According to a recent report from BBC Scotland, Alfredo Morelos has been linked with a move away from Rangers this month. The 22-year-old only joined the Scottish giants in the summer of 2017 and has since been an absolute revelation north of the border, netting 21 goals in 50 games for the Light Blues to underline his status as one of the club’s most prized assets.

And reports suggest that French side Bordeaux have launched a £3.75 million bid for the striker, which has subsequently been rejected by Steven Gerrard’s side, but were they to cave in and sell the £2.03 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt) this month, they can wave goodbye to a serious title challenge.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, there is little doubting that new boss Gerrard has done some very shrewd business in bringing in no fewer than 11 players to Ibrox, ranging from experience in the form of Allan McGregor and Scott Arfield to exciting young talents in Ovie Ejaria and Ryan Kent.

And while all 11 will bring further quality and depth to a squad that finished third last season, to seriously sustain a Scottish Premiership title challenge this term, Gerrard will also have to keep hold of the club’s best players – Morelos certainly falls into that category.

While the signings of former boss Pedro Caixinha have been questioned by many in the last 12 months or so, the Colombian star has without doubt been one of his better finds in bagging a sensational 18 goals and laying on eight assists for the Light Blues last season, helping them to third place in the league, as well as the last four of the Scottish Cup.

Thus, the 22-year-old comfortably finished as the club’s top-scorer to underline just how integral he is to the side going forward, and with just he and Josh Windass, who left the club for Wigan Athletic last week, reaching double figures last term, it’s clear that taking Morelos out of the side could prove to be disastrous for Gerrard’s side this season.

Add in the three goals he has already scored in helping the Gers win one and draw the other of their opening two league games, as well as close in on a place in the Europa League group stages, and it’s absolutely imperative that Rangers keep hold of the 22-year-old this season if they are to move forward under Gerrard, both this term and in years to come.

The Light Blues simply cannot be in the business of selling their best players if they are to again become a dominant force in Scotland, and given the struggles Celtic appear to be showing at present, there may be an opportunity to make serious inroads this time round.

But they cannot do that without the goals and overall influence of Morelos, which is why they can wave goodbye to a possible title challenge if they let the 22-year-old go this month.

Rangers fans… what do you think? Let us know!

https://opinions.footballfancast.com/poll_rating/should-glen-middleton-start-vs-kille/

According to The Sun, James Collins could be offered a one-year contract by West Ham, just three months after the club released him as he wasn’t in new boss Manuel Pellegrini’s plans, but Celtic should consider offering him a short-term contract.

What’s the story?

The Sun reports that the 35-year-old has been back training with the Hammers to keep up his fitness, but first choice centre-back Winston Reid will be out for a further two months with a knee injury and there is pressure for Collins to be given a contract in order to provide competition for Angelo Ogbonna and new signing Fabian Balbuena.

Astonishingly, after 11 years at the East London club, Collins found out about his release this summer over email, as Pellegrini went on to make nine signings during the transfer window.

The Hammers have lost their opening two Premier League games, with a 4-0 defeat to Liverpool and a 2-1 home loss to Bournemouth piling the pressure on Pellegrini already.

Defensive troubles

Another side seemingly in desperate need of a centre-back is Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic, with Dedryck Boyata still ruling himself out as he looks to force a move away from Parkhead.

The Bhoys were linked with moves for Jeffrey Bruma and Scott McKenna, and even had a bid of around £3.5m for McKenna rejected by Aberdeen, according to the BBC.

Celtic were knocked out of the Champions League at the qualifying stage by AEK Athens and lost to Hearts 1-0 in the SPL during what has been a slow start to the season, but Collins could come in and sure up the side at the back. His experience would be invaluable for Rodgers and the Northern Irishman should make a move before West Ham do.

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Manchester City were unsuccessful in their efforts to sign a new centre-midfielder in the summer.

Pep Guardiola had identified Napoli’s Jorginho as the perfect option to add to the engine room, but the Italian joined Chelsea at the final hour after Maurizio Sarri was announced as their new manager. The Spaniard was unable to make another significant signing before the window slammed shut. The £60m capture of Riyad Mahrez was his only major deal.

The ex-Barcelona boss was also dealt a cruel injury blow this week with Kevin de Bruyne sustaining an injury in training. The Belgian was pictured on crutches during the premiere of Amazon’s documentary featuring the Citizens. BBC Sports report De Bruyne suffered a lateral cruciate ligament injury and will be sidelined for three months leaving Guardiola light on options in midfield.

To bolster his ranks, Guardiola should attempt to sign Arsenal midfielder, Aaron Ramsey, when the transfer window reopens in January. Valued at £40.5m by Transfermarkt, the Welshman is yet to pen an extension on his deal that expires in the summer of 2019. Ramsey could be set to follow the likes of Robin Van Persie and Samir Nasri in swapping North London for Manchester.

