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Chelsea’s attack could do with somewhat of a boost if their last Premier League clash is anything to go by with Enzo Maresca’s Blues limping over the line to a slim 1-0 win over Everton.

Nicolas Jackson was thankfully the crucial difference-maker on the day from a Chelsea perspective, with the ex-Villarreal striker ending a barren run of 13 games without a goal when powering a first-half effort past a hard-to-beat Jordan Pickford.

But, it’s clear that the Blues need an injection of something fresh in the attacking areas at Stamford Bridge regardless, with a wide array of new forward players being incessantly linked with a switch to West London.

Chelsea want to sign Serie A star this summer

Despite the arrival of talented Brazilian Estevao Willian – a winger by trade – the Blues are still on the lookout for new wingers with Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens reportedly on their radar, alongside Juventus hotshot Kenan Yildiz.

Transfer Focus

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

However, the shortlist doesn’t end there with a former Premier League wide man also being looked at.

Indeed, as per a report from Caught Offside, Chelsea are planning to enter talks with one of Atalanta’s standout performers in Ademola Lookman, but are not alone in their interest of the former Everton attacker, now valued at around £55m.

Indeed, the report further goes on to name Manchester United, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Arsenal as other parties from England keeping close tabs on Lookman’s situation with the clubs in question poised to begin talks soon with the explosive Nigerian.

With a £55m price-tag reportedly above the attacker’s head, Chelsea would show they mean business in the market once more by landing the in-demand 27-year-old.

How Lookman compares to Jamie Gittens

Described as a “world-class” player by BBC Sport’s John Bennett, a move to bring the Atalanta star to the Premier League could see Chelsea land an upgrade on the exciting Gittens.

Whilst Dortmund’s English sensation has regularly stunned Bundesliga defences this season with his trickery and his goals and assists to boot, Lookman has lots more experience on his side to be a success in the here and now over the Reading-born attacker.

After all, the one-time Goodison Park flop has now notched up 115 appearances for his Italian employers since his move to Bergamo in 2022, with a very healthy return of 50 strikes and 24 assists coming his way.

Gittens has impressively already reached 103 senior appearances for the Black and Yellow despite still being a tender 20 years of age, but his numbers fall flat in comparison to Lookman’s, both overall with a lesser 31 goal contributions tallied up, but also when glancing at their head-to-head statistics over the current unfolding campaign.

The Nigeria international boasts a sizeable 18 goals and seven assists for Atalanta across 37 games this season, whilst his English counterpart has an inferior 12 strikes and five assists from eight more contests across the same time span.

LW

100

29

7

SS

79

29

11

RW

62

10

11

CF

38

14

9

AM

16

2

3

LM

2

0

0

Away from being an upgrade in terms of output, Lookman has also proven across his varied career to date that he can excite supporters watching on all across the attacking positions.

Amazingly, the former Charlton wonderkid turned Serie A superstar can boast a sturdy 14 career goals from 38 games playing as an out-and-out centre-forward, meaning he could be great competition to the likes of an inconsistent Jackson away from lighting up Stamford Bridge on the left wing.

Similar to the likes of Arsenal ace Bukayo Saka too according to stats-led website FBref, Chelsea could be on to real winner if talks with Lookman escalate to being serious and a move is put is on the table, with the Blues attack undoubtedly better off with the 27-year-old available for selection.

Their next Eden Hazard: Chelsea pushing hard to sign "magic" £87m star

Chelsea are ready to improve Maresca’s attacking options in the transfer market this summer.

ByAngus Sinclair Apr 27, 2025

Celtic returned to winning ways in impressive fashion in the Scottish Premiership with a thrilling 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock at Parkhead on Saturday, including a stunning long-range strike from Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The Hoops are now on the verge of clinching their fourth successive league title, and would have been crowned champions if not for Ianis Hagi scoring a stoppage-time screamer to rescue a point for Rangers against Aberdeen on Sunday.

