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Brendan Rodgers has jumped the gun in relation to the signing of Maryan Shved.

What’s the word?

The Karpaty Lviv winger watched Wednesday’s 2-0 win over St Johnstone after undergoing his medical.

Since presenting Maurice Johnston as a signing in 1989, two months before he turned up on the other side of the city, Celtic have been cautious over the timing of signings.

The Hoops completed three deals in the first fortnight of the transfer window but with just a few hours remaining there has been no further additions to the first team squad.

Perhaps caught a little off guard, Rodgers said as quoted by The Evening Times: “Marian Shved was at the game and I spoke to him beforehand.

“He is delighted to be here and his medical is all complete. Marian will go back to Ukraine and finish off his season there with his club.

“He will then come back to Scotland around April and get involved with the training, before being ready to go in the summer.”

These days any signing requires a social media introduction, with a brief video clip usually the way to make an announcement.

Shved has already spent a season and a half in Spain with Sevilla’s youth side but all of his effective playing days have been in the Ukraine.

Stockpiling wingers

On the surface it seems that Celtic are stockpiling wingers. Scott Sinclair and James Forrest are clearly the men in possession with Mikey Johnston and Jonny Hayes both waiting patiently for the chance to deputise.

Shved has an impressive reputation and decent first team experience for a 21-year-old but adapting to the Scottish game, coming to terms with the demands on Celtic players and breaking into a highly successful first team is a tall order. Just ask Lewis Morgan.

Liverpool are reportedly among a number of top clubs set to ‘position themselves’ for a possible summer move for Porto midfielder Vitinha.

The Lowdown: Vitinha impressing for Porto

The 22-year-old is maturing into a formidable player in his homeland, proving to be an increasingly crucial figure for a table-topping Porto side.

Vitinha has made 20 Primeira Liga starts this season, along with six appearances in the Champions League, averaging a 90.2% pass completion rate in the Portuguese top flight. The youngster also enjoyed a loan spell at Wolves last season, appearing 19 times in the Premier League.

The Latest: Reds linked with Vitinha move

According to O Jogo [via Sport Witness], the ‘siege begins to tighten’ regarding interest in Vitinha this summer, with Liverpool one of the clubs keen on a move for the 22-year-old.

The Reds’ assistant manager Pep Lijnders is ‘keeping a close eye’ on the midfielder, whose variety of suitors has ‘skyrocketed’ in recent times.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-25/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Could be ideal

Midfield seems to be the one area of the pitch where Jurgen Klopp could do with refreshing this summer, with James Milner rapidly approaching the end of his career and both Jordan Henderson and Thiago also now in their 30s.

Vitinha could be an ideal option to come in and become a strong squad player, boasting a better ball retention rate than any regular starter at Anfield this season and also offering a long-term option in the Reds’ midfield.

As mentioned above, has experience of playing in the Premier League which would be an added bonus, and he has been hailed by Porto manager Sergio Conceicao as ‘fabulous’ and a player with ‘fantastic technique’.

There are plenty of good reasons for Liverpool to explore the possibility of bringing the 22-year-old back to England.

In other news, Liverpool are reportedly not in the race to sign one player. Find out who it is here.

Lots of Glasgow Rangers fans have been left gushing over an Instagram post that has emerged from Alfredo Morelos.

As shared by The Athletic journalist Jordan Campbell, Morelos showed himself on his Instagram story doing some work in the gym ahead of their game away at Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership next Tuesday.

Scottish supporters are preparing for their return to grounds after a break due to rising COVID-19 cases, and players are busy getting back to full fitness in order to prepare to play matches.

Morelos himself has seen a resurgence in form, scoring four goals and making one assist in December (Transfermarkt), and looks like he is in good shape ahead of the fixture, which has left Light Blues gushing.

Rangers fans on Morelos story

These Teddy Bears gushed as his story was shared on Twitter:

“The difference in his physical shape is incredible, who would ever have thought Buff would be in the gym working out of his own accord”

Credit: @SY97Ger

“Wow he looks like a different person. I think our management team can communicate better”

Credit: @ha11y6

“Lean mean Buffalo machine”

Credit: @AyeReady87

“Can’t wait to see him unleashed at Aberdeen and Parkhead”

Credit: @BrianSm64730413

“Aberdeen ain’t ready”

Credit: @Matt_2k8

“That’s probably the best shape I’ve ever seen him in”

Credit: @Rangers_View

In other news, find out which Ger has now been backed to leave in January here!

