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Postecoglou has only been the manager of Celtic for a matter of weeks but he has already identified the primary issue; defending.

The Hoops have signed two players capable of featuring at the back and there could be more defensive acquisitions on the way.

What’s the word?

The Bhoys are keen on signing George Baldock this summer but they are also close to landing the services of Mario Vuskovic.

Plans to strengthen the defence don’t stop there, however, with new claims emerging from the Netherlands.

Dutch media (via the Daily Record) have touted Celtic with a move for PEC Zwolle’s Kenneth Paal.

The 24-year-old is a left-back by trade and was given the opportunity to talk about a potential move to Scotland last week.

Paal commented: “It’s such a big club (Celtic), with such a history, that’s always nice to hear.”

Ange will adore him

Paal may well be a name that many fans of Scottish football will not have heard of but a look at the statistics tells you that he could be a fabulous signing for Celtic, one that fits right into Postecoglou’s system and methods.

With just a year left on his current contract, he could be snapped up for a bargain fee this summer and if they can agree on a price, Celtic must bring him to Paradise.

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The defender is fantastic in offensive areas and would be a huge upgrade on Greg Taylor and Diego Laxalt.

Comfortable in possession of the ball, Paal is also incredibly athletic; something that would suit Postecoglou’s high-intensity style of play perfectly.

Furthermore, the PEC Zwolle full-back is better than a number of areas where Taylor excels.

He managed 1.8 key passes and 1.7 dribbles per game last term from the backline, proving to be a rampant threat on the left. In comparison to Taylor, he is streets ahead. Celtic’s current left-back only managed 1.5 key passes and 0.7 dribbles per match.

With a crossing accuracy of 44%, Paal’s play down the left-hand side could lead to a number of goalscoring opportunities provided by play in wide areas.

In the words of Bhoys Analtyics, the Dutchman would be a “monster” for Celtic, amassing the fourth-best shot assists in the entire of the Eredivisie.

He’s not just impressive from an offensive point of view either. The defender boasts higher defensive statistics than Taylor, amassing 1.9 tackles per game compared to 1.5.

This would be an astute pick up from the Hoops, one they simply have to get across the line. Postecoglou will love the way he plays.

AND in other news, Celtic eye move for “wonderful” 18-goal beast, he’s a big upgrade on Griffiths…

Since Steven Gerrard took charge of Aston Villa, the only negatives could be their defeats against Manchester City and Liverpool, however, given the level of opposition Villa were up against in those games, the two defeats shouldn’t be held against Gerrard with too much scrutiny.

That said, with the January transfer window on the horizon, it seems as though Gerrard could be heading for a potential disaster at the Midlands club.

With recent reports claiming fellow Premier League club Manchester United are interested in signing John McGinn and with Paddy Kenny suggesting that the Scottish international would take his game to the next level if he joined the Red Devils in January, it would be a tragedy if Villa were to lose their midfield man.

Since joining Villa back in August 2018 from Hibernian, the 27-year-old has made a total of 126 appearances for the Midlands club across all competitions, scoring 17 goals and providing 29 assists along the way, cementing himself as an important figure for Villa.

Taking into account how McGinn has played the full 90 minutes in 14 of the 15 league games he’s appeared in, this highlights how much of a key player he is for Villa in their midfield.

In terms of his performances, with an overall rating of 7.14/10 from WhoScored, listing him as Villa’s highest-rated player in the league so far this season, this not only shows why United are apparently interested in signing the Scotland international, but why it would be an outrageous decision for Villa to sell him, especially in January halfway through the season and only a few weeks after Gerrard has arrived.

This also shows that how McGinn, in the words of Micah Richards, has now stepped out of the “shadow of Jack Grealish,” after he was sold to Manchester City.

Looking ahead to the future, Villa must do all they can to keep the midfielder out of United’s clutches or any other club that may want to sign him.

With his current contract not set to expire until the summer of 2025 and the fact that he’s getting regular playing time, this should be some comfort to any Villa fans that may be concerned about the possibility of the Scot leaving.

In other news: Aston Villa can start January with a bang by signing “unbeatable” £27m-rated machine

Celtic had a very busy transfer window last summer in terms of the number of players moving in and out of the club on permanent and loan deals.

Looking ahead to this summer, it seems as though one potential transfer has already been mentioned with the Bhoys.

What’s the news?

Speaking to Football Insider, former Hoops star Frank McAvennie was discussing the possibility of the Parkhead club securing a permanent move for their current loan ace Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The 62-year-old said: “Ange will want this deal done as soon as the window opens. He won’t want to be messing around. The last thing he wants is a transfer saga that means Carter-Vickers doesn’t come back until just before the season starts.

“Let’s get him in early so he can have a full pre-season up here. I think this one will get done. I don’t think he has a future at Tottenham and we should be getting the Champions League group money to spend.”

