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Gers fans laud Ianis Hagi

Glasgow Rangers fans were delighted with Ianis Hagi’s display for Romania against North Macedonia during the international break.

The headlines have been dominated by Steven Davis this past week. He picked up his 125th cap for Northern Ireland against Italy, meaning he equalled Peter Shilton’s British appearance record in the process (The Scotsman). However, he is not the only Gers player to impress while representing their country.

Hagi didn’t start the match against North Macedonia, with him being brought on with 14 minutes remaining. That was enough time for him to have a big impact on the game, with the £5.4m-valued 22-year-old (Transfermarkt) scoring the winner as Romania picked up an important 3-2 victory as they look to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.

The Gers’ official Twitter account congratulated Hagi for what was his first ever international goal (Transfermarkt), and the tweet attracted plenty of attention from the Gers supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Hagi below

“Great goal”

Credit: @RangersAssemble

“Chuffed for Hagi as I sometimes think he doubts himself, so this can only help his confidence going forward. We are lucky to have him”

Credit: @ArgyllWarrior

“Love to see great wee player”

Credit: @Mikey1872786

“Brilliant for hagi and his confidence, he’s just getting better an better”

Credit: @alfie_west_55

“Excellent. Well done Ianis”

Credit: @Trinityfishbar

“The best hagi”

Credit: @RFCMatt7

In other news, Rangers fans are far from happy with an update on this 34-year-old.

Jose has revitalised Moura at Spurs

Following the arrival of Gareth Bale on loan from Real Madrid in the summer transfer window, perhaps few would have predicted that Lucas Moura would still be playing a big role in Tottenham Hotspur’s team now that we’re in March.

Although the Welsh international endured a difficult start back in North London, he has found his feet in recent weeks, with six goals and three assists in his last six appearances in all competitions.

It is impressive, therefore, that Moura is still a regular under Mourinho, and he has also been revitalised in recent weeks, thanks to a simple tactical change from the Portuguese manager.

The former PSG man, who reportedly earns £110k per week at Spurs, was struggling out on the right-wing in the Premier League, as he has averaged a 6.51 rating across his 22 appearances in the top-flight so far this season.

However, since moving to a more central position behind Harry Kane, the Brazilian looks far more dangerous, as in four appearances in that position, he has contributed one goal and one assist, averaging an impressive 7.2 rating.

First, he played well there in the 2-0 win against West Brom, before being a big part of the superb 4-0 win against Burnley last weekend, firing an excellent finish past Nick Pope from a central position, somewhere he is unlikely to have been if he had been deployed on the right.

Whilst he didn’t score or assist against Crystal Palace in the 4-1 win on Sunday evening, he was instrumental in the opening goal, as he won the ball back high up the pitch and fed Kane, who squared for Gareth Bale to score.

The 28-year-old caused Palace all sorts of problems, with his direct running seemingly far more effective in a central position, evidenced by his mazy run on Sunday which was halted by Gary Cahill on the edge of the box, earning a dangerous free-kick for Spurs.

Moura was involved in 21 ground duels during the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and whilst he would win just nine of those, it was clear that he was a constant nuisance to the Palace defenders with his work rate.

Fans will know that Moura’s best Spurs performance came in Amsterdam with his memorable hattrick in the 3-2 win against Ajax in the Champions League, where he also featured centrally, and whilst he is yet to regularly produce the same sorts of numbers or performances under Mourinho, it is clear that this central-attacking position is really improving both Moura and Spurs’ overall game.

And, in other news… Jose suffers huge transfer setback with “very confident” CB who could’ve replaced Dier

Liverpool Predicted XI vs Wolves

Liverpool take on Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night desperate to get back to winning ways in the Premier League

The Reds have endured a horrendous domestic run in recent weeks, losing six out of their last seven league matches.

However, they were able to regain some confidence after overcoming RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League.

Will Klopp be tempted to make any changes to his side for the trip to Molineux? Here’s the line-up we think he’ll select.

There could be as many as two changes from the German as he only slightly rotates in the Midlands.

The former Borussia Dortmund man appears to have settled on a regular back-line at Anfield due to the club’s lengthy injury list.

This means that Alisson is likely to be shielded by Andrew Robertson, Ozan Kabak, Nathaniel Phillips and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Meanwhile, changes could occur in midfield. Fabinho will remain in the starting line-up and in his preferred role just in front of the defence. £43.3m-rated Thiago Alcantara started on the bench against Fulham and was also withdrawn against Leipzig so might well be replaced by Curtis Jones.

