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Glasgow Rangers fans have been reacting after The Guardian journalist Ewan Murray shared an update on Slavia Prague’s criminal complaint.

The Czech champions progressed to the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday after beating the Gers 2-0 at Ibrox. However, the match was marred by an incident of alleged racism, with Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara saying he was racially abused by Ondrej Kudela.

Slavia have moved to deny the allegations, and even said Kamara hit Kudela on the back of the head in the tunnel (slavia.cz). They threatened to lodge a criminal complaint against the 55-time Scottish champions, but Murray has revealed Police Scotland have so far received no word from Slavia. He also mentioned the Czech embassy in London has now got involved.

Murray shared the update on his official Twitter page, and it attracted plenty of attention from the Gers supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts, with a couple of movie references along the way.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the update from Murray below

“That mob will be signing Jason Bourne at this rate”

Credit: @ian_barrie

“Seen a couple vids of the lad today and he looks alright, so if there was an “assault” in the tunnel did they set some wrong rules….”

Credit: @monkjohnson82

“Not sure that makes any sense? If they are making a complaint what’s it to do with the Czech embassy?”

Credit: @scott41mcd

“I welcome an open honest investigation.I don’t believe the racist was assaulted.Looking at him when boarding buses, there were no obvious signs of a beating.Albeit mask covered much of his face,but they wud surely have publicised pics of his bruised face etc it it were true.”

Credit: @ElaineBoyle4

“This is totally embarrassing……”

Credit: @joe_black1509

“I want to say Tom Cruise just got in a helicopter”

Credit: @3Michelenstar

In other news, Alan Hutton has suggested this Rangers ace could leave the club this summer.

Tottenham Hotspur are back in action on Thursday evening, but rather than their usual Europa League fixture, they face Fulham in a rearranged Premier League clash.

And Jose Mourinho will be looking to see his side build on their 4-0 whitewash of Burnley at the weekend with qualification for Europe once again firmly in their sights.

Spurs had slipped to five defeats in six outings before kickoff on Sunday and remain six points adrift of fourth-placed West Ham.

The performance in north London surely left Mourinho with food for thought – four goals and a clean sheet, both had been a rarity in recent times, so he must stick with a similar lineup at Craven Cottage tonight.

On the Chalkboard

That involves the inclusion of divisive centre-back Davinson Sanchez, too.

The 24-year-old is often regarded as one of Spurs’ worst central defensive options, indeed Mourinho has previously earmarked him as a “weak link” in the past, but as we outlined in this article, he proved many doubters wrong against the Clarets.

Paul Robinson echoed this turn around in form, he told Football Insider:

“We saw his attributes at the weekend against Burnley, in what was a tough physical challenge. They test you from set plays and from crosses. It is always a battle against Burnley and I thought Sanchez did exceptionally well.”

And similarly, football.london’s Rob Guest made a case for him now being undroppable following Mourinho’s claim that the £36m-rated Colombian was “very dominant.”

Sanchez has now started their last four Premier League outings, where he has kept two clean sheets. It would be a silly decision to now drop him despite all of the doubts that come regarding his ability.

From a numbers standpoint, the 6 foot 2 colossus has actually performed very well.

He tops the charts for aerial duels won per game (three), is only behind Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Serge Aurier for tackles per game (2.3) and has the best passing accuracy (85.5%) when compared to the experienced duo of Toby Alderweireld and Eric Dier, via WhoScored.

Of course, individual mistakes and lapses of concentration cannot be ignored, but he is only 24 and was once Spurs’ record signing at £42m. Now that he has settled as a first-choice option under Mourinho, he’s looking a lot more stable.

This is why the Portuguese boss must keep the faith in him, as big of a gamble it would be. In some ways, Guest is right. Sanchez is now undroppable – at least until the next calamitous incident.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Bale: Mourinho must now unleash Spurs’ £26m-rated “freak of a talent”…

Jordan Jones is perhaps putting himself back in Steven Gerrard’s good books with some impressive performances on loan at Sunderland in League One and Ross Wilson should arguably think again about letting him leave Ibrox this summer.

After a breach of the lockdown guidelines in November 2020, both Jones and George Edmundson were given seven-game bans, and were subsequently sent on loan to Sunderland and Derby County respectively.

