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While Celtic have seen their league form drastically improve under the leadership of Ange Postecoglou in recent months, with the Bhoys remaining undefeated over the last eight Premiership fixtures, the 56-year-old Hoops manager will nevertheless be aware that his side will face one of their sterner tests of the season at Parkhead this evening.

Indeed, Robbie Neilson’s Heart of Midlothian side have also been incredibly impressive in the current campaign, sitting just two points behind Celtic in the league, as well as having already taken three points off of the Bhoys on the opening day of the season.

As such, Postecoglou will know that he must get his team selection spot on against Hearts if he is to have any hope of his side reducing the gap between them the current Premiership leaders, with one player who the Greek-Australian coach simply must call upon tonight being Nir Bitton.

Game-changer

With Tom Rogic’s hamstring injury leaving Celtic somewhat short in the middle of the park, Postecoglou opted to slightly change his setup in the middle of the park, playing the more defensively-minded Bitton in place of the 28-year-old attacking midfielder.

And, while this change would, on the surface, appear to make the Bhoys more defensive, Bitton has in fact flourished in the absence of Rogic, with the 30-year-old being one of the Hoops’ most impressive players over the last four fixtures.

Indeed, in this period, the £720k-rated Israel international has enjoyed 353 touches of the ball, completed 269 passes, made 15 tackles and won a whopping 31 duels, with these metrics seeing the £14k-per-week midfielder average a SofaScore match rating of 7.33.

As such, while both Bitton and Rogic look as if they will be available for selection against Hearts this evening, Postecoglou simply must unleash Bitton ahead of the Australia international.

Not only would he help to solidify Celtic against a side who have already scored 25 goals in the league, the man the 56-year-old manager himself dubbed “influential” has also proven to be something of a game-changer in the middle of the park in the absence of Rogic.

In other news: Celtic handed big transfer boost ahead of January, fans will be elated

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side got the second half of their Premiership campaign off to a perfect start against Hibernian on Monday evening, with the Bhoys securing a 2-0 victory at Parkhead to take them back to within three points of the current league leaders.

And, although the Hoops rather unusually saw the away side enjoy more possession of the ball, as well as Shaun Maloney’s side completing more passes in the fixture, the clinical nature of the Bhoys’ performance will nevertheless have been one that will have delighted Postecoglou – as putting teams to the sword is something that the 56-year-old’s side have struggled to do at points this season.

Furthermore, there were also two incredibly impressive debut displays for Celtic, with centre-forward Daizen Maeda – who took just four minutes to open his goalscoring account in Glasgow – and central midfielder Reo Hatate arguably being the 56-year-old manager’s best two players on the night.

However, while Maeda was fantastic against Hibs, it was undoubtedly the show-running performance of Hatate that will have most impressed Postecoglou and Celtic fans alike on Monday evening.

61 touches

Indeed, over his 75 minutes on the pitch, the central midfielder appeared to be everywhere for the Bhoys, with the 24-year-old enjoying 61 touches of the ball – the second-most of Celtic’s midfielders – completing 37 passes – three of which were key – and finding his man with three of his five attempted long balls.

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The £1.08m-rated man also had three shots at the Hibs goal – one of which forced Matt Macey into an excellent diving save from a shot from the edge of the box – won 100% of his ground duels and made one tackle, one interception and one clearance.

These returns saw the Japan international receive a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.4, while the midfielder was also dubbed an “absolute pler” by Everything Celtic and won the Man of the Match award for his efforts on the night.

Indeed, should Hatate be able to keep up this rather extraordinary level of performance going forwards for Celtic, the 24-year-old will very quickly make his £1.38m transfer fee seem like one of the bargains of the season, with the former Kawasaki Frontale star undoubtedly now a nailed-on starter for Postecoglou at Parkhead.

In other news: Ange Postecoglou drops teasing transfer hint that will have Celtic fans buzzing

Sunderland are in action against Blackpool as they look to close the gap to the top two in League One, but the fans were far from happy with the performance of Callum McFadzean during the first half.

The Black Cats are in desperate need of a win if they want to earn automatic promotion to the Championship. Not long ago, their fate was in their own hands, but 2-1 defeats to Charlton Athletic and Wigan Athletic means they are now five points behind Peterborough with just five games left after this one against the Seasiders (BBC).

In the first 45 minutes, McFadzean struggled at left-back. He picked up a yellow card just 18 minutes into the match, meaning he must walk a tight-rope for the rest of the game. Lee Johnson will be hoping he does not do anything silly to get himself sent off and put his team under immense pressure.

