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A huge update has emerged on Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson, regarding a setback with his injury situation…

What’s the latest?

Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has relayed an update from the Magpies boss on the attacker’s road to recovery, following the 1-0 loss to Cambridge. The ex-Bournemouth man has been missing since the 1-1 draw with Manchester United and his manager has now provided some extra clarity over when he is due to return.

He Tweeted: “Eddie Howe says Callum Wilson is expected to be out for 8 weeks following his scan yesterday.”

Gutted

Newcastle fans will surely be gutted by this news as the forward’s absence will be a major blow for the club over the next two months or so. He is the side’s top goalscorer in the Premier League and they will surely miss his lethal presence in the penalty area in the coming weeks.

Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin are the only Newcastle players who have scored more than one Premier League goal this season and this highlights their importance to the team. Howe is not blessed with quality options in the final third of the pitch and he has not lost his best one for a considerable amount of time.

With the Magpies sitting 19th in the table and scrapping for survival, losing their top finisher has come at a horrible time. They are in desperate need of points and wins to take them out of the bottom three and their main goalscoring threat picking up a severe injury has dampened their chances of doing so, which is why fans will be frustrated by this news.

Wilson has scored six goals in 14 starts this season after managing 12 in 23 starts last term. This shows that he knows how to find the back of the net at Premier League level and is able to score goals consistently and this makes his injury a major blow for the Magpies.

Of course, the January transfer window is now open and the club have the opportunity to strengthen their attack before the end of the month. However, there is no guarantee that anyone who comes in will be able to match Wilson’s efforts, which is why this injury news will leave fans gutted irrespective of what Howe does in the market.

AND in other news, “Intensifying efforts”: Ornstein drops NUFC transfer update that’ll have fans buzzing…

Tottenham Hotspur have made contact with Ousmane Dembele regarding a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to reports from Spain (via Sport Witness), who claim that Fabio Paratici has made progress in his discussions with the Barcelona forward about a summer switch to Spurs, with the 24-year-old able to agree to a pre-contract in January as a result of his contract expiring at Camp Nou next summer.

The report goes on to state that the likes of Chelsea, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain are all monitoring the situation of the France international, while Barcelona are also reported to be keen for the World Cup winner to extend stay in LaLiga.

However, it is then said that Dembele’s agent is well aware that his client is viewed as one of the “big bargains” of next summer, something which gives the winger the upper hand in his contract talks with Xavi’s side – which, at present, do not look likely to come to a resolution.

Paratici must seal Dembele deal

While it is true that, since Dembele’s £135.5m move to Barcelona back in 2017, the winger has failed to hit the heights of his time at Borussia Dortmund, it is undeniable that the 24-year-old would be a magnificent deal for Paratici to get over the line this winter, particularly on a free transfer.

Indeed, while a series of serious injuries have severely limited the £45m-rated man’s game time at Barcelona, he has still scored an impressive 30 goals and registered 21 assists over his 122 appearances for the Spanish giants.

However, should Spurs go on to sign the £287k-per-week forward, Antonio Conte will undoubtedly be hoping the Frenchman can refind the form he displayed over his 32 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund back in 2016/17, a season in which the versatile winger bagged six goals, provided 12 assists and created a whopping 17 big chances for his teammates.

The player who Lionel Messi dubbed a “phenomenon” also took an average of 1.7 shots and made 2.2 key passes per game that season, metrics which saw the 24-year-old earn an astonishing seasonal SofaScore rating of 7.34 – ranking him as the joint 10th-best performer in the German top flight.

This level of form would appear to lend some weight to Joan Laporta’s recent claim that Dembele is “better than Mbappe,” and also proves exactly why Paratici simply must simply do all he can to seal a deal for the forward in the coming months.

In other news: Antonio Conte set for huge Spurs boost “in a few days”, fans surely buzzing

Alan Hutton thinks James Forrest will travel with the Celtic squad for Sunday’s Scottish League Cup final against Hibernian. 

The lowdown

Celtic travel to Hampden Park to battle Shaun Maloney’s Hibs for the first silverware of the season.

Forrest secured their place in the final with a 73rd-minute strike against St Johnstone in the last four, having come off the bench.

Now he’s one of a trio of Hoops players hoping to prove their fitness in time to feature in the showpiece, along with Kyogo Furuhashi and Mikey Johnston.

Ange Postecoglou said in his pre-match press conference that he would use Saturday’s training session at Lennoxtown to make an assessment.