Tottenham Hotspur could form a frightening frontline amid interest in Adama Traore this January…

What’s the word?

The north London outfit have once again been linked with a move for the powerful Wolverhampton Wanderers winger ahead of next month’s transfer window.

According to the Telegraph’s Matt Law, Spurs boss Antonio Conte is a huge fan of the Spain international and the club could be set to revisit their interest in signing him.

‘The speed-king was identified as a target while Nuno [Santo] was in charge during the summer, but Spurs only made an offer to take him on loan. Conte is also a fan of the player and would no doubt see a similar bid as a waste of time. He will want Levy to commit to the kind of offer that might make Wolves think,’ he wrote.

Earlier this month, it was suggested that Wolves would accept a bid as low as £18m for the 25-year-old, as per ESPN.

Imagine him and Son

Not only would Traore be a perfect fit for Conte’s wing-back system in N17 but he could give Spurs another standout option in the final third, one that would send fear into many a Premier League defence.

He’s capable of playing as a winger, more centrally as an inside-forward and at wing-back, so there is plenty of room for the Italian to fit him into the team.

Traore has long been a nuisance in the top-flight and alongside a player like Heung-min Son, Conte could have a frightening duo to play in behind Harry Kane.

As he did last season, the Wolves star leads the division for dribbles per game (4.7). Of course, his end product has always been brought into question but Kane and Son are there to take up the brunt of the goalscoring duties.

He’s still averaging 1.1 key passes per game, proving to be quite the creative option, too.

Aside from his ball-carrying ability, Traore is also built like a brick wall and his physicality is another reason why so many full-backs struggle to combat him.

Southampton forward Che Adams dubbed him a “monster” to the Premier League’s official YouTube channel, whilst Jurgen Klopp has often deemed him to be “unplayable.”

On the above evidence, sporting director Fabio Paratici must look to seal a move for Traore, especially for as little as £18m, in January.

AND in other news, Spurs can sign their next Mousa Dembele in “devastating” £26m-rated machine who won’t cost a penny…

Aston Villa are keen on signing Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma, according to Sky Sports.

As to be expected, a number of Villa fans have been giving their thoughts to the news on social media.

The Midlands club have already finalised their first marquee addition of the January transfer window by agreeing on a loan deal with Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho.

Steven Gerrard and Johan Lange now appear to be turning their attention to a holding midfielder, with Marvelous Nakamba recently undergoing knee surgery.

Bissouma has just 18 months remaining on his contract with the Seagulls, with Villa seemingly willing to take advantage of that situation this month. The 25-year-old has been with Brighton since 2018 and has made 111 appearances for the club, 15 of which have come in the current campaign.

The Mali international is renowned for his effective distribution of the ball and his tough-tackling nature. No player who has started a top-flight match for Villa this season can better his 88.8% passing success rate, while his match average of 3.6 tackles is well clear of anyone in Gerrard’s squad (John McGinn leads the way with 2.7 per game).

Villa fans react

Well-known Twitter feed @villareport shared Sky Sports’ claim regarding Villa’s interest in Bissouma on the social media website.

Here is what these supporters had to say in reply, with many buzzing over the development and one describing a potential deal as ‘huge’.

“OH MY, STEVIE IS GOING CRAZY.”

Credit: @Jack_Hurley_R

“If we get him, wow”

Credit: @GW_94

“We are huge, man”

Credit: @TommmForddd

“Incredible if we pull this off as well”

Credit: @jack_gatehouse

“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Would have a bigger impact on the team overall than Coutinho”

Credit: @trading2b3

“DON GERRARD WHAT IS GOING ON”

Credit: @Finleysurrell1

In other news: ‘Oh my god’ – Many Villa fans erupt at who West Ham now want to sign

Sunderland’s previous League One outing saw them comfortably beat Morecambe 5-0 thanks to goals from Ross Stewart, Nathan Broadhead, Alex Pritchard and Leon Dajaku, making it the second league game of the season where they’ve managed to put five goals past their opponents with the first being their 5-0 victory over Cheltenham Town back in September.

With the January transfer window on the horizon, Sunderland have the opportunity to add even more firepower to their squad after a recent report from The Northern Echo claimed that Lee Johnson is “considering recalling Jack Diamond and Josh Hawkes from their respective loan spells in order to increase his options in the second half of the season.”

Taking into account how many injuries Sunderland have at the moment, particularly in the defensive areas, Johnson could have the mindset of overpowering their opponents in an attacking sense, in the same way they did with Morecambe, to make up for their defensive weaknesses, which could make it a smart move to have the likes of Diamond and Hawkes at his disposal again.

