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Speaking to Football Insider, former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie has had his say on the future of Mikey Johnston and insists he needs to leave Parkhead.

The Lowdown: Bit part figure…

The 22-year-old has cut a very bit-part figure over the last few seasons and that doesn’t seem to be changing under new boss Ange Postecoglou.

Indeed, Johnston has managed a small handful of minutes so far this campaign and made just eight SPFL appearances in total over 2020/2021.

Since bursting on to the scene three years ago, it appears there has been little progression in terms of his Celtic career and McAvennie has explained what he needs to do.

The Latest: McAvennie sends Johnston message…

Speaking to FI, the Scottish football pundit has sent a message to Johnston amid his lack of opportunities at Parkhead – insisting there is no hope if he wants regular game time.

“I think he’s been here too long,”

“He’s got to go. He’s not the kind of player Celtic want or need at the moment. Basically, he’s a part-timer.

“He doesn’t suit the style. Johnston has fallen even further down the pecking order now.

“That means he probably won’t get to play where he wants to play, which means he won’t perform as well.

“It’s bad now but Forrest is injury. When he comes back Johnston has absolutely no chance.

“There are a lot of games and maybe he can be useful from the bench. I just see the new players coming in this January and I don’t see a place for him.

“I want him to go and find somewhere he can play week in week out. He deserves that.”

The Verdict: Time to go…

For the sake of his career, we believe McAvennie may be correct and Johnston’s time at Celtic could well be up if he doesn’t get more chances on a consistent basis.

The Scotsman could well benefit from either leaving permanently or going on a season-long loan to reignite his form and attract attention from potential suitors.

In other news: Reliable reporter: Celtic ‘step up efforts’ to sign ‘another’ star for Ange in ‘stone cold killer’, find out more here.

Newcastle are currently 18th in the Premier League table, and one of the biggest reasons behind their struggles has been their lack of quality in defence.

Only Norwich (45) have conceded more goals than the Magpies (43) in the top flight, which highlights how poor they have been at the back this season.

One of their defenders who has struggled on and off the pitch is Federico Fernandez. The £45k-per-week dud has only started five Premier League matches this term and has been unable to catch the eye when he has played, which is a far cry from where he was at the start of his career on Tyneside.

In December 2018, Transfermarkt valued him at £7.2m. This came after his final season for Swansea and the first half of his debut campaign at St. James’ Park, with the centre-back averaging a solid WhoScored rating of 6.76 in the top flight with the Welsh outfit.

He then averaged a score of 6.73 with Newcastle in the Premier League in the 2019/20 campaign as he proved to be a reliable performer during that time. However, his displays have taken a nosedive since then, averaging a score of 6.64 last term and a dismal 6.37 this season. This suggests that he has been regressing over time and is not the same player he was two or three years ago.

Fernandez has also had availability issues to go along with his lack of form. He has had six separate injury or illness absences for Newcastle, with the latest one having kept him out for eight matches so far.

He missed nine games last term and it remains to be seen when he will return during the current campaign. This shows that he is now an unreliable player for Howe, both in terms of his performances on the pitch and his fitness.

It could now be time for the ex-Bournemouth boss to brutally axe Fernandez from the squad by cashing in on him at the end of the campaign. This would allow the Magpies to replace the 32-year-old ahead of the start of the 2022/23 season, with Newcastle getting rid of a player at the back end of his career.

At the time of writing (05/02/22), Transfermarkt value the Argentine at £1.8m. This is a £5.4m plummet in the space of just over three years and shows that his career may be winding down as he heads towards his mid-30s.

He is currently under contract until 2023, with an option to extend it a further 12 months, but Howe must cash in on him in the summer instead of allowing him to leave on a free transfer the following year. The end of this season could be the club’s last chance to recoup some money for the defender and, for the aforementioned reasons, they should act upon that opportunity.

AND in other news, “I believe”: Luke Edwards delivers big Newcastle update which will leave Howe buzzing…

Watford’s decision to sign Andre Gray for a club-record fee has unfortunately proven to be a disastrous piece of business by the Hornets.

The Hertfordshire outfit paid £18m to sign the striker from Burnley in 2017, a club-record fee at the time, with the Jamaican joining on a five-year contract.

Since then, he went on to make 125 appearances for Watford, in which he managed a measly 21 goals and eight assists, which is far from good enough when you consider the fee they paid.

Last season saw the striker manage just five goals in 30 appearances despite Watford’s promotion to the Premier League and following the arrivals of Emmanuel Dennis, Josh King and Ashley Fletcher, it always seemed likely that he would be surplus to requirements in Xisco Munoz’s squad.

