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Rangers’ title hopes suffered a hammer blow on Sunday as they lost 2-1 to their Glasgow arch-rivals at Ibrox.

Aaron Ramsey put Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side in front after just three minutes, but Tom Rogic quickly pegged the hosts back before Cameron Carter-Vickers scored what proved to be the winner shortly before half-time.

The defeat leaves Rangers six points adrift of the league-leading Hoops with just six games left to play.

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Here at The Transfer Tavern, we delve into the three worst-rated starting outfielders for the Gers as per statistical specialists SofaScore, with players required to feature for at least 45 minutes for ranking. This trio were dribbled past six times and collectively lost possession 60 times on an afternoon to forget.

Leon Balogun – 6.4/10

Balogun made just his second league start in the Gers’ last seven matches, but the figures suggest that he failed to deliver on the big occasion.

He lost half of his ground duels (two out of four) and half of his aerial battles (four out of eight), with Celtic players able to dribble past him on two occasions. He also gave away possession 12 times and misplaced 10 of the 52 passes that he attempted (nearly 20%).

John Lundstram – 6.6/10

Unlike Balogun, Lundstram has been very much in favour recently, with this his sixth start in seven league matches. Perhaps his place in the team won’t be as secure after this showing, though.

The headline for the midfielder was that he made the error leading to Carter-Vickers’ goal. The former Sheffield United man was unable to clear, and Rangers were duly punished.

Beyond that, he was dribbled past once, lost three ground duels (42.8%) and turned the ball over 10 times.

James Tavernier 6.7/10

Gers captain Tavernier is generally one of the first names on the teamsheet but he didn’t quite make the impact that he would have desired on Sunday.

The right-back gave the ball away a whopping 38 times, at least 15 more than anybody else on the pitch, while only two of the 17 crosses he attempted during the game were accurate.

Unfortunately, he also led the way in the undesirable ‘dribbled past’ stakes (on three) and lost eight of his 15 duels overall (53%).

In other news, Rangers have also been dealt an off-field blow.

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Harry Kane could return for Tottenham Hotspur against Borussia Dortmund, per The Sun.

Kane sustained ankle ligament damage against Manchester United in December but could now make an ahead-of-schedule return.

What’s the word?

Kane was initially ruled out until March when he sustained his injury.

However, the aforementioned report claims that Spurs’ medical staff are confident he could make an early return.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

The England international, who won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup, could return in next week’s crucial Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund, though he is certainly set to miss this weekend’s game against Leicester City.

If Mauricio Pochettino opts against risking the striker versus the German giants, he could instead play against Burnley.

The report will be music to the ears of the Argentine, with Spurs facing games against Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool, as well as the return leg against Dortmund, before the end of March.

Worth the risk?

Pochettino would be well advised to tread carefully surrounding Kane’s injury. Spurs cannot afford to rush the striker back and see him sustain another injury before the end of the season.

He has already played 309 senior games in his club career – 244 of those coming with Spurs – and has also won 35 caps for England. All in, at the age of 25, he has played 344 senior games since making his debut.

He has sustained two ankle injuries already but, nevertheless, was an integral part of England’s World Cup squad.

Since the beginning of last season, quite simply, he has not had a break.

But he has been so important to their season – scoring 20 goals in 31 games in all competitions – that it would not be a surprise if he started against Dortmund next week.

If Kane is fit, he will want to play, and Pochettino will surely not want to say no. However, he may have to take the decision out of the striker’s hands – for the good of Kane’s own career.

Manchester United have not been making much progress in terms of incoming players during this transfer window so far, but that could all be about to change with a fee reportedly agreed with Ralf Rangnick to bring a star player to Old Trafford.

What’s the word?

The Mirror have reported that interim manager, Rangnick, has verbally agreed a £33m fee with RB Leipzig for Amadou Haidara, who is currently away at AFCON representing Mali.

According to the report, Manchester United are not the only club chasing down the Bundesliga star, with Newcastle United interested in securing his signature by the end of the transfer window.

With that being said, Rangnick is reportedly keen to sign the player from his former club and is high on his wish list, as the German coach remains keen to bolster his midfield options at Old Trafford this month, according to The Mirror.

However, the Premier League giants are yet to make an official bid for Haidara, and as a result run the risk of losing the player to another club.

Fans will be buzzing

The fact that any progress, even a verbal agreement, has been made for new players to join Manchester United this month will come as a huge relief to fans of the club, with the side dropping points in their last two games that has now made their race for a top four spot seem even further out of reach, with West Ham United currently five points ahead in fourth and if they win this afternoon, the Hammers could go eight points clear of them.

Fans have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the potential signing of Haidara, with many desperate to welcome the 23 year old to the club, one fan tweeted: “Haidara is such a beautiful talent man. Man United need him I swear.”

