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Exeter City manager Matt Taylor has hinted at an exit for recent Celtic target Joel Randall.

The Hoops were linked with a move for the winger back in the January window and were even thought to be preparing a seven-figure bid.

However, even though the Celtic board were convinced he has the talent and attitude to play at a higher level, a winter window move never materialised.

Randall has impressed in the South West this season, scoring 10 goals and registering five assists in 35 appearances in all competitions.

As per a report by Devon Live, Taylor admitted the Grecians will continue to look to sell their young players over the next few years.

“We have the next ones on the list to sell and the transfer line to speak, and it will keep on happening if we keep investing in the academy and giving our youngsters the opportunity, and whoever it is next, they will have had an opportunity.

“Some people don’t like it as you are sacrificing success to give opportunity to young players but we are still fighting towards the top of the League Two table when giving players the opportunity, and we might have another Ollie Watkins in our midst at the moment.

“No-one has mentioned that but it you look at what Joel Randall has done, Josh Key has done, if they keep improving next season and beyond, then someone will buy them, and it will be a good club that buys them, and you never know where they might end up.”

Transfer Tavern take

Randall, who can play on either flank, could be a shrewd addition at Celtic Park, should the Hoops go back in for the player this summer.

It seems as is if Randall also fits one of two Celtic transfer policies of being a UK-based prospect with high upside potential available either on a pre-contract, or for a nominal fee.

Charlton were eyeing a £300,000 move in January, so the Hoops may well be able to snap up his services for under seven figures.

In other news: Celtic could be offered £14.4m-rated ace this summer, find out more here. 

Dean Windass spoke exclusively to Football FanCast where he revealed that Tammy Abraham would be a great fit for West Ham United.

Abraham has found his minutes more limited since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel who has often opted for Olivier Giroud to lead the line.

This has led to the academy graduate being linked with a move across London to West Ham.

The England international was handed his debut last season under Frank Lampard finding the net 15 times in just 25 starts for Chelsea.

Tuchel has rotated both strikers so far and does not yet seem settled on either of them being Chelsea’s focal point of attack, suggesting he may look to dip into the transfer market this summer.

With Michail Antonio seemingly never too far away from a period on the sidelines, David Moyes may see Abraham as the man he can rely on, especially if they are to be fighting in Europe next season.

The Hammers will have to improve their strength-in-depth to avoid injuries and burnout next season if they finish in the top six and Abraham is an already experienced striker in the Premier League as well as on the continent.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Windass could not agree more that Abraham would be a great fit for West Ham.

“Yeah, I can, 100%”, when asked if he can see Abraham making the move to West Ham.

“He’s David Moyes’ type, athletic, quick and young. Is he the new Chelsea manager’s cup of tea? I don’t think so.

“So, massive fit for West Ham, bit like Carlton Cole who was upfront for West ham, that sort of type.

“He’s big, strong and scores goals. Yeah, that would fit for me. If that’s Moyes’ choice it’s a good fit for me.

“It’s one of those situations where, if Antonio leaves or whatever the situation is then yeah, they’ll be looking for a new number nine.”

Abraham has seemingly fallen down the pecking order for both club and country which he will want to put right next season and Moyes has shown what he can do with players who have a point to prove.

Chelsea would likely demand a high fee for the 23-years-old who, according to The Athletic, is disinterested in signing a new contract. The Blues may do well to cash in on their academy graduate this summer as they look to pursue Borussia Dortmund’s, Erling Haaland.

Many Derby County fans have been left to slam the display of Lee Gregory in their 0-0 draw at Barnsley in the EFL Championship on Wednesday evening.

The striker, currently on loan from Stoke City, was guilty of missing a big chance to win the match, but instead the Pride Park faithful had to settle for a point to edge them ever closer to safety.

Gregory did not have the best of games by his standards, losing out on five of his duels, while also failing to record a single successful dribble and losing possession of the ball 11 times (Sofascore).

