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West Ham United spent heavily in the last summer transfer window, following the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini. The likes of Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko, Lukasz Fabianski and Issa Diop have added genuine quality to the squad at the London Stadium.

However, the Hammers still have plenty of deadwood to shift out. For various reasons, the futures of Winston Reid, Arthur Masuaku and Andy Carroll should all be under consideration. Carroll’s current contract with the Irons is actually due to expire at the end of this season, which offers the east London club a golden opportunity to get the injury-prone 30-year-old forward off their books in a hassle-free manner.

However, in December, Pellegrini offered Carroll a lifeline, saying “when you need to renew your contract, of course you must demonstrate why you need to renew…We know what Andy can give to our team, now he must demonstrate he is able to do it week by week…I hope that he will be able to do it”, as quoted by Sky Sports.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

In the same month, Carroll reiterated to talkSPORT his desire to stay in Stratford, “I am focused on staying here and that’s where my head is at.” He has subsequently featured regularly for the first team in the early months of 2019.

To even seriously entertain the notion of offering the 9-cap England international new terms would be a mistake on West Ham’s part. Instead, they must already be seeking an upgrade on the 6’4” striker to bring in this summer.

Why he has to go

Injuries have ravaged Carroll’s career. Since joining West Ham from Liverpool in 2012, the attacker has managed just 141 appearances for the club in all competitions in the subsequent six-and-a-half seasons.

According to Spotrac, Carroll is currently being paid £90,000-a-week. That is a huge amount to be paying a player who is so infrequently available. At this stage in his career, his fitness concerns are not going to lessen either. 

When he has got on the pitch this season, Carroll has looked a shadow of his former self. What pace he had has gone, and he has been left so fragile and bereft of confidence that he has been unable to compete physically with the effectiveness his stature suggests he should have.

Time is up for Carroll at West Ham, and the club must recognise that now.

Celtic are back in action this afternoon with another clash against their Old Firm rivals.

This time, the duo are both looking to secure a place in the Scottish Cup final.

The last meeting between the two Glasgow rivals saw Ange Postecoglou’s side secure a 2-1 win at Ibrox in the SPFL earlier this month.

However, heading into Sunday’s showdown, it seems as though the Hoops will have to make do without one of their key players.

What’s the latest?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the semi-final, Postecoglou revealed that striker Giorgos Giakoumakis will not be available to play as a result of an injury he picked up during Celtic’s 7-0 win over St. Johnstone last weekend.

Since arriving at the Parkhead club during the previous summer transfer window from VVV-Venlo in a deal worth a reported fee of up to £2.5m, the striker has made 16 appearances in the SPFL.

In those appearances, the 27-year-old has found the back of the net nine times, with only Liel Abada (10) having bagged more league goals this season.

Postecoglou will be fuming

Having appeared in all three of Celtic’s Scottish Cup games this season, the centre-forward has scored four of their nine goals against Alloa Athletic, Raith Rovers and Dundee United.

With that in mind, not only will it be a huge blow for the player to miss out on the chance to fire his team to the final this afternoon, but it is sure to have also left both Postecoglou and the Parkhead faithful fuming given how deadly he’s been in front of goal.

To highlight how much of a danger the Greek international has been for his new club, he currently boasts the highest average of shots on target and goals per 90 minutes in the league, according to FBref.

Moving forward, with the Bhoys having Kyogo Furuhashi back in the frame after recovering from his hamstring injury, Postecoglou will have to hope that he and the rest of the attacking players at his disposal can make up for Giakoumakis’ absence on this occasion.

Looking beyond that, everyone at the club will undoubtedly be hoping that the £1.8m-rated striker can recover from his injury soon enough to help his side see out the remainder of the season.

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

Sky Sports have shared comments from Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou regarding the injury to Callum McGregor.

The Lowdown: Injuries mount up once again

The Hoops ran out 2-1 winners against Alloa on Saturday evening in the Scottish Cup, however, the victory came at a cost.

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McGregor, Liel Abada and Yosuke Ideguchi were all forced off with injuries, with former of the three suffering a serious facial injury.

Postecoglou admitted that he told his players to dodge reckless challenges to avoid any further injuries in the fourth round meeting, with the trio joining the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and David Turnbull on the injury table.

The Latest: Sky Sports post

Sky Sports shared a Celtic-related update in their transfer blog on Tuesday (16:19). They relayed Postecoglou’s comments regarding McGregor’s injury, saying ‘it’s not great news’.

