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Celtic may well be left ruing their failure to sign Scotland hero Lyndon Dykes just over two years ago, with the Queens Park Rangers striker having showcased his quality since then after starring for both club and country.

The Australian-born gem had reportedly been a target for the Hoops – as well as Old Firm foes Rangers – back in the summer of 2020, having scored 12 goals and laid on ten assists during a sparkling 2019/20 campaign for fellow Scottish Premiership side Livingston.

The imposing forward was subsequently snapped up for a bargain fee of just £2m by his current side in that window, with pundit Alex McLeish suggesting that he was “surprised” that the Glasgow side – then managed by Neil Lennon – had failed to make a move.

That decision not to pursue a deal has seemingly come back to bite the Scottish giants, particularly with the club having instead opted to fork out around £5m to sign Albian Ajeti that same summer, with the Switzerland international having only recently been moved to Sturm Graz on loan after netting just nine goals during his time at Parkhead.

As for Dykes, the impressive marksman has since been “on fire” – in the words of reporter Alan Biggs – having gone on to score 14 goals and provide five assists in his debut campaign at Loftus Road.

The £2.7m-rated man now has 30 goal involvements in 90 games for the R’s to date, although it is his form at international level that has particularly caught the eye, with eight goals in just 24 games at a rate of one every three matches.

The former Queen of the South man bolstered that tally with a brilliant double in the recent win over Ukraine, twice heading home from late on to help secure a stunning victory for Steve Clarke’s side at Hampden Park.

As the aforementioned McLeish suggested, the QPR striker has proven an “amazing find” for his national team coach in recent times, with it still something of a headscratcher that Lennon and co opted against forking out what was a relatively modest fee in the past.

That view is echoed by pundit Darren Jackson who also noted his astonishment that neither Glasgow side managed to complete the signing, while also lauding the 6 foot 2 menace as more than “just a big striker”, due to his mobility and speed.

A player who has already proven his credentials in the Scottish Premiership – and on the international stage – those at Celtic Park will likely be ruing their decision not to bring Dykes to the club.

Manchester City sensation Erling Haaland has advised his former Borussia Dortmund team-mate Jude Bellingham to come to the Etihad Stadium, according to reliable journalist Ben Jacobs.

The Lowdown: Bellingham interest

The 19-year-old has been the subject of vast transfer interest in recent years, with myriad speculation this summer as elite clubs across Europe prepare to battle for the teenager’s signature.

Whilst Liverpool and Real Madrid have been touted as the frontrunners in the race, it has also been reported that City are now planning to lodge a club-record bid to bring the England international to the Etihad.

It is believed that any prospective move for Bellingham would take place in the summer of 2023, rather than in January.

The Latest: Jacobs’ claim

Jacobs believes that Haaland is playing a key role in trying to convince Bellingham to join the Sky Blues if he makes the move to the Premier League next summer.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the reliable journalist claimed: “You’ve got Manchester City, who haven’t yet moved but are very keen on the player and Erling Haaland has directly told Jude Bellingham that it would be a good move for him.

“How much weight we put behind that remains to be seen. There will be other players, for example in the England camp, that have no doubt spoken to Bellingham about their respective clubs as well.

“One player telling another player to come and join isn’t always a big deal. But the fact that they were team-mates and they get on could be a decisive factor as well.”

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The Verdict: Huge potential signing

At just 19 years of age, Bellingham has already established himself as one of the most exciting players in world football.

Over a staggering 3,621 minutes played over the past year, when compared with positional peers across Europe, the midfielder ranks in the top 3% for assists, dribbles completed and touches in the attacking penalty area (via FBRef). This shows how he is constantly seeking to make an impact in the final third of the pitch.

Having already been hailed as ‘world class’ by another ex-Dortmund team-mate in Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho, Bellingham’s ceiling is arguably unmatched by any other young midfielder in world football.

Therefore, it is easy to see why the biggest clubs from around the world are so keen on securing his services, with City now likely to join the race… possibly with Haaland’s helping hand.

Transfer insider Dean Jones has dropped an exciting Newcastle United claim on reported January target Edson Alvarez.

The Lowdown: Alvarez ‘tracked’

It was reported last week that Ajax central midfielder Alvarez is being ‘tracked’ by the St. James’ Park outfit ahead of a potential move in the January transfer window.

Eddie Howe is looking to add another midfielder to his squad, and Alvarez could become available in the next window, although they may face competition from fellow Premier League rivals Chelsea for his signature.

The Latest: One to watch

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones has claimed that Alvarez is certainly ‘one to look out for’ for the North East club come January, adding that he is a ‘good fit’ for them:

“They do continue to look for somebody that’d be a good fit for this team, and I think Edson Alvarez could be a good one. His football IQ would probably fit with what Eddie Howe wants. It’s probably one to look out for.”