This means that Brendan Rodgers will lift the title for the second time in as many seasons since his return to the club, and for the fourth time in four full seasons at Celtic in his managerial career.

There is also the SFA Cup that is still to play for, with a semi-final against St. Johnstone coming up this weekend, and the Hoops can set their sights on a domestic treble, having already won the League Cup.

They will also be planning for the future and what they want to do in the upcoming summer transfer window, with Kieran Tierney arriving on a free transfer from Arsenal being the only confirmed piece of business so far.

There are some contract situations that Celtic have to be mindful of and there will be some difficult decisions to make in the coming months because of them.

Celtic's out-of-contract players this summer

Firstly, James McCarthy’s contract at Parkhead is due to come to an end this summer after four years at the club, having joined on a free transfer from Crystal Palace in the summer of 2021 under Ange Postecoglou.

The 34-year-old dud has only played 27 matches for the first-team in those four years and has not made a single appearance for the Hoops since the 2022/23 campaign, with his most recent outing for the club in any capacity coming in the Lowland League for the B team last term.

Celtic should, therefore, move on from the former Premier League defensive midfielder when his contract finally comes to an end this summer, as he is – clearly – not a key figure, or even a visible figure, at Parkhead under Rodgers.

Another player who is technically out of contract at Paradise this summer is Crystal Palace loanee Jeffrey Schlupp, whose loan is due to come to an end.

Appearances (starts)

9 (6)

Goals

1

Assists

1

Tackles + interceptions

1.7

Dribbled past per game

0.3x

Ground duel success rate

54%

Aerial duel success rate

53%

As you can see in the table above, the Ghana international has provided a strong defensive presence in his appearances in the Premiership since joining the Hoops in January, winning the majority of his duels on the ground and in the air, without being dribbled past frequently by opposition forwards.

His contract with Palace expires this summer and it could be a shrewd move by the Scottish giants to attempt to snap him up on a free transfer.

Greg Taylor is the third and final player who is out of contract at Celtic at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, and Rodgers has made his wish clear.

What Rodgers wants Taylor to do with his future

Speaking after the 5-1 win over Kilmarnock, the Northern Irish head coach made it clear that he wants to keep the Scotland international at Parkhead beyond the end of his current deal.

When asked about the situation, he told the Daily Record: “I’ll always fight to the very end for a player and a person like Greg. He’s earned the right to make the decision he wants, but I think you see in his performance today how important he is in that role for us. It opens up so much, and he plays like a midfield player for us. We’ll always try to convince (him to stay). But we’ll see what happens from now until the end of the season.”

These quotes left no uncertainty over the manager’s position on Taylor’s future. Rodgers wants the left-back to put pen to paper on a new deal, but it remains to be seen whether or not that will happen.

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Hull City, QPR, Trabzonspor, and Dinamo Zagreb were all linked with an interest in the defender in January, ahead of a summer swoop, which suggests that he will have plenty of options to pick from ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

Despite Rodgers’ wish to keep hold of Taylor, Celtic must permanently bin the former Kilmarnock man by deciding to move on from him at the end of his current contract.

Why Celtic should move on from Greg Taylor

With Tierney on his way back to Parkhead and Taylor’s contract expiring this summer, it could be the perfect time for the club to finally part ways with the Scottish dud.

The Hoops number three, who has been outscored (one) by Carter-Vickers (two) in all competitions with the defender’s screamer on Saturday, should be released due to his lack of quality on the European stage.

Celtic have dominated domestic football in recent seasons under Rodgers. If they win the SFA Cup and the Premiership then they will have won five of the six domestic trophies on offer since his return to the club, having won all three in Postecoglou’s final season.

It is in Europe, therefore, where the Hoops must target improvement and changes to the squad must be made with this goal in mind in the summer window.

