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Celtic have been linked to several new names this transfer window as the deadline looms closer. The Hoops are yet to recruit any new personnel but Nick Hammond will undoubtedly be scouring the market for the club’s next big talent.

But along with any potential new signings, the Hoops are also looking at shifting some of the players already on their books. According to the Daily Mail, via the Daily Record, forgotten defender Jack Hendry is set to leave Parkhead as loan side KV Oostende prepare to make his stay in Belgium permanent.

This is somewhat of a questionable move given the fact that Neil Lennon is currently struggling with his defence. The Bhoys continue to have issues plugging their leaky backline as they continue to let goals in. Their short-lived Europa League run saw them concede the joint highest amount of goals with a mammoth 19, as per UEFA.

Only Ludogorets and Dundalk shipped this many goals, which is very out of character for the usually dominant Glaswegians.

However, Hendry has fallen down the pecking order and is no longer considered a viable option for Lennon. With just over a year left on his current Celtic contract, Hammond has wasted no time in striking a deal to ensure he leaves the club in exchange for a bit of pocket money for the transfer window.

Despite not featuring for the reigning Premiership champions since 2019, Hammond has managed to bank an expected £1.75million for the sale of Hendry. This will see the Hoops collect a tidy profit of £250,000, improving on the fee they paid for the centre-back in 2018 after signing him from Dundee.

Given the fact that Hendry has been out on loan since 2019 and has just 27 total appearances under his belt for Celtic, this deal is very impressive. Lining Peter Lawwell’s pockets with a slight profit will seriously impress the Scotsman. This puts them in good stead to tackle the transfer window head on and hopefully bring in some new faces to make 2021/22 a better season.

In other news, Celtic must avoid making any further moves to sign Tom Ince…

Jurgen Klopp has been dealt another big injury blow ahead of his side’s trip to Leicester City on Saturday afternoon, with Fabinho set to miss the game at the King Power Stadium.

The Athletic correspondent James Pearce confirmed on Twitter that the Brazilian would be absent for the game against Brendan Rodgers’ side on Saturday due to a “little muscle issue”.

The defensive-midfielder has been one of Liverpool’s most important players in this bizarre season so far, having filled in superbly at centre-back in the absence of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, who have all been ruled out for the season with long-term injuries.

Whilst the Reds did add Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak during the January transfer window, both are yet to make their Reds debut, but could be forced into action against Leicester on Saturday following this injury blow.

Fabinho has been the only real constant at centre-back for Liverpool this season, with Klopp selecting a plethora of centre-back partnerships throughout the season, which have more often than not seen the Brazilian starting alongside the likes of Nathaniel Phillips, Rhys Williams or Jordan Henderson.

The former Monaco man has made 18 appearances in the top-flight this season, with Matip the only other centre-back option (other than Henderson), to reach double digits in terms of league appearances so far this campaign, which highlights how important Fabinho has been in this Liverpool defence.

Whilst he has not been at his best in recent fixtures, which have seen the Reds lose significant ground in the title race, there was perhaps hope amongst fans that he could return to his best by moving back into midfield, now that Klopp has more options in his defence.

If Liverpool were to lose against Leicester on Saturday afternoon it would surely bring an end to their hopes of retaining the Premier League title, so to lose a player as influential as the “world-class” Fabinho through injury is undoubtedly a huge blow for Klopp.

And, in other news… Edwards should swoop for “exciting” PL beast who is “only going to get better”

David Sullivan potentially wasted a whopping £31m by signing Sebastien Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt amid reports West Ham United could look to sell the striker next summer.

What’s the word?

According to Claret and Hugh, Haller is playing on borrowed time at the London Stadium after it was decided that the Ivory Coast international will be placed on the Irons’ transfer list at the end of the season.

Neither the forward nor the club are presently interested in a potential mid-season loan exit for the 26-year-old, who continues to have his admirers in Germany despite failing to make any real impact in England following his £45m capture in 2019.

At least three Bundesliga outfits are believed to have approached West Ham looking to discuss a temporary deal for Haller, only to be informed he is not available until the summer when he will cost any interested side at least £25m.

Further conversations between Hammers chiefs and the unnamed interested clubs have only increased the likelihood of a permanent transfer in the next off-season, when Haller will have earned close to £11m through his £115,000-per-week West Ham contract.

