The prolonged absence of Leigh Griffiths and the summer departure of Moussa Dembele have intensified Celtic’s need to sign a new striker in January, but a recent report suggests that Brendan Rodgers is looking in all the wrong places. 

The deadline day departure of Dembele really hurt the Hoops. Odsonne Edouard has been entrusted to fill the void this season at the spearhead of the attack and so far he has enjoyed mixed success.

One week Edouard plays with the swagger and untouchable dynamism of a genuine world beater; the next he is hopelessly ineffective and insistent on making fundamental errors with alarming regularity.

At 20-years-of-age that frustrating level of inconsistency is to be expected, especially when he is single-handedly responsible for providing the firepower.

However, according to a recent report from Sunday Post, Rodgers is eyeing up a January deal to sign a new centre-forward to support the Frenchman, with Jermaine Defoe and Andy Carroll both on his shortlist.

The Premier League pairing have 216 goals between them in England’s top-flight – Carroll with 53 and Defoe 163 – but their prolific records in front of goal should not fool Rodgers.

Indeed, there are major reasons to suggest moves for either of the aforementioned players would be ill-advised: Carroll is hopelessly injury prone and Defoe is the opposite of a progressive long-term investment at 36-years-old.

It’s incredibly difficult to find value for money in the January window and Rodgers is likely to be focusing on Defoe and Carroll due to their availability and modest asking price in a month which is characterised by obscenely inflated prices, but neither option would do much to improve the club this season.

Sure, admirers of Defoe and Carroll may suggest that they both represent reasonable temporary solutions, and perhaps they have a point.

But Carroll cannot be trusted to stay fit for any length of time and Defoe will struggle to showcase his fundamental poaching abilities at 36 and without match fitness.

Rodgers must dig a little deeper to find an appropriate long-term solution to Celtic’s centre-forward problem.

Celtic fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

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Rangers fans weren’t too happy with the performance of Eros Grezda at Hibernian last week, so was it a mistake to sell Josh Windass this summer?

Rangers have dominated in nearly every game they have played this season, but Steven Gerrard’s side are really struggling to turn their dominance into clear-cut chances and goals.

Grezda drew particularly criticism from fans last week, as the Albanian winger is clearly very talented but has absolutely no end product.

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This is certainly not a criticism one could have of Windass, who scored 18 goals last season, and one fan reckons it was a mistake to sell the 24 year-old.

After tying with Alfredo Morelos as the club’s top scorer last season, the Englishman departed for Wigan, with Grezda joining the Gers for an almost identical fee of around £2m.

While Windass was inconsistent and certainly split opinion amongst fans, he knew how to stick the ball in the back of the net, something Grezda is yet to prove he is capable of.

So, Rangers fans, was it a mistake to sell Windass? Is he better than Grezda? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…

Loads of Leeds fans have been reacting to a worrying update form Marcelo Bielsa’s press conference, as the boss confirmed Barry Douglas will be out for “a while” with a muscular injury.

Leeds might just be the unluckiest team in the Championship when it comes to injuries, and it looks like the Whites have suffered another huge setback.

Liam Cooper and Gaetano Berardi are already out long term, and Luke Ayling has only just come back from a knee injury.

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With Kalvin Phillips suspended for three games after his red card last weekend, Bielsa will now be without Douglas as well, who will miss this weekend’s FA Cup clash against QPR.

The boss says the Scottsman’s injury is not too serious, according to Adam Pope, but it will keep him side-lined for “a while”.

Fans were already desperate for some defensive reinforcements in the January transfer market, and Douglas’ setback will only intensify those concerns.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Every single time the transfer window opens up, the rumours start flying and we often see similar stories window upon window. One of those recurring rumours is that of Real Madrid’s Isco leaving the Bernabeu for The Etihad, and for that reason, we’re pitting the Spaniard up against Pep Guardiola’s own superstar, Kevin De Bruyne.