The 27-year-old was a shining light in a poor season for the Gunners last season, bagging seven goals and notching eight assists in just 24 Premier League appearances. Ramsey also hit four goals in six Europa League appearances with Arsenal reaching the semi-final before losing to Atletico Madrid. Under Guardiola’s tutelage, Ramsey could become a world-class midfielder.

Poaching the Wales international from Arsenal would give Guardiola another quality option in the centre of midfield and a long-term replacement for David Silva. It would also significantly weaken a Premier League rival with Ramsey emerging as a crucial player at the Emirates in recent seasons.

The prospect of playing under Guardiola and winning trophies will be difficult to reject – City should make Ramsey their number one target in January.

Manchester City fans, thoughts?

Loads of Celtic fans have been reacting to the latest transfer news, as Olivier Ntcham is reportedly in line for a new contract.

According to The Daily Record (22:40), Celtic are lining up a new deal for Ntcham to fend off transfer interest.

Brendan Rodgers confirmed the news, saying: “There was interest in Olivier but we sat down with him and his representatives and talked through the plan.”

He’s been here one year and it shows the development he’s had with the interest shown in him. We’re not ready to sell.”

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The French midfielder has been one of the few Celtic players to actually start this season in good form, so it would be a disaster to lose him this late in the window.

West Ham were linked with a move for Ntcham earlier this summer, and most fans are breathing a huge sigh of relief over the contract talks, while a few suspect the “like a new signing” cliché will be in full effect.

It remains to be seen whether his compatriot Moussa Dembele will still be a Celtic player when the window slams shut tomorrow, but at 22 Ntcham has a lot more to offer.

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It’s been a hugely disappointing transfer window for the Hoops, but loads of fans have been reacting to the Ntcham news, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Southampton picked up just their fourth Premier League win of 2018 and their first this season as they beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Despite playing well for the opening 55 minutes the previous week, Saints ended up on the losing side of a 2-1 scoreline against Leicester City at St Mary’s, and having taken one point from nine available there was early concerns that they could find themselves in another relegation battle again this season.

Those fears were certainly alleviated to some extent against the Eagles in what was another largely dominant display from the south coast outfit, with second-half goals from Danny Ings and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg proving to be the difference.

Summer signing Mo Elyounoussi started for the third time in the space of a week for the trip to face Roy Hodgson’s side, and despite hitting the woodwork at one stage he is yet to show that he can make the same impact in England that he often did for Basel in Switzerland and the Champions League.

Despite an outstanding loan spell with Fulham last term in which he played a key role in the Cottagers winning promotion to the Premier League, Matt Targett has found first-team minutes hard to come by for Southampton so far this term – not helped by the fact he finds himself behind Ryan Bertrand in the pecking order for the left-back position.

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Nevertheless, the 22-year-old, whom Saints fans on Twitter were desperate to keep during the summer following bids for his services from Fulham, replaced Elyounoussi in the 72nd minute against Palace and showed his composure and quality to assist Hojbjerg’s goal in injury-time, and it is getting to the stage where he should be given an opportunity in the starting XI.

While captain Bertrand won’t be getting displaced anytime soon, Targett could certainly play further forward on the left because of the attributes he has, and that would allow another in-form player in Nathan Redmond to move to the right – which would of course see Elyounoussi drop to the bench.

So, Southampton fans, do you think Targett should be handed a starting spot ahead of Elyounoussi? Let us know by voting below…

Celtic have been linked with several strikers to replace Moussa Dembele, and 78 per cent of fans think they should change course completely and target struggling wonderkid Breel Embolo.

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Gabby Agbonlahor has become the latest striker to be linked with a move to Celtic, as the free agent issued a “come and get me” plea after taking part in the charity match at Celtic Park.

While Agbonlahor would be a short-term solution, the Hoops would be much better served looking at long-term solutions, and partnering Embolo with the ever-improving Odsonne Edouard could be lethal.

Embolo was extremely highly rated as a teenager, scoring 31 and adding 22 assists for FC Basel.

A serious ankle injury and a dip in form and confidence has derailed his career since moving to Schalke though, and valued at just £16.2m by Transfermarkt the Hoops should definitely be eyeing him up.

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A fresh start in a different league could help him rediscover the form that has earned him 29 Switzerland caps at just 21 years of age, and the opportunity to play in Europe year in year out alongside fellow wonderkid Edouard could just tempt him to Celtic Park.

A whopping 78 per cent of fans are backing the move, and you can find the full poll results down below…

Last season, Liverpool shocked everyone by reaching the Champions League final.

Jurgen Klopp’s men ousted Porto, Manchester City and Roma on their way to the showpiece against Real Madrid in Kiev.

In the end, it was a disappointing outcome for the Merseyside outfit as they were beaten 3-1 by Los Blancos.

This season, the team are well equipped to challenge on all fronts, including the Premier League title.

With that in mind, former Manchester United captain Gary Neville suggested while speaking to The Times that Liverpool should exit the European competition as early as possible.

The Sky Sports pundit claimed that it would give the Reds a better chance of winning the league title.

