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Celtic have officially confirmed that Mexico international Julian Araujo has joined the club on loan from Bournemouth until the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

The 26-year-old full-back is their first signing of the January transfer window and could make his debut for the club against Rangers in the Scottish Premiership this afternoon.

Wilfried Nancy has started Anthony Ralston in the right-sided centre-back role in recent weeks, in Alistair Johnston’s continued absence, and Araujo now looks set to compete for that position in the team.

A new centre-forward is also on the agenda for Celtic after it was recently reported that Columbus Crew attacker Diego Rossi is interested in a potential reunion with Nancy at Parkhead.

Celtic eyeing move for MLS attacker

Whilst the Uruguay international may be keen on a move to Glasgow, the Scottish Premiership champions also have their eye on another MLS star.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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According to the Daily Mail, Celtic are looking to bolster Nancy’s squad with additions in several areas of the pitch during the January transfer window.

The report claims that two centre-backs could be brought in because of Jahmai Simpson-Pusey’s departure, a right-winger is being explored, and they want to sign a new centre-forward.

On the latter position, the outlet reveals that Rossi is just one of two MLS attackers who are on the club’s radar, as they are also interested in Columbus Crew number nine Wessam Abou Ali.

The Daily Mail states that Nancy wants to add more firepower to his squad and has identified his former Columbus Crew marksman, who was signed from Al Ahly for around £6m last summer, as a target.

Why Celtic should sign Abou Ali over Diego Rossi

Rossi is an attractive target for the Hoops on paper because he has already worked with the French boss and scored 40 goals in the 2024 and 2025 campaigns combined, per Sofascore, for Columbus Crew in all competitions.

However, the versatile forward has predominantly played as an attacking midfielder for the MLS side, per Transfermarkt, as he was typically deployed as one of the two 10s behind the starting number nine for Nancy.

In Celtic terms, that means that he would likely be competing with the likes of Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren for a role behind the striker, rather than coming in to be the main man the Hoops currently lack up front.

Celtic’s top 25/26 Premiership scorers

Player

Goals

Benjamin Nygren

8

Daizen Maeda

6

Johnny Kenny

4

Arne Engels

3

Kieran Tierney

3

Stats via WhoScored

As you can see in the table above, the Scottish giants lack a consistent goalscorer in the number nine position who can be relied upon, which is why they should swoop for Abou Ali.

The Palestine international, who was hailed as “clinical” by Columbus Crew general manager Issa Tall, is an out-and-out centre-forward who can come in to replace Johnny Kenny up front and offer a reliable goal threat.

Abou Ali scored three goals from 0.75 xG in five appearances in the MLS in the 2025 campaign after his £6m move from Al Ahly, where he really established himself as a consistent goalscorer.

The 26-year-old frontman scored a staggering 38 goals in 60 appearances for the Egyptian side, per Transfermarkt, which included a return of 18 goals in 19 league matches in the 2023/24 campaign.

Shortly before his move to the MLS, Abou Ali scored three goals from 1.17 xG at the Club World Cup in the summer of 2025, per FotMob, scoring a hat-trick against Porto.

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That means that he has scored his last six goals from just 1.92 xG, which speaks to how clinical and efficient he can be in front of goal. Celtic have lacked that this season, as Kenny has only scored four goals from 6.02 xG in the Premiership, per FotMob.

His statistics for Al Ahly and Columbus Crew suggest that he could be the perfect upgrade on Kenny, providing Celtic with a clinical striker, as a much-needed signing for the Scottish giants.

Whilst Rossi could be a good addition to the squad as an attacking midfielder who carries a goal threat, it is a natural number nine that should be their top priority, because of Kenny’s dismal form.

Related A better move than Araujo: Celtic keen on signing international forward

Celtic are reportedly interested in a deal to sign a forward who could be an even better signing than Julian Araujo.

Posts ByDan Emery

Therefore, bringing in a clinical centre-forward, in the prime years of his career, like Abou Ali could be an even better signing for Celtic than Rossi.

