Celtic continued their sensational Premiership form on Saturday afternoon, with Ange Postecoglou’s side making it six league wins in a row after a comprehensive 4-2 victory over Dundee United at Parkhead.

Indeed, two Sead Hakšabanović strikes either side of Steven Fletcher’s 12th-minute penalty saw the Hoops take a 2-1 lead into the break, before Dylan Levitt’s 87th-minute equaliser appeared to have snatched a point for The Terrors.

However, two late goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Ababa would go on to seal a well-deserved win for the home side, with the result moving the Bhoys seven points clear of Rangers at the top of the Premiership table.

And, while Hakšabanović’s two goals and overall performance will likely steal the headlines on Sunday morning, it was undoubtedly the display of Matt O’Riley in the middle of the park that provided Celtic with the platform for their win on Saturday.

Indeed, over his 90 minutes on the pitch, the £4.8m-rated midfielder was near-faultless in the heart of Postecoglou’s side, enjoying 118 touches of the ball – with no player from either side having more – completing 86 of his 91 attempted passes – a success rate of 91% – and finding his man with nine of his 11 attempted long balls and two of his seven attempted crosses.

The 21-year-old also took four shots at the Dundee United goal – three of which were on target – made four key passes and created one big chance for his teammates.

Furthermore, the central midfielder also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making two tackles, one interception and two clearances, as well as winning two ground duels.

These returns saw the Denmark U21 international earn an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 8.2 – the third-highest of any player to feature in the fixture – while Glasgow Live’s Ryan Thom also awarded the playmaker a seven in his own player ratings, as well as stating of the midfielder’s display:

“Another industrious display from the midfielder. Can always be trusted to do a job and makes this Celtic side tick.”

As such, with O’Riley himself claiming that his performances in recent weeks will determine whether or not he is called up for Kasper Hjulmand’s 26-man squad for the World Cup this winter, the Dane’s display at Parkhead will certainly have boosted his chances of sealing a seat on the plane to Qatar – as the youngster well and truly ran the show against Dundee United.

PSV Eindhoven have emerged as potential suitors for Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, reliable journalist Joe Crann has claimed.

The Lowdown: Dele-Bashiru impressing for Owls

The 21-year-old has enjoyed an impressive season to date for the Owls, playing a key role in them sitting third in League One currently.

Dele-Bashiru has scored four goals 13 league appearances – he also has one goal and three assists in the Carabao Cup – including a double against Portsmouth on the opening weekend of the campaign.

There appears to be some interest in the Hillsborough youngster, which may come as a concern to Darren Moore and Owls supporters.

The Latest: Dele-Bashiru has interest from PSV

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, The Sheffield Star’s Crann confirmed that Dutch giants PSV are interested in signing Dele-Bashiru.

He tweeted:

“Understand Dutch club, PSV, are the latest on Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s list of admirers as he draws closer to the final six months of his #SWFC deal. Wednesday hoping to making significant progress this month, but key elements are still not agreed upon.”

The Verdict: Tough to keep him

While the thought of Dele-Bashiru remaining an Owls player for years to come is ideal, the reality is that they could find it hard to keep hold of him, having been described as ‘superb’ by football talent scout Jacek Kulig during his Manchester City youth team days.

A move to Eindhoven could open the door for the 21-year-old to play Europa League football, with PSV in the knockout round play-offs of the competition, and that could be a big lure for the youngster.

His current Wednesday deal expires next summer, at which point he will be able to leave on a free transfer, should he decline an extension at Hillsborough.

The lure of joining someone of PSV’s stature could be too great for Dele-Bashiru to turn down, with promotion to the Championship arguably the one thing which could potentially keep him in Sheffield.

Journalist and Sunderland supporter Josh Bunting was critical of Bailey Wright after the Black Cats defender’s mistake cost his team a goal on Friday night.

The Lowdown: Wright mistake

With Tony Mowbray’s side 2-0 up with less than 15 minutes to go against Birmingham in their Championship clash, he would have expected his team to see out the match without any unnecessary pressure.

However, a miskick from Wright in his own penalty box allowed Lukas Jutkiewicz to score for the home side, making the final few minutes very nervy for the visitors.

The Latest: Bunting critical of Wright

Despite the hard-fought win for Sunderland, Bunting was critical of Wright’s mistake, claiming that it was a ‘huge’ one and a ‘poor’ piece of play from the Australia international.

The journalist tweeted: “Poor from Bailey Wright and he knows that, a player with that experience just has to do so much better with that. That’s a huge mistake at a vital moment to make. Daniel Ballard coming back after the World Cup is going to give this team such a lift and a boost.”