Isco very nearly joined Manchester City way back in summer 2013 when he left Malaga for Los Blancos, and for that reason, the Citizens continue to be linked with him. However, seeing as Kevin De Bruyne made the move from Wolfsburg to The Etihad two years later in 2015, the need for Isco will be questioned by the fans, even if he is one of the best players on the planet.

KEVIN DE BRUYNE

Manchester City’s Belgian superstar has been one of the Premier League’s finest players ever since he made his then-record £55 million move from Wolfsburg. His three and a half years as a Sky Blue have seen him his astonishing heights. His tally of 38 goals and 57 assists are what all the fuss is about since he joined the club, and despite missing a lot of this season with injury he’s still been touted to shine in 2019.

The Belgian midfielder is very similar to Isco in a number of ways. They share the same position but are often shoehorned out wide seeing as they have the footballing IQ and versatility to do so, and when things get tough for their side, the fans are always quick to look to them for inspiration. However, the fact that De Bruyne has proven he can do so in the Premier League should count for a lot.

TT GRADE: A

ISCO

Real Madrid have undoubtedly got a star in Isco, but the way that the club’s interim manager, Santiago Solari has been treated the midfielder is borderline criminal. He is yet to complete a full 90-minute match in La Liga since Solari’s appointment and game time has been hard to come by, which is what has forced the rumours of the midfielder making an exit for The Etihad this month in what would be a huge financial move.

Whether he’s turning out for Spain or Real Madrid, though, you can guarantee that Isco will be one of the brightest sparks on the pitch and he is a true Galactico in the way that he plays. However, his services could be put to amazing use under Pep Guardiola as the Spanish manager would be able to superbly utilise his ability to create things from deep and carry the ball in the same way he has done with De Bruyne.

TT GRADE: B+

TT VERDICT:

It’s always hard to make a choice like this when you’re comparing two of the world’s best attacking midfielders. However, given the way that De Bruyne has helped Guardiola shape Manchester City into one of the world’s very best football teams, it’s hard to see a way that Isco would be able to usurp him at Manchester City if he was to join, and that’s why the Belgian comes out on top over the Spaniard in this one.

According to a recent report from The Daily Mail, the future of James Rodriguez is far from certain heading into the remainder of this month’s transfer window. The 27-year-old currently plays his football at Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on loan from Spanish giants Real Madrid, although a lack of regular game time under new manager Niko Kovic has called his future at the Allianz Arena into question.

And reports suggest that Unai Emery’s Arsenal are eyeing up a move for the Colombia international this month, with reports suggesting that it may only cost the Gunners £3 million to sign the attacker on loan for the rest of the season.

And for such a lowly price, fellow Premier League outfit Everton should also be interested in Rodriguez, in what would without doubt represent Marcel Brands’ biggest Everton masterstroke of the lot were he to lure the 27-year-old to Goodison Park.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, the Dutchman took over as director of football at the Merseyside outfit back in May before overseeing what many felt was a hugely successful and ambitious transfer window by the Toffees.

The likes of Lucas Digne, Yerry Mina, and Richarlison, the latter costing Everton a staggering £50 million, made the big money moves to Goodison Park in a bid to equip Silva with a seriously strong squad ready to compete with the Premier League’s top sides, while the loan additions of Andre Gomes and Kurt Zouma further underlined the quality brought in by Brands during the window.

Clearly then, the former midfielder pulled off plenty of masterstrokes during the summer, with Richarlison, Digne, and Gomes in particular impressing, and luring Rodriguez to Goodison Park for a paltry £3 million would certainly represent another, and indeed the biggest of the lot.

The 27-year-old may have struggled for form and thus regular football at Bayern this season, but one simply cannot forget just how impressive he has been over the years since bursting onto the scene at the World Cup in Brazil back in 2014.

Rodriguez shone for his country in that tournament to thus earn a move to Real Madrid, where he has since netted 36 goals and laid on 40 assists in just 111 appearances, 17 goals and 18 assists coming in his first season at the Bernabeu back in 2014/15.

And with a direct contribution every 96 minutes for the European champions, it’s clear just how influential the 27-year-old has been in the final third for Real, although a lack of regular football saw him loaned to Bayern for two years back in 2017, where he has generally continued his fine form with eight goals and 14 assists in all competitions last term.

