Celtic head into a game this weekend, for possibly the first time, without any stress or pressure as they prepare to take on St Mirren at Parkhead this afternoon.
The Hoops secured the Scottish Premiership title with a sublime 5-0 success over Kilmarnock away from Glasgow last time out, which means that there is nothing riding on the clash today.
This means that Brendan Rodgers and his team can go out and enjoy the team before their preparation for the SFA Cup final with Rangers at Hampden Park later this month.
Brendan Rodgers.
The Northern Irish boss, therefore, has a chance to make changes to his team to offer squad players an opportunity to get some minutes on the pitch.
With this in mind, Rodgers must finally unleash Luis Palma from the start over Daizen Maeda on the left flank against St Mirren today.
Daizen Maeda's performance against Kilmarnock
The Japan international produced a fantastic performance against Kilmarnock last time out in the Premiership, as the Hoops sealed the league title in emphatic fashion.
Maeda scored from close range, from Alistair Johnston's superb ball across the box, and then slide the ball over for James Forrest to score during the first half.
Minutes played
62
Sofascore rating
8.4
Goals
1
Assists
1
Key passes
2
As you can see in the table above, the right-footed winger enjoyed an excellent evening on Wednesday night as he chipped in with a goal and an assist in the 5-0 win.
Rodgers must now drop him to the bench for this clash with St Mirren, though, in order to provide Palma with a chance to showcase his quality.
The league has already been won and Maeda could be given a rest, at least from the start, to keep him fresh for the SFA Cup final next week.
Why Luis Palma should start for Celtic
The Honduras international has only started four league games since the turn of the year and his last start for the club in the division came against Kilmarnock in February.
With the title already won, Rodgers has the freedom to bring him back into the XI in the hope that he can rediscover the form he showed during the first half of the campaign for Celtic.
Celtic forward Luis Palma.
The 24-year-old star, who former Hoops man Peter Grant lauded as a "real threat", had enjoyed a terrific first half of the season in the Premiership.
In 13 league starts – 16 appearances in total – for the club in 2023, Palma had contributed with an eye-catching five goals and nine assists – more than one goal contribution per start on average.
The 5 foot 10 wizard has created 13 'big chances' in 17 Premiership starts overall this season for Celtic, which speaks to the creative quality he has the potential to provide.
Alongside O'Riley: 9/10 star just helped secure the title for Celtic
The Hoops star justified his selection with a terrific performance at the top end of the pitch.
ByDan Emery May 16, 2024
His one goal and zero assists in the league in 2024 is a poor return, however, and Rodgers could now give him a chance to bounce back to form with a start in a pressureless game against St Mirren, which would then allow Maeda to have a breather on the bench.
Tottenham Hotspur have been absolutely fantastic this season at both ends of the field, which has put them in a brilliant position to achieve Champions League football.
The managerial signing of Ange Postecoglou is one reason for this, with the Australian changing the approach to a much more exciting style of play.
Ange Postecoglou
Another reason is the Lilywhites' fantastic summer recruitment, with the likes of James Maddison, Guglielmo Vicario, and Micky van de Ven all becoming key players.
However, the club will want to repeat last season’s transfer success in the upcoming window, and they look set to start with a true number nine.
Spurs’ search for a centre forward
According to an Alasdair Gold report from Football.London, Spurs are interested in signing a number of centre forwards this summer.
Ivan Toney and Santiago Gimenez are on the list, but the player that Postecoglou has a huge interest in is Albert Gudmundsson.
The 26-year-old is receiving plenty of praise for his performances in the Serie A for Genoa, with a fee of up to £26m reportedly being enough to prise him away.
Gold stated: 'Tottenham have shown considerable interest in Genoa's Icelandic international Albert Gudmundsson, along with Inter and Juventus, and the player is expected to be available for a fee between £21.5m and £26m this summer.'
Spurs "monster" who ranks in top 99% for xG could supercharge Maddison
The Spurs star has been on fire this season in the Premier League.
