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Newcastle United were reportedly offered as many as seven different players on loan in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Frustrating window

The St. James’ Park faithful only managed to bring in one player of note on a permanent deal in Joe Willock from Arsenal.

Given that he was already on loan there last season, the squad has not really improved in what turned out to be a frustrating window in the North East.

The Latest: Players offered

Writing in his latest piece for The Daily Telegraph, Luke Edwards has said that the Tyneside club were offered seven players on loan throughout the window: Hamza Choudhury, Axel Tuanzebe, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Hector Bellerin, Harry Winks, Mason Holgate and Boubacar Kamara.

However, all of them requited a loan fee to be paid, which the Magpies hierarchy insisted that they could not afford.

The Verdict: Shame

To get even just a couple of those players in on loan deals would have made the window a much better one for Steve Bruce’s team, and instead, the former Aston Villa and Sunderland manager now has to work with a very similar squad to last season.

Described as a ‘phenomenal’ player by pundit Paul Robinson back in February after an impressive performance against Burnley while on loan at West Brom, Maitland-Niles made his feelings known late on in the window about potentially wanting to leave (The Guardian), and one cannot help that a deal could have been struck with the Gunners having already brought in Willock.

Tuanzebe and Bellerin have both moved on to Aston Villa and Real Betis respectively, but the Toon should really be looking at revisiting moves for the other five players when January comes around.

In other news, find out why NUFC’s offer for this player was rejected here!

Celtic midfielder Ciaran Dickson has continued his fine start to life at Lennoxtown with a second goal in as many games for the club’s B team, The Scottish Sun report.

The Lowdown: Under-the-radar move

The 19-year-old was released by the Hoops’ crosstown rivals in the summer despite signing a new contract at Ibrox at the beginning of the year.

He was pictured holding up a Celtic shirt at Parkhead at the end of August, although the Hoops never officially unveiled Dickson as a Hoops player.

The midfielder netted against Morton on the weekend, with Celtic B’s Twitter account describing the midfielder as a ‘new signing’.

The Latest: Second goal

Celtic development team coach Tommy McIntyre described Dickson as a ‘top player’ who has ‘made an impact’ already.

Dickson followed up his debut goal for the Hoops’ development side by opening the scoring in a 2-0 win over Gala Fairydean Rovers in recent days.

The Verdict: Positive signs

Dickson has clearly impressed in his opening weeks at Lennoxtown, which can only be a good sign for all associated with the green and white side of Glasgow.

CEO Dominic McKay may have been the man to seal a deal for the free agent recently, and hopefully over time he will progress into Ange Postecoglou’s first-team fold, especially as Celtic only made two senior midfield additions despite losing three in that area during the summer transfer window.

In other news: Pundit reacts as Anthony Joseph shares specific Celtic transfer details. 

Former referee Dermot Gallagher analysed Aston Villa’s winning goal against Manchester United live on Sky Sports on Monday.

And a number of Villa supporters have been reacting to the on-air footage on social media.

Villa defender Kortney Hause was the hero at Old Trafford on Saturday, with his late header earning three points for Dean Smith’s side.

Bruno Fernandes then missed a penalty in stoppage time to rescue a point, but it was Hause’s strike that was the main talking point at the full-time whistle.

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believed the goal should have been ruled out for offside due to Ollie Watkins challenging David de Gea when the corner was taken.

However, Gallagher, talking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, admitted he could fully understand why referee Mike Dean gave the goal.

Villa fans react

Sky Sports shared Gallagher’s comments on Twitter on their Sky Sports news Twitter account. Their post received plenty of interaction, with a number of Villa fans giving their thoughts and plenty wanting to talk about Harry Maguire’s apparent foul on John McGinn.

“Sky still gutted!”

Credit: @Dannybarker1981

“Good God the comments on here didn’t realise football was absolutely non-contact sport Amazing how no one brings up Maguire’s foul on McGinn but can’t have United not being the victim”

Credit: @CelticAnthony

“Loving Sky’s meltdown over us beating United”

Credit: @deej_1987

“What about when McGinn was manhandled by Maguire”

Credit: @cameron_av

“What about Maguire as last man pulling Mcginn back. Let’s see some analysis of that”

Credit: @northvillan

“So if De Gea hadn’t pushed Ollie out the way (fouled him!), the goal wouldn’t have stood. Bruhahahahaha”

Credit: @B6Utfv

In other news: ‘Magnificent’ £75k-p/w Aston Villa star now watched by ‘big six’ club.