Since arriving at Celtic on loan from Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur last August, the defender has been a solid figure for Ange Postecoglou and his side.

From a defensive point of view, the American has racked up 36 interceptions, 19 tackles and an average of 4.4 clearances per game, the highest of any other Hoops player.

Fans would be ecstatic

With 27 Premiership appearances to his name, the 24-year-old has earned himself an impressive overall performance rating of 7.35/10 from WhoScored, making him the fourth-highest rated player currently in Postecoglou’s squad.

Taking all this into account, and after making himself a hero last weekend by scoring against Rangers in Celtic’s 2-1 win which saw them go six points clear at the top of the table, it’s easy to see why McAvennie thinks the club will be keen to secure the centre-back on a permanent basis.

With the upcoming summer transfer window in mind, signing the defender on a permanent deal from Tottenham should be at the top of the Parkhead club’s priorities when it comes to their potential business.

If they were able to negotiate a deal with the north London club which would see Carter-Vickers become a fully-fledged Celtic player, this would surely delight a lot of Hoops fans and increase the team’s chances of being successful next season and beyond, given how well he has performed so far in Glasgow.

In other news: Ange must now seal Celtic deal for “magic” £21.5k-p/w ace, he’s an “absolute dream”

Everton are believed to be keen on the signature of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks as new manager Rafa Benitez looks to bolster his engine room options.

What’s the story?

According to CaughtOffside, the Toffees are one of three Premier League clubs to have shown interest in the 25-year-old, with Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion also listed as potential suitors.

The report states that: “Winks is keen to move away in January in an attempt to secure regular playing time…Although any potential move for the Englishman in January is only likely to be a loan move, the interest in securing his signature is high.”

It then goes on to claim that they have the longest-standing interest in Winks, who is reportedly seen as an alternative target to Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek.

Marcel Brands must swoop

After rising through the ranks at his boyhood club, Winks has made 179 appearances for Tottenham in all competitions and started their 2019 Champions League final defeat at the hands of Liverpool.

The technically gifted talent featured prominently during the reign of former manager Mauricio Pochettino, who lavished praise on the midfielder after a late winner against Fulham two years ago.

“He deserves the praise because the whole action is amazing,” said Pochettino. “He recovered the ball like a full-back, we started to build from the back, and then he arrived for the cross from GK, which was fantastic – we have to praise him too.

“It’s amazing, amazing, because we were talking in the last few weeks that he had to score and to have more presence in the opposition’s box because he has the quality to do it. I’m so happy.”

However, the England international slipped down the pecking order under both Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo and is unlikely to feature prominently under new boss Antonio Conte due to his high-pressing, counter-attacking style.

This season, Winks has only been awarded 61 minutes of top-flight action at the north London outfit, and his potential arrival at Goodison Park could offer a significant upgrade for Benitez’s charges.

With star midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure currently sidelined through injury, the Everton chief has fielded both Tom Davies and Jean-Philippe Gbamin alongside Allan with disastrous results, losing their last two matches.

Gbamin’s performance last time out against Wolves was so poor that he was hauled off at half-time, with his horrendous injury luck over the last couple of campaigns appearing to have taken its toll. During his 45 minutes on the field, he made just 13 passes and lost three of his five duels.

Therefore. Everton’s director of football must swoop for the £18m-rated Winks over the coming months, providing Benitez with the strength in depth he needs for a successful season.

And, in other news…Forget Godfrey: Everton liability who lost possession 17x had a shocker vs Wolves 

According to German news outlet SportBILD (via Sport Witness), Liverpool are still paying close attention to Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham. 

The lowdown: Long-standing admirers

The Reds have long since been credited with an interest in the 18-year-old and have often been among the clubs most reliably linked with the former Birmingham City starlet. It’s even believed Jurgen Klopp has held secret conversations behind the scenes about signing the England sensation.

Having recently made an 84th appearance for the Bundesliga outfit, Bellingham’s stock continues to rise on the continent, with the report from Sport Witness detailing how he has become the star of the show and a leader at Signal Iduna Park.

Now it appears that Liverpool could be considering stepping up their levels of interest, though BVB will hold out for a huge price.

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The latest: Bild drops exiting update

As per the report, translated by SW, the Anfield club are believed to be ‘watching his development closely’, alongside similar interest from Real Madrid.

The report claims that the 12-cap England international will ‘soon’ become the next player to leave Dortmund for a fee in excess of €100million (£83million).

Furthermore, the German newspaper states that the teenager once described as possessing ‘scary’ ability for someone so young by Roy Keane has already become the ‘world’s most expensive’ player for his age.

The verdict: At all costs

Seldom do generational talents such as Bellingham come along, let alone ones that Liverpool hold a genuine opportunity to sign in the not too distant future.