He joined QPR on a season-long loan late in the summer transfer window and it seems likely at this point that he will leave Watford at the end of the season when his contract expires.

Transfermarkt currently values Gray at just £3.6m, with the forward enduring a steep decline since 2019 when he was valued at £13.6m by the same outlet.

Watford fans will be hoping that the 30-year-old can impress at QPR and convince them to make his move permanent in January but any potential fee that the Hornets could receive for the striker will surely be well below the £18m they paid.

When you consider that Gray rattled in the goals during spells at Luton Town, Brentford and Burnley, it is disappointing that he has performed so poorly at Watford and it is perhaps a surprise that he has remained at the club for so long, as it has been a bit of a nightmare spell for the Jamaica international.

And, in other news… 0 tackles in 3 games: Watford dud has endured nightmare PL start

West Ham’s chances of bringing Jesse Lingard back to the London Stadium this week have been bolstered considerably…

What’s the word?

It’s now believed that the 28-year-old midfielder, who excelled during a short-term loan spell last season, is increasingly likely to make the return to the Irons, according to Eurosport journalist Dean Jones.

Speaking on ‘The Football Terrace’ YouTube channel, he said:

“Lingard looks like he’s giving up on now staying at [Manchester] United. West Ham are back on the tails of him, [to] see if they can get him in. I think that it’s quite likely, from what I’m told, that [it] does end up happening.

“Lingard is starting to accept that there is no way in at United, and after what happened at West Ham last season for him, and the way they’ve started this season, it’s a great fit for him.”

This will rock the London Stadium

With only a few days to go in the transfer window, this latest development will be music to the ears of many at the club.

Hammers boss David Moyes made no secret of his desire to sign Lingard permanently following the final game of the 2020/21 season. He told reporters, via the Evening Standard:

“I hope Jesse’s here, we’d like to keep him, he’s done an exceptional job for us but there’s no guarantees, he’s not our player. But I hope Jesse realises we’ve been good for him as well, and that he joined a club on the up.”

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-west-ham-news-transfer-rumours-the-latest-gossip-and-much-much-more-2” title= “Read the latest West Ham team and injury news, transfer rumours, gossip and much, much more!”]

And more recently, assistant manager Stuart Pearce reiterated their intention to re-sign the loan sensation.

“We would like him to come and join us. That has been an open secret. He was wonderful last year,” he revealed to talkSPORT last week. The ball is in Manchester United’s court. He is contracted to them. We would like him with us, there is no doubt about that. He’s a special lad and was very good around the players – the players really like him.”

Of course, it’s not only Moyes, Pearce and the players that would love to see the £19.8m-rated dynamo back in east London. The fans have been desperate for the club to stump up the cash to seal him permanently.

The 29-time England international won the hearts of the Hammers faithful with his nine goals and four assists, which helped him end the campaign as their second-best player, as per WhoScored ratings.

Lingard is unlikely to feature much for United – he was not involved against Leeds and played just four minutes from the bench during their draw with Southampton last weekend, so perhaps it’s no surprise to see his intentions change.

West Ham have until Tuesday 11pm to complete a move for the attacking midfielder and that seems very possible following this fresh update. On the above evidence, the London Stadium will surely erupt at the announcement of Lingard’s return.

AND in other news, “Next 24-48 hours”: ExWHUemployee drops West Ham transfer claim, fans surely buzzing…

Despite having an average squad age of 26, Southampton do have a number of players in their side in and around the age of 30.

One player that fits this criteria is 30-year-old Oriol Romeu, who has managed to rack up a total of 221 appearances for the Saints across all competitions since joining the club back in the 2015 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League club Chelsea.

With the Spaniard’s current contract set to run out in the summer of 2023, we feel that the Saints could possibly already have their ideal replacement for Romeu if he were to leave the club when his deal expires.

18-year-old central-midfielder Kgagelo Chauke made his senior debut for the Saints back in January during the club’s 2-0 win over Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup.

As well as this, Chauke, who Hasenhuttl apparently “really likes” according to journalist Joe Crann, has nine appearances for Southampton’s U18 side and 29 appearances for their B team under his belt as well.

In two appearances for Southampton B in the Football League Trophy so far this season against Leyton Orient and Charlton Athletic, Chauke managed to earn himself a match rating of 7/10 for both performances according to SofaScore, which just goes to show he can play well against senior opposition when given the chance.

In addition to this, the midfielder has managed to make two interceptions per game in those two cup matches and 3.5 tackles per game as well, showing how much of a defensive unit he can be in the team from midfield.