Many Southampton fans have been left buzzing as the club confirmed the signing of Adam Armstrong on their official Twitter page.

As per their website, the St. Mary’s faithful have signed the striker from Blackburn Rovers on a four-year deal, with Ralph Hasenhuttl lauding him as a ‘dynamic’ player who will bring ‘a lot of qualities’ to the side.

With Danny Ings moving on to Aston Villa on a permanent deal earlier on in the summer transfer window, the Saints desperately needed to bring in a replacement, and Armstrong has all of the qualities to thrive in the Premier League.

The Englishman scored no fewer than 29 goals and made a further five assists in 43 games in total over all competitions across the 2020/21 season (Transfermarkt), and so is more than capable of replacing the goals that Ings guaranteed when he was at the club.

Southampton fans on Armstrong signing

These supporters buzzed as the Armstrong signing was confirmed on Twitter, with one sharing that they are ‘excited’ as fans move on from former favourite Ings…

“LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO”

Credit: @SaintlyStingray

“Southampton making signings, what a beautiful thing”

Credit: @C0AKESY

“Big big fan of this signing. Cautiously optimistic especially if we get one or two more in. Welcome”

Credit: @dawtry_liam

“We are winning the league aren’t we?”

Credit: @sfcThomas_

“Excited by this lad”

Credit: @ojlaw1991

“He’s here and he’s beautiful”

Credit: @RahilMajid

In other news, find out what recent news has Saints unhappy here!

Reading forward George Puscas has reportedly turned down a loan offer from Turkish side Kasimpasa, according to Berkshire Live.

What’s the story?

Puscas has been with Reading since 2019, after signing from Italian giants Inter Milan for a fee believed to be in the region of £8million.

With that hefty price tag, there were high hopes for the Romanian international, but for one reason or another, he hasn’t hit the heights expected of him in recent seasons with the Royals.

Puscas has been restricted to just 64 appearances in total for the Berkshire-based side, with the 25-year-old often being behind Lucas Joao in the pecking order at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

But it has now been reported by Berkshire Live that Puscas has turned down a move to Super Lig side Kasimpasa, as he wants to fight for his future with Veljko Paunovic’s side moving forwards into the 2021/22 campaign.

‘Very special’

Reading’s current financial restrictions have been well-documented, with Paunovic recently revealing that some first-team players could still leave the club before the conclusion of the summer transfer window.

Puscas is seemingly one of those, with the club looking to cut the wage bill to make room for new signings ahead of the upcoming Championship campaign.

But the forward is clearly keen to remain patient and wait for an opportunity to impress Paunovic in the 2021/22 season, which gets underway on Saturday 7th August, when the Royals take on Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium.

We’ve seen glimpses of Puscas’ quality whilst with Reading, with the striker making a blistering start to life with the club, after netting an impressive brace against Cardiff City back in August 2019, which included a memorable solo strike.

But with 18 goals to his name from his 64 appearances for the Royals, there is certainly room for improvement. When you’re comparing that to the 28 goals in 59 appearances that Lucas Joao has scored for the Berkshire-based side, it’s easy to see why Paunovic starts the former Sheffield Wednesday man ahead of Puscas.

Speaking in an interview on Sky Sports’ EFL Podcast, Keith Andrews admitted that he thought Puscas could be something ‘very special’, although he struggled in English football since then.

“It was a shrewd move and obviously they had to pay a fair bit to get him through the door.

“I was at the Cardiff game earlier in the season (a 3-0 victory where Puscas scored twice) and he was outstanding. He took the bull by the horns and ran Cardiff ragged and I thought he could be something very special.”

But Puscas’ record certainly isn’t the worst, and with Lucas Joao not fully-fit as of yet, it does leave the Romanian forward a chance to stake a claim for a starting spot, especially with Femi Azeez being the only other recognised option in attack during pre-season.

He deserves a run in the starting XI, and given that he’s keen to prove himself with the Royals, there would be no harm in giving him game time whilst Joao is out of action, and Puscas could silence a few of his doubters this term with Veljko Paunovic’s side.

Ange Postecoglou will be presented will plenty of dilemmas as he heads into his fourth competitive outing as Celtic manager.

The Australian has found life tough since being handed the keys to Parkhead but he’s got an excellent chance on Thursday evening to start moving proceedings in a positive direction.

The Hoops travel to Czech Republic to face Jablonec in Europa League qualifying where they will be hoping for much better luck than they had on their brief Champions League adventure.

