” – makes way for the returning £25m summer signing Willock – who Steve Bruce dubbed a “remarkable” talent – with Jonjo Shelvey and Bruno Guimaraes keeping their starting berths.

In attack, Allan Saint-Maximin once again starts on the left and Chris Wood is deployed up top, while the second change comes on the right flank – with the injured Fraser being replaced by Paraguay international Miguel Almiron.

AND in other news: Howe could unearth NUFC’s new Waddle in “technical” 19 y/o gem who’s “caught the eye”

West Ham United are set to explore the possibility of signing Nottingham Forest defender Joe Worrall as manager David Moyes looks to strengthen his options at the back.

What’s the story?

According to club insider ExWHUemployee (as relayed by HammersNews), the east London outfit have identified the 24-year-old as a possible solution to their injury crisis at the heart of defence.

Speaking on the latest episode of The West Ham Way podcast, he said: “Joe Worrall of Nottingham Forest, a centre-back, he could be someone who we explore with the injury situation at the moment.”

West Ham fans will surely be buzzing

With first-choice centre-back Angelo Ogbonna ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with an ACL injury and Kurt Zouma also set for an extended spell on the sidelines, the January transfer window could prove pivotal for the Hammers.

Moyes’ charges are currently pushing for a Champions League qualification spot, have advanced to the knockout stages of the Europa League and are in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Therefore, further reinforcements will be needed over the winter if West Ham are to continue fighting on multiple fronts, meaning the club’s supporters will be buzzing to learn of the hierarchy’s interest in Worrall.

After rising through the ranks of his boyhood club, the Forest ace departed his hometown on multiple loan deals in order to experience regular first-team football, including a 12-month stint with Rangers throughout 2018/19.

The powerful defender made 32 appearances for the Scottish giants as they finished in second place in the top-flight table, and his eye-catching performances earned the praise of several impressed onlookers.

Following Worrall’s only goal for the Gers against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup, his former manager Steven Gerrard showered the 6 foot 4 monster with praise.

“I thought Joe Worrall was outstanding. What a big goal to keep his team in the cup,” he told The Scottish Sun (via Nottinghamshire Live). “It was a Man of the Match performance, and he will be a captain of whatever team he plays for. He is a leader, and he stepped up today.”

And the ex-England Under-21 international has gone from strength to strength ever since.

As per Whoscored, Worrall has averaged 2.5 interceptions throughout his 17 Championship outings this season, a whopping 3.6 clearances and 1.1 blocks, placing him in the top two for each metric when compared to his teammates.

Despite the youngster having no Premier League experience, he could prove to be an extremely astute piece of business from West Ham, who have already plucked Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma from the second tier with great success.

And, in other news…Newman could seal dream West Ham deal with “outstanding” £21m “superstar”

Aston Villa’s season so far has been a story of two halves already, with the side facing a relegation battle under Dean Smith in 16th and then appointing Steven Gerrard who has restored Villa’s expectations of a potential top half finish as they currently sit 12th in the Premier League table after just seven games in charge.

Gerrard hasn’t had the opportunity to put his stamp on the squad in the sense of bringing in the right players to suit his style of play and his vision for the future at Villa Park, but he has had the time to work with a squad full of quality, with a number of signings made in the summer of this year, with the likes of Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia joining the ranks.

The former Rangers manager will have had enough time though to get settled in and experience working with the crop of players he already has at the club, giving him the right amount of time to establish which areas need more strength and where the squad need to offload players.

One player who has failed to make an impact on the side since he joined in a shock move during the summer is Danny Ings and now he has been called out for his lack of quality by former Villa player and all time top goal scorer, Gabby Agbonlahor;

“Every time I’ve watched Ings and Watkins play together it hasn’t worked, something isn’t working with their connection,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider.

“Ings is a goalscorer. He will have come in on very good wages and it was a £30million fee, you’ve got to try and make a place for him in the team.”

It is no surprise Agbonlahor has spoken out to expose the centre forward, when you look at the lack of presence and effectiveness in the first half of the season, there is no reason why Gerrard shouldn’t ruthlessly axe Ings until he can prove he can offer more to the team.

The £100K-a-week earning centre forward has scored just three goals since joining the side, with only one of those goals actually contributing to a win, with the other two scored in 3-2 defeats against Watford and Wolves.

On Twitter, an interesting statistic has surfaced from popular fan account @VillaAnalytics that further confirms the poor form displayed by the 29 year old;

“Danny Ings has the lowest non-penalty xG per 90 (0.15) and the lowest xA per 90 (0.02) of any Premier League forward this season. [understat, >800 minutes played].”

Gerrard has an important decision to make on Ings future in the starting line up for Aston Villa, and should take a closer look at how the striker can come back into the goal scoring form he was famous for at Southampton with 46 goals in just 100 appearances for the Saints.

In other news, Napoli could snatch Tuanzebe within 48 hours

Ben Jacobs has now dropped some Newcastle United transfer news involving Ousmane Dembele.