The 26-year-old winger had made just four appearances in all competitions for Gerrard’s side before the suspension, in which he contributed one goal – an impressive finish in the 5-1 win against Motherwell in September.

However, he has shown his class with Lee Johnson’s side in recent appearances, with two goals and three assists in his last six league appearances, including an impressive display in their most recent league victory against fellow promotion hopefuls Portsmouth.

Considering his contract with Rangers is not set to expire until 2023, Ross Wilson may well be licking his lips at the prospect of Jones’ value increasing as a result of his form in England, but you could argue that he now deserves another chance to show what he can do with the Ibrox outfit.

Although he has struggled for the Gers since signing on a free transfer from Kilmarnock, with just one goal and two assists in 19 appearances, perhaps this loan at Sunderland was just what he needed to boost his confidence ahead of next season.

If it were not for the winger’s mistake regarding the lockdown rules, you would imagine that Gerrard would have kept him in and around the first-team this season, having labelled him a “real threat” earlier in the season.

Therefore, if his impressive form continues at Sunderland, then he should definitely be given a chance in the Rangers first-team set up next season, even if Wilson feels that it is the ideal time to cash in on him this summer.

And, in other news… Wilson should go all out for 13-goal beast if Defoe leaves this summer; he could be a game-changer

Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano has recently suggested that Liverpool are working to extend the contract of Virgil van Dijk and will open negotiations with the Dutch international this year.

The 29-year-old defender has well and truly established himself as one of the world’s best in his position since joining from Southampton in January 2018, as he came second in the Ballon d’Or awards in 2019, with Lionel Messi beating him to the award.

The centre-back was instrumental in Liverpool’s title win last season, as he appeared in every single Premier League match, scoring five goals and averaging an incredible 7.32 rating.

Unfortunately, a shocking tackle from Jordan Pickford resulted in the defender damaging his cruciate ligament in October 2020, ruling him out for much of Liverpool’s 2020/21 season but he is making strong progress in the gym and could well make a return before the end of the current campaign.

Despite this injury, which may result in the former Celtic man no longer being the same type of player, the Reds must prioritise tying him down to a new deal this year, as his current deal is set to expire in 2023, and this new contract would surely see him stay with the Reds for the rest of his peak playing days.

Whilst Liverpool are said to be in negotiations with Georginio Wijnaldum over a new deal, as his contract expires in the summer, the former Newcastle man is far more replaceable than Van Dijk is.

The 30-year-old has disappointed with his performances this season, averaging a 6.66 rating for his performances in the top-flight, with fellow midfielders Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Thiago all rated higher, whilst young Curtis Jones is narrowly behind, suggesting that he would not be missed if he left this summer.

Meanwhile, both Real Madrid and Barcelona have been linked with Van Dijk in the past and if he is able to rediscover his form from last season when he returns from injury, it would not be a surprise to see those transfer links resurface.

Therefore, extending the £72 million-rated centre-back’s contract must be a priority for Liverpool, as he is clearly a huge part of the way Liverpool play, evidenced by him winning the Premier League player of the year last season following the title win.

And, in other news, 10 duels won: LFC target’s monstrous weekend display proves that Edwards must swoop…

Jairo Riedewald has signed a new three-year contract with Crystal Palace which will keep him at Selhurst Park until 2024.

While it’s a welcome boost for Roy Hodgson, the same can’t be said for James McCarthy, who faces an uncertain future in south London.

Riedewald scored a worldie of a goal after his 20-yard screamer took a deflection off Ciaran Clark to ensure the Eagles recorded back-to-back-wins in the Premier League for the first time since September as they overcame a spirited Newcastle United on their own home turf at St James’ Park.

He then marked the special occasion by putting pen to paper to a new deal to commit his future to the club.

McCarthy, on the other hand, has struggled for game time under Hodgson this season, with Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur often preferred in his place, having made ten appearances across all competitions, earning a rather disappointing WhoScored match rating of 6.36 overall for his efforts.

By comparison, the 24-year-old has been in superb form for Hodgson’s side since the start of the season, averaging a solid 6.44 for the Eagles in all competitions.