There is still a month to go till the World Twenty20, but no side other than India can claim to know their first XI so much in advance. In the team that beat Sri Lanka 2-1, thus retaining its No. 1 ranking in T20Is, there will only be one change made – Virat Kohli replacing Ajinkya Rahane – barring an extraordinary pitch or an opposition full of left-hand batsmen, but MS Dhoni also knows the fickle nature of the T20 format. He knows his side will be difficult to beat, but he also knows his side can be beaten. Two of the areas that can derail India’s campaign are a big hitter in the opposition and India’s somewhat suspect lower middle order, which can struggle to play the big shots from ball one.”We are always a top contender when it comes to shorter formats,” Dhoni said after India beat Sri Lanka by nine wickets in Visakhapatnam. “Also with the World Cup to be held in India we know the spinners will come into action. It gives us the added benefit. Also the exposure of having played the IPL over here. Out of the eight seasons we have played seven seasons in India. We have got a lot of players, especially ones who are the part of the team, who have got very good experience of playing in India.”All of that will definitely count, but what the shortest format really does is, it narrows down the difference between the two teams. What you have to do is keep the [opposition’s] big hitters out of the game. Also the knockout games, you have to be at your best. Once the knockout stage starts it is more like lottery cricket. To be consistent is something that is very important.”Asked if any aspect of his side was untested, Dhoni spoke of the lower middle order. “Everybody has not got a chance to bat, but we will keep facing this problem,” Dhoni said. “Because also our batting line-up is quite deep. We will try to give batting to a few of the players who haven’t batted so far. But usually people who are batting close to 6, 7 and 8, will have to develop more of going in and straightaway play the big shot. That’s something that will certainly be very important for us. It is not about how many runs you score at that point of time. You may be facing just three or four or five deliveries. If you can get 10 or 12 runs, that will be of real benefit.”But overall, other than that everybody has got an opportunity to bowl, which is a good thing. I think, in the last three games, everybody has gone for runs a bit. If it is the spinners or the fast bowlers, to an extent. They were under pressure at some point of time, which is a good thing for them. Overall we are looking good, but a bit more batting to the middle order will help.”One of the final ticks is R Ashwin’s performance with the new ball after Dhoni had tended to bowl the six Powerplay overs with his quicks in Australia. Ashwin’s success – he has claimed eight wickets in the two matches that he has taken the new ball against Sri Lanka – takes away that predictability from India’s attack. “Ashwin is the pick of the bowlers when it comes to giving him the new ball, [with seven men] in the circle. He still flights the ball, asks the batsmen to step out and play the big shot. That is crucial in this format. At times you tend to bowl too flat, but he is somebody who mixes it up really well.”He gives us that liberty of using the fast bowlers in the middle overs, especially when you are playing with just two fast bowlers. Gives us the liberty of mixing up the bowlers at different levels. But it’s something we will keep doing throughout the coming games. We will see the conditions and the opposition at the same time, how many left-handers they have, and how many right-handers they have. Also what gives me that option is having Suresh Raina in the mix. You have literally two proper offspinners, especially when it is turning, and you have two left-arm spinners in [Ravindra] Jadeja and Yuvraj Singh in the XI so even if one of them has to bowl upfront it doesn’t really matter because the others can do the job.”

Ray Price makes his return after three years out of the international fold © Getty Images

Ray Price, the Zimbabwe left-arm spinner who was part of Heath Streak’s rebel strikers in 2004, is to return to international cricket after being handed a call-up for Zimbabwe’s series against the West Indies later this month.Price returned from England two weeks ago after rejecting a new contract with Worcestershire where he spent four seasons. In 2004, he was one of 15 players who went on strike to oppose Zimbabwe Cricket’s (ZC) regime. But despite his apparent wish to one day play for England – he is three years into a four-year qualifying period – Price is rejoining the country of his birth.He has taken 69 wickets in 18 Tests at 35.86, but he was most productive in the 2003-04 season, taking 33 wickets at 22.42 from five Tests.He is understood to have been given a contract by ZC after consulting Streak, Trevor Gripper and other former team-mates.

