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Glasgow Rangers have managed to secure deals for Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin this month as Michael Beale looks to assert his own stamp on the first-team squad at Ibrox, and with less than 24 hours to go until the transfer deadline, there could yet be more incomings.

The Premiership club have recently been linked with a move for Anderlecht youngster Noah Sadiki, who is out of contract at the end of the current campaign, and the Belgian could fit into Beale’s philosophy of moving for players who are still developing and could be sold for a high profit further down the line.

There could well be a good omen with a move for Sadiki, with Raskin also joining the club, as the last time that Rangers signed a Belgian player during the winter transfer window, they overturned a January deficit to Celtic and eventually went on the win the league title.

That was in January 2005, when Alex McLeish signed Thomas Buffel from Feyenoord, and he went on to play an integral part in the Light Blues claiming their 51st championship crown.

He scored four goals in 15 matches during the second half of the 2004/05 campaign and secured the title on the final day of the season as Celtic lost away to Motherwell. Although a nine-point deficit this time around could prove too much to claw back, the Ibrox faithful will be clinging on to any omen or bit of fortune which comes their way.

Sadiki might not have the same impact as Buffel, but the “highly talented” teenager – as dubbed by Jacek Kulig – still has the potential to enjoy a bright future in Glasgow.

This season, the 18-year-old has registered one assist and created two big chances, averaging 0.3 key passes per match and succeeding with 67% of his dribble attempts from either a right-back or right-wing position.

His versatility could be an added bonus for Beale, and despite his lack of experience at the top level, there is no reason to doubt that the youngster couldn’t gain some minutes during the second half of the season for Rangers.

Signing Buffel in 2005 proved to be a masterclass as McLeish led his side to a dramatic title triumph which is still talked about to this day, but if Beale secures a move for Sadiki and the club wins the Premiership crown this year, it could well eclipse the legendary ‘Helicopter Sunday’.

West Ham United could be set to reignite their interest in a long-term target…

What’s the latest?

That’s according to transfer insider Pete O’Rourke, who spoke to Football FanCast about a potential move the Hammers might make for Youssef En-Nesyri, who Sevilla had valued at around €40m (£35m).

He said:

“Again, like all those teams down the wrong end of the table scoring goals has been an issue and that’s been the same for West Ham.

“They just haven’t hit the heights of last season. Michail Antonio and summer signing Gianluca Scamacca just haven’t been consistent enough or scored enough goals for West Ham so far this season.

“So that’s why West Ham are in the market for a new striker in this transfer window. Obviously, they are big admirers of En-Nesyri having previously tried to sign him before.”

He could save their season

It is not unfair to suggest that this season has been a resounding failure for the Irons thus far.

Having secured consecutive top-seven finishes, David Moyes now seems poised to battle with a number of teams to merely retain his side’s place in the Premier League.

It has been a catastrophic fall from grace from the 59-year-old who has handed a transfer war chest in the summer, with one of those signed namedropped by O’Rourke as an inconsistent failure thus far.

However, by adding some much-needed goals to the fold, they could achieve safety with relative comfort given how tight the table is.

Results depending, a run of three straight wins could see West Ham jump up as high as 11th.

Although in the league the Moroccan has been somewhat toothless, he still boasts five goals across the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

He is yet to recapture the form of the 2020/21 campaign, but perhaps a move to England might reignite a career that has stagnated in Spain.

During that season, he scored 18 LaLiga goals and a further six times in just eight Champions League games.

He showed flashes of finding this form in the recent World Cup, where he was lauded for his “monster moment” by journalist Piers Edwards to score the decisive goal in Morocco’s win over Portugal.

Moyes is in desperate need of something to stop the rut, with his side winless since the restart having scored just four times in their last six league games.

Even former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell had previously urged his old club to swoop for the 25-year-old, as he claimed: “I will tell you that much. He will carry a threat top end of the pitch. He has good size, speed, knows where the goal is, he is skilful.”

Perhaps En-Nesyri could provide the spark that is needed, helping to salvage what has been a miserable season thus far.

Chelsea have recently been dealt a rather detrimental transfer blow, with touted winter target Enzo Fernandez looking increasingly likely to remain at Benfica for the remainder of the season following a stumble in negotiations.

With the deal going astray, Blues manager Graham Potter might be inclined to turn his head and reassess previous targets, with Southampton’s Romeo Lavia one such prospect who could emerge from the situation in Chelsea colours.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano confirmed in September that the Blues had attempted to bring the Belgian starlet to Stamford Bridge in the summer by offering £50m, despite the Saints having signed him from Manchester City just a couple of months prior.

Any audacious efforts to ensnare their target were indeed rebuffed by the south coast club, but Chelsea’s intrigue in the player’s services has stretched into the winter months, and a move might just be forthcoming following the recent developments in the Fernandez transfer saga.