ByTom Lever Mar 24, 2024 Spurs could repeat their Kulusevski masterclass
After an excellent loan spell from January 2022 to last summer, where Dejan Kulusevski scored seven goals and provided 15 Premier League assists, Spurs made his deal permanent.
The Swedish winger joined the Lilywhites from Juventus for a bargain price of £25m at the start of the season, and he’s since netted six goals and provided three assists in the league.
Dejan Kulusevski for Tottenham.
Spurs could look to repeat their Kulusevski masterclass by signing another Scandinavian gem who has previously torn the Serie A apart, with Daniel Levy hoping that the Icelandic ace can mirror the quality displayed by the Sweden international and even combine to produce devastating results.
Nonetheless, just like Kulusevski’s first full Serie A campaign, where he scored ten goals and registered nine assists, Gudmundsson has been on fire for a relatively average side that was only promoted this season.
The number 11 has netted ten times and provided three assists in 27 matches this campaign, but it’s his overall game that is so impressive, as displayed via his statistics against Israel for his national team.
Not only did the Icelandic gem pick up the match ball and guide his country to progress, but he was incredible throughout, showing traits that would make him slot perfectly into the Spurs side.
Goals
3
Shots
6
Key passes
3
Successful dribbles
2/3
Pass accuracy
88%
As you can see, the striker isn’t a typical number nine whose game stops at scoring goals, with his two successful dribbles and three key passes showing that he is dynamic, and able to get the best out of those around him, which is very much like club-record scorer Harry Kane.
However, he was also able to keep the ball under pressure, which not only allows the side to get up the field in support but also helps them maintain control, which Postecoglou demands.
Albert Gudmundsson for Genoa.
With the Spurs boss’ flexible tactics that are fluid, Gudmundsson’s ability to exchange roles with ease due to his well-rounded skillset would make him a brilliant buy, especially as that profile has been prioritised this season via the likes of Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner.
Signing Gudmundsson would be an extremely smart move that doesn’t exactly break the bank, and he could just follow in the footsteps of Kulusevski to become an important player for Tottenham.
Fire keen to call upon Smith’s experience as Australian takes another step in leadership return
ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2020Steven Smith, the former Australia captain, will skipper Welsh Fire in The Hundred this year.Smith was stripped of the Australian captaincy following the Newlands ball-tampering scandal in 2018, banned from playing cricket for year and barred from leading any side under Cricket Australia’s jurisdiction for a further year after his playing ban expired. The leadership sanction will be lifted at the end of March, but it did not extend to the IPL, where he was appointed captain of Rajasthan Royals last April, replacing Ajinkya Rahane eight games into the 2019 edition of the tournament.At Cardiff-based Welsh Fire, Smith will lead the likes of compatriot Mitchell Starc and England’s Jonny Bairstow and Tom Banton.”It’s an honour to be asked to captain Welsh Fire in the first year of The Hundred,” Smith said. “Our squad looks super strong with a great group of players who’ve dominated the international and domestic scenes for the past few years.”Tom Banton is one of the most exciting young players in the world right now and Mitchell Starc brings the X-factor with the ball, so we’re looking to put on an amazing show for the fans in Cardiff.”Welsh Fire men’s head coach, Gary Kirsten, said: “Steve’s knowledge and experience of leading teams in pressurised situations will definitely help us in this first season of The Hundred. He’s got a track record of getting the best out of his players while performing to a very high standard himself, which will be key for us this summer.”After an initial stint as Australia captain in 2014-15, replacing the injured Michael Clarke, Smith took over the role upon Clarke’s retirement in late 2015 until March 2018 and the ball-tampering affair. In 93 matches at the helm, he recorded 47 wins across all formats with 37 losses, six drawn Tests and three ODIs ending in no result.Welsh Fire said in a statement that Smith would lead the team in the competition’s opening fixture against Oval Invincibles at The Oval on July 17, which is the day after Australia’s third and final ODI against England, a day-night match in Bristol.Smith made his international comeback at last year’s World Cup and then played a pivotal role in Australia retaining the Ashes, in which he was by far the leading run scorer. He is now touring South Africa for Australia’s limited-overs series and on Wednesday returns to Newlands, the scene of the events which led to him being banned along with David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.