24/25

Play-off round

N/A

N/A

23/24

Group stage

N/A

N/A

22/23

Group stage

N/A

N/A

21/22

Second round qualifying

Group stage

Last 16

20/21

Second round qualifying

Group stage

N/A

19/20

Third round qualifying

Round of 32

N/A

18/19

Third round qualifying

Round of 32

N/A

17/18

Group stage

Round of 32

N/A

16/17

Group stage

N/A

N/A

15/16

Qualifying round

Group stage

N/A

As you can see in the table above, Celtic have failed to get past the last 16 stage in any European competition in any of the last ten seasons.

That is one of the reasons why the Hoops must move on from Taylor this summer because he has not proven himself to be Champions League quality at left-back.

Appearances

8

2

Interceptions per game

1.0

3.5

Tackles per game

1.8

3.5

Clearances per game

1.0

5.5

Duels won per game

3.4

5.0

Duel success rate

54%

71%

Ground duel success rate

57%

82%

Error led to shot

1

0

As you can see in the table above, Schlupp – albeit in a smaller sample size – has shown significantly more defensive quality in his two appearances for Celtic in Europe than the Scottish dud has in eight starts this season.

This suggests that allowing Taylor to move on and signing Schlupp to compete with Tierney could be the way for the Hoops to go if they want to kick on in the Champions League, as the Palace defender could provide more defensive security at left-back in the big games in Europe moving forward.

Therefore, the board should ignore Rodgers’ wish to keep hold of the experienced full-back and ruthlessly ditch him from the squad in the summer, making room for the Eagles loanee to sign permanently, in their bid to improve their Champions League record.

The next Liel Abada: Celtic plotting exciting move for £3m star

Celtic are reportedly interested in signing a star who could be Liel Abada 2.0 fo the club.

1 ByDan Emery Apr 14, 2025

Crystal Palace and Steve Parish appear to be ahead of Brighton & Hove Albion in the race to sign a 6 foot 4 defender.

Crystal Palace latest as RB Leipzig eye Oliver Glasner move

The Eagles have enjoyed a solid season on the whole in what is Oliver Glasner’s first full campaign at Selhurst Park. A run to the FA Cup semi-finals has been the highlight for the Eagles, where they are preparing to take on Aston Villa at Wembley later this month.

However, there were fears Glasner’s stay in south London could be short-lived, with Bundesliga side RB Leipzig eyeing up a move for the Austrian.

It was even claimed that RB Leipzig and Red Bull chief Jurgen Klopp had made contact over a deal for Glasner. However, in a boost for Palace, it has since been added that Glasner can’t imagine leaving English football for Leipzig at this moment in time.

Would cost £0: Crystal Palace now join race to sign "imperious" PL defender

The Eagles are now interested in signing a Premier League centre-back, who is set to be available on a free transfer.

ByDominic Lund Apr 4, 2025

He could therefore still be at the club over the summer, preparing for the 2025/26 season, and by the looks of things, Parish and those at Selhurst Park are eyeing up new signings for the current boss.

A number of names have been linked with moves to Palace, including Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike and Liverpool winger Ben Doak.

Alongside attacking additions, deals for defensive targets are also on the agenda, and they are thought to be well-placed to sign a Ghana international.

Crystal Palace in lead to sign £5m+ Terry Yegbe

According to reports in Sweden, relayed by Sport Witness, Terry Yegbe is of interest to Crystal Palace, who are in the lead to sign the 24-year-old alongside Fulham and Championship promotion hopefuls Sheffield United.

There were rumours that rivals Brighton were on course to sign Yegbe for around €5.4m (£4.5m), however, it is stated that isn’t the case, with Palace, Fulham and the Blades best placed.

Elfsborg would want up to €6.98m (£5.9m) to sell Yegbe, who they only signed in 2024 for €550,000 from Finish side SJK Seinajoki.

Clearances

7.22

99th percentile

Interceptions

1.94

97th percentile

Shots blocked

1.25

95th percentile

Miscontrols

0.13

99th percentile

% of Aerials Won

68.4%

87th percentile

As can be seen, over the past 365 days, Yegbe, who stands at 6 ft 4, ranks highly in a number of defensive metrics, and he can also play as a left-back as well as a centre-back.

