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Olivier Ntcham believed he would be fit in time to be involved in Celtic’s 5-0 mauling of Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts at the weekend, as reported by the Scottish Sun. 

As it turned out, the 22-year-old sat out the thrashing of the Jambos, but his words suggested that he’ll certainly be fit again to face RB Leipzig in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Brendan Rodgers’ side will welcome the Bundesliga club to Celtic Park in midweek knowing that they have to get a positive result against the visitors if they’re to keep their chances of qualification from Group B in their own hands.

To get a win, Rodgers has to field his best available starting XI. If Ntcham is available to the Bhoys then he ordinarily slots straight into the heart of their midfield. However, Celtic have been in fine form following two 5-0 wins without the Frenchman.

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That being said, Ntcham is a fine player who adds a lot of quality and control to the Celtic midfield and should therefore be immediately restored to the starting line up to face Leipzig if fit.

What do you think, Hoops fans – should Ntcham start against the German outfit?

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Loads of Newcastle fans have been reacting to the latest transfer rumour, as reports claim Eintracht Frankfurt want up £26m for Sebastien Haller.

According to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the Bundesliga outfit expect around €30m for their prized possession, as both Newcastle and Tottenham show interest.

The Northern Echo recently claimed Haller is Rafael Benitez’s number one January target, and the towering French striker looks set to become one of Europe’s great strikers.

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He has scored nine goals in all competitions this season, more than the entire Newcastle squad, and he has also added seven assists.

The Magpies added Salomon Rondon and Yoshinori Muto in the summer, but neither of them have had the desired impact, scoring just one goal each so far.

Of course, fans are extremely suspicious of any transfer rumour that exceeds the club’s transfer record of just £16m, and that is reflected in the Twitter reactions down below…

According to The Scotsman, Rangers are planning a January loan swoop for 21-year-old Liverpool star Dominic Solanke. 

The striker, who is a winner of the UEFA European under-17 Championship and the FIFA u-20 World Cup with England, is yet to feature for The Reds this season under Jürgen Klopp.

The re-emergence of Daniel Sturridge as a deputy to Roberto Firmino has meant that Solanke has been left out in the cold. Liverpool are chasing silverware this season, and Klopp clearly sees it as a risk in playing the youngster.

However, his honours at junior level for both club and country clearly show what a talent Solanke is, and while he may not be able to help out Liverpool this season, he’d be a wonderful asset to Rangers.

Obviously, having a Liverpool legend in Steven Gerrard as the manager of The Gers will always be beneficial regarding signings, shown by Ryan Kent’s current stay at Ibrox. If Gerrard can land Solanke, it will start to show one of the major positives of having him as a manager.

Rangers’ strikers haven’t got going so far this season. Kyle Lafferty has struggled for goals so far, only scoring four goals in all competitions. While Alfredo Morelos has been a bit more fruitful in front of goal, he has in no way impressed everyone, spurning chances at crucial moments throughout the season. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Umar Sadiq has failed to make an impression.

It is not as if Solanke would immediately usurp any of these players, but he would just increase the competition in the Rangers camp, and that will boost performances. He will stand more of a chance of playing for Rangers than Liverpool, so this looks like a deal that would help both parties.

After a poor start to the season, with Dean Smith now at the helm, Aston Villa look like they could be back on track and should still be targeting the playoffs.

It was quite obvious that Steve Bruce’s time at the club was coming to an end. After missing out on promotion last year, Villa had been pretty poor and were playing well under expectations.

Going forward, Villa had managed to score plenty of goals but at the back, the Birmingham side were poor.

Since Smith has taken over, Villa have only conceded three goals and won three in their last five games. However, in January, Villa must look to add to the squad if they want to have any hope of pushing up the table towards the playoff positions.

With that in mind, the Birmingham Mail is reporting that Villa might well go back in for summer target, Scott McKenna in January.

The Breakdown

With Axel Tuanzebe and James Chester as the only recognised defenders at the club, Villa need to bolster their numbers at the back. Moreover, Chester picked up an injury while playing for Wales and although it’s yet unknown how severe the injury is, signing someone of McKenna’s calibre would be a huge deal for Villa.

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes is keen to hold on to McKenna but has recently admitted that the allure of the Championship or even Premier League football might be too great.

The 22-year-old is one of the best young defenders in Scotland and would be a huge upgrade for Villa.