The Verdict: Not his best night

Wright will know that he made a mistake which ultimately could have cost his team the three points if Birmingham were more ruthless in front of goal, having had 22 shots in total to Sunderland’s six.

Aside from his error, the Black Cats defender lost out on five of his eight duels and made no interceptions or tackles, giving possession away 10 times (SofaScore).

Having had just 34 touches of the ball in total, Wright lost it every 3.4 touches on average, showing how shaky he was at times in possession.

Nonetheless, the 30-year-old will not let his performance affect him unduly, as he now heads to the World Cup in Qatar with Australia, necessitating a quick refocus.

Tottenham Hotspur secured their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night, with Antonio Conte’s side sealing a 2-1 comeback win over Olympique de Marseille at the Orange Vélodrome.

However, after a typically slow start, things were not looking good for Spurs at the break, with Chancel Mbemba’s 47th-minute header giving the home side the lead shortly before the interval – at which point the Premier League side were sitting third in the Group D standings.

Then, as was also the case in the 3-2 comeback win over AFC Bournemouth last weekend, Tottenham looked like a completely different side in the second half, with Clement Lenglet’s 54th-minute header drawing the visitors level, before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg sealed all three points with the final kick of the game.

And, while the match-winning Dane was incredibly impressive on Tuesday night, it was arguably Ivan Perisic who was Antonio Conte’s most important player against OM, as the 33-year-old well and truly ran the show from left wing-back.

Indeed, over the course of his 90 minutes on the pitch, the £17m-rated talent was imperious for Spurs in a defensive capacity, making four tackles, four clearances, two interceptions and blocking two shots, as well as winning eight of his ten duels – at a success rate of 80%.

The £180k-per-week Croat also impressed going forwards, enjoying 48 touches of the ball, making two key passes, finding his man with two of his six attempted crosses – one of which assisted Lenglet’s equaliser – and three of his six attempted long balls and created one big chance for his teammates.

These returns saw the player who Raj Chohan claimed has “clutch factor embedded in his DNA” earn an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 8.0 – the best of any player to feature in the match – while Alasdair Gold also awarded the veteran an eight in his own player ratings, as well as stating:

“He was ineffective in the first half but grabbed an assist early in the second with his fine curling ball for Lenglet to head home. He got much better as the game wore on and used all of his experience and made a huge block in front of the Spurs goal at one point.”

As such, while Hojbjerg was Tottenham’s match-winner on the night, it was undoubtedly the show-running performance of Perisic that provided Spurs the platform to go on and seal all three points against OM – something that will have delighted Conte.

Everton are reportedly ‘long-term admirers’ of Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton Diaz, although no fewer than 15 other clubs are in the race to sign him in January.

The Lowdown: Out of contract soon

The 23-year-old is out of contract in the summer, meaning that he can leave Ewood Park on a free transfer at the end of the season, or else be sold for a cut-price in the January transfer window.

The striker said on Tuesday night that he will ‘hopefully’ be staying at Rovers until the end of the campaign, while manager Jon Dahl Tomasson claimed that the Championship club ‘wants’ to keep him, but if there is a ‘very, very high’ offer put forward, then he suggested that Brereton Diaz could leave (90min).

The Latest: Everton admirers of Brereton Diaz

Writing in his latest piece for 90min, transfer expert Graeme Bailey has revealed that Everton are ‘long-term admirers’ of Brereton Diaz, along with Premier League rivals Leeds United and Bournemouth.

Also from the top flight, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Brighton and Hove Albion and Wolves have scouted him in recent weeks, while Sevilla, Ajax, Union Berlin, Atalanta, Sassuolo and Salernitana are all showing interest from Europe.

That makes a staggering 15 other clubs who are in for the Chile international, who could be sold for a fee ‘in excess of £10m’ in January.

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The Verdict: Get it done

With so many other clubs interested in his signature, Everton need to ensure that they are front of the queue when it comes to signing Brereton Diaz in January.

Hailed as a ‘beast’ by his former Rovers coach Tony Mowbray, the 6 foot 1 machine scored a very impressive 22 goals in the Championship last term and already has nine to his name this season (Transfermarkt).

Toffees supporters could catch a glimpse of him tonight as Blackburn take on Premier League side West Ham in the Carabao Cup, and £10m could turn out to be a real bargain for a 23-year-old who seemed destined for greater things than the Championship.

West Ham United continued their poor run of Premier League form away from the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with David Moyes’ side narrowly losing out 1-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

However, much like the 1-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield earlier this month, it was arguable that the Hammers deserved at least a point from the meeting with Erik ten Hag’s side – if not all three – with David De Gea making a series of world-class saves late on to deny the Irons a share of the spoils.