In fact, it’s fair to say that Hodgson’s midfield is pretty well-stocked at present. He’s got Milivojevic, McArthur, McCarthy and Riedewald at his disposal, with the first two making at least 37 appearances between them this season thus far.

And the Eagles also have Cheikhou Kouyate on their books, albeit the 31-year-old has shifted to more of a defensive role as of late.

With Riedewald now penning a new deal, you do worry that McCarthy could soon be deemed surplus to requirements by the south London club.

Hodgson previously praised McCarthy for his role in Palace’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City last season, saying: “He’s been excellent and he’s getting better and better. We knew it would take a little time. He was training with Everton, so when he came to us he was technically fit and there was nothing wrong with him but of course he was not that close to the first-team for periods of time, not knocking on the door if you like.

“I knew the more he did with us, the chances he would get, he would get stronger and stronger. The action he performed for our equalising goal was quite incredible. That amount of running at that point in the game and to produce that pass was a class act. My faith in him and his faith in himself and determination to get back to that level of football has been rewarded. When you get these serious injuries which take you out of football for a long period of time it’s not easy.”

Unfortunately for McCarthy, since those promising comments, he has still been forced to settle for a spot on the bench more often than not so far this season and with Riedewald seemingly here to stay, the Irishman may have to get used to a place on saidthe aforementioned bench.

If he can’t re-establish himself in the first team between now and the end of the season, then it wouldn’t be a a surprise at all to see him leave Selhurst Park in the summer.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace will rue not signing Bayer Leverkusen winger Demarai Gray…

They may have left it late, but West Ham got the job done on Friday night as they beat Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park.

The Hammers didn’t look at their best all night, but Tomas Soucek – who else? – was in the right place at the right time to fire home from close range and give David Moyes’ side all three points in a hard-fought encounter on Merseyside.

But whilst the West Ham boss will rightly be pleased with the result, one man who he will be extremely disappointed with, is Said Benrahma.

The summer signing from Brentford has yet to start firing at the London Stadium, although that’s largely down to the fact he just hasn’t played enough – in fact, Friday’s clash against Everton was the first time he had completed the full 90 minutes in the Premier League this season.

He hasn’t scored a single goal in the top-flight for his new club, and that run didn’t look like ending against the Toffees.

As per Sofascore, he lost 12 duels over the course of the game, by far the most of any West Ham player. He also lost possession 19 times (another team-high), and that led to The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg to slam that he “needs to toughen up” and that he gets “knocked off the ball too easily”.

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When he did have the ball, he hardly created anything. He completed just one of his four attempted dribbles, had no shots on goal whatsoever, provided no accurate crosses, and delivered just one key pass.

Moyes may have played him in a number ten role instead of out wide, but the Hammers boss will rightly feel the Algeria international should have delivered a lot more than he actually did.

Here was his big chance to impress, and he completely blew it.

Leeds have endured a rather rocky start to the New Year.

With three successive defeats, utilising the transfer window to strengthen their armoury would certainly not be a bad idea.

What’s the word?

Given what happened with Dan James and Jean-Kevin Augustin in the last two years, it would be surprising if Leeds were very active in the market this month.

However, with Marcelo Bielsa’s men currently struggling for creativity, they’ve been urged to sign a player currently at Manchester United.

Speaking to talkSPORT radio (16/01/21), former footballer Gabby Agbonlahor suggested that Victor Orta’s recruitment team should move for none other than Jesse Lingard.

He said: “You can’t rely on one player [Phillips]. You have to have someone that can fill in, so you’d have to look in the transfer window. Watching the midfield today, you got outrun.

“Struijk wasn’t very good for me. I’ll throw a name out there that you might agree with, or not. Jesse Lingard, I feel like he could be a good addition to the Leeds squad – get him on loan for six months.”

Depending on the terms of the deal, it could be an expensive one given the midfielder is on £75k-per-week at Old Trafford.

Bring him to Elland Road

On paper, signing Lingard doesn’t look like a complete masterstroke. This is a player who hasn’t played at all in the Premier League this term, and someone who only found the net in the top-flight once last season.

Furthermore, Leeds have seen first hand a bad experience of the 28-year-old. Lingard has started just once against the Whites in his career but in that game, he was utterly abysmal, being torn apart by a rampant Leeds side who won 4-0 in 2013.