The Lowdown: Contract stalemate

There is still a stalemate between Dembele and FC Barcelona over a new deal, with manager Xavi recently claiming that he needs to renew his deal or look to leave in the January transfer window.

The winger is out of contract in the summer, and has recently released a statement claiming that talks are ‘ongoing’ over a potential new deal, should demands be met.

Nonetheless, with the days ticking by and Barca more likely to want to sell so long as the new contract is not signed, it may present an opportunity for the St. James’ Park faithful to pounce.

The Latest: Dembele offer?

As per CBS Sports journalist Jacobs, the North East club have not put forward an official offer for Dembele as of yet, but they have been ‘considering’ signing him since November:

“I am told neither Newcastle or Manchester United have tabled an official offer yet.

“Xavi wants an answer on Dembele’s renewal (which would force him to take a wage cut) this week to allow time for a possible January transfer.”

The Verdict: Potential bargain

If the Magpies can persuade Dembele to come to Tyneside, then it could turn out to be a potential bargain, thanks to his contract situation.

He should be available for a cut price with just six months left, or they could even sign him up on a pre-contract agreement for free, although the latter would be risky given uncertainty over their Premier League status at the end of the season.

Described as ‘unplayable’ at times by Rio Ferdinand, the Frenchman will want to prove why Barca spent so much money to get him from Borussia Dortmund back in 2017, and it’s fair to say the Toon Army have an appreciation for skilful French wingers.

It is hard to forget that he is still only 24 years of age, having had so much promise so young, as former teammate Lionel Messi even went as far as to call his ability ‘frightening’ back when he was at the Nou Camp.

Nonetheless, Dembele has a point to prove, and Eddie Howe’s team could reap the benefits from it.

In other news, find out the latest on NUFC’s move for this Premier League ‘diamond’ here!

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Celtic fans were delighted when it was confirmed that Ewan Henderson had signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with the club. Football Fancast broke the news on Monday with the club confirming his contract on Tuesday morning.

The teenager was out of contract at the end of this season but after being fast-tracked by Brendan Rodgers has extended his stay at Celtic Park.

Henderson, the younger brother of Liam, made a brief substitute appearance against Kilmarnock last season and was given a run from the bench in the recent wins over Airdrie and St Mirren after joining the first team for training in Dubai.

Like fellow graduates Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney and James Forrest, Henderson started training with Celtic while still at primary school. As he worked his way through the system he picked up Glasgow Cup winners medals at u-17 level in 2016 and 2017.

His style of play and mannerisms are very similar to that of his older brother, although Ewan does have a notable turn of pace.

Henderson turns 19 in March and Celtic fans can now look forward to seeing him develop over the most crucial years of his career.

Here’s a look at how Celtic fans reacted to the news on Twitter…

West Bromwich Albion have been dealt a potentially huge blow regarding the fitness of Alex Mowatt ahead of their upcoming Championship clash.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Birmingham Live, Valerien Ismael revealed that the 26-year-old will undergo a late fitness test to determine whether or not he will be able to take part in the visit of Bristol City on Saturday afternoon, after the midfielder missed out on the 2-1 defeat against Swansea City in midweek due to a recurrence of a toe injury.

Speaking about the current condition of Mowatt, the West Brom manager said: “We’ll see; we’re assessing him every day. If he has the chance to play, he will do, but we’ll see in this [Friday’s] training session.

“We don’t want to take any risks, for sure we want to have Alex, but my focus is always to get players 100 per cent fitness without any issues. This is what we’re working on with Alex.”

Meanwhile, in better news for the Baggies, the Frenchman confirmed that Grady Diangana, who has been unavailable for Albion’s last two fixtures due to a hamstring injury, looks set to make a return to the matchday squad this weekend.

On the 23-year-old’s fitness, Ismael said: “Grady is fine. If nothing happens [on Friday] he will be back in the squad.”

Huge blow

While the news of Diangana’s likely reintroduction to the West Brom side is good for the Baggies, the potential absence of Mowatt will undoubtedly have left Ismael gutted.

Indeed, the £6.3m-rated man has been one of Albion’s best players so far this season, having scored three goals, registered one assist and created two big chances over his 12 Championship appearances, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.19 in the league – the second-highest in the Albion squad.

Furthermore, with fellow midfielder and club captain Jake Livermore suspended for the Bristol City clash, the unavailability of Mowatt would leave Ismael without his two first-choice options in the middle of the park, something which could seriously dent West Brom’s chances of a positive result today.

With Ismael having seen his side fall to their second league defeat of the season in midweek, the Frenchman will certainly be hoping they can bounce back with a win against the Robins at The Hawthorns this afternoon. It’s a task which would be made tougher if the former Barnsley midfielder isn’t fit enough to feature.

In other news: West Brom’s “fantastic” £10k-p/w dynamo could have played his last game for the club

As per Sky Sports, some transfer news has come out of Tottenham Hotspur involving in-demand Wolverhampton Wanderers star Ruben Neves.