Postecoglou revealed ‘it’s a serious injury’ ahead of the game against Hearts this evening and didn’t put a timeframe on how long the captain could be missing for.

The Verdict: Not good

Postecoglou has had to deal with a number of injuries during his first season in charge and has hardly had a fully fit squad to choose from.

Unfortunately, it looks as if McGregor could now join Furuhashi and Turnbull on the sidelines for a significant period of time, which could prove pivotal in the race for the Scottish Premiership.

The Glasgow derby against Rangers at the beginning of February could be a vital point in the title race, and Celtic may have to do it the hard way without three key players.

In other news: Print newspaper shares significant Celtic transfer update as Michael Nicholson digs in his heels. 

Tanguy Ndombele could still remain a Tottenham Hotspur player past January 31st despite reports suggesting otherwise…

What’s the word?

The Frenchman, who cost a club-record £55m in the summer of 2020, was booed by supporters in last weekend’s FA Cup third-round triumph over Morecambe.

As the jeers got louder, Ndombele got slower as he was substituted in the 69th minute, all whilst the side were still 1-0 down to the League One minnows.

After the match, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano delivered an update on his future, claiming that “Tottenham are looking for a solution to sell or loan out Tanguy Ndombele in January,” whilst The Athletic believe the 25-year-old is hopeful for a move away.

However, according to Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas, Ndombele isn’t unhappy at the club and he could yet stay despite the controversy.

“I’ve done plenty of probing around on this – to see if there’ll be any potential suitors out there for him. The kind of level of club that could potentially pay that money, certainly – let’s obviously talk hypothetically first about any permanent options for him – they’re not desperate for that position,” he revealed to the ‘Last Word on Spurs’ podcast this week.

“I just don’t think there’s the options out there for him this month, Ndombele. And I’ve been told by sources close to the player as well that he’s not unhappy at Spurs, despite his body language the other day.”

Likely to stay?

It would seem that Ndombele is more likely to stay than go right now and that’s hardly a surprise given his reported £200k-per-week wages – who on earth is going to pay that, along with a transfer fee, for a player that has failed to cut it in the Premier League for quite some time?

He missed the midweek defeat to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup but weirdly, manager Antonio Conte hinted at the decision being from above his head. “It was a technical decision, but before to take the decision, I don’t take the decision if I don’t consult the club, there is the club line and I have to follow the club line,” he claimed after the game.

If Conte is still keen to use him and the player isn’t actually unhappy behind the scenes at Hotspur Way, as Thomas suggests, then you’d imagine there are going to be several sections of the Lilywhites’ faithful absolutely fuming.

Once the crowd turns against you in that manner, there is surely no way back but we’ve been here before with Ndombele. He reportedly wanted out under Jose Mourinho. He reportedly wanted out under Nuno Santo. And now here we are with a third successive manager.

It’s no wonder the fans have given up with their club-record signing. He arrived with so much promise from Lyon, only to deliver ten goals and nine assists in 91 appearances, via Transfermarkt.

That means he has a direct contribution once every 4.7 matches, which isn’t good enough for an attacking playmaker.

All in all, there won’t be many pleased with this behind the scenes bombshell from the Sky Sports journalist. With a little over two weeks to go, only time will tell if Ndombele will remain a Spurs player for the foreseeable future.

AND in other news, Spurs eye 1st Jan signing in “crazy” £7.2m-rated beast, he could be Conte’s next Pirlo…

Everton will be heading to St James’ Park as Frank Lampard’s team returns to action in the Premier League, with the new manager leading his side out in his first league fixture in charge at the club.

The Toffees are just four points off the relegation zone, meaning a positive outcome in tonight’s game is crucial for the side who have only won five of their 20 Premier League games so far.

Lampard will now be hoping to continue his excellent first impressions following the 4-1 win over Brentford last weekend.

With that being said, here is how Football FanCast expects the new manager to set up for his first league clash…

We expect to see just two changes made from the starting line up we saw against the Bees on Saturday afternoon in a ‘don’t fix what isn’t broken’ approach by the new manager, although both of Lampard’s new signings, Donny Van de Beek and Dele Alli are now available to start.

Yerry Mina was by far the best player on the pitch at the weekend, despite not being picked in the starting XI by Lampard, the £120k-per-week defender, who was hailed a “monster” by Rafa Benitez, came on to replace injured Ben Godfrey in the 12th minute and went on to score the opening goal whilst putting on a phenomenal defensive display, that earned him the highest rating of the game according to SofaScore.