Haidara offers versatility in his position which is something Manchester United desperately need from their players, especially in Rangnick’s 4-2-2-2 formation.

From his defensive midfield position, he offers fantastic offensive attributes, scoring two goals in 13 appearances, and has been successful in 72% of his dribbles this season so far in the Bundesliga, proving that he is effective in being progressive in his play, which is essential for the pressing style Rangnick adopts at Man United.

With Newcastle also reportedly keen to sign the young Malian midfielder, it is imperative that Rangnick moves fast to secure his signature at Old Trafford during this transfer window. Should he move then fans will be delighted.

In other news: Offer rejected for Andreas Pereira from Flamengo

Trent Alexander-Arnold could be fit for Liverpool’s vital Premier League clash with Manchester City, according to journalist James Pearce.

The Lowdown: Liverpool suffer Trent blow

The Reds are firing on all cylinders at the moment, with their quadruple chances still alive going into April, in what could be a legendary season at Anfield.

They suffered a blow recently, however, with Alexander-Arnold suffering a hamstring issue in the 2-0 win away to Arsenal in the Premier League.

It was reported that he would miss ‘weeks’ and therefore the potentially season-defining trip to City on April 10th, but that may have changed.

The Latest: Promising update emerges

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, The Athletic‘s Pearce claimed that Alexander-Arnold could now be available, in what is a significant update:

“Trent Alexander-Arnold’s rehab progressing well. Chance he could be fit for crunch clash at the Etihad on April 10 – but that would be a quick return. Important hurdles still to clear. (Includes an update on Naby Keita too).”

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The Verdict: Potentially result-defining

Alexander-Arnold’s influence is absolutely enormous, so him starting at the Etihad a week on Sunday has the potential to alter Liverpool’s title chances.

The 23-year-old is the Reds’ main creative force, registering 15 assists this season, with so much of their play coming through his wand of a right foot, in terms of his passing, crossing and energy down the flank.

Alexander-Arnold being fit would give City so much more to worry about than if Joe Gomez plays at right-back, with all due respect to the makeshift full-back, and it would enhance Liverpool’s hopes of picking up one of their biggest Premier League wins of all time.

In other news, Fabrizio Romano has dropped a key Liverpool transfer claim. Read more here.

Manchester United’s proposed move for Ajax manager Erik ten Hag is now in the final stages, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Verbal agreement

The Athletic’s David Ornstein shared a huge development on Tuesday evening regarding the 52-year-old moving to Old Trafford.

He revealed that the Red Devils had reached a verbal agreement with Ten Hag and now need to reach a deal with Ajax.

No announcement is expected this week due to Ajax’s Dutch Cup final against PSV Eindhoven, alathough Romano has shared what he knows on the situation.

The Latest: Romano’s update

Romano took to Twitter shortly after Ornstein, confirming his information. The transfer guru added that Ten Hag’s backroom staff still needs to be decided and shared details of a €2m (£1.67m) clause:

“Sources close to Erik ten Hag confirm David Ornstein report: his appointment as new Man United manager is at final stages.

“Nothing signed yet – back room staff to be decided. No announcement expected this week. Ajax and Man Utd will be in contact about €2m clause.”

The Verdict: Getting closer…

It looks as if it is just a matter of time until United can formally reveal Ten Hag as Ralf Rangnick’s long-term successor.

Of course, everything can still change, but it does appear that the Red Devils will get their man, with whom they held ‘positive’ talks last month.

Finalising a move before the end of the season will give Ten Hag and United the best possible chance of making the right decisions over the summer with regards to incomings and outgoings, instead of those calls being rushed should he have arrived during the summer window.

In other news: ‘Interesting’ Man Utd news has pundit talking; says Leeds supporters ‘will be devastated’

Glasgow Rangers have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to bring goalkeeper Sam Johnstone to Ibrox this summer.

What’s the Word?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that sources close to Johnstone have revealed that the shot-stopper wants to join Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur on the expiration of his West Bromwich Albion contract at the end of the current campaign.

This is sure to come as a huge blow to Rangers, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst is looking at a replacement for Allan McGregor – who himself looks increasingly likely to be leaving Ibrox this summer.

The Light Blues have shown interest in the England international who has kept 15 clean sheets in 36 Championship matches so far this season as West Brom has struggled.

With the likes of Newcastle United, West Ham United, and Southampton all linked with the highly-rated stopper in recent weeks, it’s clear to see why missing out on Johnstone could send Rangers into panic mode.

A potential replacement for McGregor?

Allan McGregor has so often been the saviour for Rangers over the years, producing big moments and penalty saves exactly when the side needs them, but this campaign has looked like a step too far.