The Lowdown: Pochettino eyed 2018 move for Neves…

Journalist Adrian Kajumba, writing for The Daily Mirror at the time, revealed that former Spurs boss and fan favourite Mauricio Pochettino personally had Neves in his sights back in 2018.

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Indeed, the Argentine reportedly added Wolves’ star midfielder to his transfer wish list alongside other Portuguese internationals like Cedric Soares and Gelson Martins.

In the same year, reports suggested that the Molineux outfit would have demanded big money to let Neves leave, with Wolves apparently setting his valuation at ‘over £100 million’.

Now, as per Sky Sports, it appears that Tottenham have been eyeing him again this season as they aim to back manager Antonio Conte with fresh faces.

The Latest: Spurs in mix for Neves?

The big-name broadcaster, as written by their reporter Lyall Thomas, have claimed that Spurs ‘have also been interested in Neves this season’ alongside Manchester United.

This comes as Sky Sports also revealed that the 25-year-old is emerging as a top transfer target for north London rivals Arsenal.

The Verdict: Make a move?

Given the signing of Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus in January, not to mention the presence of other dependable central midfielders like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp in their squad, a move for Neves shouldn’t be too hotly pursued by Spurs in the summer.

Tottenham arguably need a backup to star striker Harry Kane much more urgently, with The Athletic also stating that Conte’s major summer priority is a left-sided central defender.

Despite Neves being lauded as a ‘quality’ Premier League player by ex-Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips, the Lilywhites may have other priorities this summer, and we believe they should leave Pochettino’s one-time target alone.

In other news: Tottenham could strike imminent agreement to sign ‘magical’ £25m striker! Find out more here.

A journalist has revealed that Newcastle United are now ‘having contacts’ over the possibility of signing Dusan Vlahovic in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Rising star

At just 21 years of age, Vlahovic is a rising star in the beautiful game.

He has already managed to score 18 goals and make a further four assists in 21 matches in total over all competitions so far this season (made his mark on the Serbia national team.

His performances have certainly caught the attention of the Italian press, who have described the Fiorentina machine as a ‘force of nature’, already comparing him to strikers like Erling Haaland and Romelu Lukaku.

On Friday, the Italian outfit added fuel to the fire of rumours around his future, confirming the signing of a possible replacement in the shape of Krzysztof Piatek.

The Latest: Bid prepared

As per beIN Sports journalist Tancredi Palmeri, the St. James’ Park faithful and Fiorentina are ‘having contacts’ over a potential move for Vlahovic, and that the former are ‘working’ on a bid of €70m (£58.5m) for his signature.

That would of course smash the club-record £40m that they paid for Joelinton back in 2019, and so would be a real statement of intent from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

Nonetheless, the Serie A club are ‘keen’ to sell, but Vlahovic himself is not as keen on moving to the North East.

The Verdict: Unrealistic

Vlahovic has the world at his feet, and so given that the Tyneside outfit are currently in a relegation battle, a move for him this month seems too unrealistic – Tottenhem and Arsenal are also in the race.

The Serbian is also not keen on the move himself, and so would take a lot of persuading, perhaps with a ridiculous wage packet that the new owners would not want to shell out even despite their riches.

Nonetheless, a number of top clubs in Europe will surely be swarming all over him learning that Fiorentina are keen to sell and are signing other front men, and so the Magpies may get crowded out.

Thus, they should be looking at more realistic targets for now.

In other news, find out which ‘unplayable’ ace NUFC could now sign here!

A number of West Ham supporters are devastated after Angelo Ogbonna suffered cruciate ligament damage against Liverpool last weekend.

The Hammers enjoyed a fantastic victory over the Reds on Sunday afternoon, winning 3-2 at the London Stadium after a pulsating game.

The win took David Moyes’ side up to third in the Premier League, as their dreams of securing a top-four finish received another boost.

There has been one major negative from the match, however, with the club confirming on Twitter on Tuesday that Ogbonna suffered cruciate ligament damage in the first half.

The centre-back tried to play on but was eventually replaced and he now faces a long spell on the sidelines. It is a cruel blow for the Italian, who has been such a key player so far this season, starting all 11 league matches to date.

West Ham fans rue Ogbonna injury

These West Ham reacted to the news on Twitter.

“Real shame that”

Credit: @vinny_whufc

“Whatttt? An ACL? That’s crazy”

Credit: @Nnamdii_

“This is a huge blow. Not only is Ogbonna fantastic himself but he massively improves the defence as a whole when he plays. Such an important player”

Credit: @TheFootyCentre_

“Gutted. He’s been fantastic this season – rest up Angelo”

Credit: @CoreyKemp_

“Terrible news, he’s been outstanding under Moyes. Speedy recovery Oggy”

Credit: @FplRichard

“Absolutely devastated, more for him. Potentially won’t see him in a West Ham shirt again”

Credit: @_ConnorWHUFC

In other news, West Ham are reportedly keen on a centre-back signing. Find out who it is here.