The other change would see 20-year-old, Anthony Gordon, who was dubbed “explosive” by Everton U23’s head coach David Unsworth, axed from the side in the must-win game, to make way for Andros Townsend who can just add a bit more experience in the right wing position of the forward line against Newcastle United.

Dominic Calvert Lewin has only just returned from a knock so we expect he will be under no pressure to appear in the starting line up, but could come on if the Toffees find themselves in a sticky situation at St James’ Park.

He’s also joined on the bench by Alli and Van de Beek after Lampard said he was “not here to lean on those two” when asked about the pair in his pre-match press conference, which suggests that the manager may try to stick to his winning side.

A victory away from home for Everton this evening would be their first win since the beginning of December, their first in five and only their second win away from home this season, as well as three points giving them the opportunity to pull further away from a potential relegation battle at the bottom of the table.

In other news: Lampard must unleash Andros Townsend against Newcastle

Leeds United broke their club-record fee during the summer transfer window but things have not gone to plan ever since.

The Yorkshire giants find themselves sitting perilously in 16th place, just five points above the relegation zone, having gone close to challenging for a place in Europe last season.

Marcelo Bielsa has suffered from persistent injury problems off the pitch throughout the entire campaign but that doesn’t completely excuse their poor and inconsistent displays on it.

He finally got his man, landing Daniel James from Manchester United in a £30m deal, some 18 months after his move from Swansea City in the Championship fell through.

However, the 24-year-old Wales international has been hugely underwhelming – a worrying sign considering the considerable sum that chairman Andrea Radrizzani invested in him.

Of the ten players to have started at least ten of their 17 league games, James ranks seventh-worst for average WhoScored rating (6.49), having provided only one goal and one assist in 14 appearances.

As a creative influence in the side, there are seven better options, with the 5 foot 7 winger offering only 0.8 key passes per game, whilst he has struggled to deliver goals in the absence of leading talisman Patrick Bamford.

Despite averaging the third-highest amount of shots (1.9 per game), he has found the net just once, which is rather appalling, especially considering he scored five times for United last term.

That shocking form has led to plenty of criticism, particularly from Darren Bent, who slammed him to Football Insider: “The only thing about Dan James at times, for me, he’s a little bit headless.

“He’s shown great potential, when he first went to United he played really well, scored a few goals but at times he for me he’s fouled or he shoots sometimes when he should pass it, he’ll pass when he should shoot.”

As such, he has seen his value decrease immensely with Transfermarkt now rating him at just £16.2m. Leeds’ fifth most-expensive player.

That’s a decrease of 46% in the space of just six months, a worrying prospect and one that is sure to leave Radrizzani absolutely fuming. Director of football Victor Orta has had a mare with this transfer, thus far.

AND in other news, Bielsa dealt gutting Leeds United transfer blow ahead of January…

Lots of Glasgow Rangers fans have been left buzzing over some off-field news shared by the club.

As per the official Twitter page of the Teddy Bears, they will now play Stirling Albion at Ibrox in the Fourth Round of the Scottish Cup.

The tie will be played at on the weekend of 22nd January next year.

Stirling Albion currently play in the Scottish League Two, and so Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team should really fancy their chances of getting through into the next round of the competition, especially with a home crowd behind them.

The Light Blues also have not won the trophy since the 2008/09 season, and so there is extra motivation to go on and win it, especially starting off with a favourable draw.

Rangers fans on Scottish Cup draw

These Gers supporters were left buzzing as the draw was confirmed on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it was ‘great’:

“Yeeeees let the conspiracy cries begin”

Credit: @LaurzieJayx12

“63-0”

Credit: @potty_9

“I’ll take that”

Credit: @Chelle1872

“Happy days. Obviously massively important to take serious and go through but could this be a chance for some youth like Alegria & McCan to make an appearance?”

Credit: @OhItsSteely

“Great tie”

Credit: @waynefawcett

“That’ll do”

Credit: @ArgyllWarrior

In other news, find out what injury news has been lauded by RFC fans here!

Journalist Pete O’Rourke has claimed that Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers is attracting interest from both Leicester and Wolves.

