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A big update has emerged regarding Rangers striker Cedric Itten and his involvement at Ibrox in the forthcoming months…

What’s the latest?

The Gers have announced their squad for the knockout stages of the Europa League and they have decided to leave the Switzerland international off the list.

He has been omitted from the squad to face Borussia Dortmund alongside the likes of Filip Helander, Jack Simpson and Ianis Hagi. They have made this call in order to bring January signings Aaron Ramsey, James Sands and Amad Diallo into the mix, although new right-back Mateusz Zukowski has missed out.

Buzzing

Rangers fans will surely be buzzing with this news, as it means that Itten will be unable to play against the Bundesliga giants later this month. The £12.5k-per-week centre-forward has been a disaster in the Premiership since Giovanni van Bronckhorst opted to recall him from his loan spell with Greuther Furth in Germany.

In two starts against Livingston and Ross County, the attacker left plenty to be desired from his performances. Across the two matches, he lost 10 of his 13 individual duels and had just 51 touches of the ball whilst failing to manage a single goal or assist.

This shows that he has been far from good enough since his return to Ibrox, which is why fans will be buzzing with the fact that he will not be in contention to play in the Europa League this month,

Incidentally, Itten started against Dortmund in a Bundesliga game earlier this season and was dismal. As per SofaScore, he lost three of his four individual battles (75%) and completed just five passes before being substituted at half-time, with his team going on to lose the match 3-0.

This display is in line with what he has been delivering at Rangers since his return and indicates a pattern which suggests he does not deserve to be starting for the club. He is too weak in his duels and does not contribute enough in the final third to make up for the other issues in his game, which is why it is the right decision to exclude him from the squad.

Van Bronckhorst will still be able to call upon him in the Premiership but the attacker will need to show a massive upturn in form to prove that he is worthy of regular game-time in the coming months. As it stands, his performances have been woeful and the supporters will surely be delighted with his omission for the Europa League.

AND in other news, Forget Barisic: Rangers nightmare who lost 70% duels must never start again for Van Bronckhorst…

Rumoured Leeds United transfer target Nahitan Nandez could be allowed to leave Cagliari for a cut-price fee, according to a fresh report.

The Lowdown: Leeds continually linked with Nandez

The Whites were tipped to sign a host of players during the summer, but one individual whose name cropped up more than most was Nandez.

The 49-cap Uruguay international was endlessly tipped to seal a move to Elland Road but ended up staying put at Serie A side Cagliari.

However, it now appears as though Leeds could potentially reignite their interest in Nandez following a key update on his future.

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The Latest: Whites given fresh boost

According to Calciomercato, the 25-year-old could now be sold for less than the €36m (£30.4m) that Cagliari want for his services, with a January exit mooted.

Nandez’s current deal expires in the summer of 2024, and despite being a key player and starting 11 league matches this season, it appears as though his club are open to the idea of him moving on.

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The Verdict: Ideal January signing

Nandez’s pedigree speaks for itself, considering that he has almost won 50 caps for a Uruguay side featuring the likes of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, not to mention being hailed as a ‘great player’ by his agent Pablo Bentancur.

He could bring undoubted quality to Leeds’ midfield, not only dovetailing with Kalvin Phillips but also possibly acting as a long-term replacement for the in-demand England international.

Nandez has won 2.6 aerial duels per game in Serie A this season, compared to Phillips’ 0.7 in the Premier League, as well as outperforming him on assists (two compared to one) and key passes (1.1 compared to 0.7).

Considering how big a fan favourite the England ace is at Elland Road, that Nandez outranks him for several metrics hints at just how good a player Leeds could be getting if they can bring the Uruguayan to Yorkshire.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly eyeing up a move for an in-form attacking player. Find out who it is here.

Tottenham Hotspur are expected to target a new forward during the January transfer window…

What’s the word?

That’s according to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, who delivered a fresh claim to supporters during a recent Q&A.

When asked if an additional striker would be a priority in the upcoming window, he replied:

“Definitely.

“Dane Scarlett will get minutes here and there until then, and that will help the 17-year-old’s development, but it’s one area of the squad where too much pressure is being put on two players to share the load and in [Harry] Kane and [Heung-min] Son. They’re players who are too key to lose to injuries through overuse.

“Then it’s over to that age-old issue of finding a striker of the required quality in the January window who is willing to come and play back-up to Kane.”

Much needed addition

Indeed, another frontman is exactly what Nuno Santo needs heading into the second half of the season, especially considering the fact that he was reportedly keen to deploy a two-man attack upon arrival in north London.

Either way, it’s the one position Spurs lack serious depth in.

An injury to Kane could seriously curtail their campaign, which is the last thing they’ll want after clinching three straight victories in all competitions, in which the England international has found his scoring boots with four goals.