Yes, this season has been a struggle for Rodriguez, but it’s pretty clear just how talented an attacker he is given his previous efforts for Bayern, Real, and indeed Colombia – he’d no doubt be an asset to Everton boss Silva as his side seek to mount a push for European football.

Significantly, £3 million for a player of that quality, even if it would be just until the end of the season, is simply too good an opportunity to turn down – £3 million is nothing nowadays, yet it could get Everton the 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner.

As such, it’s a deal Brands simply must seek to strike, as doing so would represent the biggest masterstroke of his time at Everton to date.

Everton fans… what do you think? Let us know!

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Southampton should attempt to hijack Celtic’s loan move for Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay, who is seemingly available this month.

What’s the word, then?

According to Sky Sports, Scottish champions Celtic are in talks with United over a loan move for McTominay.

McTominay has made eight appearances for United this term and 32 in total for the Red Devils since stepping into the first-team picture.

The 22-year-old has often been criticised by United fans, but he was certainly a favourite of Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho’s exit from Old Trafford seems to have changed McTominay’s situation though and it is difficult to imagine that the Lancaster-born midfielder will be in the plans of United’s next long-term manager.

There will not be a decision made over the Scotland international’s long-term future this month, but he is seemingly available on loan.

And with that in mind, Southampton should be looking to battle Celtic for a player who would certainly boost the Premier League club’s options in midfield.

Why should Southampton move for McTominay?

McTominay will find it difficult to become a first-team regular at United, but he has already made seven Premier League appearances this term.

The midfielder also has Champions League experience to his name and would bring plenty of qualities to the Southampton squad.

Indeed, standing at 6ft 4in, McTominay is a big presence, whilst his tactical understanding has improved since stepping into the first-team picture at United.

Bringing in quality is always difficult during the January window and Southampton will be reluctant to spend big at this stage of the campaign.

The Saints have certainly improved since Ralph Hasenhuttl arrived as head coach, but their squad is still in desperate need of a boost for the rest of the season and McTominay would be a clever signing by the club.

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Steven Gerrard’s first experiment with a 4-4-2 diamond formation, as per Transfermarkt, didn’t pay off as Rangers were beaten 2-1 by Kilmarnock on Wednesday, and while the 38-year-old should already be considering ditching it, he should give it one more run-out against Livingston on Sunday.

On the chalkboard

The Glasgow giants would have been full of confidence coming out of the winter break considering they’d beaten arch-rivals Celtic in the Old Firm derby to draw level with them at the table’s summit, but Gerrard had an added selection headache following the January addition of Jermain Defoe on an 18-month loan deal from Bournemouth, as per rangers.co.uk.

He may be in the latter stages of his career but the 36-year-old hasn’t moved north of the border to play a bit-part role, and with Alfredo Morelos being such an important player for Rangers it was no surprise that both made the starting XI against Kilmarnock.

The early signs were positive and especially when Defoe netted a 12th-minute opener, but things went downhill after that as they slipped to what could prove to be a costly defeat in the Scottish Premiership title race.

Stick or twist?

It may be very early days, but Rangers clearly lacked the width they had become accustomed to in Gerrard’s preferred 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1 systems in recent weeks, and instead of having the quality of Ryan Kent out on the wing he was instead deployed in more of a No.10 role behind the aforementioned strike duo.

While the Liverpool legend may be tempted to twist against Livingston, he should stick with the formation for at least one more game. It may not have worked out completely at Rugby Park, but the chance to have a formation in which Defoe and Morelos can thrive in alongside each other is too good an opportunity to throw away during the season run-in.

Gerrard needs to ensure that his full-backs provide some much-needed attacking threat from the flanks on Sunday, but ultimately if the match does end in disappointment again then it should be the end of the experiment once and for all.

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Crystal Palace had some highs and lows in January, in what turned out to be a mixed month. 

The Eagles came very close to beating league leaders Liverpool, and overcame Tottenham in the FA Cup- both being superb performances.