The Lowdown: Impressive loan spell

Carter-Vickers arrived in Glasgow back in the summer on a season-long from Tottenham. Celtic have the option to make a move permanent at the end of the season for an initial £6m fee, with the 24-year-old establishing himself as a regular under Ange Postecoglou.

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The USA international has made 37 appearances in green and white, missing just one Premiership game since making the move to Scotland.

He leads the way at Celtic when it comes to clearances made per 90 minutes and is also dribbled past the least in what has been an excellent 2021/22 campaign for the defender. [WhoScored]

The Latest: O’Rourke’s comments

Speaking to The Transfer Tavern, O’Rourke had this to say on Carter-Vickers, citing two Premier League clubs in the process.

“I know Leicester and Wolves have been mentioned with Carter-Vickers.”

The Verdict: A worry

You’d expect that Celtic would be open to keeping hold of the centre-back on a permanent basis, but knowing that two Premier League clubs are also tracking him is a worry.

Leicester are currently in the latter stages of the Europa Conference League and Wolves are also flirting with the European spots, possibly making a move back to England tempting for Carter-Vickers.

The Hoops have an option in place, but ultimately, the player himself will have a major say on his next move, so a Premiership triumph and Champions League qualification could go a long way in regards to Celtic fending off Premier League interest.

In other news: ‘Worrying…’ – Sky Sports man claims ‘brilliant’ Celtic ace may now have suffered ‘bone damage’. 

Some Glasgow Rangers fans were left slamming the display of Brandon Barker despite their 4-0 win at home to Stirling Albion on Friday night.

It was a comfortable win in the end for the hosts, as young Alex Lowry opened the scoring, before James Tavernier, Cedric Itten and Fashion Sakala finished the job off as they progressed into the next round of the Scottish Cup.

Barker was given a rare start by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, in what was his first appearance of the season, but some members of the Ibrox faithful were not impressed with his performance.

The attacking midfield player failed to grab any goals or assists on the night, before being dragged off for Kemar Roofe in the 67th minute (SofaScore).

Nonetheless, being 25 years of age and only playing £8,500-per-week man on.

Rangers fans slam Barker

These Light Blues supporters slammed his performance on Twitter after he was taken off:

“Hopefully the last time we see him, Bacuna and Simpson in Rangers kits. Nowhere near Rangers quality. Don’t know how Barker has managed to stay a Rangers player this long tbh”

Credit: @BrodieM1992

“If Barker can’t put in a half-decent performance versus a part-time team, no team will be looking to acquire his services. He will be getting paid up when the transfer window closes.”

Credit: @tedteddybears11

“Hopefully never to be seen again”

Credit: @Dazzaragi123

“Send him OFF to another club”

Credit: @iAMdeanboyd

“Mind-blowing how he’s still playing at Rangers”

Credit: @harty9

“Hope the next time I see his name is when he’s leaving”

Credit: @EG_72_

In other news, find out what team news had Gers fuming here!

Aston Villa are set to battle it out with ‘a lot of really big clubs’ for the signing of Boubacar Kamara ahead of the 2022 summer transfer window. 

That’s according to journalist Luke Hatfield, who was speaking to Give Me Sport.

The lowdown

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported at the beginning of this week that Kamara, who can play as a defensive midfielder and as a centre-back, has decided to leave Olympique de Marseille on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Manchester United were said to be monitoring the 22-year-old’s situation, while German giants Bayern Munich and Spanish marquee FC Barcelona were named as strong admirers.

Kamara is yet to make his senior debut for the French national team but has featured nine times for Les Bleus at Under-21 level.

The latest

Hatfield picked out Kamara when he was asked about possible transfer targets for Steven Gerrard, but warned that there is doubt over Villa’s chances of landing the Frenchman.

“There is a lot of talk around Boubacar Kamara and Marseille,” he said.

“He’s going on a free in the summer but I think there’ll be a lot of really big clubs after him”

The verdict

Kamara is a precise passer and an effective shield for a defence, data from FBRef shows. In fact, he boasts a similar profile to Barcelona’s highly-decorated midfielder Sergio Busquets, and perhaps they view him as a successor.

Indeed, former team-mate Rolando has dubbed him a ‘phenomenon’, suggesting he can go right to the very top.

Do Villa have a shot? Well, it’s a matter of convincing the player rather than the club.

A healthy upgrade on his £46,000-per-week salary should be achievable for Villa, and then it’s down to Gerrard to make the project as attractive as possible.

In other news, fans react to this cruel injury blow.