The Sunderland supporters weren’t best pleased with what he had to show early on, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about McFadzean below

“Ok take him off”

Credit: @ManixKnows

“take him off”

Credit: @DeanoCummings85

“Typical”

Credit: @AstroMackemTech

“Of course”

Credit: @KINGMAGUIRE1

“First yellow of the game and it’s for McFadzean. Looks like his man just gets the wrong side of him and he goes down, don’t think their man was ever getting there but still shouldn’t be getting caught out like that so easily.”

Credit: @ALS_Fanzine

“Controlled the game for large parts, poor in the final third again, mcfadzean waste of a shirt”

Credit: @jonny8686

In other news, Sunderland fans love news on this ace.

Former Leeds United goalkeeper Paul Robinson thinks Mateusz Klich could be left out of Jesse Marsch’s starting line-up against Crystal Palace on Monday.

The Lowdown: Klich a regular

Klich has made 31 appearances in all competitions this season, taking his Leeds tally to 173.

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The 31-year-old has turned out as a defensive, central and attacking midfielder and is yet to miss a game under new boss Jesse Marsch.

He played alongside Robin Koch in the 3-0 win over Watford last time out but made way on the hour mark for Kalvin Phillips.

The Latest: Robinson’s reacts to Phillips image

Talking to MOT Leeds News after seeing an image of Phillips back in full training, Robinson, who contributes for Sky Sports, gave his thoughts on how Leeds’ midfield could shape up at Selhurst Park.

He believes Phillips, who was spotted in full flow at Thorp Arch this week, could make a first start since December alongside Koch, which would mean Klich would drop out.

“For me, Phillips and [Adam] Forshaw both come in if they’re fit and able to play 90 minutes.

“I know they played well at Watford so I don’t think both Phillips and Forshaw will come back in.

“Forshaw’s been out so he’ll probably have to get his game-time off the bench.

“Phillips should come in alongside either Klich or Koch.

“It’ll probably be alongside Koch if Jesse Marsch is going to play that way again.”

The Verdict: Right call?

Bringing back Phillips from the off could be a wise by Marsch move following Leeds’ 16-day break.

Klich also had an afternoon to forget at Vicarage Road last time out. As per SofaScore, he was Leeds’ worst-rated player in the 3-0 victory, losing possession 16 times and failing to complete any of his attempted long balls.

The central midfielder was also second best in nine of his 12 duels, so it could be a wise move to leave him out of the starting XI at Selhurst Park as Leeds look to take a step closer to safety.

In other news: Approach made: 49ers and Radz now in exit talks with club for ‘awful’ Leeds defender. 

Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham side travel to North London rivals Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, where a win will boost Spurs’ chances of securing a top four spot this season, whilst it would all but end the Gunners’ hopes of achieving the same goal.

After some impressive performances of late, including in the 2-0 win against Dinamo Zagreb in midweek, the Portuguese manager should consider unleashing Erik Lamela against the Gunners.

The Argentinian has produced some superb cameo appearances from the bench in recent domestic fixtures and has been excellent in both of his last two starts in the Europa League, earning an 8.28 WhoScored rating for his performance against Wolfsberger and a 7.19 rating in the win against Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday.

The former Roma man, who reportedly earns £80,000 per week at Tottenham, played a huge part in Spurs’ opening goal against the Croatian side as he produced an excellent piece of skill on the edge of the box before seeing his outside-of-the-foot shot come back off the post, leaving Harry Kane with a tap-in.

Mourinho is a big fan of Lamela, having praised his willingness to play against Chelsea last season despite carrying a knock, saying: “That’s Lamela. Amazing guy, fantastic player and trying to help the team.”

These are the sorts of attributes which can be vital, particularly in derby games, and Lamela has shown that he loves to get stuck in and win the ball back under Mourinho. He has averaged 1.8 tackles per game in the Europa League for Spurs so far this season, so he could be a game-changer in the Emirates Stadium if he can win the ball back high up the pitch and kickstart a counterattack.

Considering he has just five starts in the Premier League this season, most recently against West Ham last month, it would be something of a risk to start the 29-year-old for such an important game. However, considering Arsenal’s tendency to give the ball away in dangerous positions, having a workhorse such as Lamela in an attacking midfield role could turn the game in Spurs’ favour.

Mourinho also described Lamela as “chaotic” recently and that is perhaps the exact sort of player who could make the difference for Spurs in what is likely going to be a tough match for the Lilywhites at the home of their arch-rivals.