At the end of the English domestic season Ryan ten Doeschate made a revealing comment. Asked whether he intended to play for Essex for another season in the County Championship, he replied he wasn’t sure. “Batting at No. 6,” he said, “it’s where you blood someone to bat. And there are a couple of young guys who are close to being ready.”It was revealing for a couple of reasons. For a start, it underlined what a fine team man ten Doeschate is. While many players, approaching their 40th birthday, might have thought little beyond attempting to secure themselves another contract, ten Doeschate was thinking about what was best for the future of Essex as a club. His personal aspirations were clearly secondary to the team’s long-term benefits.More pertinently, his words underlined how a successful team – and Essex have won the County Championship twice in the last three years, remember – integrates new players. And they contrasted with England’s approach in recent times.Take the example of Ollie Pope. Having earned the attention of the selectors by batting at No. 6 for Surrey, the then 20-year-old was thrust into bat at No. 4 in Test cricket. That meant that, even though he had never batted inside the first 20 overs of a first-class innings at county level, he was then expected to come in before the 10th over in Test cricket. It’s hardly surprising he struggled.It was a similar story with Jason Roy. Having impressed as an opening batsman in white-ball cricket, where there is little lateral movement and the pitches tend to be good for batting, Roy was given the task of opening in Test cricket in England where the ball moves lavishly and the surfaces, in recent times, offer seamers plenty. Again, it was hardly surprising that he struggled.At least it appears England are learning. Pope may well move up the order in the months or years ahead but, for now, he will be given a chance to acclimatise to the higher standards of Test cricket by batting at No. 6 in New Zealand. Equally, England have opted for two specialist opening batsmen. Not only should they offer more expertise in negotiating new-ball spells, they should also provide some protection for the middle-order.While Joe Denly is still being asked to bat out of position at No. 3, the presence of Zak Crawley – another opening batsman – in reserve probably hints at the direction of travel. After a period of simply picking the most eye-catching players and asking them to adapt, the new team management are adopting a more sophisticated approach towards both young players and the embrace of specialists.ALSO READ: ‘I want to stop being vulnerable’ – Sam CurranThere is one exception to this. In handing the gloves back to Jos Buttler – with Pope as reserve keeper now that Jonny Bairstow has gone home – England are still taking a risk. Buttler performed well with the gloves in the warm-up games, but Ben Foakes remains, by a distance, the best keeper available to England.The issue of specialisation was acknowledged by Dom Sibley as he anticipates his Test debut. He knows he will be required to perform at a higher level than he has previously, but he also knows what the job entails.”If I do play I’ll try to do exactly the same as what I’ve done this season in county cricket,” he said. “I’ll try to get through the new ball, soak up as many balls as I can and score big hundreds. It’s been a strength of mine that once I’ve got in, I’ve really cashed in. Hopefully if I do play and get through the new ball, I can do the same.”There was a minor scare at training on Tuesday when Ben Stokes briefly left the nets for treatment after he was struck on the hand by a delivery from Archer. He returned shortly afterwards, however, and dismissed any suggestion of injury. You suspect it would take more than the loss of one hand to keep him out of this game.A first look at the Mount Maunganui pitch might have pleasantly surprised the bowlers. While most pre-match predictions have suggested this will prove to be the Bay of Plenty of runs, the surface was surprisingly green. It may well be, however, that the layer of grass is only there to prevent the pitch drying out in the strong winds. Both sides are expected to field specialist spinners for just such a reason. This will be only the 10th first-class game here – three of the first nine have been drawn – however, so there must be an element of the unknown about how the surface will play.
Arsenal are flying this year, and while the double might have sounded like a pipe dream just a couple of years ago, it is very much still on.
Mikel Arteta has moulded a young and promising side into one of the best teams in the country, although Edu Gaspar deserves just as much praise for his transfer dealings.