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The Verdict: Get it done

With the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Jonjo Shelvey having injury problems this season, the Tynesiders could do with an extra man in the middle of the park.

Hailed as a ‘monster‘ by The Athletic’s Felipe Cardenas, Alvarez has one goal and two assists in nine matches for Ajax so far this term (Transfermarkt) and has been very impressive in general, notably putting in an ‘exceptional performance‘ in their 4-0 thumping of Glasgow Rangers in the UEFA Champions League group stages.

The 24-year-old also boasts no fewer than 59 caps for the Mexico national team, and is sure to attract some attention during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, so it could prove to be a shrewd signing, should a move materialise.

Crystal Palace are struggling to make their presence known in the Premier League this season after their first seven outings in the top flight, and are currently on the edge of the relegation zone in 17th.

One of the contributing factors to their demise after last season’s promising campaign could be losing Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher who lit up Selhurst Park with his star quality in the centre of the pitch.

He was electrifying in the capital last term, scoring eight goals and supplying five assists, numbers which are evidently incredibly hard to replace.

Despite having an entire transfer window this summer to replace the talented youngster in the heart of the team, Vieira and the powers at the club were unable to find a suitable successor.

However, Vieira may already have the solution to reviving his team in the midfield waiting in the youth academy, as David Ozoh is showing promising signs he could be the answer to the Frenchman’s prayers over the season ahead.

The 17-year-old midfielder who was hailed “talented” by U18s manager Rob Quinn, penned his first professional contract with the club in August after rising through the ranks of the south London club’s academy and is clearly in Vieira’s thoughts as he was invited on the pre-season tour in Australia and Singapore this summer.

Ozoh has also been tipped to be considered for a spot in the senior team very soon by presenter Dan Cook when speaking on the HLTCO podcast last month:

“We may well see David Ozoh be thrown in at the deep end. I think he is someone who has shown a real upward mobility in the last year or so.

“He has been given chances to impress over on that tour of Singapore and Australia and done very well. And he is that combative and quite physically imposing presence, despite his tender age.”

The rising star has tallied up 40 appearances across the U18s and U21s teams scoring three goals and delivering one assist so far since joining Palace at just eight years old. Thus, finally signing a professional contract at the club is no doubt a dream come true for the youngster and he will be hoping a first-team bow is inbound soon.

Over his two most recent appearances in the EFL Trophy, the central midfielder has given glimpses of his capabilities and talents, making four tackles, two interceptions and winning 5.5 duels per game, as well as tallying up an 85% pass completion rate.

With that being said, Vieira will surely be keeping a close eye on Ozoh as the season progresses, and although a more defensive asset in the centre of the pitch, he could be the dominating midfield presence Crystal Palace need in the absence of a certain Gallagher.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has not enjoyed the best of luck in the Champions League so far this season as his side sit bottom of their group after four games.

The Hoops have lost three of their four matches, drawing the other one, as the Australian has been unable to muster up a win in the competition.

He is not the first manager of the Glasgow giants to struggle in Europe, though, and one man who failed to achieve success on the continent was Ronny Delia.

The Norweigan manager was knocked out of the Champions League in the qualifying rounds in both of his seasons at Celtic Park, whilst also failing to make it to the last 16 of the Europa League in those campaigns.

He struggled badly in European competitions and was also no stranger to a big blunder in the transfer market during his time in Glasgow.

The most expensive purchase in his four windows in charge was Croatian central defender Jozo Simunovic in the summer of 2015 from Dinamo Zagreb for a fee reported to be in the region of £5.5m.

Former Hoops full-back Tosh McKinlay showered the centre-back with praise at the time of the move, saying:

“Simunovic will be top drawer. He’s different class. This is a guy who has already played over 50 times for Dinamo Zagreb, has captained Croatia’s Under-21s and has great pedigree.

“I have seen a lot of footage of him, he’s a fantastic footballer. Simunovic is Rolls Royce material. He will make a big impact in the Scottish game.”

However, he only made 11 Premiership appearances in his debut campaign with the club as he missed a whopping 42 matches due to injury that term.

This ended up being a recurring theme of his time in Glasgow as he only played more than 18 top-flight games in one of his five seasons, which came in 2016/17 as he featured in 25 matches.

In total, he was injured for 108 competitive games for Celtic in his five years at the club, whilst making 126 competitive outings in all competitions in that time.

TheCelticBlog previously described him as ‘error prone’ and claimed that he had made ‘calamitous’ mistakes, whilst former Hoops shot-stopper Pat Bonner once stated that the club had seen big errors from the defender “so many times”.