On how it unfoldedJust prior to the electricity problem, the light was deemed to be bad, andit was offered to the batsmen. They wanted to stay on the field. When thelights went out, they decided they would continue. The first ball afterthe lights went out, when VRV Singh almost got a wicket, they tried to stay ona little longer. But eventually they decided they wanted to go off thefield.Then, the lights came on after electricity supply was restored. When wewent out, the light had deteriorated and was at a lower reading from whenit was initially offered. Asad [Rauf] and I decided we would see what itwas like. We had an over from my end [Zaheer Khan]. Then, when [VRV] Singhbowled from the north end, it was decided that the light had deterioratedto the extent that it was unfit for play.There is a perception at times that it is only the batting side that needsto be taken into account, and that is correct to a degree. They are theones that will be offered the light, which they were. But sometimes, itgets to the stage that the umpires have to make a call, whether it’s unfitfor cricket or not.On whether the reading was the same as the initial oneI can’t give you a correct answer on that as replacement umpire. Asad wasleading the situation. He was using those guidelines that were used forthe past two days as well.On whether the batsmen were offered light the second timeThe light wasn’t offered to them again. We get to a stage when we’reunhappy with the lights and we offer it, and they say yes or no.On what conditions they deem unfit for playFor picking up the line of the ball, background plays a role. For the overthat came from my end, Asad was struggling to pick up the ball from sideon.

Cameron White will switch from fringe national player to Victoria’s team leader © Getty Images

Victoria have been bolstered by the return of Cameron White and Mick Lewis from Australian one-day duty for Sunday’s ING Cup match against Tasmania at Launceston. White will be back as captain and he said a win was crucial at the half-way mark of the competition.”Getting the points in Launceston will have us sitting in second position on the table and with plenty of momentum going in to the second half of the season,” he said. Tim Welsford was cut from the squad that comfortably beat Queensland last weekend.Victoria squad Jon Moss, Michael Klinger, Lloyd Mash, David Hussey, Liam Buchanan, Graeme Rummans, Grant Lindsay, Cameron White (capt), Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Peter Siddle, Gerard Denton, Mick Lewis.Tasmania Michael Di Venuto (capt), Tim Paine, Travis Birt, George Bailey, Michael Dighton, Adam Polkinghorne, Dane Anderson, Adam Griffith, Xavier Doherty, Shannon Tubb, Ben Hilfenhaus, Darren McNees.

Many millions couldn’t tune in to Tendulkar’s record-equalling 34th century© Getty Images

Another day, and another mini-crisis in the world of cricket broadcasting in India. After the Kerala High Court had issued an order asking ESPN to share its feed of the Bangladesh-India one-day matches with Doordarshan, the national broadcaster, ESPN have filed a petition in the Supreme Court to block the move. Its counsel stated that such a move violated the channel’s exclusive commercial right. However, the apex court’s decision to post the case for early January means that Doordarshan can telecast the final two matches, to be played on December 26 and 27.Chief Justice B Subashan Reddy and Justice Kurian Joseph of the Kerala High Court had issued an order on Wednesday, asking that ESPN allow Doordarshan to beam the pictures, with revenue shared on an 80:20 basis. ESPN have an exclusive arrangement with the Bangladesh Cricket Board and it contended that sharing the feed would be tantamount to infringement of its rights.The channel has gone off air in many parts of India, with cable operators refusing to meet its financial demands. According to ESPN, the current dispute should have been solved by the intervention of the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal.

Eight players have been awarded central contracts by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in a deal which could net each of them as much as £400,000 over the next year. The days of top cricketers being the poor relations of international sports appear to be long gone.For five of the eight – Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain, Mark Butcher, Ashley Giles and Marcus Trescothick – the contracts were just a renewal of the existing situation, but three – James Anderson, Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff – receive one for the first time.Given that the original purpose of central contracts was to try to protect players from the daily grind of county cricket and ensure that they are at their peak when playing for England, it is a little surprising that only two – Flintoff and Anderson – are fast bowlers. The only other bowler on the list is Giles, a selection which owes more to his role as a utility Test and ODI player than any outstanding performances over the last 12 months.The terms of the contracts mean that the players are entirely outside the control of their counties and are under the fulltime supervision of the ECB.