Conversing with talkSPORT, Alex Crook stated that he believes Chelsea could return for previous targets now that the Fernandez deal is fading, and Lavia could be at the centre of the forthcoming attention.

Crook said: “For Chelsea it’s back to the drawing board. I do have a potential alternative target as it’s pretty clear they’re looking to strengthen that midfield area.

“Romeo Lavia was a player at Southampton they came in for late in the last transfer window despite the fact Southampton only signed him last summer.

“I was told yesterday that interest could well be reignited. Southampton on their part would be loathed to sell Lavia, but certainly keep your eye on Chelsea potentially testing their resolve with a big-money bid.”

The 19-year-old has made ten appearances for the Saints since arriving in the summer in a £14m move from City, scoring one goal – ironically against Chelsea – and captivating supporters with his maturity and confidence from the middle of the park.

As per Sofascore, he has recorded an impressive rating of 6.81 in the Premier League despite his tender age and inexperience within professional competitive football and has completed 88% of his passes, also making 1.7 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game.

Southampton correspondent Alfie House has waxed lyrical about Lavia, calling him a player who “sets the tempo”; and with Chelsea in dire need of midfield reinforcements, sitting tenth in the league table and with established central figures N’Golo Kante and Jorginho both set to depart when their current deals expire at the end of the term, Potter can quickly move on from Fernandez by pouncing for the Belgian teenager instead.

Everton could be set to move for one of the World Cup’s breakout stars…

What’s the latest?

Following the recent claim from Sky Sports journalist Alan Myers that the Toffees were one of the clubs chasing German forward Niclas Fullkrug, Dean Jones has also had his say on the rumours.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I like Fullkrug but I’m not sure about whether he could be the answer to Everton’s problems up top.

“It feels risky. This is a team that scored one goal in their last four games – you need to sign someone reliable and while Fullkrug is in a hot patch, he does not have a consistently good goal record at the top level.”

Ditch Calvert-Lewin

Despite Jones’ wariness towards the deal, at the very least the 6 foot 3 German forward could provide Everton with a reliable goal threat and a physical presence up top.

This is a position routinely occupied by Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Goodison Park, but his damning injury record unfortunately outlines him as someone who cannot be trusted to maintain fitness.

Neal Maupay was meant to be the answer to this issue in the summer, but with just one goal since his move from Brighton, it is fair to say that his acquisition seems to be failing.

The Merseyside outfit are crying out for someone with physicality to come in and fire them to Premier League safety, and Fullkrug has shown on the world’s biggest stage that he can step up when he is very much needed.

Having received only 22 minutes per game, with his time limited to a trio of substitute appearances, he scored an all-important late equaliser against Spain before a goal and an assist against Costa Rica nearly saved Germany’s campaign from group stage elimination.

The 29-year-old also boasted a 100% dribble success rate at the finals in Qatar, maintaining an average Sofascore rating of 7.17.

These displays even led The Athletic to label him a “World Cup hero” despite his country’s group stage exit from the competition.

His selection for the World Cup squad was more than merited, as his 19 goals and eight assists helped his Werder Bremen side to promotion in 2021/22, which he has followed up with a further ten goals in the Bundesliga this term for a struggling outfit.

Although Jones seems to think that this would be a risky move for Everton, it seems that Fullkrug is finally entering his prime with a consistent stream of goals.

His emergence could mark a chance for Frank Lampard to boldly ditch his main marksman Calvert-Lewin in favour of this red-hot German talisman.

West Ham United defender Thilo Kehrer has been criticised for his performance in Germany’s recent World Cup group match against Spain. 

The Lowdown: Germany vs Spain

After losing 2-1 to Japan in their opening game of the tournament, Germany managed to secure a point against Spain with a 1-1 scoreline.

Niclas Fullkrug scored an 83rd-minute equaliser for Hansi Flick’s side after Alvaro Morata put Spain 1-0 up just after the hour mark.

Despite managing to avoid another defeat, Kehrer ended up on the receiving end of some criticism for his efforts on the pitch.

The Latest: Criticism for Kehrer

In a Twitter post, journalist Stefan Bienkowski had this to say about the West Ham defender shortly before half time.

“Kehrer is having a horrendous time of it at right back.”

In a later tweet, the journalist added some extra thoughts about Kehrer.

“Hansi Flick’s decision not to bring a single natural or fully fit right-back to Qatar has proved to be a disaster. Süle at fault in that position against Japan. Kehrer very poor tonight. Baku or Henrichs would have at least offered width and stability.”