Whilst Klopp’s former employers will be reticent to lose both the midfield star and Erling Haaland in the same window, bids of anything in the region of the aforementioned mooted fees would likely force their hand this summer.

As things stand the Reds are relatively blessed in the midfield department, but with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s future never more in doubt and Jordan Henderson, Thiago and James Milner all the wrong side of 30, adding the next midfield general to the Merseyside ranks would be a shrewd move.

Even at the suggested price point, the early signs would suggest that Bellingham, who is equally adept in conventional positions as well as attacking roles, is going to be an elite-level performer for the next decade and beyond, therefore providing extraordinary value for money, potentially marking newly appointed sporting director Julian Ward’s arrival with an instant statement.

In other news, one Liverpool player has been backed to leave this summer. Find out who it is here.

Pundit Paul Robinson has been reacting to Celtic’s January transfer plans, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Ange’s comments

The Hoops were extremely busy in the summer, bringing in 12 new additions while cashing in on five players.

However, attention has already turned to the January market, with Ange Postecoglou revealing earlier this month he ‘will definitely be adding’ to his squad over the coming months.

Postecoglou went on to add that the J1 League in Japan will be a market the club will explore following Kyogo Furuhashi’s £4.86m move in the summer.

The Latest: Robinson reacts

Robinson, who has featured regularly on Sky Sports, was asked by Football Insider if the Hoops should expect another signing like Furuhashi in the New Year.

This is what he had to say in reply, labelling Postecoglou’s knowledge of the Japanese market as ‘incredible’ and describing winter window plans as ‘exciting’.

“Furuhashi has done outstandingly well since he has come in. If they dip into the Japanese market they will be looking for a player of similar ability.

“When you bring a manager like Postecoglou in you have to exploit the world market. Why would you not when he has an incredible knowledge of it.

“It will be the end of the J-League season there so the players will be fit. There will be no issues with them coming in and hitting the ground running.

“It is going to be an exciting window for Celtic because Postecoglou didn’t have much time in the last window to bring in the targets that he wanted. January will give him a real opportunity to add to what he has got.

“Why not tap into a market [Japan] that your manager knows well?”

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The Verdict: Exciting times…

Furuhashi has been Celtic’s standout performer this season, netting eight times in 11 appearances.

The 26-year-old has hit the ground running straight away in Glasgow, so hopefully, Postecoglou will have another few gems lined up to join Furuhashi.

Postecoglou described January as a ‘good time’ to look at the J1 League due to their end season.

If the Hoops can replicate Furuhashi’s transfer again, that could help them in their push to regain the Scottish Premiership.

In other news: BBC pundit thinks Celtic may have Kyogo ‘problem’ after what he’s seen. 

Jurgen Klopp is reportedly prepared to give 18-year-old winger Harvey Elliott a first-team break in 2021/22, potentially utilising him to fill any prospective void that would be left if Xherdan Shaqiri departs for Lyon [Daily Mail].

Staking his claim for senior involvement admirably on loan at Blackburn Rovers in 2020/21, the youngster registered 18 goal contributions in 41 Sky Bet Championship fixtures; seven goals and eleven assists [Transfermarkt].

Following on from these exploits, he could now be set to be given his long-awaited opportunity this campaign.

He is reportedly in contention for a starting place against Norwich City this weekend, whilst Klopp has been impressed by his progress at the Reds’ summer training camp [Daily Mail].

Should Shaqiri leave, Elliott would likely be his direct replacement, negating the need to dip into the transfer market to purchase an alternative.

In light of this news, loads of Liverpool diehards took to Twitter to call on their owners to invest in a new signing instead.

Liverpool FC fans react:

Replying to popular Liverpool fan outlet LFC Transfer Room on Twitter, here is what some supporters had to say about the situation:

“Fsg hate us, this is one hell of an inside job”

Credit: @oni_kzz”This is appalling.”Credit: @tomtayl60265946″I though Elliott was a replacement for Gini”Credit: @wearewinnin

“Can’t wait until next season when Salah leave and where told Kaide Gordon will be his replacement”

Credit: @LKingofeurope”Excuses already coming in even tho they said they would sign if we sold them”Credit: @LukeFC_FSGOUT”Clowns, don’t want to hear any complaints when we start falling apart next season”Credit: @SnowHalliburtonIn other news, Liverpool fans react to a transfer update.

Crystal Palace reporter Mark Wyatt has predicted that Patrick Vieira will drop Luka Milivojevic for the Premier League clash with Aston Villa today. 

The lowdown

Palace will welcome Steven Gerrard’s Villans to Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon and will seek a return to winning ways after twice surrendering leads in their 3-3 draw with Burnley last time out.

Eagles skipper Milivojevic missed the start of the campaign for personal reasons but has started five of Palace’s last seven matches. The ‘excellent’ 30-year-old, as dubbed by his former boss Roy Hodgson, ranks in Palace’s top eight earners with his £55,000-per-week pay cheque.