Therefore, the Portuguese manager should take a risk and hand the 29-year-old just his sixth start of the Premier League season in the hope that he can be the game-changer in the derby.

In other news… Bye-bye Sissoko: Levy should seal swoop for £16.2m-rated beast who Klopp loves

According to a report by TUTTOmercatoWEB, Serie A giants SS Lazio could now make approach for West Ham United midfielder Felipe Anderson ‘in days’.

The Lowdown: Anderson’s woes…

The Brazilian couldn’t contribute in West Ham’s journey to Europa League qualification with manager David Moyes shipping him out on loan to FC Porto for the entirety of 2020/2021.

Over his temporary spell in Portugal, it’s safe to say he endured a nightmare at the Estádio do Dragão.

Indeed, the 28-year-old started just one Liga NOS match all season for the club whilst playing a meagre 128 minutes in total (WhoScored).

This has lead to reports linking him with a move away from West Ham as news emerges of another club now interested in the player.

The Latest: Lazio could now approach ‘in days’…

As per news outlet TUTTOmercatoWEB, Lazio could now make an approach for Anderson ‘in days’ as a ‘concrete lead’ emerges.

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New boss Maurizio Sarri is looking to start a fresh era at the Stadio Olimpico and is subsequently eyeing new signings for the Italian capital club.

He ‘continues to push’ for Napoli winger and Italy international star Lorenzo Insigne, but he is a ‘complicated option’ given his current salary.

Anderson, on the other hand, is far more realistic and Lazio could make contact in days to discuss the ‘feasibility of his return’.

The Verdict: Time to go…

Moyes reportedly has three signing priorities for West Ham and it is arguably wise to move Anderson on and recuperate as much as money as possible through outgoings.

Striking targets like Tammy Abraham could cost as much as £40m and West Ham now face a fight to sign Jesse Lingard on a permanent deal from Manchester United.

Duje Caleta-Car is said to be on the radar of West Ham as they also eye a new centre-back, but if the club wish to make these signings a reality, shifting deadwood is crucial in this climate.

In other news: West Ham now want this colossal 23-goal powerhouse who will ‘push hard’ to leave club, find out more here.

Speaking live on Sky Sports (via Football Daily), reporter Paul Gilmour has shared what he has been told about Paulo Fonseca and Tottenham Hotspur after the club pulled out of manager talks.

The Lowdown: Spurs still eyeing new manager…

It’s now been two months since former boss Jose Mourinho was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur in what has been a whirlwind chase for new management.

Tottenham have been linked to a host of different managers and, at one point, attempted to bring former boss and current Paris-Saint Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino back to north London (BBC).

After PSG dug their heels in, Spurs turned to ex-Chelsea gaffer Antonio Conte only for those conversations to eventually cease (BBC).

The Latest: Sky Sports reporter shares Fonseca update…

Spurs also looked very likely to appoint Fonseca as their new boss, but in another sensational twist, they decided to pull out of negotiations.

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Speculation mounted as to why this was the case, with some believing it was due to financial complications, but Gilmour has now come out with ‘verified’ information on the story.

“We have had that information verified, the information coming from our colleagues in Italy, that indeed those talks with Fonseca have indeed broken down,” he explained on Sky (via Football Daily).

“We’re told it is a decision that Tottenham themselves have taken and we are also told that it is not to do with anything financial in those negotiations.”

The Verdict: Crazy…

Despite arguably not exciting to many supporters as the likes of Conte or Pochettino, Fonseca still had his merits – like style of play and willingness to promote youngsters for instance (Evening Standard).

Time is running out for Spurs to appoint a new boss in good time for the 2021/2022 season and we believe the decision to pull out of yet more advanced discussions comes as truly crazy if it was not due to a financial disagreement – why did discussions get that far if the club weren’t even convinced he was their man?

Lilywhites will be hoping that chairman Daniel Levy, and new managing director Fabio Paratici, have a managerial ace up their sleeve in what is fast becoming a summer of chaos in north London.

In other news: “Now all parties confident”…Fabrizio Romano makes exciting Tottenham claim, find out more here.

Odsonne Edouard’s performances may be ‘starting to pick up’ because ‘you have to play well if you want a move’, according to Celtic legend Frank McAvennie.