There have been far too many mistakes as the Ibrox side has slipped behind in the title race, and the keeper has cost the club a fair few points since January.

As such, signing Johnstone on a pre-contract would be an excellent move. With three caps for England and still just 29 years of age, Giovanni van Bronckhorst could do no wrong in making a move for the shot-stopper.

Indeed, with the ‘keeper having been omitted from West Brom’s previous two matchday squads due to his contract running down, Rangers are in as good of a position as any to offer him terms.

With a market value of £7.2m, any side that secures the services of the 29-year-old could also make a solid profit in the future if they decide to sell him on, making this move an absolute no-brainer.

AND in other News: Wilson could land new £13m talent as Rangers plot bid for £180k-rated sensation

Celtic have been hit with a fresh injury setback over defender Josip Juranovic after the Old Firm clash on Sunday…

What’s the latest?

The Hoops full-back was forced off in the 67th minute of the game as he hobbled off with what appeared to be a hamstring strain and was replaced by Anthony Ralston.

Bhoys boss Ange Postecoglou did not comment on his situation after the match and Celtic now face a nervous wait to find out the severity of the injury in the coming days.

Supporters will be gutted

This news will surely leave Celtic supporters gutted as it will be a big blow to lose him for any period of time between now and the end of the season. Depending on how bad of a strain it is, he could be out for days, weeks, or months and that is why the supporters will be anxious to hear more about him.

After he came off, Ralston struggled against Ryan Kent for the rest off the game. Athletic journalist Jordan Campbell noted that the Gers were “getting joy” against the Scot and this highlights Juranovic’s importance to the team and the impact his loss will have in the coming weeks if he is missing.

The difference between Celtic when he was off and on the pitch in the Scottish Cup semi-final clash was obvious, as illustrated by Campbell’s comment. They struggled defensively after he went off as Ralston was unable to cope with the Gers and this suggests that it would be a disaster if the Croatian is now absent for a number of games.

In the Premiership this season, he has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.21 across 27 appearances. He has helped the Hoops to keep 11 clean sheets in the league, making 2.2 tackles and interceptions per game whilst winning 56% of his duels.

This shows that he has been strong defensively and a key part of Postecoglou’s resilient back line in the division throughout the campaign. However, he has also caught the eye going the other way with 1.4 key passes per game and three goals, showing that he can find the back of the net himself and create openings for his teammates to score from.

Therefore, he has been crucial for the Hoops this season with his flying play down the flank. He has been able to impress in attack whilst remaining consistent and reliable at the back and the fans will be gutted by this injury blow.

AND in other news, AND in other news, Signed for 7 figures, left for peanuts: Celtic had a mare on “unplayable” £15k-p/w dud…

As a football betting enthusiast, you have the opportunity to bet on football matches all year round if you want it. Yes, professional soccer league betting is always available somewhere in the world. As you might know, that could be a good thing or a bad thing.

If you have complete control over your football betting activities, there is nothing wrong with betting on matches regularly. The term “control” refers to you not allowing any form of gambling to interfere with your life. That typically means restricting your football betting bankroll to your discretionary money, money that remains after your bills are paid. Then, it’s all good. If there would ever come a time that you would lose control over your football betting, you will hopefully seek help getting things back in order.

One of the first things you should do if you suspect you might have a gambling problem is seek out some form of self-exclusion resource. By finding and using a self-exclusion resource, you would make it clear to the people in your life that you want to be responsible about the way you live your life.

The rest of this article is going to focus on two self-exclusion resources you will immediately have at your disposal. Those resources are GamStop and Gamban.

GamStop Self-Exclusion Program

If your football betting activities are focused on online sportsbooks in the UK, you should have access to the GamStop Self-exclusion scheme. This would especially be true if your online bookmaker of choice is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. If that’s the case, it’s very likely that your online bookmaker has subscribed as a member of GamStop. For information about GamStop, you can look for the GamStop logo or speak with a customer service representative.

Once you get access to the program, you can register for free. As part of the registration process, you will have to provide a lot of important personal information (full name, phone number, cell number, email address, etc.). This is the information that the GamStop program will use to block your access should you try to open any new sports betting accounts after your self-exclusion period starts. By the way, all of your active accounts will immediately be suspended.

Since the program is strictly voluntary, you get to decide how long you want your self-exclusion to last. Your options would be 6 months, 1 year, or years. Once it goes into effect, member UK gambling sites are supposed to deny you access to their gambling websites.

Of course, no program or system is perfect. GamStop is only available for online gamblers through online operators that are licensed with the UKGC and have subscribed to the GamStop scheme. As you can imagine, there are a lot of ways you could get around your self-exclusion.