The latest

BBC Sport pundit Hutton thinks that, regardless of the results of that fitness test, Forrest will be part of the group that heads to Edinburgh.

Even if he can’t contribute on the pitch, he says, his presence will still be valuable.

“Forrest has been there, done it, bought the t-shirt,” he told Football Insider. “He’s got a pocket full of medals.

“You do need that big-game experience. He’ll be there, he will probably travel with the squad and he can keep the squad going.”

The verdict

Hutton is certainly right about Forrest’s track record: the winger has won a whopping 20 trophies at Celtic. Nine of those are league titles, but 11 are cups, indicating that he knows what it takes to prevail in an one-off, winner-takes-all contest.

And beyond that, former team-mate Mohamed Elyounoussi says the ‘amazing’ Forrest is ‘a brilliant boy off the pitch as well’.

It would be a blow if he couldn’t play, but in Liel Abada, who has notched a respectable 11 goal contributions in his first season at Celtic, Postecoglou can call upon an able replacement, and having Forrest around the squad could certainly help the likes of the Israel international shine.

In other news, Hutton also dropped this intriguing claim on Albian Ajeti. 

In recent comments cited by Birmingham Live, West Bromwich Albion manager Valerien Ismael suggested that, despite having played a bit-part role at The Hawthorns so far this season, Kenneth Zohore could well still have a role to play for the Baggies.

Speaking about the centre-forward’s standing in his squad ahead of the January transfer window, Ismael said: “At the minute it’s early – you never know what can happen. You see with Kean [Bryan], that situation. In the next game, there could be another situation and the player is involved in the game.

“Just patience, work, he wants to play every time with the U23s which is a good sign. He wants to stay in the rhythm. He trains well. He is our player so everyone needs to be involved, stay focused and involved and you never know.”

Zohore must go

While Ismael’s suggestion that Zohore could still prove to be a useful part of his Albion squad if one of his favoured forwards becomes unavailable due to injury or suspension is perhaps sensible, it is nevertheless an unavoidable fact that, so far in his West Brom career, the 27-year-old has simply not been good enough.

Indeed, after making an £8.01m move to the Baggies back in 2019, the £1.8m-rated man failed to impress over his 17 Championship appearances in his debut campaign, scoring three goals, providing no assists and missing four big chances, as well as hitting the target with an average of just 0.6 shots per game.

These returns saw the player who Neil Warnock once dubbed an “outstanding” talent average a SofaScore match rating of just 6.67, ranking him as Albion’s fourth-worst performer in the league that season.

The £16.5k-per-week striker then endured an equally disappointing loan spell at Millwall last year, scoring two goals over 17 Championship appearances for the Lions, before returning to The Hawthorns this summer.

Furthermore, so far this season, Zohore has found himself left out of each of Ismael’s matchday squads since the second fixture of the campaign against Luton Town, a fixture in which the 46-year-old Albion boss was furious with the 27-year-old’s efforts upon his introduction to the game.

As such, considering the 6 foot 3 striker’s below-par performances and rather hefty weekly wage, Ismael simply must axe the centre-forward this winter, as he is undoubtedly becoming something of a burden for the club.

In other news: West Brom confirm exciting development which is sure to leave Baggies fans buzzing

With a defeat for Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side on Thursday evening all but ending the Bhoys’ hopes of making it to the knockout stage of the Europa League, the 56-year-old Hoops manager will know that he has no room for error when selecting his starting XI for the fixture.

However, with a number of injury concerns ahead of the trip to Bayer Leverkusen, with both central midfielder Tom Rogic and centre-back Carl Starfelt being ruled out of the clash, Postecoglou has been left with something of an unwanted selection headache in what could well turn out to be a season-defining fixture in the Bhoys’ 2020/21 campaign.

So, will the 56-year-old make any changes to the team which started the 1-0 League Cup semi-final win over St Johnstone last time out? Here’s how we think Celtic could line up against Bayer, along with the latest team and injury news…

As previously mentioned, with both Rogic and Starfelt missing out at the BayArena on Thursday, while Stephen Welsh also looks unlikely to start after being withdrawn against St Johnstone last weekend due to a facial injury, we predict that Postecoglou will make two changes to his starting XI.

The first of these alterations comes in the heart of defence, with the 21-year-old Welsh dropping to the bench, while defensive midfielder Nir Bitton – who was once dubbed a “walking joke” by Bhoys Analytics – slots into the defensive quartet alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers at centre-back.

