Celtic youngster Scott Robertson appears set for an exit from Parkhead in the near future following an update with regards to his contract status.

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Record, the Old Firm outfit have informed the 21-year-old that he won’t be handed a new deal at the end of the season, with the academy graduate’s existing contract set to expire in just six months’ time.

The report suggests manager Ange Postecoglou has told the young Scotsman that he has ‘no future’ with the Glasgow side, despite the playmaker having been part of the club’s recent Sydney Super Cup voyage.

The piece goes on to note potential destinations for the 6 foot 1 gem, with a move to fellow Scottish Premiership side St Mirren, as well as Scott Brown’s Fleetwood Town, having been mooted.

Postecoglou must finally ditch

A departure for Robertson has seemingly been something of an inevitability due to his lack of game time in recent years, with the youth product having made just a solitary outing for the Scottish champions at senior level to date.

That rare appearance came as far back as the 2019/20 campaign during Neil Lennon’s second spell in charge, with the midfield maestro having played the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 Europa League defeat to CFR Cluj away from home.

That outing lead to notable praise from the aforementioned Brown who tipped the emerging talent to go on to enjoy success in the game, with the former Hoops skipper stating (Celtic View, Volume 55, Issue 25, Page 12):

“He’s very relaxed and conducts himself with professionalism, he’s not big-time and I think he’s got a really bright future ahead of him.”

“He’s the template for how young ones should approach making that step up – he’s humble, but at the same time isn’t scared to put himself about and show his qualities on the training pitch.”

That glowing assessment seemed to illustrate that Robertson would be able to become a regular feature in the first team at Paradise, having also shown his quality during a loan stint south of the border at Crewe Alexandra, after earning plaudits from boss David Artell for his debut display:

“I thought that Scott Robertson was the best player on the pitch. He was terrific.”

Despite the midfielder’s positive stint in England – having also enjoyed spells with both Gillingham and Doncaster Rovers in recent years – his subsequent return to Scotland has not proven fruitful, having remained on the periphery of Ange Postecoglou’s squad.

With the title-winning coach already having notable depth in the midfield department – with a new addition in the centre of the park potentially on the horizon – it will likely prove even harder for Robertson to force his way into the side.

For all his previous promise, the fact that he has been unable to secure a regular berth in the senior set-up since his first-team bow almost three years ago is perhaps telling that he is simply not of the quality required to make a name for himself at Celtic Park.

As such, it is no doubt in the best interest of all parties for an exit to be agreed upon in the New Year, with Postecoglou needing to ditch a figure who appears to have no place in his plans.

Liverpool have been consistently linked with a move for Enzo Fernandez and now a reliable source has given an update on the club’s stance on their swoop for the player in 2023.

What’s the latest?

According to CBS reporter Ben Jacobs, Liverpool will not make a move for the Argentina and Benfica star during the January transfer window.

Jacobs wrote in a thread of tweets:

“Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid are fans of Fernandez, too. #NUFC also one to watch. But all clubs are trying to understand Fernandez’s ambitions and work out whether rivals will genuinely move in January.

“#LFC and Real would only consider a summer swoop and Fernandez could end up intertwined in the Jude Bellingham chase.”

It’s bad news for Klopp

There is no doubt that strengthening the personnel in the centre of the pitch is something that needs to be the top priority at Anfield, so it’s bad news for Jurgen Klopp that it is looking unlikely that Liverpool will move for Fernandez in the upcoming window.

As Jacobs has claimed, the 21-year-old is attracting attention from some of the biggest clubs in European football and Liverpool’s casual approach to snapping him up could be costly in their pursuit of the player.

Fernandez – who has a release clause of €120m (£105m) – is one of the hottest young prospects in football something that was only elevated by his displays for Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar over the last month.

The Benfica dynamo won the Young Player of the Tournament award for his contributions to his national team’s World Cup victory and it comes as no surprise when you consider his strengths compared to his positional peers.

Fernandez – who was dubbed “class” by Yussif Alhassan Chibsah – currently ranks in the top 10% in the ‘next eight competitions’ for shots on goal, assists, shot-creating actions, passes attempted and progressive passes.

Injuries to the engine room has seen the likes of Harvey Elliott garner more game time than expected, with young academy hopefuls Ben Doak, Bobby Clark and Stefan Bajcetic also earning Premier League minutes in recent outings.

With that being said, the signing of Fernandez is an opportunity too good to miss for the Reds and if the powers at Anfield don’t act fast they could lose the talented player to a Premier League rival next month.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has now revealed a transfer update on Wolves January target Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

The Lowdown: Wolves interest

It was reported earlier this week that the Old Gold ‘want’ to sign Wan-Bissaka in the January transfer window, and that Manchester United are ‘open to offers’ for the right-back, so long as they can source a replacement.