The most obvious option would using non GamStop UK sites for online betting. Indeed, there are plenty of UK licensed operators that have been able to avoid GamStop membership because while it has been deemed mandatory as part of the licensing process, enforcement has been slow. Other GamStop-avoidence options would include:

Football betting through offshore sportsbook Using Bitcoin only gambling sites Betting through retail bookmakers Opening accounts under other identities The Gamban Option

If you feel committed to staying away from online football betting sites, you might want to consider using a self-exclusion software solution like Gamban.

Gamban is a downloadable software program that you can download on all the devices you use for your football betting activities. Once the program has been downloaded and activated, your devices will not be able to interact with any websites that can be identified as gambling sites. The self-exclusion is permanent as there is no way to remove the software from a hard drive.

Once again, no program or system is perfect. It should be pretty obvious that Gamban is a device-specific solution. If you were to be motivated to resume your football betting activities, you would just need to buy a new device or borrow one from a friend or relative.

Since neither of these self-exclusion programs offers you complete protection from problem gambling issues, we would recommend you use both options at the same time. While Gamban will cost you a little money, GamStop registration is free. The combination of these two programs would still not offer absolute protection, but it could be enough to keep you from betting football until you have your life back in order.

Image from: unsplash.com

So far in the current January transfer window, Wolves have only managed to secure deals for Hayao Kawabe and Chiquinho.

With the end of the month in sight, it seems as though some details have emerged on one particular transfer deal that Wolves were touted to complete that will surely excite a lot of fans.

What’s the latest?

After reports emerged earlier in the season that Wolves were looking to make Hwang Hee-chan’s loan deal at Molineux from RB Leipzig permanent, Old Gold journalist Tim Spiers was asked on Twitter what the current situation is on the matter.

In response, Spiers said that the club were going to sign the attacker on a permanent basis this month but his hamstring injury brought it to a halt.

The journalist also claimed that Hwang’s “drop in form” just before the injury could have had a part to play in it as well.

He concluded: “Lage is a big fan so if he gets back fit and in form before the end of the season he’s a bargain at £12m.”

Fans buzzing

Since joining the Midlands club from Leipzig back in August, the 25-year-old has managed to score four goals in 14 Premier League appearances, highlighting the attacking talents he has and demonstrating why Lage admires him.

It also shows why Wolves fans would be buzzing to see him become a permanent part of the furniture at Molineux as he’s currently the club’s joint-top scorer in 2021/22.

If Hwang’s injury and recent form have put to bed any chance of Wolves making his loan deal permanent this month, his aim now will be to get fit and start scoring again if he wants any chance of the Midlands club attempting to sign him in the summer to keep him in England.

While that may be a tough ask for the 25-year-old at this moment in time, if Wolves end up selling Adama Traore to fellow Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, which has been heavily reported in recent days, this could give the loanee more chances of playing games and proving to Lage why he deserves to stay at the club for the foreseeable future.

In other news: Alex Dicken delivers crushing Wolves transfer claim, Shi is making a huge mistake – opinion

Newcastle United have been scouting Fenerbahce powerhouse Attila Szalai ahead of a potential move in the summer transfer window…

What’s the story?

The Chronicle have revealed that the Magpies are keen on bolstering the centre of their defence this summer, and while the likes of Sven Botman and Diego Carlos remain on the table in terms of potential options, Szalai’s name also figures prominently.

The report said: “Attila Szalai of Fenerbahce is another centre-back Newcastle have been tracking and one that may be prepared to battle for his place with pressure eased in the heart of defence by the January arrival of Dan Burn.

“Toon scouts have been present to watch Szalai in recent games but have been joined by Aston Villa and notably Milan who also like the Hungary international. Newcastle already have a direct link to Szalai’s agency ROGON who look after Joelinton.”

Ideal Botman alternative for Newcastle

At a height of 6 foot 4, Szalai is a fearsome presence at the back, and if he were to arrive at St James’ Park this summer, the Magpies would boast a truly towering a centre-back partnership with him alongside 6 foot 8 Dan Burn.

Hailed by former Fenerbahce boss Emre Belozoglu as “exemplary” and with the “loudest voice in training”, Szalai possesses all the raw physical attributes to become a real force in the Premier League.

The centre-back has been a consistent performer for Fenerbahce this season, averaging 1.2 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game in the Turkish Super Lig. His numbers fare even better when considering his displays in the Europa League, in which he averaged 1.8 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per match.

To put that into context, both his tackling and interception numbers are significantly better than pretty much all of Newcastle’s centre-backs this season in the Premier League, with only Fabian Schar averaging slightly more interceptions at just 1.4 per game.

Given that AC Milan still appear to be in pole position in the race to sign Botman, Newcastle could certainly do a lot worse than going after Szalai this summer.

AND in other news – Newcastle “win battle to sign” 5 foot 11 “huge talent”, Howe will be buzzing