He failed to complete a single dribble and fired two efforts off target as Sam Byram completely dominated him – winning three aerial duels and three tackles on Leeds’ right-hand side.

On that evidence alone, he’d offer very little to this squad, but judging him by one game wouldn’t be fair on the player and pivotally, he has plenty of experience at the top level and has previously thrived in the highest division and on the international stage.

Lingard was a key figure when England reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, helping himself to eight goals and five assists in the league during the build-up to that tournament.

Clearly, his levels have dropped in recent years, but that’s likely more through a lack of football than anything else.

Leeds failed to create a single big chance against Brighton, with Luke Ayling amassing the most key passes on the field for the Whites and they evidently need someone who can come in and create.

Judging by Pablo Hernandez’s two starts in the Premier League, Bielsa doesn’t trust him and consequently, new recruits are needed.

Lingard is assured with his passing – averaging a career success rate of 86.7%, which for context is higher than both Mateusz Klich (81.2%) and Hernandez (76.8). Furthermore, he’s also got a higher success rate than club-record signing Rodrigo (74.8%).

Described as a “unique” individual by Michael Carrick, perhaps the Man United midfielder could be the recruit they need to finally break down a low block.

Possessing more Premier League knowledge than anyone in the Leeds squad – 133 appearances – his experience could be exactly what Bielsa requires in order to establish his side in the top-flight. Thus, they should look to sign him if the chance arrives. Leeds simply have to find more creativity from somewhere.

Dare we say it, given his position, he might even stop Hernandez’s Leeds career in its tracks.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Rodrigo: Leeds must swoop for £30m dynamo who “lacks absolutely nothing”…

Big things were expected of Dominic Solanke when he joined Liverpool from Chelsea’s academy side in 2017, with the striker regarded as one of the hottest young talents in English football at the time.

However, fast forward three years and the 23-year-old looks to have perhaps found his level in the Championship with Bournemouth, having started the 2020/21 season in impressive form, with two goals and three assists in 11 appearances in the second division, resulting in a strong average rating of 7.11 (per WhoScored).

Liverpool seemed to sell the youngster at precisely the right time, as despite a disappointing spell with the Reds, Michael Edwards was able to convince the Cherries that he was worth £19 million in January 2019 (per BBC).

During his time with the Anfield outfit, Solanke would make 27 first-team appearances, culminating in just one goal and one assist (per Transfermarkt).

Since joining the Cherries, the 23-year-old striker has made 58 appearances, with an uninspiring return of just six goals and five assists, although his decent form so far this season shows he may be on the right track towards realising the potential he obviously had during his time with Chelsea and Liverpool.

Brendan Rodgers was full of praise for the youngster back in 2017 when Celtic were linked with the frontman, saying:

“I took Dominic into Chelsea when he was eight years of age. I am delighted for him and the career he has had up until now as a young player, he is a fantastic talent.” (per Sky Sports)

Solanke’s time with Liverpool was obviously less than successful and Edwards should get a lot of praise for being able to make such a profit on him when he sold him to Bournemouth.

However, we’re sure that the majority of Liverpool fans will be hoping to see the striker really kick on with Bournemouth this season and hopefully he will be able to showcase his talent more effectively in the Premier League in the future.

After their incredible run of form was stopped by St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup, Glasgow Rangers will be desperate to get back to winning ways when they host Motherwell at Ibrox on Saturday.

Rangers beat Lech Poznan to win Group D to secure a seeded place in the Europa League last 32 draw, before beating Dundee United at Tannadice Park last weekend.

But the loss to the Saints stopped Steven Gerrard’s side in their tracks, and with the Premiership clash with Motherwell looming ever closer, the Ibrox boss faces some tough decisions as he looks to get things going again.

Gerrard has admitted some players may have to “step aside” for the time being against the Steelmen.

He said, as quoted by Glasgow Live: “You learn an awful lot about your players every game and I’ll be looking extremely close to see who will react in the right way and if anybody is feeling sorry for themselves and want to take this feeling into the weekend.

“Unfortunately, they might have to step aside because we need to bounce back and react in the right way and try and get three points against Motherwell.”