Taking this into account, and the fact that Romeu has made more tackles per game (3) than any other Saints player in the Premier League this season and the joint-second highest number of interceptions per game (1.6), this shows how Chauke could potentially be a good future replacement for the Spaniard if he leaves the club in the near future based on his defensive capabilities.

Moving forward, if Chauke keeps playing well for Southampton’s youth team and makes the most out of any other chance he may get to play in the senior side, we feel he could well go on to be a regular first team player for the club in the next few years.

In other news: Lost possession 19x: Southampton’s £60k-p/w “passenger” failed Ralph’s trust vs Leeds – opinion

Leeds United tying down goalkeeper Illan Meslier to a new contract is “good business”, the club’s former midfielder Carlton Palmer has told Football FanCast.

Meslier recently put pen to paper on a new five-year deal that will keep him at Elland Road until the summer of 2026.

The 21-year-old joined from French side Lorient permanently last year after initially signing on loan and has thoroughly impressed under Marcelo Bielsa.

Last season, he made 35 Premier League appearances and kept 11 clean sheets as Leeds went on to secure a ninth-placed finish following their promotion from the Championship.

Speaking exclusively to FFC about Meslier’s new deal, Palmer said:

“I think he’s a future starter for his national team. I think that’s for sure. He’s a very talented boy.

“Young ‘keeper, why would you want to move anywhere? You know, don’t go and sit on the bench and not play. He’s playing for a massive club and he’s doing well. Good business for Leeds and good business for him.”

Meslier has got off to a rocky start this season following Leeds’ 5-1 thrashing to rivals Manchester United last weekend.

However, the Frenchman proved last term that he is a very good goalkeeper, one who has time on his side, so Leeds getting him to sign a new contract is indeed good business.

With just five goals scored in their previous seven Premier League games, the upcoming January transfer window could provide the Merseyside club with a good opportunity to add some attacking reinforcements to their squad and potentially put their poor run of form behind them.

Taking this into account, it seems as though the Toffees already have their eye on securing a new attacking talent next month.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from L’avenir.net, Everton are interested in signing RSC Anderlecht winger Francis Amuzu.

After joining Anderlecht’s youth system back in April 2015, the 22-year-old has gone on to make a total of 142 appearances for the Belgian club across their youth sides and senior team, scoring 15 goals and providing 15 assists along the way.

So far this season in the Belgian league, the winger has managed to score three goals and provide three assists.

In terms of a potential move to Everton in January, this could give Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri the chance to replicate the same transfer masterclass he and Rafa Benitez pulled off in the summer by signing Demarai Gray, another young winger from a foreign club who has managed to hit the ground running at Goodison Park by scoring five goals and providing two assists in 16 league appearances.

In addition to this, even though he only joined the club in the summer alongside Gray, the fact that Andros Townsend has hit the age of 30, Amuzu could be a suitable long-term replacement for the Englishman on the right-wing.

Moving forward, Everton should definitely explore the possibility of signing Amuzu in January to see if he can spark a bit of life back into Benitez’s squad.

However, with the report saying that Rangers and Wolfsburg are also reportedly interested in signing Amuzu, but that Anderlecht aren’t looking to sell the winger anytime soon, Everton may have a challenge on their hands to secure his signature.

Either way, if Everton don’t end up signing Amuzu in January, they should probably look to sign a defensive player given how they’ve managed to concede 29 goals in their 17 league games this season.

In other news: Forget Rondon: Moshiri can sign Everton’s new Lukaku in “powerful” 28-goal “rocket” – opinion

After listening to Victor Orta’s exciting comments about the academy last week, Leeds United supporters will no doubt be casting even more of a keen eye on some of the club’s brightest young talents.

The Yorkshire club’s director of football openly spoke about the need to have academy prospects in and around the first-team set-up, saying: “I believe in a project that is one of Marcelo Bielsa’s legacies – 18 professionals and the other four players always being under 21.

“If you believe in youth development, you need to prove (it). Our idea is to believe in youth development and to give belief to the Academy. (What) is better for me – the 450 minutes for a striker in Joey Gelhardt, or 450 minutes in a striker who is 31 years old? I believe in the first.

“Because it’s the only way Leeds United can grow. Because the other way, if I am going to buy careers, I always lose, because there are other teams in England with more money, with more investment. I need to build careers.”

Well, if Orta is looking at ‘building’ a career out of someone at Thorp Arch, then he should look no further than 18-year-old starlet Max Dean.

The teenage forward has enjoyed an impressive campaign with the club’s U23s this season, scoring five goals in 15 games at Premier League 2 level, including strikes against the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.