Elsewhere, the ever-reliable Georginio Wijnaldum has not been out of a Premier League starting line-up since October and also started in the Champions League so could be deserving of a rest against Wolves, so Naby Keita starts in his place.

Liverpool’s attack should stay relatively constant, with Mo Salah and Sadio Mane starting after their goals in Europe. They will be supported by Diogo Jota who continues to deputise in the absence of Roberto Firmino.

AND in more news, take a look at why Liverpool need to prioritise Europe instead of the Premier League this season…

Southampton hopeful of signing Maitland-Niles

According to journalist Alex Crook, Southampton are “still hopeful” of signing Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles on transfer deadline day.

What’s the story?

The Gunners’ versatile ace has become one of the hottest properties in the Premier League over the past couple of days, with a number of teams seemingly interested in taking him on loan for the rest of the season.

Reports had suggested the likes of West Brom and Leicester were among the clubs keen on signing him, but now Crook has delivered a promising update on the situation in Ralph Hasenhuttl side’s favour.

He claims that whilst there’s no “tangible progress made” just yet, the Saints are “still hopeful of getting it done”.

Ralph needs him

After seeing the likes Theo Walcott, Ibrahima Diallo and Oriol Romeu make the long walk back down the tunnel in the controversial 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa, Hasenhuttl must be wringing his hands wondering where on earth his luck has gone.

The Saints boss is already short on natural full-back cover, so much so that James Ward-Prowse had to fill in as a right-back. It’s exactly why the versatile Maitland-Niles is such a badly needed option for Hasenhuttl on deadline day.

The England international has played as a full-back, wing-back, central midfielder and even out wide in his career, and given that reports have even suggested that the £16.2m-rated Maitland-Niles wants a move in this transfer window where he can play in the middle of the park, surely the Southampton manager can now convince him he can get that opportunity to do so at St Mary’s?

Writing for The Athletic, Dan Sheldon said: “If Ainsley Maitland-Niles was fretting about joining Southampton over concerns of a lack of game time, then Saturday evening should convince him to opt for the St Mary’s side over West Brom and Leicester.”

Crook’s update is a promising sign for Hasenhuttl’s side on deadline day.

Meanwhile, Southampton would be foolish to get rid of this man…

West Brom’s Morton can be their next Phillips

West Brom may well be sitting on their striker of the future right now.

Young academy product Callum Morton broke onto the scene during a prolific loan spell at League Two outfit Northampton Town last season, and whilst his current temporary stint away from the Hawthorns is currently blighted by injury, he’s certainly got the potential to become a star.

The 20-year-old is a player who has modelled his game on the likes of Jamie Vardy and ex-Albion star Shane Long, though it is another former club legend that he bears the most similarities to – Kevin Phillips.

Phillips bagged a whopping 46 goals in 81 appearances for the Baggies and played a huge part towards Vardy’s success down the road at their Midlands rivals. The Foxes’ official website noted him as a coach and ‘striker mentor’ in 2015, so it’s no surprise that they are quite the same in playing style.

And if Morton is looking up to the Englishman, then it only bodes well for West Brom in the long run.

In his first month at the Cobblers, he notched five goals in seven appearances to claim the division’s ‘Player of the Month’ award. Throughout the campaign, his performances and goals were enough to help them into the playoffs where he scored a brace to fire them into the final at Wembley.

He took that in his grasp too, scoring one of their four goals on their way to promotion.

In League Two that season, Morton had the best conversion rate of any striker in the division, scoring eight goals from 24 shots (33%) whilst he scored 83% of his efforts that were on target, which also led the league, as per FBRef (via Scouted Football).

These are mightily impressive returns that Phillips would’ve been proud of.

In the summer, former Albion boss Slaven Bilic waxed lyrical about the young striker after holding contract talks. He told the Express & Star:

“I spoke with him a lot of times, he wasn’t training with the group, but I had a lot of chats with him. I didn’t know him as a player but to see that character – he has got something special. He is made of steel.”

Indeed, Morton is now under contract at the Hawthorns for another three and a half years, so there is plenty of time for him to make his mark at the club – perhaps if the Baggies do go down, the door could then open for him.

But first, he’ll have to get back on track following a serious shoulder injury in September with League One front-runners Lincoln City.

If he keeps up his goalscoring form, then he has every chance to become Albion’s next Phillips.