And, despite Sunday’s result making it five losses from seven games away from home in the league this season, there were nevertheless a number of eye-catching performances on display for the visitors, with Declan Rice typically running the show from the middle of the park and Saïd Benrahma again looking lively on the left wing.

However, while both Rice and Benrahma were impressive, it was arguably the performance of Kurt Zouma that will have most pleased Moyes on Sunday afternoon, as the centre-back was very much at his imperious best at Old Trafford.

Indeed, over the course of his 90 minutes on the pitch, the £26m-rated Frenchman was near faultless in a defensive capacity, making five clearances and winning one aerial duel – keeping Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes largely quiet in the first half.

And, after the interval, the £125k-per-week centre-back also proved to be one of the Hammers’ most dangerous players going forwards, launching a number of counter-attacks through his three long balls and 43 completed passes, as well as taking two shots at the United goal – most notably being denied a late headed equaliser by a sensational De Gea save.

These efforts saw the 55-touch “machine” earn a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 6.9, while football.london’s Jonty Colman awarded the 28-year-old an eight in his own player ratings – the best of any West Ham player on the day – with the journalist going on to state of the 11-cap international’s performance:

“Hardly put a foot wrong before half-time, making countless interceptions and winning anything that came at him aerially. Keen to start counters as often as possible and gained plenty of yards when getting forward. Was a great attacking threat late on and forced David De Gea into an excellent diving save with a header with just over five minutes remaining. Very impressive throughout.”

As such, while it is true that the Hammers ultimately left Old Trafford empty-handed, Zouma’s performance in the heart of defence will have greatly encouraged Moyes, while it is also likely that the France international’s display will have boosted his chances of securing a late spot in Didier Deschamps’ World Cup squad this winter.

The defender has been capped 11 times by his country but hasn’t been seen in the French set up now for nearly a year, suggesting that he will need to produce a few more performances like this in order to earn a place in the squad.

Pundit Tam McManus believes that Leeds United youngster Wilfried Gnonto may replace Patrick Bamford at Elland Road in the long-term.

The Lowdown: Three Premier League appearances

Gnonto arrived in Yorkshire on transfer deadline day from FC Zurich and had to remain patient for an opportunity under Jesse Marsch.

The 19-year-old impressed on his debut against Liverpool at the end of October and set up the winning goal against Bournemouth a week later, which led to a first start in the Premier League against Tottenham last Saturday.

The Italy international played 45 minutes on the right-hand side against Spurs, and his displays have impressed McManus.

The Latest: McManus’ comments

Speaking to Football Insider, the former Hibernian striker praised Gnonto for his impact at Leeds so far and hinted that he could replace Bamford going forward.

McManus said of the teenager: “The few times I have seen him play he has really blown me away. The pace he showed against Bournemouth for that last goal was something else.

“There is plenty of pace and energy there. I wonder if Gnonto now has that place in the team. You look at Bamford and he hasn’t performed.

“There is the injury risk as well, he never seems able to put more than a few games together before he has another knock or whatever it is this time.

“So it’s up to Gnonto now he has that first start, of course he will be disappointed to only get 45 minutes but he played his part, unfortunately for Leeds they couldn’t hold on and get anything from that game.”

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The Verdict: Potentially…

As McManus mentions, Bamford has continued to struggle with injury this season, missing four top-flight games already after a stop-start 2021/22 campaign.

The 29-year-old has missed nine big chances in the 2022/23 Premier League in 427 minutes of action, so Leeds may be considering his long-term future in Yorkshire.

The Whites clearly have an exciting young talent in Gnonto, so it will be interesting to see how Marsch uses him following the World Cup break, at which point he could potentially become a regular starter at Elland Road.

Everton have found themselves struggling to make their presence known in the Premier League once again after a poor run of form that has left them one point shy of the relegation zone and Frank Lampard will be hoping he will be afforded the opportunity to strengthen his team in the January transfer window.

The Toffees have picked up just four points in their last five games ahead of the World Cup break which will be hugely frustrating for the manager after acquiring eight new signings last summer.

Indeed, the centre-back partnership between Conor Coady and James Tarkowski has flourished since they arrived at Goodison Park but in terms of the attacking prowess of the team, Everton are struggling.

Only Wolverhampton Wanderers have scored fewer goals than Lampard’s side after 15 league outings so far and addressing this issue by finding high-quality natural finishers who can not only boost goal-scoring opportunities but convert them too is a must.

One player who has been linked with a move to the Merseysiders over the last few months is LOSC Lille forward Jonathan David, and he could be just what Lampard needs to replace Richarlison’s output.