He has only played a mere four minutes of senior football so far this season, and so needs to find more regular game time elsewhere.

The Latest: United ‘trying’ to find solution

Taking to Twitter, Romano has revealed that United are now ‘trying to find a solution’ for Wan-Bissaka in order to let him go, as the Wanderers are one of three Premier League clubs that ‘remain interested’ in signing him:

“Manchester United are trying to find a solution for Wan-Bissaka in order to let him leave. Wolves, West Ham and Crystal Palace remain interested.

“Main priority on right-back situation remains to extend Dalot’s contract. Talks will take place soon.”

The Verdict: Smart move?

Given that Wan-Bissaka has barely featured at all under Erik ten Hag, and he only has 18 months left on his contract, the Molineux outfit could potentially secure him for a cut-price.

Once hailed as a ‘monster’ by Brazilian journalist and writer Fernando Duarte, the 25-year-old needs to try and recapture some of the form that made the Red Devils pay a whopping £50m for him in 2019.

Still, he has ranked in the top 1% of all right-backs in Europe’s top five leagues for dribbles completed and interceptions per game over the last year, and in the top 2% for tackles, per FBRef.

If Julen Lopetegui’s side can play to his strengths, then Wan-Bissaka could be an astute signing, but they may need to reduce his £90,000-per-week wages first.

Manchester City have made an out-of-window offer to RB Leipzig over the signing of defender Josko Gvardiol, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Gvardiol shines…

The Croatia international recently returned home from this year’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar where he helped his country reach the semi-finals, before being knocked out by Julian Alvarez and Argentina.

Gvardiol stood out as one of manager Zlatko Dalic’s most important players on their impressive run with members of the media calling him ‘sensational’ and a ‘Rolls Royce’.

The Premier League champions are chasing a third-consecutive domestic crown but face stiff competition from Arsenal, who are currently five points out in front of Pep Guardiola’s side.

Sporting director Txiki Begiristain will be looking at any transfer market opportunities which arise, and according to journalist Alfredo Pedulla, he may be plotting an ambitious move for Gvardiol.

The Latest: Man City make ‘proposal of £114 million’…

The Italian transfer reporter, via his website, claims City have made an out-of-window ‘proposal of €130 million (£114m)’ for Leipzig’s sensation.

It is believed that the Sky Blues are ‘thinking about breaking the bank’ for Gvardiol after his impressive performances in the Middle East.

Guardiola’s side are also in ‘close contact’ with Leipzig over the 20-year-old who is attracting interest from Chelsea and Real Madrid.

The Verdict: Needed?

Eastlands boasts an array of top class central defenders already in Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, Nathan Ake and in-form summer signing Manuel Akanji – making the need for Gvardiol debatable.

The starlet defender is a quality option, however, and City may want to swoop in and poach him before rivals like Chelsea can seal a move.

Guardiola may also be plotting to sell one of the aforementioned five, which would explain the interest in Gvardiol a lot.

If City have lodged a major £114m proposal, it’s clear they rate him very, very highly, as this would smash their transfer record set by the signing of Jack Grealish in 2021.

Arsenal have been handed a potentially huge boost ahead of their upcoming Premier League meeting with West Ham United this evening.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to the Evening Standard who claim, despite having only arrived back from international duty with France last Friday, William Saliba could already be set to make a surprise return to the starting lineup against the Hammers at The Emirates this evening – despite earlier claims the defender looked unlikely to feature.

Regarding the potential availability of the France international, Mikel Arteta said:

“Let’s see depending on how he comes back as well. We have the data on what he’s done in training in terms of minutes. He didn’t participate much but it was a huge experience for him. When he gets back we’ll see.”

Huge boost

Considering just how impressive Saliba has been for Arsenal so far this season, should the 21-year-old be deemed fit enough to feature against the Irons this evening, it would undoubtedly come as a huge boost to the Gunners’ chances of picking up all three points against David Moyes’ men.

Indeed, over his 14 Premier League appearances in the current campaign, the £61.5m-rated talent has been in sensational form in the heart of Arteta’s backline, helping his side keep six clean sheets, in addition to making an average of 1.6 tackles, 0.6 interceptions, 2.7 clearances and winning 3.4 duels – at a success rate of 63% – per game.

However, it has not only been in defence that the £40k-per-week starlet has impressed, as the Frenchman has also scored two goals, provided one assist and created one big chance, as well as playing an average of 2.6 long balls and completing 61.8 passes – at a success rate of 92% – per match.