In 12 League Two appearances for Tranmere Rovers, Hawkes has managed to score one goal and provide two assists whilst playing in a number of different midfield and attacking positions.

For Diamond, he has racked up five goals and four assists in 17 appearances for Harrogate Town across League Two and the FA Cup.

This shows why Johnson reportedly wants the duo back at the Wearside club in January to see if they can continue their good starts to the season back at Sunderland and help the Black Cats win promotion back to the Championship.

If Johnson can guarantee Diamond and Hawkes regular playing time back at Sunderland for the remainder of the season, then Kyril Louis-Dreyfus should definitely bring them back in case his squad are struck down with any more injuries that could be a setback for their promotion hopes.

Providing the duo do return in the winter and are able to have a positive impact on the team and their results moving forward, this would be a massive boost for the fans who would undoubtedly be thrilled, especially if the team manages to secure promotion.

In other news: Johnson could solve major SAFC predicament by unleashing “terrific” 21 y/o sensation – opinion

Just as it was looking likely that Frank Lampard would attempt to lead Norwich out of a relegation battle, the Chelsea legend has been ruled out of the race and won’t be taking the job at Carrow Road.

Dean Smith, former head coach of Aston Villa, is now favourite to succeed Farke, according to reports.

The ever-reliable Matt Law from the Telegraph tweeted a major update this afternoon to seemingly confirm that the former Chelsea boss is not interested in the vacancy.

“Frank Lampard will not return to management at Norwich City after pulling out of the race #ncfc.” he said.

The 43-year-old became a quick favourite for the job after he was rumoured to be in talks with sporting director, Stuart Webber, earlier this week.

The former England international has not been in a managerial position since he was sacked in early 2020 by Chelsea, after failing to get a consistent run of form going with the Blues.

Dean Smith was sacked earlier this week by Aston Villa after five consecutive losses, and the decision was met with mixed emotions from fans who have watched the club go from Championship to an established Premier League side in just three seasons.

The 50-year-old coach shared a heartfelt statement earlier this week expressing his gratitude and feeling of accomplishment as manager of his boyhood club;

 “The Aston Villa board’s aims and ambitions are to take our club back into European football and I would love nothing more than seeing the club achieve that.“I’ve always said that I was simply a custodian of this great football club, and my aim was to leave it in a better place than I found it. I believe that together we have achieved that.”Steven Gerrard has since been announced as the new Aston Villa manager.

According to Sky Sports, Smith had an interview with the Norwich board yesterday, with the Canaries reportedly impressed by him.

The former Brentford boss is no stranger to a relegation battle or Championship football, after taking a struggling Aston Villa side from 15th in the Championship to an 11th place Premier League finish.

Norwich are in desperate need of a manager with the right experience to take on the difficult challenge of keeping them up this season, Smith would be a great fit should he feel the challenge is something he is capable of at this moment in time.

Despite Lampard’s rejection, the fact that Smith is still firmly in the running should leave the Canaries’ faithful excited about the immediate future.

His record at both Brentford and Villa is hugely encouraging, regardless of the division they find themselves in next season.

AND in other news, Norwich expecting weekend appointment…

Celtic have come back fighting this season after a campaign in 2020/21 that was plagued with issues at Parkhead.

The Hoops relinquished their control of Scottish football to their arch enemy but Ange Postecoglou has arrived at Celtic Park and reinvigorated a club that looked rather lost.

He has brought in a number of new signings, completely revamping the playing squad and changing the way they play.

The quadrant of Jota, Kyogo, Liel Abada and Giorgos Giakoumakis have contributed to 79 goals between them while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Josip Juranovic and Carl Starfelt have all made themselves at home in the heart of the defence.

Matt O’Riley, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate also made an instant impact after arriving in January, all scoring already in the famous green and white.

However, there are a couple of purchases that have to be questioned. Yosuke Ideguchi has spent plenty of time on the treatment table since penning terms over the winter but the biggest concern has to be James McCarthy.

Indeed, RTÉ analyst Eamon Dunphy dubbed him a “terrible flop” earlier this season and it’s rather hard to argue with that assessment.

The Irishman arrived on big wages, £14k-per-week in fact, and he’s not done a lot to justify that salary. Hailing from Ireland, he appears to be cut from the same cloth as his international colleague, Shane Duffy.

He arrived from Brighton on a season-long loan deal last term and picked up a sizeable wage. However, like McCarthy, he had a torrid time in Glasgow despite previously thriving in the Premier League.