Aside from that one great chance, the 32-year-old struggled to make any sort of real impact on the fixture, recording fewer touches than his own goalkeeper Kelle Roos and a mere 25 in total, the fewest out of any Rams player to have started the clash (Sofascore).

Derby fan reaction to Gregory display

These DCFC supporters slammed his performance on Twitter, with one fan even going as far as to claim that the Englishman was ‘rubbish’:

“Gregory was rubbish send him back !!! #dcfc #dcfcfans”

Credit: @JillianW123

“Roos and Mengi really good today. Edmundson worked very well in midfield but lacks control with the ball at his feet. Gregory had an absolute stinker with an awful touch when he was through in the first half and missing the 1v1 in the second. Lucky not to give away a pen #dcfc”

Credit: @Joe43534774

“Must admit Lee Gregory is worse than I thought #dcfc”

Credit: @rooybears

“We let Marriott go on loan and we sign Lee Gregory no wonder we are in trouble #dcfc”

Credit: @Rammie007

“It’s the reason why Gregory allowed out on loan. Not good enough, doesn’t score enough. We need Derby players in the summer not loan players”Credit: @ijclarke72″Gregory has had the chance to win 3 games now, and fluffed them all. Not impressed.”Credit: @RamInSwedenIn other news, find out who was hammered for their display versus Cardiff City here!

Many West Bromwich Albion fans have flocked to a tweet from Joseph Masi that recently emerged on social media.

Masi relayed a tweet which carried a transfer update for the Baggies. He said that West Brom have now agreed a deal with Galatasaray to sign striker Mbaye Diagne on a loan deal.

Sky Sports have reported that the deal does have an option to buy the player permanently and the club are now making their arrangements to fly Diagne to the UK as soon as they can. They now also have permission to speak to the player.

The report states that signing a striker this month has been a top priority for Sam Allardyce and while he had an interest in Christian Benteke, the Belgian is set to stay at Crystal Palace. Sky Sports also stated that the Baggies have made a loan offer for Jesse Lingard, but the loan fee and wages could become a problem for them.

The Senegalese Diagne has played 15 times in the league for Galatasaray this season, scoring nine times so far. He also scored twice for them in three Europa League qualifying games earlier in the campaign (as per Transfermarkt).

Masi’s tweet caught the attention of many West Brom fans, who gave their opinion about the potential signature of Diagne.

What did West Brom fans make of this news about Diagne?

“No idea if he’s any good but if he’s mobile, that will do.”

Credit: @_the_a_bis

“No idea how good he is but has to be better than the current incumbents.”

Credit: @Alan4NewportSal

“At this point, I’d rather just save the money and start planning for the Championship.”

Credit: @turner14guvnor

“As long as he has a pair of boots, I don’t care, something has to change personnel-wise.”

Credit: @CHawthorns

“That’s a good bit of business that. Need a few more mind, but it’s a good start.”

Credit: @RobPaddock16

“Couple of defenders and a couple of midfielders then we may have a chance. As long as they’re of Premier League quality that is !!”

Credit: @BAGGIEBAIL

“It’s a start.”

Credit: @Aaron2wbaIn other news, West Brom have been linked with a lower league star – read more here.

Carlo Ancelotti should hand Michael Keane a vote of confidence by starting the Everton defender against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup after his key error in Saturday’s draw with Manchester United.

Keane returned to the Toffees line-up for his side’s trip to Old Trafford at the weekend after being benched for the 2-1 win at Leeds United, where Ben Godfrey had partnered Yerry Mina at the back.

The England defender had been a mainstay of Ancelotti’s plans for much of the season with Keane rarely taken out of the XI, while playing the full 90 minutes in 22 of his 25 appearances in all competitions.

He was hardly missed at Elland Road with Godfrey and Mina offering a composed partnership, with the summer signing from Norwich City rarely putting a foot wrong while the Colombian offered a towering presence to repeatedly head danger clear.