These returns have seen the centre-back average an extremely impressive Sofascore match rating of 7.05, seeing him rank as Arteta’s second-best performing defender and eighth-best player overall in the top flight of English football so far in 2022/23.

As such, with Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel Jesus and Reiss Nelson all being ruled out due to injury, in addition to Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu being doubts for the visit of the Hammers, the potential surprise availability of Saliba is undoubtedly fantastic news for Arteta and his side as the Gunners look to maintain their brilliant start to the season tonight.

West Ham supporters, can you score 100% in this all-time transfers quiz?

As we approach the mid-way point of this 2022/2023 Premier League season, and with January on the horizon, Irons fans will be hoping for a stronger second half of the campaign.

David Moyes’ side are currently in the midst of a relegation battle and the Scotsman could be in trouble despite two seasons of largely overachieving at the London Stadium.

The winter transfer market represents an opportunity to strengthen Moyes’ options and potentially spark an east London revival.

Bearing that in mind, and on Christmas day, we’ve created this all-time transfers quiz as a gesture of good faith on this festive day.

As life-long West Ham supporters, test your knowledge with this bit of trivia and see if you can score 100%.

Merry Christmas and thank you for supporting The Transfer Tavern by engaging with our content throughout 2022 – here’s to another good year.

Everton are reportedly set to hijack a deal for Dinamo Zagreb winger Mislav Orsic and the Croatia international could be the ideal signing for Frank Lampard at Goodison Park.

What’s the word?

According to Croatian journalist Izak Ante Sucic, Southampton’s deal for the 30-year-old is now off after a second bid was deemed far too low, with Everton now ready to ‘hijack’ the deal.

Nottingham Forest are also credited with an interest in Orsic, which suggests that a number of relegation-threatened teams in the top flight see him as a potential saviour in the second half of the season.

Despite spending the vast majority of his career playing in Croatia with Dinamo Zagreb, Orsic is well-known to a lot of English football fans for his goals in European competition against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in recent seasons, with the wide man scoring a memorable hat-trick to knock Spurs out of the Europa League in 2021.

He also scored a beautiful goal for Croatia in their World Cup third-place playoff game against Morocco recently, which may have been enough to convince a number of Premier League managers that he is capable of cutting it in the top flight.

Exactly what Lampard needs?

Everton find themselves in a desperate situation this season, with a lack of quality in the final third once again seeing them occupy a place at the wrong end of the Premier League table.

Demarai Gray and Anthony Gordon are the current joint-top scorers with just three to their name in the top flight, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Neal Maupay have both struggled in front of goal for the Toffees.

While it is difficult to judge the Croatian top flight at the same quality as the Premier League, Orsic has shown during his time with Zagreb that he is an extremely reliable option in front of goal, contributing 91 goals and 40 assists in 214 appearances for the Blues.

The aforementioned Sucic has been full of praise for Orsic in the past, when he was heavily linked with a move to Burnley last season before a deal collapsed at the last minute.

He said: “If they are trying to sign a good player who is capable of producing one piece of magic to do the crucial thing in a game, then he is the one.”

Moments of magic are exactly what Lampard needs to keep his job at Goodison Park right now, so the former Chelsea man should do everything in his power to bring in Orsic this month. He could just be the man that keeps the Merseyside outfit in the Premier League.

Manchester United have something of a conundrum in the goalkeeping department, and might be inclined to solve their issue through swooping for Borussia Monchengladbach’s Yann Sommer.

What’s the word?

Sommer is out of contract at the end of the campaign, and according to Sport BILD, Man United are joined by the likes of Bayern Munich in gunning for the colossus’ signature, with Bavarian ‘keeper Manuel Neuer ruled out for the rest of the season following a skiing accident that resulted in a leg break.

While the idea of adopting a central position between the sticks at the dominant German Champions is enticing, BILD reports that playing in the Premier League is a lifelong dream for the Switzerland No. 1. 

And with uncertainty clouding over the scrutinised David de Gea’s future at Old Trafford, a move might yet materialise with the January transfer window merely weeks away. 

Out with De Gea 

The report from Germany remarks that should Gladbach receive an offer of around €5m (£4.4m) for their 34-year-old shot-stopper, his club might be unwilling to let such a sum slip away, especially considering he will depart for nothing should he reach the end of the campaign at the BORUSSIA-PARK.

Such a small fee is certainly within United boss Erik ten Hag’s capabilities, and it could ail the woes that De Gea is seemingly unable to counter at present.