It’s difficult to grasp why the duo have both struggled so much, but one theory puts it down to the intensity of Postecoglou’s training sessions.

The Athletic reported last year that the former Crystal Palace midfielder had been finding life difficult in training as the pace of the manager’s sessions and the demands he placed on his players were simply too much for him to cope with.

As a result, it’s hardly a surprise that McCarthy has barely featured this campaign. The central midfielder has played 20 times in total, of which only eight appearances have come in the Premiership.

Consequently, there have been hints for him to be axed from the squad this summer. Alan Hutton told Football Insider: “You look at the ground Hatate covers, even McGregor. They’re workhorses. They get up and down the pitch, they make things happen and that question mark is over James McCarthy.

“Is he capable of doing that for 90 minutes? At the moment, I’m not so sure.”

He has only been at Celtic for just under a year but when you consider the sheer number of options Postecoglou boasts in his engine room, it’s tough to see McCarthy ever making it at Celtic.

It might just be time to cut ties with the Irishman.

AND in other news, Sources: Deal now agreed for potential “£20m-plus” talent, it’s bad news for Celtic…

Tottenham Hotspur have opened talks with Hugo Lloris regarding the extension of the goalkeeper’s contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Fabrizio Romano, with the journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that Spurs are confident the 35-year-old will put pen to paper on a one-year contract extension, keeping him in north London until at least the summer of 2023 – with the deal having been approved by Antonio Conte.

In his post, the transfer insider said: “Tottenham are in talks with Hugo Lloris and ‘confident’ to extend his contract until June 2023. One more season approved by Antonio Conte.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Lloris has been for Tottenham this season, the news that the club captain looks set to extend his current contract for a further year is sure to have left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful buzzing.

Indeed, over his 18 Premier League appearances in the current campaign, the £6.3m-rated shot-stopper has kept eight clean sheets and made an average of 2.7 saves per game, with these returns seeing the France international average a SofaScore match rating of 7.06 – ranking him as Conte’s sixth-best performer in the top flight of English football.

As such, it is perhaps unsurprising that the 52-year-old Italian manager went on record to state his hope that Spurs can find an agreement with the 35-year-old regarding his contract, stating: “He’s top-level – I’m sure in a short time the club will find a solution with Lloris because he loves Tottenham.”

And, following Romano’s latest update, it would appear as if a solution has been found with the World Cup winner, something that considering his impressive level of performance so far this term is undoubtedly fantastic news for everyone involved with Spurs.

In other news: Major boost: Antonio Conte drops fresh injury update that will have Spurs fans buzzing

Newcastle United saw many players come and go from the club during Mike Ashley’s tumultuous reign in charge of the Magpies.

However, one player who was mentioned with a move to St James’ Park but didn’t end up joining the Tyneside club that many fans may now be wishing had signed on the dotted line is Mohamed Salah.

Back in 2011, the then-19-year-old Egyptian apparently expected to see himself make the move to Newcastle on loan after impressing in the Under-20 World Cup.

On the potential move to Tyneside, Salah said: “Newcastle will soon make an official offer to sign me for one season. I don’t think Contractors will refuse to let me play in the English Premier League. It’s a dream for any player to play in one of the strongest league competitions in the world.”

As many Toon fans will be aware, the winger didn’t end up joining the club and instead made the move to Basel in the 2012 summer transfer window.

In 2017, after having spells with Chelsea, Fiorentina and Roma once his stint in Switzerland came to an end, the attacker joined his current club Liverpool in a deal worth a reported £34m.

Since joining the Merseyside club, the 29-year-old has gone on to become a certified superstar by racking up 153 goals and 57 assists in 239 appearances across all competitions, prior to the Reds’ Premier League match against Watford this afternoon.

Labelled a “ridiculous” player in terms of his attacking output by Rio Ferdinand, and a “physical monster” by Jurgen Klopp, the £90m-rated winger has won the Premier League, Champions League and an assortment of individual awards throughout his career.

To further highlight how much of a standout player the Egypt international has become in England, he is currently listed as the highest-rated player in the Premier League based on his performances this season according to WhoScored, with an overall rating of 7.71/10.

Taking all this into account, as if the Newcastle fans needed any more excuses to dislike Ashley, not securing a deal which would have seen Salah join the Magpies has turned out to be a major howler from the club, and one over which they will now be having nightmares.

In other news: NUFC can finally replace Cabaye with “phenomenal” £34m gem, he has “magical powers”…