This sees 31-year-old James McCarthy handed only his fourth start of the season in the more defensive slot of Celtic’s midfield trio, with the remaining two positions retained by Callum McGregor and David Turnbull.

The second of Postecoglou’s changes comes in the front three, with the £19k-per-week James Forrest taking the place of Liel Abada on the right-wing, as the 30-year-old played a key role in Celtic’s semi-final triumph on Saturday, while the 20-year-old has not been in the best of form in recent fixtures.

In other news: Major blow: Celtic double injury setback confirmed ahead of Bayer, Ange will be fuming

With Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side now on a run of four consecutive wins in all competitions, things very much appear to be looking on the up for the 56-year-old at Parkhead.

As well as the positive results, the Hoops manager has also seen a number of key players make returns from injury. Josip Juranovic, James McCarthy and Mikey Johnston have all featured in recent matchday squads after spending varying lengths on the sidelines, while both James Forrest and Christopher Jullien look set to make a return to first team action in the not-too-distant future.

In yet more good news, summer signing Georgios Giakoumakis also scored his first goal on his full debut for the club in Saturday’s 2-0 win over St Johnstone, with the centre-forward’s impressive performance showing Celtic fans a glimpse of what could be to come over the course of the remainder of the season.

With a trip to high-flying Hibernian up next for the Bhoys tonight, Postecoglou must ensure that he sticks with Giakoumakis if the striker is to go on and replicate the extraordinary form he showed at VVV-Venlo last season.

Indeed, despite his team’s eventual relegation, the £2.25m-rated marksman bagged 26 goals, registered one assist and created three big chances over his 30 Eredivisie appearances, as well as taking 3.2 shots and making 0.5 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the player who journalist Jeroen Kapteijns dubbed a “phenomenon” earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.35, ranking him not only as his club’s best performer in the league but also as the joint sixth-best in the entire division.

As such, with Postecoglou undoubtedly hoping that the 26-year-old can hit similar heights at Parkhead this season, the Bhoys boss must stick with the Greece international tonight in order to give Giakoumakis the best possible chance of building up a similar run of form goalscoring form in the green and white of Celtic.

In other news: Ange confirms Nicholson negotiations with “huge” talent, Celtic fans will be buzzing

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has revealed that midfielder Morgan Sanson won’t be available for the meeting with West Ham this weekend.

And a number of Villa fans have been reacting to the news on social media.

Sanson has made just one senior appearance during the current campaign due to injury but has been back in the matchday squad in the defeats to Wolves and Arsenal.

Smith didn’t use the Frenchman, though, who Gregg Evans said lost his temper after Anwar El Ghazi was sent on as the last substitute at the Emirates last time out.

The 27-year-old reportedly took his anger out on his warm-up top and a bunch of water bottles, which was noticed by assistant manager Craig Shakespeare.

Smith admitted on Friday that Sanson and youngster Jaden Philogene-Bidace were ill and wouldn’t be available against the Hammers, however, some Villa fans didn’t seem to believe the Villa boss.

Villa fans react

Villa posted the news regarding Sanson on their official Twitter page. This is what these Villa supporters had to say in reply, with one labelling the treatment of Sanson as ‘disgusting’.

“you’ve got to be joking”

Credit: @CamUTFV

“Sanson isn’t ill though is he? you’re just embarrassed he put you in your place”

Credit: @Nathhhavfc

“It’s disgusting how Smith has treated @Morgan_Sanson8 he deserves much better and I’m sure there’s a good player in there just as there is with @fredguilbert24. All the fans know Sanson isn’t ill but he is clearly fuming with Smith”

Credit: @VillaWatch1

“We are so disrespectful to Sanson, we don’t deserve him”

Credit: @KingLandranger3

“he is not ill u just don’t like him pal”

Credit: @avfcdann

“How convenient that the guy who threw a bottle at him is supposedly “ill”. He’s losing the dressing room 100%”

Credit: @AndreasH1874

In other news: ‘Brilliant’ – Lots of Villa fans love ‘superb’ official late-night update.

Liverpool could finally replace departed winger Xherdan Shaqiri after being linked with a move for Porto ace Luis Diaz.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet TodoFichajes (as relayed by CaughtOffside), the Reds are one of several sides interested in securing the highly-rated 24-year-old’s services.

The report also lists Bayern Munich, Barcelona and AS Roma as potential suitors for Diaz, while his current club are thought to value their prized asset at a minimum of £43m.