It’s a situation familiar to the club. In January 2020, he picked up a lengthy injury and Spurs soon crashed out of the FA Cup and the Champions League, and also slipped rapidly down the table.

Last season, former Lilywhites boss Jose Mourinho had a suitable and cost-effective backup in Benfica loanee Carlos Vinicius, who has since signed for PSV Eindhoven.

Whilst in previous years, the north Londoners have been stacked in the attacking department. At one point, Spurs had the services of Robbie Keane, Peter Crouch, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Emmanuel Adebayor in the very same squad.

Of course, it’s a more difficult task these days as you have to find someone willing to play second fiddle to Kane but opportunities wouldn’t be limited. Spurs are still in all domestic cup competitions and are among the favourites to secure the UEFA Europa Conference League, so there are plenty of fixtures ahead.

Therefore, this latest development should leave many around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium absolutely buzzing and excited ahead of January.

New sporting director Fabio Paratici has already shown his muscle in the transfer market, signing the likes of Emerson, Bryan Gil and Cristian Romero, so he could well deliver once again with the addition of a new forward.

Whether Spurs manage to secure that man remains to be seen but it’s certainly an encouraging prospect.

AND in other news, Forget Dier: £60m-rated Spurs star who lost possession 14x endured a nightmare at Newcastle…

Given Everton’s spotty run of form in the Premier League, winning just one of their 11 previous league games, the upcoming January transfer window could allow the Merseyside club to strengthen and freshen up their squad to put them in a good shape for the second half of the campaign.

However, it seems as though Everton have been mentioned with a potential move for a player that not only would be a very familiar face to a lot of fans in Merseyside but would also be a player that some fans would not want to see wearing their club’s shirt.

What’s the news?

According to Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), Everton are in the frame, alongside fellow Premier League club Newcastle United, for a potential swoop for Barcelona and former Liverpool attacker Philippe Coutinho.

The report claims that the Brazilian is not wanted at Barcelona and that his agent is waiting on the likes of Everton and Newcastle to make a formal approach for Coutinho.

During his time with Liverpool, Coutinho managed to rack up 54 goals and 45 assists in 201 appearances across all competitions before making his mega-money move to Barcelona in a deal worth a reported overall total of £142m in 2018.

With 106 appearances under his belt with the La Liga side, Coutinho’s spell at Barcelona has been widely regarded as a disappointing one, which is presumably why the club are looking to get rid of him despite the huge amount of money they paid for him.

Last month, Coutinho, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £380k-per-week according to Salary Sport, answered some of the criticism thrown his way during his time at Barcelona after being called “lazy” by the Spanish media, which apparently surprised him.

It’s hard to see many Toffees fans being excited about potentially seeing the former Liverpool man, who has scored three goals and provided two assists in the nine games he’s played against Everton, join Rafa Benitez’s squad.

Given how Benitez previously criticised former Everton midfielder James Rodriguez for not wanting to work hard for the team and preferring “a comfortable life and money more than the competition,” it seems as though Coutinho could be the next version of the Colombian at Goodison Park given the doubts over his work rate in Spain.

Overall, it would be worth Farhad Moshiri not risking any further fury at Everton from the supporters by stepping away from a potential move for the Brazilian and looking elsewhere for potential reinforcements in January.

In other news: Everton to be offered £31.5m-rated beast who’s “similar to Xavi”, Rafa would love him…

Leeds striker Rodrigo’s omission from Spain’s latest squad “isn’t a surprise”, according to former Premier League Golden Boot winner Kevin Phillips.

The 30-year-old joined Leeds last August, with the Whites snapping him up for a club-record fee of £26m from Valencia and giving him £3m a year in wages.

It has been a disappointing debut season for Rodrigo, however, with the striker scoring just three goals in 20 Premier League appearances, starting only 12 times in the division.

Patchy form and fitness issues have also seen the ex-Valencia man miss out on Spain’s squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers, further highlighting his struggles.

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Rodrigo omission fair, insists Phillips

Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips gave his thoughts on Rodrigo missing out for his country, admitting that the writing was on the wall given his form and injury woes in recent months:

“All the national sides will have one eye on the European Championships in the summer. If you’re not playing regularly for your club side then it becomes even more difficult to pick a player who’s lacking game time and sharpness and Rodrigo falls into that category.

“Let’s not forget, we’re talking about Spain here. They aren’t the force they used to be but they still have very good quality players.

“But to me, it isn’t a surprise that he hasn’t made the Spain squad.”

Transfer Tavern take

There is no denying that Rodrigo hasn’t set the world alight at Leeds yet, with his Spain omission not in the least bit surprising, as Phillips has intimated.

He is still a striker with undoubted pedigree from his time with Valencia and Benfica, though, and if he can stay fit next season and get a run in the team, there is no reason why he can’t go on to be a success story at Elland Road.