Yet Keane returned against Manchester United only to be caught out by the flight of the ball and leaping too early, allowing Edinson Cavani a simple and unchallenged header at the back post to open the scoring on Saturday.

Marcus Rashford came close to punishing the £25m-rated titan in the second-half, as well, with Keane too focused on the ball sitting at Cavani’s feet to see the run of his unmarked England teammate, whose eventual shot was hit straight at Robin Olsen.

No blame could be directed at Keane for Manchester United’s second and third goals, with Bruno Fernandes majestically lifting the ball over Olsen from the edge of the box in the first half and Scott McTominay heading home in the second period whilst the defender guarded the back post.

Ancelotti now has the chance to offer Keane a vote of confidence in the FA Cup by keeping the 28-year-old in his starting line-up against Tottenham, looking to guide Everton into the Quarter-Final of the competition for the first time in five years.

Ancelotti has previously praised Keane for his ability at centre-back after his efforts to keep top-four hopefuls Leicester City quiet earlier in the campaign.

“Simply because he’s a good defender and a good player,” the Everton boss told The Athletic after the 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium. “He’s focused defensively, really intelligent tactically and that’s why he’s doing well.”

The Italian now has a chance to give Keane a vote of confidence and show the defender that he believes he can bounce back from an up-and-down performance at Old Trafford, as Everton will not need a player like Mina and his aerial excellence against Tottenham.

Spurs rank 15th among all Premier League sides for accurate crosses this season, with Jose Mourinho’s men finding a teammate with just 3.1 of their 13 deliveries a game. That is also the lowest average attempts, with no side taking fewer than 14 a game, per WhoScored.

The north London side have also only scored five of their 36 goals in the top-flight this term from set-pieces, meaning Everton can make do without Mina and his 3.3 aerial duels won per game – the 14th-best average by a centre-back to have played five or more games – and give Keane a chance to rebuild his confidence.

AND in other news, Everton have been tipped to sign a £2m-rated veteran this summer after a 2020 deal collapsed…

Leeds United have had a great start to their Premier League campaign. This has largely been down to the way Marcelo Bielsa has set them up and the team ethic that they have. Defender Luke Ayling is one of the Leeds players who has recently been praised for his performances.

Alex McLeish praises Luke Ayling

Speaking about the defender, Alex McLeish said: “We talk about Luke nearly every week, we always give him a mention. He’s such an enthusiast for the game. You see him as soon as a corner is over and it’s an opposition goal kick and he was up, it’s like ‘woah’ he’s the fastest guy back into the defence. He’s back into his position.

It’s a guy who clearly loves his football and his roles within Leeds United, not only as a full-back, he’s got the centre-back skills as well – he’s got versatility.

He’s a really, really good example to any young player coming up because he’s been through the ranks. You see where he started and now he’s playing in the Premier League.”

Ayling has shone for Leeds

In the past, Phil Hay has emphasised how important Ayling is as he tweeted: ‘The more you look at him and analyse him, the more you realise he’s integral to everything Leeds do.’

The stats from this season in the Premier League also emphasise Ayling’s importance to Leeds. Defensively, he has shone, managing 2.6 tackles and 2 clearances a game (WhoScored). He has been a threat at the other end of the pitch too, boasting 1.4 dribbles per game as Leeds have taken to the Premier League in a confident fashion.

Full-backs are key in the modern game because they can provide so much for sides at both ends of the pitch, and Ayling is flourishing as he is showing the division that he can perform very well in this role, making him on of the numerous right-backs who have played at a high level this season.

In other news, one Leeds player is desperate to prove himself to Bielsa. Have a read who it is here!

Cedric Itten came off the bench to spare Steven Gerrard’s blushes as Glasgow Rangers salvaged a point against Scottish Premiership strugglers Motherwell to maintain their lead over Celtic.

The Swiss international hasn’t had the best of starts to life at Ibrox but he’s now starting to show exactly the reason why Ross Wilson signed him for an undisclosed fee in the first place.