The north Londoners now have the second most valuable squad in England, and while much of that value comes from the starting XI, those on the bench have also seen their value soar in recent years, notably Eddie Nketiah.
Eddie Nketiah's rise
While Nketiah broke through into senior football with the Gunners and is viewed by many as a product of the north London side, he hasn't always been an Arsenal player.
In fact, the Lewisham-born poacher started his youth career with cross-city rivals Chelsea, although the Blues released him at 14 years old after they deemed him to be too diminutive to make it as a top-flight footballer.
Appearances
164
Goals
38
Assists
10
Goal Involvements per Match
0.29
It was a moment in the youngster's journey that might've discouraged many others from continuing to play, but the 5 foot 11 forward used it as motivation, later claiming, "It gives you that extra motivation and resilience when times are hard. I'm able to dig a level deeper than maybe some people can or don't want to go into. It's all part of the experience."
He made his full debut for the team in a Europa League clash against Vorskla Poltava in November 2018, and while almost the entirety of that team have been moved on, the determined marksman has remained.
The latter half of the 2021/22 season, after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had been moved on, presented the right-footed ace with his first genuine chance in the first team, and considering he finished the campaign with ten goals and one assist in 27 games, it would be fair to say he took it.
Last year was a similar story. Once again, he was called into action to replace an absent striker, only this time, it was an injured Gabriel Jesus. He finished the campaign with nine goals and three assists in 39 appearances, including a brilliant brace against his old team, Chelsea.
In all, the Englishman's stock has been steadily rising over the last few years, although with his game time remaining limited at the Emirates, it might be time for him to move on.
Luckily for Arsenal, they might be able to make a significant sum of money in the process.
Eddie Nketiah's transfer value in 2024
So far this season, the 24-year-old "monster", as he was dubbed by The Athletic's Aaron Catterson-Reid, has made 33 appearances for the Londoners across all competitions, but only 13 have been starts.
However, while the once-capped international has seemingly lost his role as the backup striker to summer signing Kai Havertz, he has still scored six goals and provided five assists in his limited game time, proving there is still a talented player there.
This is clearly what several other teams, including West Ham United, believe anyway, as it has been reported that they are one of a few sides interested in signing the 24-year-old this summer for a cool £43m.
1
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
£40m
Liverpool
August 2017
2
Alex Iwobi
£35m
Everton
August 2019
3
Folarin Balogun
£34m
AS Monaco
August 2023
4
Cesc Fàbregas
£29.6m
Barcelona
August 2011
5
Marc Overmars
£25m
Barcelona
July 2000
If Edu and Co can negotiate a deal to sell their number 14 for that price, he would become the club's most expensive sale of all time, surpassing the £40m Liverpool paid for Alex Oxlade Chamberlain in August 2017.
Ultimately, while Nketiah has been a loyal and, most importantly, useful player for Arsenal over the last few years, if they can sell him for £43m, they absolutely should. Considering he didn't cost a single penny, that wouldn't be bad business would it?
Market Movers
Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?