Haller has featured in 13 of David Moyes’ 14 Premier League squads thus far this season but only started seven of his appearances after the Irons lost leading striker Michail Antonio in October through the first of two hamstring injuries.

A major flop

While the claims of interest in Germany suggest Bundesliga clubs forgive Haller for struggling in the Premier League due to Moyes’ tactics, his spell in east London would forever be regarded as a major disaster should he leave the Irons next summer.

Former Director of Football Mario Husillos and manager Manuel Pellegrini spent big on making Haller the Irons’ record signing and awarding him the most-lucrative contract among current West Ham players.

For that, the Hammers have only been rewarded with 14 goals in 50 games across all competitions, including a hit-rate of one every 297 minutes in the Premier League.

Moyes continually asks Haller for more, with the former Manchester United coach urging the France-born forward to show in his performances why he developed a big reputation in Germany, where he netted 24 times in 60 Bundesliga appearances.

“I’ve got to say, he’s got a great reputation throughout Europe. His goals in Germany were excellent at Frankfurt, so let’s hope he can bring them to West Ham,” Moyes said.

“I would hope that I don’t need to categorise him that he can only play in a certain type of game. I want to see a big whole-hearted, committed centre-forward who we know can contribute to the team. We’ve got the makings of a good team and I want Seb to be part of it.”

It remains to be seen, however, for how much longer Haller is a part of Moyes’ team.

AND in other news, David Moyes can discover his ideal West Ham titan in a 12-goal star “everyone loves”.

Wolverhampton Wanderers moved into the top six with a fine victory over Arsenal on Sunday evening.

Nuno Santo’s side secured their first win in the red half of north London for the first time in over four decades thanks to first half goals from Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence.

The match was somewhat marred by the shocking head injury sustained to Raul Jimenez, but his Old Gold teammates did him justice by securing all three points.

And despite the impact of the Portuguese duo in his absence, it was actually another countryman that arguably ran the show for Nuno.

Veteran playmaker Joao Moutinho certainly appears to be getting back to his best as he dominated the engine room, often winning his battles (seven of 11 duels won) against the likes of Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka.

Per SofaScore, the £65k-per-week maestro recorded a team-high six tackles, five clearances and two interceptions whilst also making 83% of his 54 passing attempts.

His influence as the key orchestrator is only emphasised when you see that he notched the most amount of touches of any Wolves player with 74.

BirminghamLive’s Alex Dicken graded his performance a 9/10, and claimed: “The man many call ‘The GOAT’ is back. Moutinho was impressive against Southampton last time out – but he was even better against Arsenal. Moutinho barely put a foot wrong in 90 minutes, in both defence and attack, to help Wolves to a famous win.”

Indeed that was certainly the case.

The 34-year-old is ageing like a fine wine, combining an industrious work ethic with a touch of pure class. He was one main reason to why the Midlands outfit picked up an elusive victory against Arsenal.

It is no wonder that Match of the Day commentator Guy Mowbray once lauded him as a “Rolls-Royce of a player.”

That’s now two straight games playing the full 90, Nuno must ensure it stays that way going into a tough-looking festive period.

AND in other news, Wolves should never have let “unplayable” PL sensation slip their grasp…

أفادت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، أن نادي برشلونة قرر بشكل نهائي التخلي عن الدولي الفرنسي صامويل أومتيتي خلال فترة الانتقالات الشتوية.

برشلونة تعاقد مع أومتيتي في 2016 من ليون وتألق اللاعب في صفوف البلوجرانا قبل إصابته في 2018، عقب تتويجه بالمونديال مع فرنسا.

طالع أيضًا.. تقارير: بنفيكا مهتم بضم مدافع برشلونة في ميركاتو الشتاء

صحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية، أكدت أن برشلونة قرر التفاوض مع صامويل أومتيتي على الخروح خلال فترة الانتقالات الشتوية المقبلة، ويريده النادي أن يفهم أن الاتفاق ضروري بالنسبة له لأنه في سن الـ28 ولا بد أن يجد مكانًا مناسبًا لإعادة إحياء مسيرته.