AND in other news, Foolish Dowling missed a £2m bargain in “fearless” PL gem…

Palace must sign Premier League ace

It seems Crystal Palace’s quest to find a new striker has taken an interesting twist, if recent reports are to be believed.

What’s the word?

According to The Sun’s Alan Nixon, Newcastle United striker Dwight Gayle could be set for a return to Crystal Palace in the summer.

Gayle joined Newcastle from the Eagles in the summer of 2016 and has scored 34 goals and supplied 10 assists across all competitions during his time at St James’ Park.

However, the centre-forward has fallen down the pecking order under Steve Bruce after nearly five years on Tyneside and it is understood that a possible return to his former club could be on the cards.

Imagine Gayle and Wilfried Zaha

Palace have been desperately trying to find a new frontman for what feels like forever.

Belgian striker Christian Benteke’s form has been patchy at best, as he hasn’t hit double digits since the 2016/17 season, and the least said about Steve Parish’s decision to sign Alexander Sorloth from from Danish side FC Midtjylland, the better.

In the last few months alone, Wilfried Zaha has had to shoulder the burden of scoring the majority of Palace’s goals, which has only made his absence even more obvious on the few occasions where he has missed a game this season.

Given his excellent goal record for the Eagles, Gayle fits the bill for Roy Hodgson’s side, as his versatility means he could be deployed at the top of the pitch or on either flank.

During his time at Selhurst Park, the £7m-rated 31-year-old bagged 25 goals and three assists in 74 appearances in all competitions via Transfermarkt.

His childhood coach Dave Bricknell lavished praise on his former young charge, saying: “He was a lovely lad. By then, people had started ringing up about David Beckham, who was becoming the real megastar. But even then I thought: ‘One day, they could be ringing me up about Dwight’.”

“I remember one tournament in Holland where we played a penalty shoot-out and Dwight took penalties with both of his feet. He always had that fantastic technique.”

Palace must swoop for Gayle in the summer, as they simply cannot afford to pass up on the opportunity to sign a proven Premier League goal-scorer who won’t cost Palace a penny. Get it done, Eagles, before somebody else does.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace exclusive: Pundit baffled by latest Milivojevic decision after breaking Covid restrictions…

West Ham set to join Edouard race

According to a report by the Daily Star, West Ham are set to push for Celtic star Odsonne Edouard before the end of January – with GSB now potentially about to join the race for a striker also currently linked with a move to Leicester City (talkSPORT).

Edouard, who has debatably been one of Celtic’s only positive points this season, still managing to net seven goals in 12 SPFL starts despite the Hoops currently being some way off arch-rivals Rangers, is now attracting even more interest – this time from West Ham.

West Ham set to join Edouard race

As per the Daily Star, David Moyes is ‘desperate’ to sign a forward this month, with the club now turning to Edouard as a solution and they are expected to push for him in a late January move.

However, while this report claims that the 23-year-old is yearning for a Premier League switch and ‘fancies’ a move to London in particular, it doesn’t appear to be for a transfer ti the Irons.

Indeed, Edouard is apparently more keen on English capital rivals Arsenal and Tottenham, but that is only his ideal scenario – with a move to West Ham seemingly not ruled out.

Given the fact Celtic are ‘ready’ to ‘cash in now’ for the correct bid, and that both north London clubs won’t be able to move until summer, West Ham could hold a slender hope in potentially signing him.

As a result, GSB are reportedly set to attempt a swoop before the closure of this transfer window, with Moyes reportedly having him watched north of the border on several occasions.

Transfer Tavern take

Recently described by Hoops boss Neil Lennon as ‘magnificent’ after a 3-0 win over Hamilton in December (Glasgow Live), it’s little wonder why Moyes is keen – especially taking into account his excellent goal tally over 2020/2021 (WhoScored).

However, a late swoop may prove difficult – with it being hard to imagine GSB forking out his £35 million price tag.

In other news: West Ham have been ‘offered’ this striker, Di Canio is a huge fan…find out more here.

City boss Pep Guardiola was let down by Zinchenko against Porto

Ruben Dias may well be the target of some Manchester City fans’ frustrations after he missed an easy chance to score in the Citizens’ 0-0 draw against Porto on Tuesday night, but he was far from the most wasteful player on the evening.

A stalemate at Estadio do Dragao meant that City would finish top of the group, regardless of what happens in their game against Marseille next week but Pep Guardiola’s side had more than enough chances to win the game.

