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Celtic have been credited with an interest in Crystal Palace midfielder Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.

According to the Daily Mail, the Hoops, along with Premier League sides Everton and West Ham, hold a strong interest in the 18-year-old.

However, the report claims that Rak-Sakyi looks likely to make the move to Germany, with Bundesliga duo Borussia Monchengladbach and Schalke name-checked as potential destinations.

Impressive form

Rak-Sakyi has turned down a two-year professional contract at Selhurst Park, meaning the side who wins the race for his services may have to pay just £150,000 in training compensation.

The left-footed attacking midfielder has scored seven goals and registered three assists in his last eight fixtures for Palace’s U18 and U23 sides, with his latest goal coming in a 2-0 win over table-topping Leeds United.

Transfer Tavern take

The Daily Mail claim that Rak-Sakyi is regarded as one of the brightest talents to emerge from Palace’s academy since Aaron Wan-Bissaka, so it could be a real coup by the Hoops if they secure his signature.

It seems as if a move to Germany is on the cards, though, but tracking young talents like Rak-Sakyi is certainly a positive move by the club.

They’ve already secured the services of teenager Liam Shaw for next season, and a few more young additions ahead of the 2021/22 campaign could be the way to go, along with several experienced signings in a Parkhead rebuild.

In other news: Celtic keen on 18-goal striker, could become club’s third-most-expensive signing, find out more here. 

The hunt for Celtic’s new manager has been sprinkled with some extra spice over the last week or so. The Hoops hierarchy are still no closer to announcing Neil Lennon’s successor but they are discovering more about their options.

It has now been three weeks since Lennon left his post and the Bhoys are busy chipping away at their list.

Early speculation claimed it could be Rafa Benitez who takes on the job but the search for the Northern Irishman’s successor has taken many twists and turns since.

Last week, RB Salzburg manager Jesse Marsch revealed it was an honour to be linked with the hot seat. However, just a day later, German reporter Christian Falk said the following: “He will not be available in the summer for the job in Glasgow.”

Considering all he’s brought to Salzburg, this was a monumental blow to Celtic’s hopes.

What this twist has allowed, though, is for Celtic to get their priorities straight. One of the names linked in recent weeks has been Chris Wilder.

The 53-year-old left his role as manager of Sheffield United with the Blades sat rock bottom of the English Premier League. That may not bring much joy to Hoops supporters but his achievements prior to that are incredible.

Martin Keown described Wilder as the “messiah” of Bramall Lane, taking them from League One to the Premier League and nearly achieving a miracle in earning them European football.

Sheffield United ultimately finished ninth in the table last term, just two points behind Arsenal. This season may be one to forget but for everything he achieved previously, he must be top of Celtic’s wishlist.

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Wilder worked on a shoestring budget and importantly for the Hoops, he is pretty adept defensively.

The Blades conceded just 39 goals last term, fewer than Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Leicester City. For a Celtic side who have been so lacklustre in that part of their game this term, he could be game-changing.

The Glaswegians have shipped 14 more goals than Rangers in the league while they somehow let in 19 strikes during their six Europa League group games.

If there is any area they need to desperately improve in ahead of next season, it’s at the back.

Combine Wilder’s ability to work with minimal funds and achieve things above his station and it makes for an eye-catching appointment.

The likes of Roberto Martinez and Ralf Rangnick might be more appealing, but Wilder stands as the more realistic option.

AND in other news, Bankier missed Celtic’s next Van Dijk in £46k-p/w beast who “rarely makes mistakes”…

Premier League giants Arsenal are reportedly set to return for Emiliano Buendia in the summer transfer window.

Arsenal were linked with a move for Norwich’s Buendia in the January transfer window but ended up signing Martin Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid. Now though, it has been suggested that they could return to go after Buendia in the summer.

Norwich will fight to keep Buendia

EuroSport have recently reported about Buendia and Arsenal. The report states that Norwich will fight to keep their best assets at the club in the summer transfer window and this includes not just Buendia, but Todd Cantwell and Max Aarons as well.

The report mentions interest from Arsenal and suggests that while they wanted him in the winter, they were told that the Argentine wasn’t available at any price. But the Gunners will look to reignite their interest in the midfielder in the summer and they are also expected to make an official offer for the Argentine.

Buendia’s Norwich find themselves at the top of the Championship and they’re ten points clear of second-placed Watford. Buendia has had a superb campaign, with the 24-year-old scoring ten times and picking up 12 assists as well.

Buendia would be a good signing for Arsenal

Since Odegaard is at Arsenal on a loan deal the Gunners may need to replace him if they want to have a creative threat to rival Emile Smith Rowe for playing time. Buendia’s 12 assists are more than Willian (six) and Nicolas Pepe (three) combined.