The £43.5m-valued talent has scored 78 goals and registered 23 assists over his career so far with a goal contribution every 134 minutes, proving he is consistent and reliable in front of goal something he has displayed for his team this season so far.

Over 15 Ligue 1 appearances, the 22-year-old has scored nine goals, delivered three assists and created three big chances, as well as averaging 1.4 key passes, 3.3 shots and winning 3.6 duels per game.

David has been tipped to be a “silent assassin” in the World Cup with Canada in Qatar by his nation’s manager John Herdman (via talkSPORT):

“Jonathan is one of those silent assassins. He’s very clued up tactically and that’s what I really enjoy about Jonathan, he really wants to get into the details of the game and understand the pressing tactics.

“The forwards at times want to understand other elements, he knows he’s going to lead that defensive line and will get into the details of that with you.”

The powers at Goodison Park will surely be watching the young forward’s performance at the international tournament over the next few weeks before they potentially make a move when the transfer window reopens.

With that being said, the signing of David in the January transfer window could save Everton’s season if he can flourish in the Toffees team and improve their goal contributions.

Alex McLeish signed some wonderful players for Glasgow Rangers during his four-and-a-half-year tenure at the club.

Modern-day greats such as Kris Boyd, Nacho Novo, and Dado Prso were all brought to Ibrox by the Scot and went on to thrive under him, while he also secured the return of Barry Ferguson, 18 months after he departed Glasgow for the riches of the Premier League.

He did make some howlers, however, with names such as Nuno Capucho, Egil Ostenstad, and Emerson sending shivers down every supporter’s spine at the mere mention of them.

One of his worst signings was Dragan Mladenovic, who cost the club £1.1m back in 2004 and failed to have any meaningful impact during his short stint at the Light Blues.

Having impressed McLeish with his performances at Red Star Belgrade, he splashed out on the player who he felt could add that extra dimension to the Rangers midfield that they had been missing during their woeful 2003/04 campaign.

This enthusiasm was to be short-lived, however, as the former Serbia and Montenegro international played a grand total of nine matches for the club, all in the first half of the season, while he failed to score during that time either.

The midfielder looked lost in Scotland and was soon moved on to Real Sociedad in a six-month loan deal.

Injuries didn’t help the 6 foot 3 colossus settle, yet it was a big outlay for someone who barely contributed during his Ibrox spell and this happened often with McLeish, spending a significant figure on someone who just didn’t live up to the hype or expectation, before being either released or sold at a low price.

Mladenovic soon returned to his homeland on a free transfer, and the move was a major misjudgment on McLeish’s part.

The season ended in triumph, with Rangers winning both the Scottish League Cup and their 51st league title, with the infamous scenes on the last day of the season forever being known as Helicopter Sunday.

Now, the 46-year-old is still in his homeland, where he occupies the role of director of Red Star’s youth academy.

West Ham United will look to open in-house talks with Manuel Lanzini over his future at the east London club, according to transfer insider Dean Jones. 

The Lowdown: Lanzini’s contract at West Ham

The midfielder, who has made 13 appearances for the Irons across all competitions this season, is set to see his current contract at the London Stadium expire at the end of June.

With that in mind, unless the £70k-per-week Argentine were to put pen to paper on a new deal at West Ham before the end of the campaign, he could well end up leaving the club as a free agent.

However, it appears as though some behind-the-scenes details have emerged regarding what the club’s hierarchy could aim to do in terms of finding out what Lanzini’s future may look like.

The Latest: In-house talks with Lanzini

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones was doubtful as to whether Lanzini would want to stay at West Ham with a bit-part role, although he believes that the club will commence talks with him soon regarding his future at the London Stadium.

He said of the Argentine: “I guess the question is whether he is happy with that role and that’s probably a different matter.

“One thing playing in the Europa Conference League has done is it’s helped to keep him in form and in condition for when his chances come in the Premier League.

“But I think, before January, the club will have had talks with him and will know whether he’s going to push for a transfer.”

The Verdict: Big decision for Moyes

Having only started in one of his five appearances in the Premier League this season but selected for all six of their Europa Conference League group matches, it’s clear that David Moyes has relied on Lanzini in European rather than domestic action.

With that in mind, it seems as though the midfielder’s importance and role in the squad going forward could be a main factor in potentially seeing him leave the club in the summer or staying put.

Moving forward, it seems as though Moyes could have a big decision on his hands over whether or not he feels that the 29-year-old is worth keeping hold of beyond this season.

If he does, then the Irons’ hierarchy will need to offer the player a new deal swiftly so that they don’t risk losing him as a free agent in the summer.