Travis Head makes way as allrounder reaps reward for increased focus on fitness
Daniel Brettig at The Oval11-Sep-2019Mitchell Marsh has been challenged to reach Ben Stokes’ standards of fitness and durability ahead of his latest chance to secure a place in the Australian Test team, in the afterglow of Ashes retention at Old Trafford.Marsh was called in ahead of the vice-captain Travis Head for the fifth Test at The Oval from Thursday, as an additional bowling option for the captain Tim Paine and also as a right-handed batsman after the litany of troubles caused for them by Broad’s seam and swing.Paine revealed that Marsh had not only been dropped from the team against India last summer due to underperformance, but also because the selectors and team management felt that he was carrying too much extra weight to do the job they required of him. The herculean example provided by Stokes at Headingley, where he virtually bowled 24 overs unchanged in the third innings before conjuring a batting miracle in the fourth, has set a high bar, but Paine reckoned that Marsh, at 27, could still reach similar heights.”Mitch has worked his backside off actually for the last six or seven months,” Paine said. “He got some pretty honest feedback when he was dropped during the India series about where he was at both physically and with his cricket. He had a choice to make, either to sulk about it or to do something about it, and Mitch at the moment is as fit as we’ve seen him. During this Ashes even watching Ben Stokes go about it, we’ve constantly spoken to him about being at that sort of fitness where you can bowl 25-30 overs and then come out and score a hundred.”That’s something Mitch has watched up close and something he’s aspiring to, so certainly when he’s fitter his bowling goes to another level. When you’re a boy the size he is, it’s hard to run in all day when you’re carrying a few extra kilos, so he’s worked really hard to work them off, he’s always worked very hard on his cricket and we know the talent he’s got. We’re looking forward to seeing him put all his hard work into action this week.”There was some irony to Marsh taking Head’s place, since Head had himself replaced Marsh as one of the team’s vice-captains in January. the deputy leadership has been thrown around like a touch football over the past year, pin-balling between Marsh, Josh Hazlewood, Head and Pat Cummins. Paine explained that Head was being left out primarily so the tourists had an extra pace bowling option, and he was later seen in lengthy conversation with the coach Justin Langer on a series of slow laps around The Oval during training.Mitchell Marsh pads up ahead of the Oval Test•Getty Images
“We’ve been really clear with Travis why he’s not playing this game,” Paine said. “We think he’s had a fantastic start, he’s played 10 Tests and has a very healthy average but we want to get the make-up right to win this Test match and unfortunately we had to make a really tough call on someone, and it happened to be Travis.”But he’s a huge part of Australian cricket’s future, he’s a gun young player and he’s getting better all the time, so it’s disappointing for him that he’s not playing this Test match, he’d dearly love to obviously, but we’ll go back to Australia, conditions will be different, there’s no doubt he’s in the top six or seven batsmen in our country.”Marsh (match figures of 5 for 86) and Peter Siddle (6 for 67) were Australia’s two leading bowlers at The Oval when Australia won the final match of the 2015 series, standing up the seam of the Dukes ball and moving it around after the series had been decided in England’s favour at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge. That history suggests that Siddle should be a strong chance to play this time around, with the Australians waiting until match day to decide whether one of Cummins (48 overs in Manchester), Hazlewood (42.3) or Mitchell Starc (38) need to be spelled.”Looking at the conditions and the series being a long and tough one, we’ve kept the same bowling group that was together last Test match, they’ve bowled a lot of overs and we feel that bringing Mitchell in will ease a bit of the workload on them,” Paine said. “So it was a really tough call on Travis Head who’s had a great start to his Test career, but we just wanted a bit more bowling depth in the squad to cover what looks like a really good wicket and be able to look after our big fast bowlers. Give them another half a day, see how they’ve pulled up and then make a decision on that side, the final make-up of it.”James Pattinson was not included in the final 12, but Paine forecast that, like Starc, he would be used more often in Australia this summer, with something of a marker laid down now for how the team will manage their deep and varied pace bowling resources. Jhye Richardson, on his way back from injury, will be another member of that battery back home.”James Pattinson is someone who we’ve been really pleased with what he’s done in his return to Test cricket over here, he’s bowling very, very well,” Paine said. “He’s going to be a huge asset for us going forward and we’ve said from the start we want to make sure we look after him so he’s got a lot more years in him of Test cricket, we can’t wait to get him back to Australia and unleash him during the summer.”We spoke a lot about how we felt we needed to change the way we picked our attacks over in England. I think over the years we’ve had a pretty good formula in Australia and clearly our bigger, taller faster bowlers work well in Australia so again that’s where we see a really exciting six months for James Pattinson coming up and Mitchell Starc, those guys who haven’t played as much during this series. So we are excited we’re going to have them fresh and ready to go for the home summer.”
Tottenham Hotspur have sold some high-profile players over the years, chairman Daniel Levy cashing in lucratively but unable to add to his sole slice of silverware since purchasing a stake in the club from Lord Alan Sugar for £22m way back in 2000.