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie said that the 23-year-old impressed him in the recent 1-1 draw with their Glasgow rivals, when the Frenchman laid on Mohamed Elyounoussi’s 23rd-minute opener at Parkhead. The ex-Hoops striker said:

“They complemented each other so well in that first half against Rangers. They were superb. I liked what I saw from those two as a combination but we have not seen it enough this year.

“You have to play well if you want a move and Edouard’s performances are starting to pick up.”

Premier League big hitters eyeing prolific Edouard

Edouard could leave Parkhead this summer before he enters the final year of his contract.

Leicester City are among the clubs said to be keen, with the Daily Mail reporting at the beginning of March that a £15m deal was in the works. Arsenal and Liverpool have also been linked with the French marksman.

Edouard, who is Celtic’s record signing at £9.27m, has scored 81 goals and set up a further 36 in 162 appearances for the club. He has hit 20 goals in 34 games this season for the Hoops, but there have been occasional dry spells.

After scoring a hat-trick on the opening day of the season against Hamilton, he found the net only twice more before facing the same opposition on Boxing Day. His output then notably picked up from the end of January with a run of eight goals in six matches.

Transfer Tavern verdict

It will be interesting to see how Edouard performs this summer when, in all likelihood, he represents France in the knockout stages of the Under-21 European Championships, when he will be very much in the continental spotlight.

He has already opened his account for the tournament, netting from the penalty spot in their group stage win over Russia on Sunday. McAvennie is right in saying that Edouard’s form has improved in recent weeks, but it remains to be seen whether that will predicate a summer exit from Glasgow.

In other news, as one Celtic player leaves, a former Hoops ace could return. 

Ralph Hasenhuttl has suffered an injury blow to his squad at Southampton, with Jan Bednarek set to miss Saturday’s game against Fulham, but there is a silver lining as it could see Mohammed Salisu handed a rare start.

The Poland international was substituted at half-time in the 3-1 win against Crystal Palace in midweek and Hasenhuttl has since confirmed that the 25-year-old is a doubt for the weekend, saying: “Jan Bednarek has a little bit of a problem with his ankle.

“In the last game he got a hit on his heel I think and didn’t train today (Thursday) or yesterday (Wednesday).”

It will likely bring an end to the centre-back’s run in Southampton’s side which has seen him start all 35 of their Premier League fixtures so far this season.

Although he has been an important member of Southampton’s squad this season, and showed great form earlier in the campaign when he and Jannik Vestergaard established a formidable defensive partnership, his recent displays have been poor and his injury could be a blessing in disguise for the Saints.

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Hasenhuttl will want to finish the season strongly whilst also utilising some of Southampton’s younger players, so Saturday’s game against already-relegated Fulham side could be the perfect opportunity to start Salisu at centre-back.

The Ghanaian, who joined from Real Valladolid last summer, has been limited to just five Premier League starts this season, although his recent performances have emphasised why Southampton were so keen to bring him in.

He was superb in their 1-1 draw with Leicester City when the Saints were down to 10 men, posting a formidable 11 clearances, and was solid again when replacing Bednarek in the win against Crystal Palace on Tuesday night.

Therefore, Salisu deserves a start against Scott Parker’s side this weekend; and if he can enjoy a strong finish to the season, then it would be an obvious silver lining to the bad news that the “excellent” Bednarek – as hailed by Matt Le Tissier – is sidelined.

In other news… Southampton handed huge transfer boost over 29-goal “phenomenon”, Semmens must deliver

Former Premier League striker Dean Windass believes that Cristiano Ronaldo will play as a centre-forward for Manchester United.

The Portuguese international returned to Old Trafford last month from Juventus, in a deal worth around £12.87m plus a further £6.86m in add-ons according to Sky Sports.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored 118 goals for the Red Devils in his previous spell with the club before joining Spanish giants Real Madrid for a then record dee of £80m, scoring 450 goals and providing a further 132, before joining Juventus and scoring 101 goals in just 134 games.

Ronaldo is a pure goal machine and Windass believes that he will feature as the central striker for Manchester United, telling Football FanCast: “I think he’ll play as a number nine but as you say he can play on the right, he can play on the left, but I think in my opinion, Ole has bought him as a number nine.”

Manchester United had a brilliant summer transfer window, as alongside bringing Ronaldo back to Old Trafford, the Red Devils also completed the signings of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and goalkeeper Tom Heaton.

Making world-class additions to their squad and having made an unbeaten start to the new Premier League campaign, everybody connected with Manchester United will be hoping that they can challenge major honours this season and put some major silverware in the trophy cabinet once again.