The Portuguese centre-back was perhaps the most guilty, as he somehow turned Raheem Sterling’s flick-on away from the Porto goal when it would have been easier to score.

However, it was arguably left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko who was the most wasteful of the City players on the pitch against the Liga NOS side, as he regularly disappointed with his crosses into the box.

As per SofaScore, the Ukrainian international was accurate with just one of his 11 attempted crosses on the evening, resulting in a terrible success rate of just 9%.

He also lost possession 22 times during the 90 minutes, which was the joint-worst with Phil Foden of any Manchester City player on the pitch.

Had the 23-year-old not been so profligate with his crosses into the box, you feel that the Citizens would have been able to make their domination count.

However, the €50m-rated (£45m) utility man was heavily involved in City’s build-up play during the game, having 135 touches during the game and completing 89/98 of his passes, whilst he was rarely beaten defensively, winning ten of his 11 duels against the Portuguese side.

With both Joao Cancelo and Benjamin Mendy having impressed at left-back so far this season, you wonder whether this disappointing performance from Zinchenko could damage his chances of nailing down a spot in Guardiola’s first-team for the rest of the season.

It was the former Shakhtar Donetsk man’s fourth appearance in the Champions League, but he has made just one substitute appearance in the Premier League, suggesting that he isn’t first-choice, so it will be interesting to see if he keeps his place at left-back in the latter stages of City’s European campaign.

And, in other news… Guardiola can unleash beast by making a tactical tweak

Craig Dawson was David Moyes’ true West Ham hero in Everton win

Craig Dawson was David Moyes’ true hero as West Ham United beat Everton 1-0 on Friday night thanks to a late Tomas Soucek strike.

Creativity was often scarce throughout the Goodison Park encounter for both sides before Aaron Cresswell’s deflected effort rebounded into the path of Soucek, who instinctively kept running in to tap home his fifth Premier League goal of the season.

The result sealed Moyes a first away win over the Toffees since leaving Merseyside to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm of Manchester United in 2013, having lost each of his previous four visits.

Moyes has built West Ham around defensive stability since returning to the London Stadium a year ago, so will have been delighted with the efforts Dawson brought to the side during only his second appearance of the season so far.

The Watford loanee had to wait until the Irons’ midweek trip to Southampton to make his debut but retained his place in the line-up against Everton, where he formed a formidable partnership with Angelo Ogbonna.

Dawson hardly allowed Everton’s top-scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin to get a look in on Darren Randolph’s goal as the Republic of Ireland international earned a rare start in place of Lukasz Fabianski.

Calvert-Lewin was frequently forced to drop deeper and deeper in search of possession before being replaced by Cenk Tosun 10 minutes from time, having gone a fifth-straight Premier League game without scoring after netting 11 in the opening 11 fixtures.

Dawson was strong in the air at Goodison Park with success in two of four duels, while recording one interception and five clearances, per SofaScore.

The £3.5m-rated centre-half was additionally successful with 26 of his 34 passes, never committed a foul, was never dribbled past and rarely ventured into Everton territory as he sought to keep things simple and stay out of trouble.

Moyes will have wanted nothing more from Dawson than what the 30-year-old was able to bring to the side, knowing the challenge at hand with Fabian Balbuena only returning to the bench after sitting out the Southampton trip.

AND in other news, West Ham are considering offering a 6 ft 1 brute with a “terrific range of passing” a mid-season move to the London Stadium

Crystal Palace: Lots of fans react to Townsend’s comments on VAR after Bamford offside

Many football fans are not happy with Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend following his latest comments about VAR whilst he was speaking on talkSPORT today.

Palace took the early lead against Leeds in the 12th minute during their game at the weekend thanks to a Scott Dann header. This goal looked to have been cancelled out in the 18thÂminute by Patrick Bamford, who slotted home with a delightful chip after a clever through ball. However, VAR decided that the goal wasÂoffside,Âwith the striker’s deemed to be offside after using his arm to point where he wanted a pass to go.

Townsend, who was on the pitch when this happened, has spoken out and even though he says he ‘sympathises’ with Bamford, he believes the decision was correct with the current offside laws.

The decision was very tight, and Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa should definitely feel frustrated following the decision. Many supporters have gone to disagree with the winger, saying: ‘Of course he’s going to say that. The decision was in favour of his team! It’s a ridiculous thing to come out and say.’

Here’s how fans of a range of clubs reacted to Townsend after these comments:

In other Palace news, have a read of the latest club update that has the fan base very excitedÂhere!

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