That triumph, a 2-1 League Cup final win in 2008 after defeating Chelsea in extra-time, signalled progress and tantalised further honours down the line, but Ange Postecoglou is currently seeking to rebuild the club in 2023 after several years of inconsistency, the search for trophies dating back to that historical result.
Spurs have been a major player in the Premier League for some time and have fought and failed across some big moments – coming up short in the title race as Leicester City prevailed back in 2015/16; losing League Cup finals against Chelsea and Manchester City; falling short at the final hurdle in the Champions League against Liverpool, which is perhaps the bitterest of them all.
Harry Kane for Tottenham.
But, there is hope that Postecoglou is the man to lead the march toward prosperity, the Australian crafting an exciting team despite the blow of Harry Kane's £100m transfer to Bayern Munich back in August.
The departure of Tottenham's record scorer was a bitter pill to swallow, but it's not the only time the club has waved goodbye to a superstar, with Gareth Bale transferring to Real Madrid for a world-record £85m back in 2013.
Bale enjoyed riches in the Spanish capital but he was not the only Galactico to have thrived throughout this golden era of Los Blancos' glittering history, with Luka Modric presently enjoying this twilit stage of his career knowing that he will go down as one of the finest players of his generation.
Luka Modric's Real Madrid career
Modric's time at Tottenham served as the launchpad for a career for the ages, but it would be difficult to make a compelling case against his £30m transfer to Santiago Bernabeu in August 2012, where he has won five Champions League, three La Liga and two Copa del Rey titles as well as the Ballon d'Or, Best FIFA Men's Player and UEFA Player of the Year in 2018.
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric.
Would he have achieved all this in the English capital? Candidly, probably not. Modric, now 38 years old, has only started 11 matches in the Spanish top-flight this season as Carlo Ancelotti's side move seemingly inexorably toward the trophy, also among the favourites to win a record-extending 15th Champions League title this term.
In total, the 172-capped Croatia legend has amassed 516 appearances for Real Madrid, winning honours in their hoardes and starring at the very heart of one of the game's greatest modern midfield triumvirates with Toni Kroos and Casemiro.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Passing
Finishing
Key passes
Tackling
Through balls
Despite his ageing years, Modric remains one of football's elite technical stars, ranking among the top 9% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 1% for shot-creating actions and progressive passes, the top 4% for passes attempted, the top 14% for pass completion and the top 12% for progressive carries per 90, as per FBref.
It's quite evident that he would do a job under Postecoglou's leadership, bringing leadership and fluency and a celestial technical touch to give the Lilywhites the edge.
Nuno's Spurs signing is now worth 187% more & a Rodri clone
Ange Postecoglou is shaping this rising star into one of the Premier League’s finest talents.
ByAngus Sinclair Feb 20, 2024
He's shown his class at the club in the past, arriving as something of an unknown commodity way back when.
How much Spurs paid for Luka Modric
Tottenham signed Modric from his homeland for a £15m fee back in 2008, beating the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle United to his signature.
Sir Alex Ferguson once said that the Croatian "could play in any team" as he wreaked havoc and pulled strings from the engine room at Tottenham, utterly mesmerising across his 160 displays in Spurs white, bagging 17 goals and 25 assists.
Journalist Liam Canning hailed Modric as “world-class” for his exploits with Croatia across recent years but, truthfully, the seeds were planted right from his days at Tottenham, talent rooted in tenacity, application and erudite match intelligence.
What a player. What memories. To think that he is still performing for Real Madrid to this day, 38 – alongside prodigious talents such as Jude Bellingham, who was five years old when the sandy-haired dynamo was purchased by Harry Redknapp all those years ago – is truly exceptional.
Just imagine if he still played for Spurs. Imagine what could have been.
Modric would thrive for Ange
Postecoglou's Tottenham system is built on innate tactical understanding and interchangeability in role and movement. A the core, though, a high-class operator is requisite for perfect balance.
There's an old saying in football that the engineers in the centre of the park go unseen: watch the game, they shall evade your gaze; watch them, and watch the magic unfurl.
Luka Modric for Tottenham.