In other news, Phil Hay has provided a key update on Leeds’ summer transfer business. Read about it here.

Manchester City’s quadruple hopes are still alive and kicking after Pep Guardiola’s side secured a spot at Wembley with a 2-0 win against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.

Ilkay Gundogan finally broke the home side’s resistance with 86 minutes on the clock as he headed home the rebound after Aymeric Laporte’s shot came off the bar, before Kevin De Bruyne added a late second after running through and smashing a left-footed shot past Joao Virginia in the Everton goal.

Although there were plenty of impressive performances from City as they dominated proceedings against Carlo Ancelotti’s side, the standout performer was arguably Fernandinho in central midfield.

The 35-year-old is still going strong in Guardiola’s side and has shown himself to be a more than reliable cover for Rodri in recent months, which is ironic as the Spaniard was brought in as his long-term replacement.

As per SofaScore, the former Shakhtar Donetsk man would earn an impressive 7.6 rating for his display, with only Oleksandr Zinchenko rated higher from both sides, with the Ukrainian rated a 7.7/10 for his performance.

During the game, the experienced midfielder completed 63 of his 73 passes, which was the most of any City midfielder, whilst both of his long ball attempts also found a City shirt, per SofaScore.

Fernandinho, who reportedly earns £150,000 per week at City, was regularly the winner when in duels with Everton players, as he impressively won 13 of the 20 duels he contested during the game, which again was far more than City’s other midfielders Gundogan and Bernardo Silva combined, per SofaScore.

However, the most impressive and perhaps surprising part of the Brazilian’s performance were his driving runs from midfield, as he completed all four of his dribbles during his time on the pitch, one of which led to City’s best chance before the opening goal as he cut back to Raheem Sterling in the area after a lung-busting run into the area.

Considering he has averaged 0.4 dribbles per game in the Premier League this season, it was almost unprecedented how willing he was to run with the ball against Everton, which emphasises just how good he was.

Therefore, you could definitely argue that the Brazilian was the star for City in the FA Cup and he once again showed just how good he can be when selected by Guardiola.

And, in other news… Txiki can repeat Gundogan masterclass with City swoop for £7.65m-rated beast

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Lautaro Martinez to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Jacque Talbot, with the Football Transfers journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that Fabio Paratici is a big fan of the Inter Milan centre-forward, before going on to claim that the Spurs sporting director even attempted to sign the 24-year-old in the January window.

In a further tweet, Talbot confirmed that both Tottenham and Atletico Madrid are once again interested in the signing of the Argentina international at the end of the current campaign, with recent reports from Italy suggesting that the Serie A side would be willing to accept an offer of between €60m-€70m (£50m-£58m) for Martinez this summer.

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In his post, the transfer insider said: “In what’s becoming a running trend, our story from two weeks ago confirmed by Fabrizio Romano. Tottenham and Atletico Madrid have interest in Lautaro Martinez of Inter.”

Talbot continued: “We’re told Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici is a fan of the 24-year-old and even tried to do a deal for him in January. While Atletico readying themselves for Luis Suarez’s departure when his contract is up in two months and see the 24-year-old as the ideal replacement.”

A steal at £58m

Following his £22.5m move to Inter back in the summer of 2018, Martinez quickly has gone on to establish himself as one of the most dangerous centre-forwards in world football – bagging 69 goals and registering 23 assists over his 175 appearances for the Nerazzurri.

A large portion of these goal involvements came under the stewardship of Antonio Conte, with the Argentine hitman finding the back of the net 40 times and providing 19 assists in 97 outings over the course of the 52-year-old manager’s two-year spell in charge at the San Siro.

The £177k-per-week striker’s best campaign for Conte undoubtedly came last season, when, over his 38 Serie A fixtures, the 24-year-old scored 17 goals, registered ten assists and created nine big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.9 shots and making one key pass per game.

These returns saw the £63m-rated forward average a quite extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.17, ranking him as the Italian’s third-best player in the league – playing a starring role in Inter’s title-winning campaign.

As such, with Conte clearly knowing how to get the best out of Martinez, it is undeniable that the centre-forward would make an exceptional addition to the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski in the Tottenham Hotspur attack.

And, when considering that Inter were reported to have rejected Tottenham’s €95m (£80m) bid for the striker just eight months ago, should the 37-time capped international indeed be available for just £58m this summer, it is clear to see that Fabio Paratici could secure a steal by landing the 24-year-old.

AND in other news: “His people claim..”: Gold drops behind scenes update, Spurs supporters surely buzzing

In a rapid turn of events, Celtic find themselves linked to a new face at the hilt of the club. Despite being in desperate need of some new playing personnel, Peter Lawwell could well be looking to replace treble-winning Neil Lennon as his first port of call.