The latest

Football London journalist Wyatt reckons that Vieira will make two changes from the draw at Burnley.

The first would see Milivojevic dropped and Jeffrey Schlupp come into the midfield in his place.  Kouyate would duly drop back into the holding role. It’s said to be ‘unlikely’ that the manager turns to Will Hughes or Eberechi Eze from the off given that they have yet to feature in the Premier League this season.

The other alteration would see Jordan Ayew make way for Odsonne Edouard, who is ‘fit enough to start from the beginning’.

The verdict

The statistics suggest that Milivojevic actually had a strong game against Burnley last week, completing 94% of his passes, creating two chances and winning three of his four ground duels. That earned him a SofaScore rating of 7.0/10.

What those figures perhaps don’t reflect, though, is the porous nature of the Palace midfield. The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam wrote that the pairing of Kouyate and Milivojevic didn’t quite work at Turf Moor because it ‘ended up being too attacking’.

‘There wasn’t much midfield defensively’ according to Woosnam, and that’s why Vieira might be tempted to make the change, as Wyatt has suggested.

In other news, many Palace fans reacted to this important pre-Villa update

Steven Gerrard got his reign at Aston Villa off to the perfect start with a 2-0 win at home to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.

The Villa Park faithful had to be patient, but great finishes from Ollie Watkins and Tyrone Mings in the 84th and 89th minutes respectively were ultimately enough to give the hosts all three points.

However, not every player enjoyed their best game in a Villa shirt, as The Transfer Tavern use statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who Villa’s three worst players (to have played at least 45 minutes or more) were on the day:

Emi Buendia (6.5)

Buendia takes third spot with a 6.5 overall rating given by SofaScore.

The former Norwich City star was hauled off after the 74th minute for Ashley Young with the score still at 0-0, summarising how little impact he had on the game.

He lost out on five of his duels and also failed to record a single shot on target, dribble, key pass, accurate cross or long ball, losing possession 11 times, the joint-fourth most out of any of his teammates.

Danny Ings (6.4)

Villa’s joint-worst player in terms of SofaScore rating (6.4), Ings takes second for only being on the pitch for 66 minutes in total.

The striker would have been disappointed not to get on the scoresheet – in fact, he did not have a shot on goal.

The 29-year-old also made no key passes or dribble attempts and lost out on six of his duels.

Jacob Ramsey (6.4)

Young Ramsey is perhaps unfortunate to be rated as the worst Villa player on the pitch, as SofaScore only gave him a 6.4 overall rating.

Taken off for Anwar El Ghazi just before both goals went in, Ramsey lost six duels and also failed to record a single shot.

The midfielder was unsuccessful in two of his dribbles and made no key passes, but will be sure to do better as he progresses under Gerrard’s management.

In other news: Villa have been backed to sign this ‘excellent’ striker

Tottenham Hotspur are still interested in Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic [The Telegraph].

The Lowdown: Tottenham Hotspur gear up for 2021/22

With 2021/22 fast approaching in north London, Spurs gaffer Nuno Espirito Santo will be looking to fine tune his squad in order to both challenge for a top-four place and get the side playing his style of football.

Already signalling his intent to supply the squad with quality additions, he has brought in Atalanta goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini alongside Sevilla winger Bryan Gil [Transfermarkt].

Could the Lilywhites now be set for another transfer tussle following recent developments?

The Latest: Vlahovic also wanted by Liverpool

Seeking support for talisman Harry Kane in attack, Spurs are still eying a move for Serie A beast Vlahovic [The Telegraph], with whom they have been linked constantly this summer.

Southampton striker Danny Ings and Crotone forward Simy are also mentioned as possible targets.

Liverpool have also been known to be monitoring the 6 foot 3 Vlahovic in recent times [Liverpool Echo].

The Serbia international would seemingly represent a smart piece of business for any Premier League side hunting a physical front man with room to develop.

The Verdict: Vlahovic would be an excellent signing for Spurs

Renowned for his intelligent runs and finishing ability, the towering Serbian would add some unpredictability to the Spurs attack.

In 2020/21, he excelled for his current employers, registering 23 goal contributions in 40 appearances; 21 goals and two assists [Transfermarkt].

Wreaking havoc amongst opposition backlines, the 21-year-old managed to record 2.3 shots per 90 minutes across the campaign, showing his intent and fearlessness in front of goal [WhoScored].

Once labelled as ‘incredible’ by Serie A expert Conor Clancy, he could be a player who could have a significant impact for Tottenham should they secure his services [This is Futbol], and they should be pulling out all the stops to beat Jurgen Klopp and co to his signature.

In other news, an ex-Tottenham man has tipped the Lilywhites to sign a PL goalscorer.