Former cricket board president, Thilanga Sumathipala, has demanded 500million rupees (USD $ 5 million) damages from Sri Lanka’s Deputy SportsMinister, Mangala Samaraweera, after allegations made in a televisioninterview he helped topple the Sri Lankan government last week.According to Sumathipala, in a media statement released on Monday, “In arecent television interview had made serious false, misleading, maliciousstatements and even went to the extent to connect me with the LTTE through aTamil politician for the recent political crisis.”The ruling PA government, headed by President Chandrika Bandaranaike, wereforced to call fresh parliamentary elections on Wednesday night after thedefection of several high ranking MPs in the days running up to a crucial noconfidence vote.With the election expected to take place on 5 December the UNP oppositionlooks set for a return to power, opening up the possibility of a change inthe administration and thus the Sports Minister.Such changes would pave the way for fresh cricket board elections and thepossible return of a Sumathipala led administration, which had beendissolved in March by the then Sports Minister Lakshman Kiriella.Rumours ran rife in Colombo over the weekend that Sumathipala, renowned forhis canny politicking, had turned kingmaker and played a major hand in thepolitical defections.According to Sumathipala, Samaraweera claimed in the programme, broadcast onITN on Sunday night, that he (Sumathipala) had paid Rs 30 million to everymember that crossed the floor.He adamantly denies this, saying, “I must clearly state that I didn’t playany part in the recent political developments in the country and had nothingto do with any financial transaction whatsoever.”But admitted that: “Personally, I am very happy to see that some intelligentpeople have crossed over to the correct side at this moment in time.”Sumathipala has started legal proceedings by issuing a letter of demand foran astonishing 500 million Rupees. Should this not be answered within sevendays he claims further legal action will be taken.He then challenged Samaraweera to an open, televised face-to-face forum to”give us an opportunity to clear our name.”Rumours are also rife that Sumathipala is about to formally enter nationalpolitics and contest in the forthcoming elections. He, though, maintainsthat he is “interested in administration, not politics.”

Ravi Shastri will remain India team director till the World T20 in March-April 2016, the BCCI has announced. Based on the recommendations of the cricket advisory committee, the tenures of the three assistant coaches – Sanjay Bangar, B Arun and R Sridhar – have also been extended till the same tournament.”Acknowledging the performance of the Indian Cricket team and the efforts of the coaching staff in recent times, the CAC endorsed the extension of their tenure,” a BCCI release stated. The cricket advisory committee consists of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, board president Jagmohan Dalmiya and secretary Anurag Thakur.Shastri, and the three assistant coaches, had been brought in from the limited-overs leg of the England tour in August 2014 after India had lost the Test series. Their terms were then extended till the end of the World Cup by the BCCI working committee. They had been assured before the Bangladesh tour in June that their contracts would be renewed, but the tenure had been not agreed upon.

Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson and Ibrox manager Gio van Bronckhorst will be working alongside each other this summer to bolster the squad with new additions.

The Gers will be hoping to find the new superstars of tomorrow to improve the team by sniffing out gems in the transfer market.

Over the years, the likes of Ronald De Boer, Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup represented the Glasgow giants, and some other legendary players also came close to making the switch.

One player for whom the club reportedly chased a deal was Dutch icon Dennis Bergkamp in the 1990’s before he signed for Premier League giants Arsenal.

The Ger were keen to snap him up from Italian outfit Inter Milan but failed to get a move over the line quickly enough, allowing the Gunners to come in and secure his services in 1995 for a fee of £7.5m.

This ended up being a big howler from then-manager Walter Smith, who did win 10 Premiership titles with the Gers, as Bergkamp went on to demonstrate his immense quality in England.

He ended his career with 410 appearances for Arsenal, winning three Premier League titles and four FA Cups along the way. The mercurial playmaker produced 113 goals and 94 assists for the north London club in all competitions as he consistently showcased his ability in the final third.

Instead of regularly delivering goals and assists in the Scottish top flight for the Gers, he enjoyed a phenomenal spell south of the border.

Jaap Stam called him “world-class” and former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger once lauded his talents, saying: “Dennis is a player who is admired by all the other players and was the first push of Arsenal into the modern, international era. [ . . . ] He brought creativity to this group of very strong players and it was a good marriage.”

His sublime goal against Newcastle United in 2002 has been ranked as one of the greatest in the history of the Premier League. Now… imagine if he produced moments like that in a Rangers shirt!

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Who knows what would have happened had Smith and the Gers moved with a bit more urgency to get the deal over the line. Bergkamp may not have fulfilled his potential in the way that he did at Arsenal, or maybe he could have exploded at Ibrox and been a joy for the fans to watch.

Talk about one that got away…

AND in other news, Was £2.7m, went to £162m: Rangers fumbled deal for “alien” who’s the “god of football”…