Buendia’s goalscoring contributions this season suggest that he could add a lot of goals from the midfield for the Gunners. He is valued at only £14.40 million, meaning even if Norwich demand more than that valuation he certainly wouldn’t break the bank. All signs point towards this being an excellent move from Mikel Arteta and the club.

In other news, Arsenal have been linked with a move for a Ligue 1 defender – read more here.

Wolves are very nearly back in top gear. They have lost just one of their last seven league outings and slight fears of relegation that were had are beginning to be wiped away.

Nuno Santo has taken his side back to their infamous three-man defence, and it’s paying off.

On the chalkboard

Despite the renewed positivity surrounding Molineux, their 1-1 draw with relegation candidates Newcastle last weekend was perhaps rather disappointing.

We got to watch a feast of dribbling from Adama Traore and Allan Saint-Maximin, and in the process, Leander Dendoncker was caught out time and time again.

The attacking duo are a joy to watch for their respective sides and they caused carnage on Saturday evening.

Traore gave Emil Krafth a torrid time down Newcastle’s right-hand side with the Spaniard completing as many as 14 dribbles; the winger’s highest successful tally this season.

Though, down Wolves’ right side, Dendoncker was also given a frightening time by Saint-Maximin. The Belgian can play in a multitude of positions but when selected in defence on Saturday, he let his team down.

The Frenchman gave Dendoncker a horrible time, providing four key passes and also managing four successful dribbles. In the words of Birmingham Live reporter Alex Dicken, he was “skinned” by the dazzling Saint-Maximin on a frequent basis.

Drop him

With that in mind, Nuno should be worried about fielding the Belgium international in that position on Tuesday evening.

If he struggled with Newcastle’s tricky winger at the weekend, just imagine how difficult he’ll find life against Manchester City.

It remains to be seen who starts in Pep Guardiola’s attack but with Raheem Sterling rested against West Ham, he is more than likely to feature on the left-hand side of City’s forward line.

The Englishman has completed 2.4 dribbles per game this term so Dendoncker could struggle yet again. It would be a surprising decision for Nuno to take though, especially given previous praise for the £90k-per-week Belgian.

Earlier this season, the 25-year-old became a combative force in the middle of the park. Dave Edwards deemed him undroppable, suggesting that it was “Dendoncker and one other” that Nuno would have to pick in his midfield.

Yet, now playing further back in defence, he’s being defeated. Dendoncker is usually so reliable but after the stifling night he was given by Saint-Maximin, trusting him against Sterling would be risky business.

AND in other news, Better than Jose: Wolves could rue missing £18m target once dubbed “out of this world”…

Said Benrahma let David Moyes down terribly after turning in an indifferent display as West Ham United beat Burnley 1-0 through a Michail Antonio goal.

Moyes opted to hand Benrahma only his fourth Premier League start following the forward’s summer arrival on loan from Brentford, partnering the Algerian with Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals in behind Antonio at the London Stadium.

Benrahma began promisingly when his pass split the Burnley defence to find Bowen on the edge of the box, who kept play alive well with a ball out to Fornals for the Spaniard to deliver a teasing delivery that found Antonio to score an easy tap in after nine minutes.

Benrahma continued to look lively in the opening stages with his confidence clearly up, yet saw his input reduce the more the game wore on and departed the field in the 68th-minute having failed to score his first goal in claret and blue.

The 25-year-old saw his afternoon end after offering just a single shot which, while on target, failed to cause Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope any issues with the four-time England international able to able to deal with the danger posed without leaving his spot.

Despite carving the Clarets defence open in the lead up to Antonio’s match-winning effort, Benrahma also left the field without a key pass beside his name on a day Declan Rice would bag four from the holding midfield role, Bowen would provide two and defenders Craig Dawson and Vladimir Coufal each offered one, per WhoScored.

Moyes will have been further frustrated to see Benrahma only manage to register a mere two touches inside the Burnley box, plus five on the periphery, as the attacker (16) ended his match having been outpassed by Irons shot-stopper Lukasz Fabianski (17) on his return from a thigh injury.

Benrahma will need to improve his end product and time spent in the visitor’s box for his move to east London to be a success, with the £20m-rated attacker further misplacing five of his six attempted crosses, per SofaScore.

Tame efforts from the wide positions have been a custom of Benrahma’s time at the London Stadium so far, with today’s successful cross his first in claret and blue after eight prior misdirected attempts in nine Premier League appearances.

His major redeeming quality from the Burnley affair came on the ground with success in four dribbles for a joint game-high record with Bowen, and having attempted fewer (5) than the former Hull City star (7).