It’s been no surprise then that Leeds’ former U23s boss Mark Jackson has previously waxed lyrical about the forward and his character, saying: “You don’t have to prepare it with Deano. Deano’s a fiery character, I don’t like to quash that in him. He’s got an edge to him and how he plays – and I like that in his personality.

“Yes he gets frustrated at times and we have to curtail it but his hunger to press and work hard and his hunger to score goals is really apparent.”

In late October, despite a 4-2 defeat to Arsenal, Jackson showered Dean with more praise, saying: “I spoke to Max before the game. When he first came to the club, he had a real intensity about his play, really aggressive style in how he pressed and how he competed – we have chats with the players all the time and there’s been stages where we think that’s sort of dipped off a little bit in recent games.

“We’ve had a few chats recently with Max, and particularly before the game, I said ‘listen, you need to try and get back to those moments when you were playing in the 23s last year’. I thought he took that conversation well and he took it on board today and he had a much more positive performance.”

If Leeds are looking to get more out of their burgeoning academy, then Dean could well be the next breakout star to come out of Thorp Arch.

AND in other news – Sold at £8m, now worth triple: Leeds had a nightmare over “fearless” 5 ft 9 magician

Celtic centre-back Stephen Welsh could be fit to face Bayer Leverkusen despite being forced off injured at the weekend, according to The Daily Record’s Michael Gannon. 

The lowdown

Celtic are due to travel to Germany to face Group G leaders Leverkusen on Thursday night. If they lose, and Real Betis beat point-less Ferencvaros in the other game, they’ll be out of the Europa League.

Welsh would automatically have been considered a doubt for the vital clash after taking an elbow in the head from St Johnstone’s Shaun Rooney in Saturday’s Scottish League Cup semifinal.

He had to be substituted off 12 minutes from time.

Injury expert Ben Dinnery told Football Insider that a ‘severe’ facial injury could require ‘surgical intervention’, sidelining Welsh for ‘months’.

The latest

Happily for Celtic, the ‘excellent’ Welsh seems to have escaped a serious injury. It’s ‘understood’ that he didn’t suffer from concussion in the wake of the clash.

And he could be in contention to face Leverkusen, who currently sit 4th in the Bundesliga.

The verdict

Intriguingly, Carl Starfelt is apparently ‘in the running to be involved’ at the BayArena, having returned to training.

So does Postecoglou go with Welsh after his Saturday scare or throw Starfelt back in for what looks a daunting test?

If there’s no risk of Welsh exacerbating the problem, then you’d arguably lean towards him, purely for that added sharpness. He’s played the last three games, and you wouldn’t want Starfelt to be caught cold in a game of this magnitude.

In other news, read this exciting Jota claim from a journalist.

Everton claimed a huge victory from their Saturday afternoon clash against Manchester United at Goodison Park, with the Merseyside club in a rollercoaster relegation battle this season.

Frank Lampard’s Toffees took all three points to record their eighth league win of the season, leaving Ralf Rangnick and his side stunned whilst bolstering their challenge to maintain their Premier League status ahead of their remaining seven Premier League fixtures.

Despite having less possession of the ball, fewer shots on target and fewer accurate passes over the course of the game, Everton were able to keep United busy with outstanding defensive play, winning more interceptions and tackles and making 35 clearances, ultimately snatching the win with a goal scored in the first half.

Anthony Gordon’s shot deflected off Harry Maguire into the back of the net behind David de Gea to give Everton the lead over their Mancunian visitors in the 27th minute, and they were able to keep a clean sheet over the rest of the game thanks to an outstanding performance for England number one Jordan Pickford.

According to SofaScore, the Toffees goalkeeper – who was hailed as “resilient” by Theo Walcott – was the highest-rated player on the pitch (8.0) today after putting in an important shift for his team. He won 100% of his duels, made four saves, two punches and two clearances and had more touches than Ben Godfrey during the match, proving that his presence played a huge part in the result.

The goalkeeper’s flawless display may have just saved Lampard’s job, as it was revealed earlier today by Football Insider that a source close to Everton had told them the club were plotting to sack the former Chelsea boss should he have lost against United in the early kick-off. However, with three points added to their tally, his job is surely safe for the time being.

The Toffees will need to keep the momentum going, and Lampard must keep the confidence and winning mentality in his team that we saw this afternoon as their upcoming fixtures do not favour them, with Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal all ahead of them before the season finishes.

In other news – Forget Calvert-Lewin: Everton now plot bid for 76-goal machine, he’s “one of the best”