Modric possibly doesn't quite fall into that category, for he has dazzled with his defence-splitting passes, his thumping strikes, and his relentless recycling of possession, but he certainly makes things happen, wrenching openings oblivious to the eyes of his peers.
This level of mastery would allow the likes of Heung-min Son, Richarlison and co to thrive at a standard inconceivable, surpassing even the prowess of James Maddison, who has widely been regarded as one of the Premier League's standout stars this season after transferring to Spurs from Leicester City for £40m back in July.
Maddison does rank among the top 7% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 1% for shot-creating actions and the top 4% for progressive passes per 90, showcasing his first-rate playmaking ability, but he's no Modric.
Modric can do it all, sit deeper, influence behind the frontline, occupy space box-to-box. He is ubiquitous on the pitch and would not only prove to be a creator above Maddison's level, but an anchor eclipsing Yves Bissouma's tough-tackling style; a conductor trumping Rodrigo Bentancur for his cleverness in possession, and without; a multi-functional ace to leave Pape Matar Sarr quaking, so far is the distance between exciting talent and the true pedigree of one of the very best.
Tottenham have the tools to mount a revival over these coming years, spurred on by Postecoglou's vision, but make no mistake: Modric would be the key component to ensure illustrious triumph returned to N17, even at his maturing age.
Glasgow Rangers have finally confirmed their second signing of the January transfer window, as midfielder Mohammed Diomande arrives from Danish club FC Nordsjaelland on an initial loan deal until the end of the season with an obligation to buy.
Following the signing of Fabio Silva on a loan move towards the end of 2023, the Ibrox faithful have been made to wait for the next signing, yet this deal has eclipsed expectations.
Philippe Clement is certainly asserting his authority and, alongside director of football recruitment Nils Koppen, the duo are tapping into areas that previous managers largely neglected.
Glasgow Rangers managerPhilippe Clement.
With just six days left until deadline day, the Belgian manager may be keen to add another player or two to his squad in order to bolster his options, especially as the schedule could get hectic in the coming weeks.
With this in mind, could he potentially secure a deal for another midfielder this month? As a talented young Croatian is reportedly being monitored.
Rangers search for new signings
The deal to bring Diomande to Ibrox shows just how much Clement is thinking of the future, as he is just 22 years old and could potentially turn into a wonderful player.
His arrival also signifies the need for establishing a proper player-trading model, as the Ivorian could net the Gers a major profit should he develop and then move on from the club in the next few years.
According to Football Scotland earlier this month, the Light Blues are showing interest in Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Marko Bulat as they could face a few midfielders potentially departing this summer.
John Lundstram and Ryan Jack are both out of contract at the end of the season and there has been no news with regard to possible extensions for the pair as yet.
While a move for Bulat may not occur during the current transfer window, especially with the Croatian club valuing him at around the £5m mark, he could potentially be a player Clement is eyeing up for a summer transfer.
Marko Bulat
Koppen has sent scouts to keep an eye on the player amid the interest and shopping in this type of market showcases their willingness to find young talent from abroad who could develop into excellent players in Scotland.
The 22-year-old could be an ideal signing ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, but much will depend on whether Rangers can win the Premiership title and give themselves a chance at securing a return to the Champions League.
If Bulat is a realistic signing, the youngster could form an ideal midfield partnership alongside Diomande.
The stats that show why Marko Bulat and Mohammed Diomande could work well together
Diomande will come into the Gers side with high expectations, especially following Clement’s recent praise.
The manager said of his new signing: “He is one of the biggest prospects in Scandinavia… so there were a lot of teams interested in him”
The move shows how much faith the board have in the 49-year-old and Diomande could emerge as one of the finest players in Scotland.
Diomande is capable of playing both deep and slightly further forward depending on the system being used, but if he was paired with Bulat, he could potentially be utilised in a slightly more advanced role due to his eye for goal, having scored 13 times for his club prior to joining Rangers.
Rangers Journal founder Kai Watson claimed that the Ivorian is “A very strong ball carrier and forward-thinking passer, he’s exactly the type of player Rangers could be doing with in the midfield.”