Equally, this was going to be a significant month in the transfer window, as they entered it with some glaring deficiencies in their squad that needed to be resolved.

With that in mind, these are the two biggest mistakes Crystal Palace made over the transfer window:

Not signing a striker soon enough

The chronic lack of form from The Eagles’ strikers has forced manager Roy Hodgson to field wingers Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend in that position for most of the season so far. They desperately needed a new striker and it should have been a matter of urgency. Therefore, it is bizarre that they waited until Deadline Day to bring in a new player.

Palace signed Michy Batshuayi on loan from Chelsea in the final hours of the transfer window, in what may be a very good signing indeed. The Belgian had a wonderful time with Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga last season, and while his loan at Valencia didn’t go to plan for the first half of this season, he still has undoubted talent.

But had Palace signed the 25-year-old, or a player of his ilk sooner, they may have avoided some troublesome results in January. The Eagles lost to Watford at home and drew with Southampton away. Had they had the striker that they were wanting, the results could have been different. They are only hovering four points above the relegation zone, and those sacrificed five points could prove to be costly.

Re-signing Bakary Sako

Now this is not necessarily saying that Bakary Sako is a bad player, but it is hard to see what he has done to warrant returning to Selhurst Park.

The 30-year-old was released by Palace at the end of last season, and was signed for free by Championship outfit West Brom. He started a total of two Championship games during his time with The Baggies, and while he may have worked his way back to fitness, he did not exactly take the team by storm.

He may thrive again at Palace, but this is a bit of a faux-pas by them signing a player that was deemed not good enough at the beginning of the season.

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Son Heung-Min is emerging as Tottenham Hotspur’s clutch player.

Having returned from the Asian Cup with South Korea, the 26-year-old has been thrown into the fire at Spurs, playing against both Watford and Newcastle.

The north London outfit won both games, and the winger has been integral to the victories.

He netted an 80th-minute equaliser against Watford prior to the winner by Fernando Llorente, before scoring a late decider against Rafa Benitez’s men on Saturday.

The results kept Mauricio Pochettino’s men in touch with the Premier League leaders Liverpool, as well as second-placed Manchester City. Prior to Monday’s game between West Ham and the Reds, Spurs are just four points behind Jurgen Klopp’s men.

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Of course, it remains to be seen if Liverpool will slip up any further, but Tottenham are in there, scrapping, and that is largely down to the performances of Son.

He has emerged as the club’s go-to player when it comes to needing to win a game, particularly with Dele Alli and Harry Kane both out injured.

Against the Magpies, the South Korean enjoyed a match-winning display and simply never stopped running.

Per Whoscored, he scored, his goal came after a total of five shots, he made one tackle and boasted a pass success rate of 90%. He also had four successful dribbles, continually running at the Newcastle backline and causing problems.

When needed, he stepped up with a goal that confirmed three vital points and has moved the club one step closer to both Champions League qualification and a title challenge.

With Kane and Alli both out, Spurs have needed a hero to step up; Son has done just that and should now be regarded as their most effective forward option when it comes to big games.

Lots of Liverpool fans are slamming Aston Villa’s Jonathan Kodjia, after the Ivory Coast international celebrated with a dance as he smashed a hat-trick past the Reds’ young Carabao Cup team.

With Jurgen Klopp’s first-team preparing for the Club World Cup in Doha, Neil Critchley was left to lead a young Liverpool side out at Villa Park on Tuesday night.

The young Reds were soundly beaten by Dean Smith’s side, with Kodjia grabbing a first-half hat-trick, but some of the Anfield faithful weren’t happy with what the towering striker did after his goals.

Kodjia got the faintest of touches on a Conor Hourihane free-kick to open the scoring before an unfortunate own goal from Morgan Boyes made it 2-0, and Kodjia then stabbed home his second after a mistake from Sepp van den Berg.

The 30 year-old then completed his hat-trick with a seasoned finish shortly before the half-time whistle, and Reds fans can’t believe how he celebrated, considering the inexperience of their squad.

Check out some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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