United’s Spanish stopper has recorded a Sofascore rating of just 6.79 in the Premier League this term, languishing below the 6.0 mark on three occasions thus far: versus Brentford (5.3), Manchester City (5.2) and Aston Villa (5.8).

He has saved just 66% of his total shots faced and conceded 20 goals from 14 outings at a rate of 1.4 per contest.

And the poor performances of the “liability” – as slandered by BBC Sport’s Phil McNulty – are nothing new; in 2020, Evening Standard sport writer Dominic Booth branded the 32-year-old as “woeful” for a mistake against RB Leipzig, continuing to lament the ace by saying “a good goalkeeper smothers that and gets rid” in a detrimental 3-2 Champions League defeat that dumped United out of the Champions League.

Should a deal for Sommer be forged, Old Trafford could welcome a star with more assurance and greater calibre in one-to-one situations.

Via FBref, the 80-cap Swiss “monster” – as described by journalist Okon Nya – ranks within the top 18% of goalkeepers for save percentage across Europe’s big five leagues this last year – De Gea, in retrospect, ranks within the bottom 45% – also ranking in the top percentile for touches.

Sommer has also been excellent in the German Bundesliga this term, with Sofascore recording his average rating at an impressive 7.4, a veritable wall with a 77% save percentage and a remarkable level of distribution illustrated by an 81% passing accuracy.

His particular skill set fits the modern, ball-playing approach that Ten Hag seeks to implement on the United squad, and with De Gea on a reported £375k-per-week, a cost-effective swoop appears to be a no-brainer.

Aston Villa could look to sign Nicolas Jackson as a cheaper option than teammate Arnaut Danjuma in January, journalist Pete O’Rourke has claimed.

The Lowdown: Jackson linked with Villa move

Unai Emery has made an excellent start to life at Villa Park, with his side picking up a superb 2-0 victory away to Tottenham on New Year’s Day.

That’s three wins out of four in the league for the Spaniard, but while results are clearly impressive, there is no doubt that he will want some of his own signings in the January transfer window.

Villarreal stars Jackson and Danjuma have emerged as strong candidates to come in and now a new update further suggests a choice of the two will likely depend on finances.

The Latest: January switch could happen

Speaking to Give Me Sport, O’Rourke claimed that Jackson could be the top target because he’s ‘a bit cheaper’ and has a known release clause of £30m:

“Jackson is probably a bit cheaper and more attainable than Danjuma because Jackson has a release clause in his contract.

“I’m sure that Villa will be pursuing this one to see if they can get a deal done in January.”

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The Verdict: Relationship with Emery key

Admittedly, Jackson remains relatively unproven at the top level, having only made 32 appearances for Villarreal, but he is a big talent with a bright future.

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Villa could do with fresh blood in their attack, with the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Danny Ings both 30 and flattering to deceive, and the 21-year-old could solve that issue.

Not only that but the fact that Jackson and Emery have already worked together at Villarreal also bodes well, suggesting the manager could get the best out of him quickly in England.

Chelsea are ‘already negotiating’ with Benfica over the big-money signing of exciting youngster Enzo Fernandez, according to journalist Cesar Luis Merlo.

The Lowdown: Enzo strongly linked with move

The 21-year-old had a memorable 2022 World Cup with Argentina, not only winning the tournament but also scooping the Best Young Player award in Qatar.

Since then, Fernandez has become hot property and Chelsea have arguably emerged as the front-runners to sign him in the January transfer window.

Now, another update has emerged – one that further suggests that a move to Stamford Bridge could be on the cards very soon.

The Latest: New update emerges

Taking to Twitter, Merlo gave an update on the situation, claiming that talks over a €127million (£112.6m) transfer are fully underway:

“Chelsea and Benfica are already negotiating forms and structures around the offer of €127M for Enzo Fernandez. The fixed amount, bonuses and forms of payment must be established. It is not an easy operation but the English are bidding for it.”

Meanwhile, Record [via Sport Witness] also report that Fernandez is ‘tempted’ by a move to Chelsea, especially given the lure of the Premier League.

The Verdict: Midfield saviour?

Fernandez is understandably one of the world’s most sought-after young midfielders now and he is someone who could be a long-term colossus in the middle of the park for Chelsea.

With the likes of N’Golo Kante and Jorginho now in their 30s, fresh blood is required as soon as possible and the Argentine could be the perfect fit for Graham Potter.

A player with maturity beyond his years in a deep-lying midfield role, Fernandez enjoyed an 87.6% pass completion rate at the World Cup, as well as averaging an impressive 3.1 tackles per game, showing tenacity off the ball and class on it.