According to The Mirror, former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez looks set to usurp the Irishman in Celtic’s hierarchy. The Spaniard has made the decision to close his chapter in China and return to the UK to embark on his next journey. He is heavily tipped to be the next Hoops boss and bringing him to Parkhead would be a stroke of genius from the board.

What can Benitez do for Celtic?

Celtic have endured a turbulent 2020/21 season due to battling injury issues, unexplained dips in form and their inability to keep up with their Glaswegian neighbours. Rangers have one hand on this campaign’s title after wedging a gargantuan 23-point gap between themselves and the reigning Premiership champions.

This will be the first season in ten years that Celtic will not lift the trophy. They have also bowed out of their Europa League run after being humiliated in the group stages. The Bhoys managed to accumulate just four points out of a possible 18 and they conceded the joint most goals of the competition at that stage (19).

Key players have also been linked to moves away from Celtic Park, which will only add to the club’s inconsistent form. Kristoffer Ajer is someone who is being heavily monitored by rival clubs and teammate Odsonne Edouard has also been identified by the likes of Arsenal and West Ham as a potential new signing, via the Express.

Should Celtic appoint Benitez, it could be enough to convince the prolific £19,000 per week striker to remain in Scotland. According to Transfermarkt, Edouard has scored just seven times in the league this season, heavily contrasting his unstoppable 21 goal, 12 assist run last term.

Lennon has made his feelings about the Frenchman clear – constantly waxing lyrical over his influential displays. He recently lauded him as a “special talent” after Edouard scored a hat-trick on the opening day of the season.

The passion may have gone from the 23-year-old’s performances, which would explain his recent goal drought. Knowing Celtic won’t be winning their tenth consecutive Premiership title will have dampened spirits and a player like Edouard will be hungry for silverware.

Benitez has found success at many clubs, from winning La Liga with Valencia, the Champions League and FA Cup with Liverpool to his Championship and promotion-winning season with Newcastle. His natural flair for getting results could be enough for Edouard to at least give Celtic one more season before moving onto pastures new.

In other news, Hammond set for masterstroke sale of this forgotten Celtic player…

When he has been handed a chance Gareth Bale has generally performed in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, but Marcus Bent, who made 215 Premier League appearances, has exclusively told Football FanCast that the winger could move to Everton.

With Spurs’ managerial situation still appearing unclear, so is Bale’s future with reports linking him with a move to Everton to work under former Los Blancos manager, Carlo Ancelotti.

The Toffees have not been shy in spending the money in recent years as they have splashed out a grand total of £266 million in the last three seasons on bringing in new players so Bale’s huge wages may not prove to be that big of a stumbling block.

Bales was pushed to one side at Real Madrid over the last few years as well as for large parts under Jose Mourinho, but Bent believes he could thrive at a club like Everton as the former Toffees striker spoke exclusively to FFC:

“I think that would be his kind of club. I think he’d be the headline player, which he needs to be for his confidence and he would play week in week out alongside some great players.

“As I’ve spoken about before, Everton is a family club, they would take him in and give him the love that he needs.”

Following his temporary arrival from Real Madrid last summer, the 31-year old has failed to live up to the high standards that he left White Hart Lane with back in 2013.

Tottenham as a collective have failed to impress this season as the most realistic expectation they have heading into the final game of the season is to qualify for the Europa Conference League.

Newcastle United are reportedly keen on a move for Odsonne Edouard once the summer transfer window opens.

The Lowdown: Newcastle need a back-up striker

The St. James’ Park faithful have certainly struggled at the best of times when Callum Wilson has been injured in some parts of the 2020/21 term, and so they need somebody capable of stepping in and banging in the goals that the former AFC Bournemouth star offers.

Wilson has scored no fewer than 12 times in total across all competitions so far this campaign, while between Joelinton, Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle, they only have eight goals (Transfermarkt), highlighting that the North East club must find a player that is much more reliable in front of goal.

The Latest: Newcastle keen on Edouard

As per the Daily Record, the Tyneside club are keen on signing Edouard, who is currently valued at £20m by Celtic.

However, they face stiff competition from the likes of Aston Villa, Arsenal and Leicester City for his signature in the Premier League, as well as AC Milan and Napoli from the Serie A.

The Verdict: Newcastle must sign Edouard

The Magpies must at least try to fend off the competition to sign Edouard, as he is the kind of player that they so desperately need.

Yes, the Scottish Premiership is certainly not of the standard of the English top flight, but 28 goal contributions in 40 games in total over all competitions this season (Transfermarkt) is not a record to be sniffed at.

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Dubbed as a ‘magnificent’ plater by Neil Lennon back in December, the French striker clearly has what it takes to make the step up, and at 23 years of age, he will only get better.

Nonetheless, the Toon may not get a better opportunity to add another potent forward to their books.

In other news, find out which other potent striker NUFC are eyeing here!