Now, a move to Selhurst Park could be one to keep an eye on, especially if Marc Guehi seals a Palace exit this summer amid links of a move to Premier League rivals Chelsea and Liverpool.

The last five years or so have been a roller coaster for Tottenham Hotspur.

Since Daniel Levy and Co decided to sack Mauricio Pochettino, the club haven’t been able to find another manager who’s been able to truly deliver.

For example, Ange Postecoglou delivered entertaining football but has made them incredibly easy to play against, while Antonio Conte and José Mourinho turned a club famous for their attacking philosophy into one of the country’s most boring teams to watch.

Yet, the least successful of the lot was Nuno Espírito Santo, who wasn’t even given half a season in the dugout but still managed to bring in a couple of good signings, including one now compared to a Premier League superstar.

Nuno's Spurs signings

So, before we get to the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other players Nuno bought in during his time in the Spurs hot seat, starting with one that did not work out: Emerson Royal.

The Brazilian full-back joined the North Londoners from Barcelona in the summer of 2021 for a fee of around £26m – a fee that reportedly stunned the Catalan board at the time, which perhaps makes how things panned out not that surprising.

In all, the São Paulo-born flop made 101 appearances for the club, in which he scored four goals, provided two assists and was often labelled a “liability” by those in the media like Jamie O’Hara, before being sold to AC Milan for about £13m in the summer of 2024.

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An altogether more successful acquisition made under Nuno’s watch was that of Cristian Romero, who joined the club on a loan with a £46.7m option to buy in early August 2021.

Since then, he has been one of the club’s co-vice captains and made 117 appearances, scoring seven goals and providing one assist.

However, he’s not been the only success story from that summer, as another of Nuno’s limited signings is now a key member of the squad and has even been compared to one of the biggest stars in the Premier League, who is worth around £101m.

Spurs' £101m superstar in the making

Given Nuno’s limited time at Spurs, only one other signing was made under him that could be described as a success: Pape Matar Sarr.

The North Londoners paid Ligue 1 side FC Metz about £15m for the midfield “monster,” as dubbed by journalist Mitch Fretton, in the summer of 2021, and it would be fair to say he has since more than proved worth that initial investment.

For example, he’s already made 93 first-team appearances, scoring nine goals and providing six assists, which is seriously impressive for a 22-year-old central midfielder.

On top of this, he’s also been compared to Declan Rice, and while the Spurs faithful don’t like him, it’s a pretty flattering and encouraging comparison, one that stems from Fbref.

They compared players in similar positions in last season’s Premier League and concluded that the Englishman was the second most similar midfielder to the Senegalese ace in the entire competition.

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.25

0.24

Shots

1.57

1.62

Shots on Target

0.57

0.56

Passes into the Penalty Area

1.00

1.09

Goal-Creating Actions

0.30

0.33

Passes Blocked

0.70

0.73

Aerial Duels Won

1.04

1.09

The best way to see how this conclusion was reached is by looking at the underlying numbers in which they ranked closely, including but not limited to non-penalty expected goals plus assists, shots and shots on target, passes into the penalty area, goal-creating actions and more, all per 90.

However, while being statistically similar to one of the division’s leading midfielders is great in and of itself, it’s also encouraging regarding the Lilywhites ace’s future valuation.

For example, Transfermarkt currently values the Arsenal star at a whopping €110m, which, when converted, comes out to £101m, and if Sarr is so similar to him, why couldn’t his price tag reach the same heights in the future?

Ultimately, while he’s not quite on the level of the Englishman just yet, the talent is undeniably there, and with the right coaching, the sky’s the limit.

Spurs plotting £60m summer deal for "sensational" Van de Ven upgrade

Spurs could be about to land a star who’d massively bolster the defensive department.