برشلونة يدرس العديد من العروض وأخبر اللاعب ووكيله بذلك، وأن الفرنسي الآن ليس له مكان داخل كتيبة البلوجرانا، كما أن أومتيتي لديه راتب مرتفع للغاية وتأثيره في الفريق منعدم الآن بسبب عدم مشاركته.

تشافي فتح طريقًا من الأمل لـ صامويل، عندما أخبره بأنه سيحصل على الفرصة، لكن الفرنسي غير ظاهر بالشكل المناسب حتى الآن، ويبدو أن كل شيء يشير نحو الخروج في الشتاء.

West Ham United were wise to side with caution this summer having opted against pushing through a potential £26million deal to sign Chelsea full-back Emerson Palmeri.

What’s the word?

The Irons were linked with Chelsea’s out-of-favour defender Emerson this summer by talkSPORT, who claimed the 26-year-old was being considered by manager David Moyes to strengthen the backline in east London.

Emerson was thought to have been one of several players that could depart Stamford Bridge after failing to impress Frank Lampard last season, having been awarded just 15 Premier League appearances and playing infrequent roles in the Blues’ cup efforts.

But the Stamford Bridge natives were not willing to allow Emerson to depart on the cheap, and reports by Goal suggested they would demand £26m for the alleged Inter Milan target as they sought to raise funds to offset Ben Chilwell’s £45m arrival.

Lampard has continued to overlook Emerson this season having opted against naming the defender in any of his league squads to date, much to the Italy international’s disappointment.

“When I arrive here I change my head, I feel important and part of the group,” Emerson is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail while on international duty.

“At Chelsea, things are not going as I wish in this part of the season. I just have to work.”

It is noted that Chelsea will likely look to offload Emerson again in January, with the Santos, Brazil-born full-back behind Marcos Alonso and Chilwell in Lampard’s plans.

Wise to baulk at £26m deal

While Moyes is said to have considered Emerson as a potential option to explore in his search of a new full-back, David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady were right to baulk at any deal for the disheartened 26-year-old if interest reached that level in east London.

Emerson would only have offered a marginal upgrade on current Irons ace Aaron Creswell when their numbers from last season are compared, with Moyes calling on the Liverpool-born 30-year-old to feature 29 times across all competitions at left-back in 2019/20.

Moyes handed Creswell a total of 31 outings in last year’s Premier League campaign, of which all were starting roles and the £5.85m-rated ace managed an average 0.8 key balls, 0.5 shots, 1.4 tackles, 1.9 clearances and 3.7 duels won per match while helping to five clean sheets, per SofaScore.

As for Emerson, the Chelsea outcast started just 13 of his 15 top-flight appearances and managed an average 1.3 key balls, 0.6 shots, 1.5 tackles, 0.9 clearances and 4.5 duels won a game while helping to just one clean sheet.

With Emerson on a £75,000-per-week contract at Stamford Bridge, West Ham would have been making a vast financial commitment for limited gains by signing the Lampard exile.

AND in other news, West Ham can sign a “gifted” long-term target before Friday’s deadline after a Premier League rival turned to alternative options.

West Ham United are facing a tumultuous summer.

They have sold Grady Diangana to West Bromwich Albion in a deal that has led to howls of derision from fans and have roundly failed to strengthen their squad in the summer.

Tomas Soucek has arrived on a permanent basis, his loan deal being converted, but other than that, they are no better than they were at the end of the campaign.

And The Athletic has now made it clear just how poor their transfer activity has been.

They report that there were a number of players discussed as potential targets who have moved to other clubs instead of ending up in east London.

Cameo Clubs: Which obscure teams did these football legends play for?

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The names may be familiar for West Ham fans; Ollie Watkins and Matty Cash have joined Aston Villa from Brentford and Nottingham Forest respectively; Antonee Robinson has moved to Fulham from Wigan Athletic; Eberechi Eze has gone to Crystal Palace from QPR; Jamal Lewis has joined Newcastle United from Norwich City, while Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser have also rocked up at St James’ Park from AFC Bournemouth.

There is no guarantee, of course, that any would have decided to move to the London Stadium when faced with rival interest but there must be frustration at the inability to get deals over the line this summer for the Hammers.

Any one of the seven players would undoubtedly have improved David Moyes’ squad and given him more options in his selections.