Thoughts Villa fans? 

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Unai Emery has made a great start to life as Arsenal manager since taking over from the long-serving Arsene Wenger in the summer. After defeat in his first two games, the Spaniard has led the Gunners on an unbeaten run spanning 16 matches in all competitions. However, there is still plenty of work to be done.

On the Chalkboard

Whilst the north London club’s recent form has been impressive, many of the performances have left plenty to be desired. Emery’s outfit can consider themselves lucky to have picked up draws with Crystal Palace and Wolves.

The manager himself is aware that his squad is in transition and that they are just at the beginning of a long process to turn the Gunners back into a Champions League team and title contenders. Emery recently stated that his team “need to improve things” if they’re to finish in the top four, as reported by the Evening Standard.

Playmaker FC’s Theo Ogden was at the Emirates to witness Arsenal’s qualification for the Europa League last 32. Check out his match diary in the video below…

One area of the team facing particular issues is the left flank. Injury woes and players being deployed out of position has caused this side of the pitch to be a chink in Arsenal’s armour. Emery must address this problem and find a balanced solution before his side are punished for it with defeat.

Auba out

The continued absence of first choice left-back Nacho Monreal – who the club have confirmed will not return to training for a further two weeks – is a major problem for Emery. The back up option, 24-cap Bosnia and Herzegovina international Sead Kolasinac, has only recently returned from injury himself and is yet to prove his defensive quality since his arrival in the Premier League.

Given that Arsenal cannot line up with their best full-back in place on the left-hand side, it is vital that the wide attacker on the same flank is committed and capable of carrying out his defensive duties.

Prolific goalscorer though he is, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struggles in this unfamiliar role. The 29-year-old Gabonese striker is the club’s top scorer so far this season but could prove a defensive liability against Bournemouth’s in-form attackers if deployed on the wing on Saturday.

To guard against the Cherries’ attacking threat, Emery should play academy product Ainsley Maitland-Niles at left-back, where his recovery pace can help him martial the threat posed by Bournemouth’s wide forwards. Ahead of him, Alex Iwobi has impressed enough in recent weeks to be entrusted with protecting the 21-year-old Maitland-Niles.

Liverpool had a decent summer transfer window as they strengthened various areas on the pitch.

Naby Keita and Fabinho joined the midfield, while Xherdan Shaqiri signed on the dotted line from Stoke City.

Arguably the most important addition was goalkeeper Alisson, who swiftly replaced Loris Karius as the club’s new number one.

Even though Jurgen Klopp recruited some talented players, the performances on the pitch have been below par.

The club are still in contention for Premier League glory as they sit second in the standings, two points adrift of leaders Manchester City following an unbeaten run.

However, there is a sense that the Reds are missing a creative spark – something that Philippe Coutinho possessed and demonstrated before he left Anfield to join Barcelona in January.

With the January transfer window a matter of weeks away, some Liverpool fans have decided to discuss the potential transfer business that could be coming their way.

Comment from discussion With the january transfer window opening in a month, what changes should we look to make?.Comment from discussion With the january transfer window opening in a month, what changes should we look to make?.Comment from discussion With the january transfer window opening in a month, what changes should we look to make?.Comment from discussion With the january transfer window opening in a month, what changes should we look to make?.Comment from discussion With the january transfer window opening in a month, what changes should we look to make?.Comment from discussion With the january transfer window opening in a month, what changes should we look to make?.Comment from discussion With the january transfer window opening in a month, what changes should we look to make?.Comment from discussion With the january transfer window opening in a month, what changes should we look to make?.Comment from discussion With the january transfer window opening in a month, what changes should we look to make?.Comment from discussion With the january transfer window opening in a month, what changes should we look to make?.

The Playmaker FC squad decided to wind-up some unsuspecting Brazil fans at the Emirates on Saturday night. Watch the hilarious results in the video below…

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been voted the Premier League’s PFA Bristol Street Motors Fans’ Player of the Month for November by football fans across the country. In a vote run by fan engagement experts Snack Media, the colossal Dutch defender won by a landslide, seeing off competition from the likes of Huddersfield Town’s Aaron Mooy, Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane and Manchester City trio Raheem Sterling, David Silva and Leroy Sane.