Just last season, Itten scored 19 times in 34 top-flight appearances for St Gallen in Switzerland and has bagged three goals in three games for his country, but has been forced to play second-fiddle to Alfredo Morelos, with the latter scoring 69 goals in 123 games since Gerrard’s arrival as Ibrox boss.

But the 24-year-old rescued a draw for the league leaders as they ground out a result at Fir Park to restore their 21-point lead over Celtic.

However, despite his heroics against Motherwell, it’s awfully difficult to ignore the contributions of Borna Barisic at left-back, as the Croatian caused all sorts of problems for Graham Alexander’s side.

There are few who show the effectiveness of an attacking full-back in Scottish football better than the likes of Barisic and his teammate James Tavernier. Against Well, not only did he underline his credentials as one of the best attacking full-backs in Scotland, he also demonstrated he is fully capable of putting in a defensive shift with a well-rounded display on the left-hand side of the defence..

Glasgow Live reporter Mark McDougall was equally impressed by what he saw from Barisic, writing at the time that he ‘defended well and is Mr Consistent for Rangers.’

The numbers are simply staggering, too. Barisic managed to provide five key passes throughout the contest, more than any other player on the pitch, including Itten, and he also produced two clearances, which was the highest number in Gerrard’s side.

He didn’t stop there, either, as he utterly dominated Well winger Sherwin Seedorf from start to finish. The 22-year-old, who is a distant relative of Clarence Seedorf, struggled to get a foothold in the game; he took just 27 touches of the ball, lost 74% of his duels overall, and completed just five passes, so it’s no wonder he was hauled off halfway through the second half.

By comparison, Barisic continued to run rings around Well on the left wing, as he won six out of his eight duels (75%) in total, as per SofaScore, as he proved to be a real handful for Alexander’s side in almost every area of the pitch.

The 28-year-old has made 21 starts from 24 top-flight appearances and it’s easy to see why after such a showing.

While Itten will receive most of the plaudits, Barisic was Gerrard’s unsung hero against Motherwell, and it’s perhaps fitting that he provided the assist to cap off a masterful performance.

AND in other news, Rangers-linked Jack Wilshere set for January transfer to Bournemouth…

Are we finally reaching the end of Odsonne Edouard’s time at Celtic?

The striker has relentlessly been linked with a move away from Glasgow and could well have left for the Premier League last summer.

However, after winning the club’s Player of the Season award last term, he reaffirmed his commitment to the Hoops and stated he wanted to win ten in a row.

Yet, with January approaching, that looks like a distant dream. Edouard was only on the bench during the 2-2 draw with Hibernian and his future in the starting XI and indeed in the long-term is there to be questioned.

He did score against Hibs but if a tenth consecutive crown still looks as though it’ll elude Celtic in the New Year, Edouard may finally give in and ask to leave.

After all, Football Insider reported this week that after losses of £13m, the Glaswegians may have to cash in on one of their star men – that includes Edouard.

Thus, who could replace him?

Internally they have both Albian Ajeti and Patryk Klimala but they missed out on their perfect successor in Ivan Toney. Celtic were linked with the striker but Brentford signed him instead. Since then, he has scored ten goals for the Bees.

However, it now looks as though the Bhoys will target one of Toney’s former teammates at Peterborough – Siriki Dembele.

Naturally a winger, the 24-year-old has started to play more often as a centre-forward. He has flourished in that area of the pitch, scoring five goals in just 13 outings in English football this term.

Last season, he was hailed for his impact as a striker by Darren Ferguson: “The boy has been absolutely outstanding since realising he can play as a central striker. He destroyed Ipswich last weekend with a goal and two assists.”

That bodes particularly well, but so do the comparative stats.

In fact, Dembele has more to his game than Edouard overall. Although the latter naturally has more shots per game, the former conjures up 1.8 key passes and 3.5 dribbles per game. On top of that, he is fouled a colossal 4.3 times a match.