1 ByEthan Lamb Apr 6, 2025

Celtic’s new head coach Wilfried Nancy will already have plenty on his plate in the coming weeks after taking over the club midway through the season, in the midst of a Scottish Premiership title race.

Aside from the obvious objectives, which include making it to the next stage of the Europa League, winning the league title, and winning the two domestic cups, the French boss also needs to develop players.

One player who desperately needs to kick on after an underwhelming start to the 2025/26 campaign is central midfielder Arne Engels, who must show his quality under the new boss.

Why Nancy needs to get more out of Engels for Celtic

Celtic splashed out a club-record fee of £11m to sign the central midfielder from Augsburg in the summer of 2024 under Brendan Rodgers, and he enjoyed a strong first season at Parkhead.

Engels delivered ten goals and 13 assists in 52 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops in his debut season, per Transfermarkt, yet he has only managed two goals and four assists in 23 games in the current campaign.

This shows that the Belgium international needs to improve his performances under Nancy to prove that he was worth the £11m that the club paid for him last year, and to attract interest from other clubs to potentially be sold for a profit in the future.

Whilst Celtic’s club-record signing is yet to raise his value at Parkhead, there is a former Hoops talent who is now valued at even more than Engels.

The former Celtic star who is now worth £20m

In the summer of 2024, Rocco Vata, despite the club’s and Rodgers’ attempts to keep him, decided to leave at the end of his contract to sign for Championship side Watford.

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The Premiership champions raked in a compensation fee of £225k for the Ireland international, who came through the ranks at Parkhead, and he is now worth a staggering £20m 18 months on from that move.

At the end of November, the Daily Mail reported that Crystal Palace, Fulham, Atalanta, and Eintracht Frankfurt are all interested in signing the Irishman, who is valued at £20m by the Hornets, ahead of the January transfer window.

Vata’s journey gives off shades of Ben Doak. The winger left Celtic to join Liverpool for a compensation fee of £600k in 2022 and was sold to Bournemouth for £25m in 2025, after making just two first-team appearances for the Hoops.

The 20-year-old talent, Vata, has provided six goals and six assists in 47 games for Watford, per Transfermarkt, and his impressive play on the left wing has clearly attracted interest from some big clubs across Europe’s major leagues.

Vata was described as a “potential superstar” by analyst and Watford content creator Louorns on X last year, which now looks like a terrific take when you consider the clubs interested in him and the valuation on his head at the age of just 20.

Hibernian

6

Ross County

1

Kilmarnock

22

Motherwell

11

Aberdeen

3

Buckie Thistle

26

Yet, as you can see in the table above, the versatile attacker barely got a look-in during his time at Celtic, with zero starts in his six first-team appearances for the club.

It is easy to say with hindsight, but Celtic should have offered him more chances on the pitch at first-team level to show the talented youngster that there is a pathway to regular football at Parkhead.

Perhaps Colby Donovan’s emergence, with 516 minutes under his belt this season, is an example of them having learned from their mistake with Vata last year and with Doak in 2022.

Now, Vata is shining in England with Watford, with 12 goal contributions since the start of last season, and could seal a £20m move away from the club in January if any of the aforementioned interested parties are willing to seriously pursue a deal.

This shows the kind of value that can be generated by simply giving young players an opportunity to shine, as Watford have done with Vata, as he is now valued at more than Celtic’s club-record signing, Engels, was signed for.

First big call: Nancy must now boldly bin Celtic's "player of the year"

Celtic are heading into a new era, following the belated confirmation of Wilfried Nancy’s appointment.

ByRobbie Walls Dec 4, 2025

Hopefully, Donovan’s emergence this season is a sign that Celtic have learned from their mistakes with Vata and Doak and will be able to keep hold of their emerging talents in the future, instead of losing them for compensation fees.

West Ham United have a proud history of developing and promoting some brilliant youngsters from their academy system.