Edwards must sanction Liverpool move

Colombia international Diaz arrived at the Estadio do Dragao from his homeland back in 2019 and quickly established himself as a key player for the Dragons. In 106 appearances for Sergio Conceicao’s charges, he has bagged 30 goals and provided a further 14 assists for his teammates, playing a pivotal part in their domestic double in 2019/20.

He then featured heavily for his nation last summer in the Copa America, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with four strikes.

Diaz scored the winning goal for Colombia as they won 3-2 in their third-place play-off with Peru, earning the praise of teammate Juan Cuadrado, with the former Chelsea man insisting that Los Cafeteros wouldn’t have won without the skillful forward.

“We won because of Lucho, he has an excellent level, and he will achieve great things,” Cuadrado said after the game.

With former Liverpool attacker Shaqiri departing for Lazio in the previous window, manger Jurgen Klopp is currently light on options in the final third of the pitch.

Therefore, director of football Michael Edwards must sanction a swoop for Diaz, providing the German with a plethora of options across the front three, allowing him to rest and rotate his star performers.

Although Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have started the new campaign in impressive fashion, the pair are approaching their 30th birthdays and Diaz’s arrival at Anfield could ensure Liverpool remain a potent attacking force for years to come.

In other news… Report reveals exciting Liverpool transfer update, fans will be absolutely buzzing 

Many Sunderland fans applauded Dan Neil during Tuesday night’s League One clash with Crewe Alexandra. 

Sunderland were looking to make it back-to-back away wins after coming from behind and surviving an Elliot Embleton red card in their 2-1 victory over Gillingham on Saturday.

Second-bottom Crewe, meanwhile, were going in search of just their second league win of the season and their first since they beat Burton Albion 2-0 on 18 September.

Black Cats manager Lee Johnson made one only change for the trip to Gresty Road, and it was enforced. The suspended Embleton made way for Aiden McGeady.

That meant Neil kept his place alongside Luke O’Nien in the 4-2-3-1 system.

Recapping Neil’s performance

Neil’s SofaScore rating of 7.3 was the third-highest in the Sunderland team, bettered only by two-goal striker Ross Stewart and McGeady.

He set-up Stewart’s first goal just after the half-hour mark, completed every pass he attempted and made two tackles.

Sunderland fans issue rave Neil reviews

“Dan Neil can win Connect Four in three moves”

Credit: @Evs_Dubai

“Dan Neil counted to infinity…. Twice”

Credit: @antoneee_x

“Dan Neil once walked into the Heinz factory and every single tin of beans opened up for him.”

Credit: @Laking86

“Dan Neil can slam a revolving door”

Credit: @iandobbers

“Sorry to repeat previous comments but dan Neil is a joy to watch”

Credit: @hayes1956

“Dan Neil masterclass the boy can play”

Credit: @GavLee82

In other news, fans fumed over this development.

Newcastle United have been dealt a major injury blow regarding Callum Wilson ahead of their upcoming Premier League fixture.

What’s the latest?

Speaking after the 4-1 loss to Manchester United last weekend, Steve Bruce revealed that he could not put a timescale on the 29-year-old’s absence from first team action, but suggested that the centre-forward looks set to be sidelined for at least another two weeks due to injury.

On the England international’s injury, as cited by Chronicle Live, Bruce said: “We aren’t putting a time scale on it. But he could be touch and go for next week and the week after it.”

Fans will be devastated

With Bruce’s team having sorely missed Wilson in the heavy loss at Old Trafford last Saturday, the news that the forward also looks set to miss the Magpies’ clash with Leeds United on Friday, as well as potentially the fixture against Watford later this month, is sure to leave Newcastle fans devastated.

Since making the move from Bournemouth to St James’ Park back in the summer of 2020, the £19.8m-rated striker has been something of a revelation on Tyneside.

Indeed, over his 26 Premier League appearances last season, the £77k-per-week marksman scored 12 goals, registered five assists and created four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 1.9 shots and making 0.7 key passes per game.

These returns saw Wilson earn an impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.99, ranking him as the Magpies’ second-best performer in the top flight.

The centre-forward has also started the 2021/22 campaign in fine form, scoring two goals and averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.03 over his three Premier League fixtures so far this season.

As such, it is evident how important the 29-year-old is to this Newcastle side, while it is also clear to see just how big of a miss he will be for the Magpies if he is ruled out for the rest of September.

In other news: Ashley must sanction Newcastle swoop for £9m-rated beast in January, he’d be a big coup