It was by far and away Benrahma’s best day in terms of dribbling, having averaged just 1.5 successful runs from 2.2 attempts a game in the top-flight this term, but ultimately proved to be another day without any direct output and true time spent in the area that will have left Moyes feeling let down again.

AND in other news, West Ham may be targeting a new Modibo Maiga in their search of Sebastien Haller’s replacement.

Nuno Santo never usually has too many selection dilemmas.

After all, this is a man who in 166 of his 168 Wolves matches, has stuck with a formation that sees three centre-backs operate.

Furthermore, he is used to working with a small squad.

In each of the last two seasons, his side used the fewest number of players in the entire Premier League – 21. It’s a similar story this term too, with the Old Gold utilising just 20 players – the third-fewest of any top-flight team.

So, why after all this time, does he finally have a big problem in his squad? Well, that’s because he’s suddenly changed the formation, deviating away from his tried and trusted three or five at the back system.

Against Southampton, Nuno moved to four defenders and after drawing with the Saints, he used the same formation versus Arsenal. The result this time was a win, and they did it without one of their star players – Ruben Neves.

The Portuguese started against the Saints but at the Emirates Stadium, Nuno proved that he doesn’t necessarily need Neves in his side. Against one of the better teams in the division, it was impressive, but it’s also brought about an issue. How does he get back into the starting XI?

Of course, the midfielder is a class above, described as someone who “blew everybody’s mind,” when he first arrived in English football.

Though, with Daniel Podence’s performance in a number 10 role against Arsenal, it’s meant that playing three deeper midfielders of Neves, Dendoncker and Moutinho like there was against Southampton isn’t needed.

Podence was electrifying as he found the back of the net and performed four dribbles, tormenting the Gunners backline. Dropping him, therefore, would be a controversial decision.

It’s also tough to drop Dendoncker. He hit the woodwork in north London and dominated the middle of the park by winning five aerial duels.

Consequently, it’s difficult to see how Neves works his way back into the team.

The £45m-rated star has usually been one of the first names on the team sheet but now he’ll have to work hard to guarantee his place.

This could become a real headache for Nuno.

In other news, Wolves missed out on their IDEAL Adama Traore successor last summer… 

Glasgow Rangers showed they are early favourites to win the Scottish Premiership title as Steven Gerrard’s side beat Celtic at Parkhead on Saturday.

Celtic were comprehensively outplayed from start to finish as the Light Blues cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory over their arch-rivals on their home turf which sent them four points clear at the top of the table, having played a game more than Neil Lennon’s men.

A brace from Connor Goldson helped his side claim the spoils in the first Old Firm derby of the season but the Rangers boss will be well aware that there is still a long way to go between now and the end of the season.

The Gers won at Celtic Park last December but their title challenge crumbled before their very eyes after the winter break. Gerrard’s side dropped eight points in five games which left the Bhoys with a ten-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership last season.

History has a habit of repeating itself and as Celtic still have a game in hand and were without first-team regular starters Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie at the weekend, the Light Blues must already start to think about the next three points that are on offer.

Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack admitted his side received a reality check last term and vowed that they will not allow such an opportunity slip through their grasp once again. He said: “It’s always a great feeling to win a derby match, the boys are delighted.

“I thought we did very well, but it’s just another three points, a step to where we want to get to.

“The challenge is to put demands on ourselves to keep improving. It’s a big win but it doesn’t stop here. If we want to get to where we want to be then this is only the start.”

TGers registered another clean sheet when Celtic didn’t even manage a single shot on target throughout the entire game. Gerrard’s side have now only conceded three goals in eleven league games, four less than their arch-rivals who have a game in-hand.

Former Aberdeen striker Noel Whelan believes the Light Blues “look a lot more defensively sound.” He told Football Insider: “Steven Gerrard has changed that mental strength in that group of defensive players now, that’s what he’s been looking for.

“We’ve seen it from the start of the season, we’ve seen defensively they work hard, they look assured, they’re a lot more gritty at the back, they look a lot more defensively sound.

“That is where they were looking to strengthen and get better and they definitely have with their record this season in Europe and in the league.”

However, Rangers really cannot afford to slip up again and stutter for the second year running after beating their biggest rivals in their own backyard. To lose such a lead once may be regarded as misfortune; to lose both would be carelessness.

Let’s face it, Gers fans shouldn’t get too carried away. If there’s one thing for sure, the title race is far from over just yet.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers’ Glen Kamara dominates midfield battle in Old Firm derby…

According to The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, Gedson Fernandes is in danger of missing out on Tottenham’s Europa League squad.

What’s the word?

Having successfully navigated past the three qualifying rounds, Spurs finally enter the group stages of the competition, and will be facing LASK, Antwerp and Ludogorets respectively.