In the first of four divisional votes carried out over seven days via Snack’s digital and social networks and supported by top flight football clubs and the press, it was van Dijk’s contribution to two clean sheets and seven points gained from three outings in November that clinched him the award. The Netherlands international is the second Liverpool player of the season to earn one of the PFA Bristol Street Motors Fans’ Player of the Month accolades, after Sadio Mane won it in August.

The Championship vote opens at 11 am on Monday 3rd December. To vote go to: http://www.footballfancast.com/pfa-awards

Chelsea blew the title race wide open this weekend with an excellent 2-0 win over Manchester City.

The Blues put the disappointment of last weekend’s loss to Spurs behind them and saw off the Premier League champions behind another excellent performance from Eden Hazard.

However, there is still a chance that Hazard is playing his last season for the Blues, and we here at the Tavern think that the Blues need to be eyeing up potential replacements.

And one man we think would be a superb addition for Chelsea is Dortmund and England sensation Jadon Sancho.

The young England star has been superb since making the move to the Bundesliga, and he possesses similar qualites to those of Hazard, with his pace and dribbling ability marking him out as one of the most dangerous wingers in the game at the moment.

Sancho would no doubt cost a fortune, but Chelsea will likely be armed with funds from a potential Hazard sale if they make their move, and who better to spend it on than someone like Sancho.

The youngster has the world at his feet at the moment, and Chelsea would be wise to make their move before others start to sniff around the classy wide man.

Chelsea fans, what do you think? Would you take Sancho back? Let us know in the comments!

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According to The Telegraph, Tottenham Hotspur will battle Everton for the signature of Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes at the end of the season.

Gomes joined Everton on loan from Barcelona during the summer, and the midfielder has been outstanding for the Toffees since stepping into the first team.

It is currently unclear whether Barcelona are prepared to sell Gomes at the end of the season, but there will certainly be interest in his services.

According to The Telegraph, Tottenham have been impressed with the performances of the Portugal international this term, and will launch a bid next summer.

The Tottenham fans have been on social media reacting to the transfer report, and it would be fair to say that there are some very differing opinions.

Indeed, whilst a number would be happy to take 6ft 2in ace Gomes, there are others who do not believe that the midfielder would be a good fit for Mauricio Pochettino’s team.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Tottenham supporters can be seen below:

Playmaker FC’s Theo Ogden was at Wembley to witness Spurs’ dramatic second half comeback against PSV. Watch the drama unfold in the video below…

According to The Northern Echo, Newcastle have made Eintracht Frankfurt’s Sebastian Haller their number one transfer target in January as they look to stave off the threat of relegation – fellow strugglers Crystal Palace must deny the Magpies the opportunity to smash their transfer record by offering the German side Christian Benteke in a genius player-plus-cash deal.

What’s the word?

Well, The Northern Echo have reported that Rafa Benitez and co. are hopeful of bringing the big Frenchman to St James’ Park when the transfer window opens in a bid to bolster their attacking options but, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, it will set them back up to £26m – Mike Ashley’s minimal backing surely won’t allow for such a fee, leaving the door open for Palace.

Having picked up a shock win over champions Manchester City after edging out Leicester in a gritty clash the week before, Palace have had an impressive December and, should they get a result against Chelsea, will surely be deemed unlikely candidates for relegation but only if they can fix one huge problem.

Benteke’s dire performances since an impactful debut season in red and blue has seen him notch just three goals in 35 appearances and the Eagles should sure look to offload a player who is fast becoming an expensive mistake – they can sign a much needed goalscorer and get one of their most costly payees off the books all at once by including the former Liverpool man in a deal for Haller.

Hitman Haller

The towering striker has been sensational this season – he has struck a formidable partnership with Luka Jovic and bagged 12 goals and 11 assists in 25 appearances for Die Adler (or the Eagles, funnily enough) in all competitions.

Frankfurt are clearly reluctant to let him go and will demand a fee similar to that which Palace signed Benteke for in 2016, but by sending the misfiring target man the other way, Roy Hodgson and co. will surely lessen the resolve as both are of a similar mould – this could also be the fresh start Benteke needs to reignite his career.

The Croydon outfit have no difficulty creating chances as they took a massive 31 shots against Cardiff but none of these attempts found the net and, thus, the score ended 0-0 – a disappointing result after the Etihad heroics.

Haller could be the difference between relegation and survival for the Eagles and they must make the 24-year-old their priority in the new year.

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