The most recent one to really make his mark on the team and then be sold on for a massive fee was Declan Rice.

Freddie Potts looks like he could be the Hammers’ next homegrown superstar after his sensational Premier League displays before the international break.

However, while the club try their best to keep hold of their most promising talents, they aren’t always able to, and one youngster they may rue losing more than any other looks like he could be a bigger prospect than Potts and a future England star.

West Ham's next academy star

While Potts is the current academy product getting the attention and adulation from fans and pundits alike – justifiably so – he could soon be joined in the first team by another of Rush Green’s best: George Earthy.

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Now, the 21-year-old has made four appearances for the first team and even scored a brilliant goal against Luton Town in the Premier League a couple of years ago, but due to loan moves and injury, those four appearances have amounted to only 36 minutes.

In other words, most fans aren’t really thinking about the youngster, and those that occasionally do aren’t sure what sort of player they’ll be getting when he returns from his hamstring injury.

Well, firstly, even though his primary position is attacking midfield, the Havering-born gem has and can play in several positions across the pitch.

Second, he’s as comfortable scoring goals as he is providing assists, and has a seriously impressive record from his time in the academy.

For example, in 60 appearances for the u18s, totalling 4804 minutes, he scored 25 goals and provided 18 assists.

That comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.39 games, or every 111.72 minutes.

Appearances

60

55

Minutes

4804′

3618′

Goals

25

18

Assists

18

14

Goal Involvements per Match

0.71

0.58

Minutes per Goal Involvement

111.72′

113.06′

Then, during his time with the u21s, he scored 18 goals and provided 14 assists in 55 appearances, totalling 3618 minutes, which is an average of a goal involvement every 1.71 games, or every 113.06 minutes.

Finally, while he’s not played much for the Hammers, he has gained a decent amount of first-team experience from his time on loan with Bristol City last season, where he was named Young Player of the Season.

In all, so long as he can remain fit, West Ham have another superb homegrown talent on their hands in Earthy, which should help make up for them losing another, arguably more promising talent last year.

The Academy gem West Ham will rue losing

One of the most exciting talents to come through West Ham’s academy in the last five years or so was undoubtedly Divin Mubama.

During his time in West London, the Englishman was utterly unstoppable for the junior sides, racking up a staggering tally of 40 goals and five assists for the u18s and then 18 goals and two assists for the u21s.

This brilliant output saw him get a chance with the first team, and over the 22/23 and 23/24 seasons, he made 18 senior appearances, totalling 431 minutes.

West Ham

18

1

1

WH U21s

34

18

2

WH U18s

57

40

5

Man City

2

1

0

Man City U21s

9

8

4

Stoke City

15

5

1

However, in August 2024, then Premier League champions Manchester City came knocking, and despite their best efforts to keep him, Julen Lopetegui and Co had to make do with a measly £1.2m as he joined the Citizens.

To nobody’s surprise, the goalscoring machine continued his fine form in the North West, and ended the 24/25 campaign with 16 goals and four assists in 14 appearances for City’s u21s.

Moreover, Pep Guardiola gave him two run-outsrun-outs in the first team, and on his debut in an FA Cup game against Salford, he scored his first senior goal for the club.

Coming into this season, it was crystal clear that the 21-year-old is too good to play in the youth sides, and so he was sent out on loan to Stoke City in the Championship, where he has done a reasonable enough job.

For example, even though it’s his first season of regular first-team football, the “powerful” strike, as dubbed by respected analyst Ben Mattinson, has scored five goals and provided one assist in 15 appearances.

In addition to making his way in the club game, the Newham-born monster has also been in incredible form for England’s u21s.

In five caps, the game-changing marksman has already scored five goals and provided one assist.

Ultimately, it’s not West Ham’s fault, but if Mubama continues to develop in the way he has over the last year or so, they could really come to rue losing him.

West Ham given January greenlight to sign forward who Nuno called "unique"

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ByEmilio Galantini Nov 20, 2025