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The Verdict: A disappointing show from Kehrer

Taking into account what Bienkowski had to say about Kehrer and his display against Spain, it seems as though the Hammers man didn’t suit playing in the right-back position, losing possession on eight occasions and committing three fouls, picking up a yellow card in a 72-minute display. [SofaScore]

In their player ratings article, The Daily Mail said ‘the West Ham defender did little to impress or inspire confidence before being replaced in the second half’.

With all of this in mind, it could be said that the 26-year-old may not be Flick’s best option for the right-back position as Germany look to pick up their first win of the tournament in their final group game against Costa Rica on Thursday.

Scottish champions Celtic continued the relentless defence of their league title with a 4-2 victory over Dundee United on Saturday afternoon, with the Old Firm outfit picking up their 12th win of the season thus far to move seven points clear at the top of the table.

It had been far from plain sailing at Parkhead on the day, however, with Ange Postecoglou’s side having been reliant on a dramatic late show from Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada to bail them out of trouble, with it briefly looking as if the Tangerines had done enough to nick a point late on through Dylan Levitt.

The other goalscorer on the day for the visitors had been that of former Scotland international, Steven Fletcher, with the towering marksman converting from the penalty spot to maintain his impressive record against the Hoops, having now scored five goals in 17 meetings with the Glasgow side in his career to date.

The 35-year-old has proven a regular thorn in the side of those at Paradise over the years, although the veteran ace could well have turned out for the Bhoys if things had worked out differently, with the striker admitting that he had come close to joining the club in the past.

The ten-cap menace recently discussed the repeated links regarding a potential move to Celtic, stating that:

“Earlier on in my career when I was linked with Celtic I didn’t have much to do with it.

“At that age you just leave it to agents and all that, only finding things out when they’re pretty much done.

“So I don’t know how close it came back in the early days, but before I signed for Stoke that was the closest a move to Celtic came. It didn’t happen in the end and I’ll tell that story one day!

“But I was linked with Celtic a lot over the years.”

As the 6 foot 1 forward alluded to, the Hoops have regularly been linked with his services for over a decade now, with speculation having first begun after Fletcher burst onto the scene at Hibernian, with those at Celtic Park said to have seen a bid rejected at the tail end of the January window in 2009.

Reports again emerged in 2015 that then-boss Ronny Deila was keen to prise the Shrewsbury-born striker from Premier League outfit Sunderland, with the player said to be available for a fee of around £2m.

No deal came to fruition, however, – potentially as a result of the player’s £50k-per-week salary – with Fletcher eventually going on to join Sheffield Wednesday a year later, following a brief, bizarre stint on loan at Ligue 1 side Marseille.

The imposing brute  – who also plied his trade for both Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers after leaving Easter Road – was again close to a move to Celtic Park back in the summer of 2020 with the two parties believed to be in talks, albeit with the former Hibs ace ultimately joining Stoke City.

Now back in Scottish football at Tannadice, the £261k-rated man has made a solid start to the season with four goals and two assists in 15 games in all competitions thus far, while his overall career tally stands at 159 goals at club level.

Such an impressive return should indicate that Fletcher may well have been a success for those in Glasgow had a deal ever come off, with it no doubt a source of frustration that the club’s apparent interest could not lead to an agreement being struck.

Arsenal defender Benjamin White has staked his biggest claim yet to be in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.

The Gunners returned to their place atop the Premier League standings with a typically synonymous 1-0 victory over London rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

However, the scoreline did not truly reflect the nature of the game as Mikel Arteta’s men dominated throughout the 90 minutes and were more deserving of a couple more goals, particularly as the Blues never looked like scoring.

That’s because Arsenal’s backline put in a “monstrous” display – in the words of GOAL journalist Charles Watts – against their former teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The pre-game narrative was very much centred around him but the former Gunner could only muster up eight touches during his time on the pitch.

Brazil colossus Gabriel and France hopeful William Saliba, who is trying to break his way into Didier Deschamps’ squad this month, were rock solid and the latter certainly did his chances of making the tournament the world of good.

As did White, who must now be on the Three Lions’ radar, as he’s capable of playing through the middle and at right-back, where he thwarted the likes of Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling, who are likely shoo-ins to make Southgate’s squad right now.

Indeed, the 25-year-old defender won five of his six ground duels (83%), registered four clearances – the most in the game – and put in one tackle and one block too, as per SofaScore.

But it was his attacking endeavours that caught the eye the most and will surely leave Southgate pondering, given Reece James’ likely absence and doubts over Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defensive ability.

White – who was once lauded as a “warrior” by talent scout Jacek Kulig – was successful in 100% of his dribbles, whilst the £120k-per-week phenomenon also got forward to create one key chance from his 41 accurate passes. He even won his side three free-kicks and only two other players saw the ball more than him, having recorded 69 touches across the 90 minutes.