But with there being a fixed quota on the number of non-homegrown players who can be allowed in a squad (17), McGrath has revealed that there is a major question mark on Fernandes.

The Portuguese talent has hardly featured at all this season for Jose Mourinho’s side, playing just 63 minutes of football – and even that came in the Carabao Cup clash against Chelsea.

Mistake from Mourinho

Whilst it’s absolutely understandable why Fernandes’ name is near the top of the conversation when it comes to potential players who could be left out of the Europa League squad, it would be a major mistake from Mourinho to do so.

The 21-year-old is as versatile as they come, and it was telling that even despite only joining in the January transfer window, and being young and inexperienced in English football, Mourinho used him in five different positions last season: central midfield, attacking midfield, on the left and right flanks, and even at right-back too.

That ability to perform in a number of different roles is like star-dust, particularly in European competitions. The Thursday-Sunday combination of fixture scheduling for Spurs is likely to take its toll, and there will be no way Mourinho pushes his first-team stars too hard for both games.

But having someone like Fernandes, who can operate across midfield and even as a full-back, saves him a massive headache. Whether it’s an injury, or a key player need resting, he can trust in the starlet to come in and do a job.

So whilst he may be Spurs’ forgotten man for the time being given his lack of game-time this season, Mourinho desperately needs to select Fernandes for his Europa League squad, or he risks it back-firing.

According to The Athletic, Newcastle are struggling to offload Henri Saivet before the close of the transfer window next week.

What’s the word?

Despite sealing a string of impressive signings in Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser and Jamal Lewis respectively, the Magpies haven’t enjoyed the kind of hot start they would have wanted this season.

Steve Bruce’s side have picked up one win, one draw and one defeat from their opening three Premier League games, but were incredibly fortunate to come away with a point in their last clash against Tottenham thanks to a controversial VAR decision.

Now, The Athletic claim that the Magpies are having troubles getting rid of some of the deadwood in their squad, including Saivet, with Chris Waugh suggesting that he will spend the first half of the campaign on Tyneside, but with his name off the official Premier League squad list.

The ultimate Mike Ashley disaster

Costing a reported £5m when they first signed him from French side Bordeaux, Newcastle may have been forgiven for thinking they had clinched a midfield star in the mould of Yohan Cabaye.

Speaking at the announcement of his arrival, then Newcastle boss Steve McClaren said: “Henri is someone the Club have been watching for a while, and he has developed into an excellent player at Bordeaux. This is someone with a very good mentality, who is a tough player and a winner. Those are key qualities you need in the Premier League and we are looking forward to seeing him pulling on the Newcastle United shirt.”

But since then, it’s been nothing short of a major disaster for the Tyneside club. As well as his transfer fee, Newcastle having to pick up his full £32k-a-week wages for more than four years, has meant it has cost Bruce’s side around £12.8m in total.

In return, he has made just eight first-team appearances, scoring one goal and providing no assists – he hasn’t even taken to the field at St James’ Park since the 2017/2018 season.

The Magpies’ forgotten man is the ultimate symbol of Mike Ashley’s reign in recent years. Wasting big money off the pitch, and absolutely nothing on it.

And in other news, this Newcastle flop was the BIGGEST reason behind their embarrassing Carabao Cup performance at Newport.

Gheorghe Hagi has compared his son, Glasgow Rangers’ Ianis, to France legend Zinedine Zidane.

Hagi compared to Zidane

Gheorghe himself was a legendary footballer. He appeared for Barcelona, Real Madrid and Galatasaray throughout his career, whilst he helped Romania reach the World Cup quarter-finals in 1994, their best-ever international performance.

However, Hagi has compared his son to the former Juventus playmaker rather than to himself. Talking to Der Standard, the 55-year-old said:

“Unlike me he’s two-footed, taller and slimmer.

“His style of play is more like Zinedine Zidane than Gheorghe Hagi – but I can live with that too!”

Hagi must show his ability in the Old Firm derby this weekend

After a slow start, one whcih saw him criticised by some Rangers supporters, the younger Hagi has burst into life. In his first 13 matches of the season, he has one goal and a very impressive seven assists. At £3m, he is starting to look like a bargain, and Steven Gerrard will be hoping that he continues to progress as he is just 21-years-old. To be compared to a former Ballon d’Or winner is a huge call, but the early signs at Ibrox have at least been positive.

On Saturday, though, he will encounter another big test. This weekend, the 54-time Scottish champions host Celtic in the first Old Firm derby of the season, and although it will be played without fans in attendence, it will be a tough clash for the Gers. Hagi was brought in to have an influence when things matter – this the perfect opportunity to show that he was worth every penny.

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