Is life under Gold and Sullivan really that bad? Maybe this quiz will change your minds, West Ham fans…

Instead, he is still working with the same group of players he had at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.

It really isn’t good enough.

MatériaMais Notícias

A participação de Rogério Ceni na partida contra o Figueirense às 17h deste sábado, válida pela 35ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro, está praticamente descartada. Assim, o LANCE! resolveu listar os últimos passos do goleiro-artilheiro do São Paulo no Morumbi, estádio onde não deve fazer mais nenhum jogo oficial antes de se aposentar.

A última aparição do Mito no gramado da casa são-paulina foi também a última derrota e o último clássico por lá. No dia 21 de outubro, os tricolores foram vencidos pelo rival Santos por 3 a 1 na primeira semifinal da Copa do Brasil, com gols de Gabriel, Ricardo Oliveira e Marquinhos Gabriel, o último a vazar o arqueiro em casa, sob forte tempestade e diante de 26.434 torcedores.

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Três dias antes, em 18 de outubro, Ceni obteve seu último empate no estádio: na 31ª rodada do Brasileirão, o São Paulo ficou no 2 a 2 com o Vasco da Gama. Já a última vitória foi em 3 de outubro, quando o Tricolor bateu o Atlético-PR por 1 a 0, gol do atacante Rogério, na despedida do técnico Juan Carlos Osorio.

O treinador colombiano também esteve presente na partida em que o capitão são-paulino marcou seu último gol de pênalti no Morumbi. Em 6 de junho, Osorio estreava em vitória por 2 a 0 sobre o Grêmio, aberta por Luis Fabiano e concluída por Ceni. A vítima foi o goleiro Tiago, reserva de Marcelo Grohe.

Na mesma semana, Rogério havia recebido aquele que seria seu último cartão amarelo no estádio. Por reclamação, o camisa 01 foi punido pelo árbitro Thiago Duarte Peixoto e falhou em um dos gols do Santos. No segundo tempo, no entanto, o Mito marcou de pênalti já nos acréscimos e venceu seu último clássico em sua casa, então com 13.847 torcedores.

Por fim, chegamos ao último gol de falta anotado pelo maior goleiro-artilheiro do mundo no Morumbi. No dia 11 de abril, o São Paulo eliminou o Red Bull Brasil nas quartas de final do Campeonato Paulista com um 3 a 0. Alexandre Pato e Paulo Henrique Ganso marcaram no segundo tempo, mas o triunfo começou a ser construído pelo Mito em chute por fora da barreira e no canto do goleiro rival, Juninho.

É preciso voltar ainda mais no tempo para relembrar o último título vencido por Rogério Ceni no Morumbi. Em 12 de dezembro de 2012, o capitão ergueu com o jovem Lucas a taça da Copa Sul-Americana e fechou o ciclo de conquistas iniciado em 1993, na Copa Libertadores da América e no Mundial de Clubes, ainda como um reserva.

Coventry City manager Mark Robins will approach today’s Championship opener with Bristol City full of optimism after a superb summer transfer window.

After winning the League One title last season and gaining automatic promotion, excitement has grown around the Sky Blues.

Robins, who has been nothing short of excellent during his time in charge of the Warwickshire club, has enhanced his squad over summer by bringing in no fewer than eight players – Gustavo Hamer, Julien Dacosta, Marcel Hilssner, Callum O’Hare, Ryan Giles, Leo Ostigard, Ben Sheaf and Tyler Walker have all arrived.

This afternoon’s game against Bristol City will hand Robins a first chance to select what could turn out to be his usual starting XI.

Looking at the starting XI, the goalkeeper selection seems to be one of the easiest to predict with Mark Marosi very much the club’s number one.

New signing Dacosta is unavailable through injury so a defensive back three of Dominic Hyam, Kyle McFadzean and Ostigard could be named.

Josh Pask and Ryan Giles could act as wing backs for the game at Ashton Gate, allowing Hamer and Liam Kelly to hold down the two defensive midfield roles. Jamie Allen and O’Hare could start as an advanced midfield duo behind striker Matty Godden.

Do you think Coventry can get off to a winning start? Let us know in the comments section below…

This article forms part of our Profit Players feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.