Celtic eventually decided to part ways with the centre-back at the end of his contract in the summer of 2020, allowing him to leave on a free transfer.

This meant that the Hoops did not recoup a single penny of the significant £5.5m they paid for him in 2015 and were not rewarded with a great deal on pitch, as he struggled with injuries and became too prone to making mistakes when he was available to feature.

Therefore, Delia dropped a clanger by splashing out to sign the flop in the summer of 2015 and it is not a transfer that should be looked back on as a success.

Arsenal’s winning run came to a halt in the Premier League this afternoon after they were held by Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium and manager Mikel Arteta will be rather relieved that they managed to walk away with a point.

The Gunners took an early lead through Granit Xhaka after he drilled home a cross from Ben White inside the penalty area and were then left to rue their missed chances as after the break, the Saints looked the more likely to go onto win the game.

They equalised midway through the second half when Mohamed Elyounoussi fed a delicate ball in past Arteta’s backline for Stuart Armstrong to slot the ball past Aaron Ramsdale.

Whether it was match fitness or complacency, there were plenty of Arsenal stars that just weren’t at the races down on the south coast, of those Gabriel Jesus could be included, having registered the worst rating of any visiting player, as per Sofascore figures.

Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was deployed in an unfamiliar left-back role, were other notable disappointments but perhaps the player who fell most in that bracket was the usually-reliable dangerman Bukayo Saka.

No Arsenal player lost possession (15) or was dribbled past more times (twice) than the England international, proving not only wasteful but lightweight in his battles and that was reinforced by the fact that he won just 40% of his ten duels as he struggled to get the better of Romain Perraud, via Sofascore.

The 21-year-old is amongst Arteta’s most lethal threats in the final third, considering the versatile winger had delivered eight direct goal contributions from their opening ten games, in which nine have been victories.

But neither of his two shots against the Saints’ stopper Gavin Bazunu were on target and nor did he create a chance from his 29 pass attempts, which were completed at an accuracy rate of just 72% – only one other starter for the north Londoners saw a poorer effort and that was the goalkeeper, who attempted a whopping 12 long balls.

‘One of his most forgettable games of the season thus far,’ wrote The Sun in their post-match ratings column, whilst football.london reporter Kaya Kaynak claimed Saka was ‘not as influential as he has been in the previous few matches.’

As such, forget about the likes of Jesus and Partey, it was the £70k-per-week star who massively let his manager and the team down with a pretty anonymous and lightweight showing against Southampton today.

He’ll need to buck up his ideas quickly with games against PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League and Nottingham Forest back in the league before the end of the month.

AND in other news, Sold for £2.5m, now worth £17.5m: Edu had a shocker on “fearless” £13k-p/w Arsenal gem…

Sunderland battled well to earn a fine victory last night away to Huddersfield Town, who continue to prop up the bottom of the Championship.

Despite conceding 16 shots and only putting three on target themselves, it marked a clinical performance from the Black Cats to hold them whilst scoring two themselves.

This proficiency can be attributed to the tricky set of attackers deployed by Tony Mowbray, with Amad Diallo holding particular pressure as he continued his inclusion.

The 20-year-old – who was dubbed a “special one for the future” by Owen Hargreaves – has yet to live up to the incredible ceiling bestowed upon him.

However, finally handed a run in the side and clearly playing with confidence, he put the final nail in the Terriers’ coffin with his late strike.

This shot his SofaScore rating up to 7.3, the highest on his team other than Alex Pritchard who opened the scoring.

However, he was decidedly more involved than the attacking midfielder who recorded just 47 touches.

His performance aside from the goal would have warranted merit, as his desperation for the ball was outlined in his 64 touches.

 Of this possession, he was certainly not wasteful.

He was accurate in 87% of his passes and successful in his only dribble of the game. To pair his skill and flair with pinpoint accuracy makes him a frightening prospect for the rest of the league, should his form continue.

He also managed three shots, outlining him as a true goal threat despite deputising across the front line.

The Ivorian has struggled since his big-money move to Manchester United, with various loans yet to spark his career into action.

However, with this classy and workmanlike performance, he has shown signs of the player that was so highly rated.

He competed in eight duels throughout the game, winning an admirable half of them.

It was a complete performance where he really stepped up for his manager, capped off by his goal.

This could truly see his career take off at the Stadium of Light, as he hopes to return to Old Trafford to stake his claim as part of Erik ten Hag’s revolution.

Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk is reportedly open to joining Newcastle United next year.

The Lowdown: Newcastle interest

There have been reports of the St. James’ Park outfit’s interest in Mudryk, who is on fire so far this season.