Compare that to Edouard and the differences are stark. The Frenchman only makes 0.6 key passes and 1.3 dribbles.

A different type of player, Celtic could give themselves a more dynamic threat in attack than they’ve ever had with Edouard. Exciting times.

Meanwhile, check out the unforgivable MISTAKE that Nick Hammond made last January…

It’s not often things go wrong for this Wolves side. Usually, they quietly go about their business in swashbuckling fashion.

That was all too evident when they beat Arsenal a few weeks ago.

However, they are feeling the effects of a negative they were forced to take away from the Emirates Stadium. After a sickening clash of heads with David Luiz, Raul Jimenez was stretchered off with a fractured skull.

It was an almighty injury to receive and since he’s been missing, Wolves have failed to score.

A 4-0 loss to Liverpool was followed by a disappointing defeat to Aston Villa as try as they might, Nuno Santo’s men couldn’t find the back of the net.

Some added firepower in January could do the trick and one of the latest names to be linked with a move is Brazilian forward Hulk.

The powerful stocky striker is currently playing in China but according to Football Insider, Wolves could sign him on a free transfer.

The player himself admitted over the weekend that he’s set to depart Shanghai where he’s enjoyed a fabulous stint.

Hulk has accumulated over £90m in wages during his four years in China and has scored 76 goals in 145 games in the process. Clearly, he knows how to find the back of the net.

Evidently, the Chinese Super League is several steps below the Premier League in terms of quality but if he does sign, there are reasons to believe he could replace Adama Traore.

The Spaniard had a brilliant season last term, contributing to 13 goals, but this campaign he doesn’t have a single goal or assist.

A player known for his dribbling, he still terrifies defenders but Hulk could do that and provide goals on a regular basis.

He has eight strikes to his name this term and has performed 3.4 successful dribbles per match. Compared to Traore, he is fractionally behind. The devastating winger has registered 3.5 dribbles a game in 2020/21.

It’s clear to see why we’re comparing the two and if Wolves continue to be frustrated by a lack of progress in Traore’s contract talks, he could depart.

Hulk would be an absolute bargain of a replacement if they can convince him to move to English shores.

In other news, Wolves’ £60k-p/w dynamo was their ONLY positive against Aston Villa…

Leeds United face one of the toughest tasks of their season as they head to Villa Park on Friday.

The Villans have been one of the best teams in the Premier League so far this season, maintaining a 100% winning record after four games this term, and Leeds’ task has been made that much harder by an injury crisis.

The Whites are set to be without Kalvin Phillips on Friday, while two of their centre-backs have also had injury issues as of late, leaving Marcelo Bielsa with a number of problems.

Fortunately, Bielsa has come up with a plan on how to replace Phillips with the Argentine revealing that Pascal Struijk will slot into the defensive midfield role.

You can understand why Bielsa wants to use Struijk in that role as he clearly rates him incredibly highly, describing him as a ‘complete player’ earlier this season, but we can’t help but feel that Struijk isn’t as complete as Bielsa thinks.

The 21-year-old has some serious shortcomings in his came, and they’re really easy to spot.

When you’re replacing a man colloquially known as ‘the Yorkshire Pirlo’ your passing has to be first-class, and it seems as though Struijk doesn’t quite have the footballing IQ to play the 40-yard cross-field balls that have become something of a trademark of Phillips’ game.

Indeed, Struijk prefers to just smash the ball clear whenever he’s under a bit of pressure, averaging a massive seven clearances per game, which is a higher tally than any other player who has played enough minutes to be ranked on WhoScored.

In comparison, Phillips averages just 1.2 clearances per game, with the 24-year-old much more focused on being progressive and playing the right ball, averaging two key passes per game, while Struijk hasn’t played a single key pass, which can be excused due to the fact he has been playing as a centre-half.

Struijk has big shoes to fill on Friday, and he may struggle to play Kalvin Phillips’ role due to his limited footballing IQ and his preference to just hoof the ball clear at any given opportunity.