Celtic will be able to call on the services of Joe Hart following his move from Tottenham this week but they will be without James McCarthy who arrived following a spell as a free agent.

Will Hart actually start on Thursday? Here’s the XI we’re predicting to take to the field today…

We’re tipping Postecoglou to make four changes to the side that lost to Hearts last weekend.

Two replacements are required in defence where the error-prone Nir Bitton is axed from Postecoglou’s plans with Stephen Welsh coming into the fray.

Carl Starfelt initially looked as though he’d be a doubt for this match after not being included in the UEFA squad list but he was pictured training in the run-up to the game after travelling to Czech Republic.

A second change is in goal where the £15k-per-week Hart replaces Scott Bain who made a mistake against Hearts last weekend.

A third change is made in the middle of the park where Liam Shaw earns his first start in place of Ismaila Soro. The Ivorian has struggled in the opening weeks of the campaign and therefore, is dropped to the bench.

The final alteration to the starting XI is in attack where James Forrest misses out in favour of Ryan Christie on the left wing.

Forrest was poor in that position last weekend, completing one of four dribbles and failing to provide an accurate cross in the entire game. He also lost 80% of his duels and surrendered possession 11 times; the highest number by any attacking player for the Bhoys.

Christie, on the other hand, put in a productive performance from that side of the pitch in the first leg against Midtjylland.

AND in other news, Ange must ruthlessly axe Celtic’s £14k-p/w “walking joke” tonight, he’s been shocking…

According to The Daily Express, Southampton are interested in signing Tosin Adarabioyo from Fulham this summer.

The Lowdown: Saints eye Vestergaard replacement

The Saints have already been busy during this transfer window, making five signings in Romain Perraud (southamptonfc.com), Danyl Simeu (chelseafc.com), Valentino Livramento, Armando Broja and Adam Armstrong.

However, the departure of Jannik Vestergaard to Leicester City (lcfc.com) means the St. Mary’s Stadium outfit could do without another centre-back.

The Latest: Saints eye Adarabioyo

Now, it seems Southampton are interested in signing Adarabioyo.

As per the report, the 23-year-old has a £10m release his contract at Craven Cottage, while Norwich City are also believed to be interested in his services.

The Verdict: Solid option

The Saints have been looking to bring in young players during this transfer window – they have not signed anyone over the age of 25 – and Adarabioyo certainly fits that billing.

Former Blackburn defender Darren Lenihan called him “exceptional” (Goal.com), while Pep Guardiola even had praise for the defender (allnigeriasoccer.com).

He also has 33 Premier League appearances (Transfermarkt), showing he has already held his own at the highest level. £10m for a player of the former England U19 international’s man potential is hardly a huge fee – Ralph Hasenhuttl and co should make their move quick to make sure they get their man.

In other news, Southampton fans want to sign this four-time league winner.

Speaking to Football Insider, a Tottenham Hotspur source has dropped an exciting two-word message involving Lilywhites superstar Son Heung-min, which must come as a big boost for new manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

The Lowdown: Spurs in Son contract talks…

Reports from as far back as last year have detailed Tottenham’s attempts to tie down Son with a new deal at N17. News emerged in October 2020 that they were close to sealing a new deal for the 29-year-old, but no sign of an announcement or confirmed done deal has come around since that point.

The financial implications of the pandemic did cause a delay, though, with the Evening Standard reporting that all non-urgent contract talks had been put on hold at the beginning of the year.

The Latest: Source drops exciting two-word contract claim…

However, speaking to Football Insider, a Spurs source has now dropped an exciting two-word message on Son and his new deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-2/” title=”Tottenham latest!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Lilywhites insider simply stated ‘it’s done’, with the South Korea star apparently set to earn more than £200,000 per week on a blockbuster fresh contract.

Indeed, he is ‘staying at Tottenham’ after agreeing the new deal, committing his future to the north Londoners and new manager Nuno ‘irrespective’ of Harry Kane’s future.

Indeed, after talks with the Spurs boss, Son has now ‘finalised’ his contract according to the source, with Nuno seemingly set for a big boost ahead of his debut season at the helm.

The Verdict: Big boost for Nuno…

The 48-year-old is up against tough odds for his first full season as Tottenham head coach. Financial uncertainty has placed the club into a sell-to-buy hole for this summer and they must first offload players before Spurs can bring in fresh additions.