The Ukraine international scored a screamer on Tuesday night as he helped his team draw 1-1 away at Celtic in the UEFA Champions League, ensuring that Shakhtar are in European competition after the FIFA World Cup in Qatar ends.

That is just one of six goals that he has managed in all competitions this term, as he has also bagged himself seven assists, with five of those goal contributions coming in the Champions League alone (Transfermarkt).

The Latest: Mudryk ‘open’ to joining

As per Football Insider, Mudryk is ‘open’ to joining the North East club next year, as the Tynesiders sent scouts to watch him in action at Celtic Park.

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He is believed to be ‘keen’ on moving to the Premier League in the January transfer window, but could delay a move until the end of the campaign if Shakhtar manage to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Eddie Howe is thought to have given the green light to pursue a deal in January, should the winger be willing to move.

The Verdict: Get it done

Given how Mudryk has exploded onto the scene this season, with football presenter and pundit Jack Collins hailing him as ‘absolutely unreal’ and ‘undefendable’ in explosive bursts, this is a player that the Magpies should not be thinking twice about signing.

However, he is not going to come cheap, and it is likely that top clubs around Europe will be itching to pounce on his signature.

Nonetheless, the 21-year-old is going to be a star for years to come, and would no doubt be welcomed by the Toon Army.

West Bromwich Albion have denied that the club’s social media team helped Sheffield United in their 2-0 win at The Hawthorns on Saturday, Lewis Cox reports.

The Lowdown: Heckingbottom’s comments

Carlos Corberan endured the worst possible start to life as Baggies manager on Saturday, with defeat against the Blades leaving them bottom of the Championship.

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom admitted after the game that he was ‘pretty sure’ Corberan would go with a 3-4-3 system, adding that West Brom may have put a ‘little bit too much out on their social media channels’ ahead of the fixture. The Blades manager didn’t specify in regards to official posts, and Cox has shared a response from the Midlands club.

The Latest: Cox’s update

Cox, who labelled Heckingbottom’s comments as ‘interesting’, took to Twitter on Saturday evening to share West Brom’s response to the claim. He stated that all of the Baggies’ pre-match content was taken on Wednesday, prior to decisions from Corberan on selection and tactics.

Cox tweeted: “Albion say all pics/vids used online were taken on Wed prior to decisions on selection/tactics and that there is nothing in PH comments.”

The Verdict: Not good

Everyone at The Hawthorns would have been hoping for a new manager bounce, and even though the club are adamant that there is nothing in Heckingbottom’s claim, some posts may well have hindered Corberan and his side.

The Express and Star say that a picture on Thursday showed Corberan, ‘holding a piece of paper with scribbled writing on it, enough to make out some of its contents’, something that the Blades may have exploited to their advantage.

Corberan has a huge task on his hands to turn things around in the Midlands, with the Baggies now bottom of the second tier, and it wouldn’t come as a shock if he were to ask that social media training ground posts are toned down going forward.

Everton have been linked with a move for Wolves winger Daniel Podence recently and the Portuguese winger could prove to be Frank Lampard’s own version of Wilfried Zaha at Goodison Park.

According to Football Insider, the Toffees are keen on the former Olympiacos man ahead of the January transfer window, as Lampard looks to bolster his attacking options ahead of what looks to be another season fighting relegation.

Wolves signed Podence in January 2020 and he has gone on to make 83 appearances for the Old Gold, in which he has contributed 12 goals and eight assists.

The Midlands club find themselves in the relegation spots in the Premier League this season after scoring only eight goals in their opening 14 games, of which Podence has contributed two, although the winger is ranked as the 14th-best performer at Molineux so far this campaign.

However, FBRef suggests that Crystal Palace star Zaha is the sixth-most similar player to Podence in terms of style of play when compared with other wingers in European football.

While the diminutive forward certainly lacks the physicality that the former Manchester United man offers at Selhurst Park, he could certainly offer a lot of ability on the ball should he make the move to Goodison Park after the World Cup.

The two players have registered similar numbers in terms of completed passes (245 vs 230), shot-creating actions per 90 (3.52 vs 3.26) and expected goals per shot (0.09 vs 0.10).

This suggests that Podence can be a big threat in the final third but is perhaps let down by both his own and his teammate’s poor finishing.

Alan Smith was full of praise for Podence after a match-winning performance against Leicester City earlier this year. He highlighted qualities that are certainly similar to Zaha, with the Ivorian proving down the years that he has a magical first touch.

He said: “He’s shown us some delightful touches out there. And to get the winner. Great work ethic and a brilliant performance from him.”

Considering how effective Zaha has been at Crystal Palace over the past decade, Lampard would be foolish to turn down a player statistically similar to him, so Farhad Moshiri and Kevin Thelwell should definitely consider bringing Podence to Goodison Park in the winter.