Add to the fact he has averaged 1.1 key passes per game, has created three big chances, and has taken 1.1 shots per game, clearly showcasing his attacking talents from the heart of the midfield.
Bulat, on the other hand, provides a more defensive stability to the midfield, evidenced by the fact he has won 57% of his total duels per game this term for Zagreb, along with being dribbled past just 0.3 times per game and recovering two balls per game, clearly demonstrating how effective he is defensively in the middle of the pitch.
This partnership could be the future for Rangers over the coming years if Clement was able to pull off a major coup and sign the youngster.
Marko Bulat would be an excellent signing for Rangers
The midfielder has certainly upped the ante this term with regard to goal contributions, already scoring five times and chipping in with two assists, which is an improvement on last season’s tally of just two assists, and it suggests he has improved his attacking abilities.
Along with his aforementioned defensive skillset, Bulat is swiftly emerging as a complete all-round midfielder and this could benefit Clement, who will be looking for more dynamic players to come into his squad.
2004
117
2010
56
2022
39
2018
59
2018
225
2016
26
Watson also spent time analysing the Croatian gem for the Rangers Journal and even likened him to a former Barcelona superstar, saying:
“From watching Bulat and looking at the numbers, he reminds me of a young Ivan Rakitić. He’s a box-to-box midfielder who is a very capable defender and a goal scoring threat.
“Technically gifted and intelligent in and out of possession, hence the Rakitić comparison.”
Now imagine a duo of Bulat dropping deeper and protecting the back four, while also being able to spring forward and provide an attacking threat if required, alongside the dynamism and creativity of Diomande.
It has all the makings of a perfect midfield partnership which the club have been missing over the years, and it could allow Clement to form a solid backbone in his side.
Of course, money does not grow in trees and money will have to be recouped via player sales in the summer, but the Belgian boss must go all out and land Bulat in the coming months, otherwise it could be another case of what if.
The Gers have missed out on so many players who have gone on to bigger and better things over the previous few years and this needs to change if they are to return to the top of Scottish football.
Former Everton CEO Keith Wyness believes that Man City's legal battle against the Premier League is set to end in failure.
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Article continues below
Man City sue Premier League over APT rules
Former PL CEO believes Man City will lose
Case is 'a distraction' from 115 charges
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WHAT HAPPENED?
In an effort to abolish the Associated Party Transaction (APT) regulations, which the Premier League champions believe are illegal, Man City have filed an unprecedented lawsuit against the Premier League. City have expressed their desire to have these regulations repealed as they are 'anti-competition' and go against the United Kingdom's Business Law.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Man City are also embroiled in a separate legal issue as they are currently under investigation by the Premier League regarding 115 charges of financial irregularities in their submission starting from 2009. Wyness believes that the eight-time Premier League winners have only taken the league to court to distract from the main investigation into the 155 charges.
WHAT WYNESS SAID
Speaking to Fooball Insider, Wyness, CEO at Everton between 2004 and 2009, said: “I don’t think they’re going to be successful with this new challenge. It’s based around competition law, and it’ll be very hard for the arbitrator to come out and say that the rules which have been in place since 1992 are anti-competitive.
“They use the phrase ‘tyranny of the majority’, referring to the fact that two-thirds of the clubs have to vote something through. I just don’t get that. It sounds like democracy, a very fair way to do it. And that’s been proven over years, producing the best league in the world. I don’t think the arbitrator will find against the Premier League at this stage.
“But it’s going to take up more resources, more time, and distract from the 115 charges City face. My cynical view is that it’s a distraction from those charges. It’s a very dangerous road they’re going down. It’s exploding the whole voting system in the Premier League. It really is a frustrating position to be in.”
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WHAT NEXT FOR MAN CITY?
The legal proceedings regarding the APT rules will take place over a two-week legal hearing starting on June 10. The hearing on the 115 charges, on the other hand, is likely to take many more months, with Premier League CEO Richard Masters revealing that a date is already set for the hearing.