‘[He] has added to the offensive side of his game since coming out to right back and showed that side even more today. Some good work defensively when needed too. If he’s not in the World Cup squad serious questions have to be asked,” wrote football.london reporter Kaya Kayak in his post-match ratings column.

The Englishman, who cost Arsenal around £50m from Brighton and Hove Albion in July 2021, must add to his four caps in Qatar this month.

His versatility and clear improvement in both a defensive and attacking sense is surely going to be valuable to Southgate, just as much as it is to Arteta right now.

AND in other news, Edu in early Arsenal talks to sign 29-goal “monster”, he can explode at the World Cup…

Aston Villa have announced that their new manager is Unai Emery, marking a huge statement of intent from the board to lure someone with such pedigree to Villa Park.

Having given up his Villarreal side which nearly reached the Champions League final last season, he will have a huge task on his hands to reignite this sleeping giant of a football club.

That is all the more so given the damage that Steven Gerrard had seemingly done at the club, as they sit 15th in the Premier League and were in the relegation zone before Aaron Danks led them to their 4-0 win over Brentford on Sunday.

One thing that the inbound Spaniard likes to employ with his clubs is a rigid defensive structure, but he is not afraid to be brave when the situation suits him. He boasts a great tactical mind which has led him to numerous Europa League titles.

Although Villa’s league position is not ideal, he could walk into a squad inundated with untapped talent just ready to be rocketed up the table.

One man around whom the Spaniard could build the spine of his team is summer signing Leander Dendoncker, who was brought into the team against the Bees to great effect.

His defensive solidity in the middle of the pitch allowed the front four the freedom to fire in four unanswered goals, whilst the Belgian earned a SofaScore rating of 7.5.

It is no surprise that his former Wolves coach Nuno Espirito Santo labelled the £90k-per-week ace a “top player” who was very “talented”.

In just 63 minutes on the pitch, he won 80% of his duels, making three tackles, two interceptions and three clearances to cap off a fine defensive display.

Whilst at Arsenal, Emery struggled to find a player of such ilk around whom to build his team, as neither Lucas Torreira nor Matteu Guendouzi could fulfil the role.

With Dendoncker, the Spaniard’s 4-2-3-1 system could be executed to perfection with him as one of the two holding midfielders.

Emery will not provide an instant fix, but with the Belgium midfielder he has already been handed the foundations upon which to build a defensively strong team, and he must continue to unleash the 27-year-old in their upcoming games.

Everton have had several injury concerns over the Premier League season so far, although Frank Lampard has revealed a promising update on two players in his squad ahead of the clash against Manchester United this weekend.

What’s the latest?

The 44-year-old took to his pre-match press conference to deliver an update on Toffees defenders Mason Holgate and Yerry Mina, who will miss tomorrow night’s game but are close to a return.

Lampard told the media: “They’re training with us. Yerry joined us in the past couple of days, Mason came in today for part of training. They’re both working hard to get [back to full fitness].”

“This weekend comes too soon probably for both of them, definitely for Mason but we hope with a good week’s training next week they can be in contention from then on.”

It’s good news for Everton

It is very good news for Everton that multiple players are now coming back into training and could be in contention for upcoming fixtures as squad depth will be invaluable to the Toffees, something which must have caused Lampard many sleepless nights last season.

Everton endured a difficult relegation battle at the bottom of the Premier League table, and the fact that the club had the worst injury record of anyone in the top flight in 2021/22 was without a doubt a huge contributor to their struggles over the campaign.

Indeed, the Merseysiders signed James Tarkowski and Conor Coady, who have formed a solid centre-back partnership in the team since their arrivals this summer. That has contributed to Everton’s outstanding defensive record which is currently the best in the league, so it seems likely that neither Mina nor Holgate will be guaranteed a starting berth upon their returns to action.

However, squad depth in defence will be massively important to the Toffees, especially with a number of challenging fixtures ahead of them over the coming weeks amid a hectic schedule which sees them play five times in 21 days, a run which could test squad depth and players’ fitness to their limits.

Everton face Manchester United tomorrow night and then take on Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United over the next fortnight.

Having both Mina and Holgate available to at least come off the bench in the latter two games could be invaluable for Lampard as he works to improve the team’s performances in the top flight over the season ahead.

Do you know which celebrities you could see at St. James’ Park cheering on Newcastle United at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon? 

There is so much excitement around the North East following the takeover of the Magpies from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabian (KSA) consortium, and they have been able to bring in stars like Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak from Lyon and Real Sociedad respectively.

The start to the season has been a little shaky, with five draws from their opening seven games in the Premier League, but Eddie Howe will be confident that his team can put a string of wins together after the international break.

Meanwhile, while waiting for the Toon to return to your TV screen, why not test your knowledge of famous NUFC supporters with our Celebrity Newcastle Fan Quiz! Just simply tell us if you believe any of these to be a Magpie…