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Klopp has since had his say on those comments, telling reporters in his pre-match press conference:

“How does that work? Not play Champions League? Gary should tell me how that works. How do you prepare for a game and not focus on it? I don’t know what he means with that. We have to play football. A lot watch our games from the Champions League, it’s our job to do the best we can do.

“We will see, I don’t know what it means, to focus on one competition. It can only be if you’re nearly out of a competition, late in the season. But last year, we had no chance to focus on one competition, we had to qualify for the Champions League.

“Even Gary would say, don’t let City win. I don’t want to be too critical, sitting in an office is different to doing the job. What did he say about Man United in that situation? Nothing?”

Some Liverpool fans have also posted their thoughts on Neville’s suggestion, and a few could not resist making a dig at United.

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West Ham fans on Twitter were buzzing with new signing Andriy Yarmolenko after he netted twice in his first Premier League start for the Hammers as Manuel Pellegrini’s side dispatched Everton 3-1.

The Ukranian international winger joined the East London side this summer in a £17.5m move from German giants Borussia Dortmund, and he proved his quality almost instantly at Goodison Park on Sunday.

It took just 11 minutes for the Hammers to take the lead against a lacklustre Everton side, as striker Marko Arnautovic broke the offside trap and squared to the new man, who had appeared as a substitute in the four previous league games.

Then 20 minutes later Hammers captain Mark Noble pounced on a poor ball from Jordan Pickford and found Yarmolenko, who cut inside onto his left-foot and curled a perfect finish beyond the Everton goalkeeper.

West Ham fans on Twitter were understandably buzzing with the 28-year-old’s contribution and performance. Check out some of their best tweets below.

[ad_pod ][ffc_insert title=”Check out the Big Interview with Ben Dinnery & Johnny Wilson” name=”Fixture In Focus Podcast Special” image_ link=”https://fixtureinfocus.podiant.co/e/369d9b4fb86294/” link_text=”Click here to play”]Mohamed Salah scored some sublime goals for Liverpool during the 2017-18 season.The Egyptian international only moved to Anfield from Roma last summer but he swiftly became one of Jurgen Klopp’s most important players as he netted 44 goals in all competitions.It is no surprise, then, that the 26-year-old was nominated for the FIFA Puskas award, but the goal selected raised a few eyebrows.During the Best FIFA Football Awards 2018 on Monday evening, Salah’s strike against Everton in the Premier League last season was named goal of the year.After shrugging off a couple of defenders, the Liverpool star curled the ball into the top corner, and even though it was an impressive goal, it is difficult to understand why it would be deemed the best of the football calendar.

Some Liverpool fans argued that it was not even Salah’s best goal of the season, let alone the standout one in football that year.

Plenty of supporters took to Reddit to question the decision, while others found it highly amusing.

Comment from discussion Mo Salah wins the Puskas Award.Comment from discussion Mo Salah wins the Puskas Award.Comment from discussion Mo Salah wins the Puskas Award.Comment from discussion Mo Salah wins the Puskas Award.Comment from discussion Mo Salah wins the Puskas Award.Comment from discussion Mo Salah wins the Puskas Award.Comment from discussion Mo Salah wins the Puskas Award.Comment from discussion Mo Salah wins the Puskas Award.Comment from discussion Mo Salah wins the Puskas Award.

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Everton are a club who have consistently knocked on the door of the top-six ever since David Moyes led the club to a 4th place finish in the 2004/05 season, but the Premier League is a different animal to what it was 13 years ago. 

Everton’s tally of 61 points in May 2005 saw them finish 3 points ahead of Liverpool to give the Toffees faithful a summer full of bragging rights and supremacy on Merseyside.

Since then Everton have finished 5th on three separate occasions, but a top-four finish continues to elude them.

As money has piled into English football Everton have found themselves suffering a crisis of identity with the Champions League places seemingly unreachable, so what is there to play for?

Well, Jordan Pickford is refusing to give up on the dream of reaching Europe’s most prestigious knockout competitions as he told The Guardian: “The club has a project to go forward and everyone knows that means reaching the Champions League.

That will take a lot of hard work but we are willing to put it in. I don’t know how long it might take but looking ahead you have to be ambitious enough to be trying to hit the top four.”

Pickford’s ambition is admirable and exactly what the supporters want to hear, but Everton are so far away from breaching the top-four.

The problem for Everton is that they are stuck in no mans land with no realistic chance of qualifying for the Champions League or being dragged into a relegation scrap.

That leaves them with the aim of qualifying for the Europa League, but Europa League football does not carry the same level of glamour which it’s bigger brother possesses and qualification for the competition is typically viewed as a hindrance rather than an achievement.

Naturally, the long-term aim has to be to qualify for the Champions League but, in an era when there are clearly six teams vying for the top-four places who are a class above the rest, it looks like an impossible task for Marco Silva to complete.

At this moment in time Silva, Pickford and the rest of Everton’s squad need to focus on short-term results and building some momentum because European nights in the world’s most awe-inspiring footballing cathedrals are incomprehensible for the club in their current condition.

Everton fans – thoughts? Let us know below!