While we’re not exactly sure which players will lose their places in the starting line-up – though Joe Aribo may be nervously looking over his shoulder after he suffered a shocker at St Mirren – one man who should be in contention to start is Croatian left-back Borna Barisic. After starting and completing the full 90′ minutes in ten of the Glasgow giants’ past 17 games in the Scottish Premiership so far this season, Barisic was benched by Gerrard for the Betfred Cup exit, who may have regretted his decision almost immediately after Bassey gave away a penalty.

Bassey’s relative inexperience outweighed his youthful exuberance, and with an acid test against Motherwell on the horizon, the 28-year-old’s reliability could play a key part in preventing the cup disappointment from festering.

We said just this last month that Gerrard needs to starting giving the 20-year-old more opportunities to test himself on a regular basis, but the youngster was swamped on the left wing as he struggled to overlap with Joe Aribo and Ryan Kent, so starting Barisic in the back four could go a long way towards stopping the rot from seeping into their title ambitions.

After all, it’s the Croatia international and James Tavernier’s partnership that has played an instrumental part in the Gers’ surge to the summit of the Scottish Premiership, with Alex Rae hailing him as a “terrific” talent, while former Rangers manager Alex McLeish admitted he has “exceeded expectations.”

The pair are a sight to behold bombing up and down the flanks, and Barisic’s ability to ping crosses into the box – he averages 2.1 key passes per game in the league – sets him apart from his younger understudy.

Bringing Barisic back into the starting line-up should add that extra impetus going forwards.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must start Steven Davis against Motherwell…

Everton appear to have dodged a bullet by failing to get a deal for Santiago Sosa across the line in 2019, given the defensive midfielder’s form with current side River Plate.

What’s the word?

According to Ole via Sport Witness, Everton had reached an agreement with River Plate to sign Sosa in the summer of 2019 during Marco Silva’s final market at the helm, but failed to see the deal rubber-stamped by the Premier League.

It’s claimed that league officials blocked the €15million (£13.5m) move, likely through issues relating to his need for a work permit, which would not have surfaced just days later when the 21-year-old secured a European passport.

The passport arrived just too late for Sosa to be registered for Everton and the deal never saw the light of day again, much to River Plate’s benefit as the Argentina U20 international is now being lauded by Ole for his form in South America.

However, when assessed on paper, Everton appear to have dodged a bullet thanks to the Premier League’s decision as Sosa is far from showing himself to be the defensive midfield enforcer Silva required at the time.

Why was Sosa not the answer?

During murmurs that Sosa could struggle obtaining a work permit in order to sign for Everton, the Liverpool Echo suggested he was a “tenacious and aggressive” player when out of possession while boasting the skillset of “a hybrid between a number six and a number eight”.

Information remains thin for the 5 ft 10 River Plate product, but Transfermarkt data shows he has seen a marginal decrease in his market value since the Toffees’ interest while rarely entering the first-team squad in their 2019/20 Superliga efforts.

All in, Sosa made only two noted appearances last season, while playing just 125 minutes in the group stages of the 2020 Copa Libertadores over three outings with one start.

His efforts in those Copa Libertadores fixtures would by no means suggest he would have made a successful adaption to the Premier League last year, as Sosa has averaged just 0.3 tackles, 0.3 interceptions, 1.0 key balls and 0.7 shots a game along with winning a mere 0.7 ground duels and 1.0 aerial duels, per SofaScore.

Had Everton spent €15m on Sosa and seen a similar output, questions would have been raised over Silva’s pursuit of a player the BBC’s South American football correspondent Tim Vickery described as an old-fashioned type.

“Sosa is a holding midfielder, better at picking a pass than the defensive side of his game,” Vickery told the All Football App. “He’s got a little bit of old-fashioned swagger. In the old days in Argentina, that No. 5 was the boss of the team, the man who played the vital first pass out of defence.

“But the thing with him is it’s so early. He’s only played a handful of games for River Plate, when they’ve fielded an under-strength side, so if Everton buy him now, to go straight into the first-team would be a massive step up.

“He’s one for the long-term and looks promising. He would worry me a little bit with his lack of pace for the defensive side of his duties, but he’s certainly an interesting player with the ball at his feet.”

AND in other news, Everton are yet to open talks with a key club figure who’s set to be out of contract next summer.