Furthermore, superstar Kane’s exit saga will dominate discussion and he could well leave this summer depending on developments, so this news on Son comes as a timely boost.

Lauded as an ‘unbelievable’ player by former Premier League goalkeeper Paddy Kenny (Football Insider), he registered 17 goals and 10 assists in the top flight last season (WhoScored).

Only Kane managed better numbers in terms of goals and assists combined, with Nuno likely to be overjoyed that he doesn’t have to worry about losing his other PFA Premier League Team of the Year member.

In other news: Bid made – Paratici swoops with fresh offer to sign ‘absolute beast’ for Spurs, find out more here.

Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham is expected to leave Parkhead this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Foot Mercato (via Sport Witness), who claimed that the 25-year-old is attracting interest from two unnamed Ligue 1 clubs, as well as AEK Athens, in the summer transfer window despite the midfielder’s disappointing campaign while on loan at Marseille last term.

The report added that Ange Postecoglou’s side are looking to offload the former French under-21 international this summer, as he has just one year remaining on his contract at Parkhead.

Ntcham must go

Having joined Celtic from Manchester City in a £4.5m move back in the summer of 2017, it would seem a fair assessment to make that the Frenchman has not quite lived up to expectations during his time in Glasgow so far.

Despite having scored 24 goals and registered 13 assists over his 147 appearances in all competitions for the Bhoys, the midfielder’s performances in recent years have not exactly been breathtaking, with the 25-year-old failing to kick on and fulfil the potential he once seemed to possess.

Indeed, prior to being loaned out to Marseille last season, Ntcham featured 14 times for Celtic in the Premiership, with only seven of these appearances coming as starts, over which the midfielder averaged 0.3 interceptions and 0.2 tackles and won just 1.6 duels per game.

The Frenchman did not offer much in the way of attacking contributions for the Hoops either, scoring one goal, registering one assist and creating one big chance for his teammates, as well as making 0.6 key passes per league fixture.

These metrics saw Ntcham earn a disappointing average SofaScore match rating of 6.71, ranking him as Celtic’s eighth-worst performer in the Scottish top flight, form which continued after his move to Ligue 1.

While at Marseille, the midfielder averaged 0.5 interceptions and 0.3 tackles and won 0.8 duels over his four league appearances for Jorge Sampaoli’s side, contributing nothing in the way of goals and assists. These returns culminated in a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.53, ranking him as OM’s fourth-worst performer in Ligue 1, with the French media dubbing Ntcham’s performances for the club as “unacceptable.”

As such, should Postecoglou receive any sort of offer for the £14,000-per-week man this summer, it would appear highly advisable for the 55-year-old Celtic manager to do all he can to rid himself of the midfielder, whowould certainly not appear to be the least bit interested in helping the Hoops reclaim their Scottish crown next season judging by his slack performances in recent months.

In other news: Celtic eye swoop for “unstoppable” 20-goal gem, he’s an upgrade on Christie

Crystal Palace have officially appointed Patrick Vieira as their new manager on a three-year deal, as reported by BBC.

Moving into 2021/22, the Eagles finally have some assurance over their managerial situation following nearly two months without clarity after Roy Hodgson declared his intention to leave Selhurst Park [cpfc.co.uk].

Frank Lampard, Steve Cooper and Lucien Favre were all previously front-runners for the position, but 45-year-old Vieira has been chosen as the man to lead the Eagles into the new campaign and possibly beyond [BBC].

Firstly, he will need to negotiate the tricky task of replacing the 22 first team players who departed after their contracts expired at the end of last season [Tribal Football].

Despite the challenges ahead, many Crystal Palace supporters took to Twitter to voice their delight as they embark on a new journey under Vieira’s stewardship.

CPFC fans react:

Replying to the club’s official Twitter channel, here is how some fans summarised their feelings on the Vieira appointment, with one supporter describing it as “great” news:

“European tour coming. My gaffer.”

Credit: @CPFCChris19″Welcome to Crystal Palace. We will back you and good luck”Credit: @briansparrow191″I like”Credit: @brixgod”Patrick Vieira’s red blue army”Credit: @unknownbald”Great, about time too!!”Credit: @CPFC_Dave”Yyyyeeeesssssss! At last. I don’t give a damn about pros and cons, ins and outs, good or bad. I just wanted a manager. So let’s sign some players, and let’s get going! Phew!”Credit: @MaxMcDonnell7In other news, these Crystal Palace fans react to links with a reported transfer target.