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Sunderland head into their League One clash against MK Dons this afternoon on a high after winning their opening two matches of the campaign.

Supporters are typically full of optimism heading into a new season and so far Sunderland are living up to expectations following wins over Wigan and Port Vale. The Black Cats beat the Latics 2-1 in League One on the opening day of the season and then defeated Port Vale by the same score to progress through to the next round of the Carabao Cup earlier this week.

They will be hoping to maintain their 100% record as they travel to Stadium MK and it will be intriguing to see how Lee Johnson approaches the game, and whether he decides to change up his team after playing two games in the space of five days leading up to this match.

What changes should Johnson make? Here is our predicted XI for the game…

We are tipping Johnson to make eight changes to his team from this week’s win over Port Vale to freshen up his side against MK Dons.

Starting off between the sticks, we are predicting that Anthony Patterson is handed the goalkeeping duties for this match ahead of Lee Burge. Johnson alternated between them in the first two matches, which potentially indicates that he is still torn between them for the number one position.

Against Wigan, Burge made two saves and conceded one goal as he recorded a WhoScored rating of 6.37 for his performance. The £2k-per-week ‘keeper also made two high claims to retrieve the ball from crosses. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Patterson was handed an impressive WhoScored rating of 7.21 against Port Vale in the Carabao Cup. He won three aerial duels to claim the ball under pressure, whilst also making three saves and completing two high claims.

This suggests that he had the much better game out of the pair and therefore deserves to be named as the number one for the game against MK Dons, as he has performed to a higher level this season on the limited evidence available.

Ahead of this game, we urged Johnson to unleash Dennis Cirkin for his debut following his move to the club from Tottenham. The left-back has arrived on Wearside as a permanent transfer and is now the club’s only recognised left-back option, with young midfielder Dan Neil having played out of position in defence of late.

With Cirkin now in the building and available for selection, we are predicting that the gaffer will bring him into the starting XI. Not only is he an exciting young talent who could surprise people and make an impact, but it also allows Johnson to stop using Neil out of position, as the 19-year-old struggled against Wigan, when he earned a lowly WhoScored rating of 6.40.

In terms of the rest of the changes, we are backing Callum Doyle, Corry Evans, Carl Winchester, Aiden McGeady, Elliot Embleton and Ross Stewart all to return to the side after they started and impressed against Wigan on the opening day of the League One season, following their rests against Port Vale. They should now be fit and ready to fire on all cylinders this weekend, as none of the other players who came in against Port Vale did enough in our view to displace them.

AND in other news, Alan Nixon drops claim on £13k-p/w Sunderland “leader”, Lee Johnson will be relieved…

West Ham United are reported to have made a bid of £15m plus add-ons for Marseille centre-back Duje Caleta-Car.

The Croatian defender enjoyed a productive 2020/21 campaign, registering three goal contributions in 39 appearances with two goals and one assist [Transfermarkt].

He could now be on his way to east London after recent developments which have emerged at the London Stadium.

According to journalist J Montanelli, who has close links to Sky Sports, the Irons have made an offer of around £15m plus add-ons in an attempt to secure the 24-year-old defender this summer [Hammers News].

In light of this news, plenty of West Ham United diehards took to Twitter to voice their opinions on the update.

West Ham fans react

Replying to the official J Montanelli Twitter account, here is what some West Ham fans had to say about the prospect of Duje Caleta-Car pitching up at the London Stadium this summer.

Despite him being a Croatia international who played against England at Euro 2020, many of the Irons faithful were unfamiliar with the 24-year-old and questioned why (or whether) the club would sign him:

“hope its not true. Caleta-Car is as clumsy as Dawson”

Credit: @SaidZenrahma

“There no way, our owners don’t work weekends”

Credit: @Leon_321

“We always do signings at the last minute”

Credit: @BradHellyer1

“Is he decent? I’ve never heard of him”

Credit: @James__T2603

“False…”

Credit: @capital_pie

“I don’t believe you. Prove it.”

Credit: @NeilFitzUk

In other news, West Ham are interested in a Ligue 1 starlet. Find out who here.

Just as a wave of positivity was starting to engulf Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side again, the Hoops suffered a worrying knockback on Thursday night.

The Bhoys still secured their pathway into the next round of Europe but it didn’t come without defensive mistakes and injuries.

On the chalkboard

Considering Celtic had kept four clean sheets in their last five matches, the performance they put in against AZ Alkmaar this week was extremely out of sorts.

Joe Hart made a howler when he failed to clear a long ball that led to a goal before Carl Starfelt turned the ball into his own net.

Postecoglou’s men were able to hold on but that wasn’t before injuries to Japanese sensation Kyogo Furuhashi and left-back Greg Taylor.

In this instance, it’s probably Taylor’s injury blow that will come as the biggest concern.

Celtic are already light on full-back options and not even the acquisition of defender Liam Scales will sufficiently solve those woes.

Boli Bolingoli hasn’t played a single minute of football under Postecoglou while the young Adam Montgomery is surely too inexperienced to be thrown in at the deep end.

He did catch the eye in the second half in the Netherlands but it would be a risk to trust him on a regular basis.

The solution

With Taylor attracting widespread criticism throughout the early stages of the season and during the course of the summer, a left-back was already required.

However, after a fitness blow on Thursday, they simply have to go and sign another full-back in the market.

The man they should pursue is Derby County’s Lee Buchanan. The Hoops were linked with a move for the 20-year-old a few months ago and they must now take the opportunity to pounce on the Championship side’s awful financial situation.

Adept in offensive situations, the £2.2m-rated Buchanan might actually be an upgrade on Taylor. He’s very highly rated by Rams boss Wayne Rooney who has tipped him to play for England and described him as “incredible.”

The young defender registered three assists in 2020/21 but was phenomenal in the air for a player in his role.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/postecoglou-hoops-bhoys-jenz-larsson-nisbet” title=”Check out the latest Celtic transfer news!”]

He won a mightily impressive 2.9 aerial battles per match last term which was comfortably better than Taylor who was only successful in 1.1 aerial duels a game.

In terms of the overall Celtic squad last season, only Shane Duffy and Christopher Jullien were more efficient when the ball was off the ground.

As a result of that and the club’s lack of cover at left-back, the Bhoys simply have to make an attempt to bring Buchanan to Parkhead.

Montgomery is a talented individual himself but he is not in a position to become a regular just yet.

AND in other news, Forget Hjelde: Postecoglou has Celtic’s next big star in “fantastic” rarely-seen 18y/o…

Many Wolves fans have been left buzzing as a transfer claim was shared on Adama Traore.

As shared by Tim Spiers on his Twitter page, when asked if he expects the Spain international to still be at the Midlands club when the summer window ends, Bruno Lage claimed: “Yes I think so”.

It has recently been reported that Tottenham Hotspur have had a loan offer rejected to sign Traore, in a transfer saga that could go right down to the wire.

Granted, he did not have the best of campaigns last year by his standards, but in the 2019/20 season he scored six goals and made a further 12 assists in 54 games in total over all competitions (Transfermarkt), and he still poses a threat whenever he runs forward.

Thus, with so little of the window remaining to find a suitable replacement, the Molineux faithful should look to keep hold of the winger for now.

Wolves fans on Traore claim

These WWFC supporters buzzed as the claim was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it is ‘great news’:

“What a night”

Credit: @wwfcsam1

“OH ADAMA TRAOREEEE”

Credit: @Alfiewwfc_

“To top off a perfect night”

Credit: @LukeBaker7

“Lage you are the man”

Credit: @adenwwfc_

“YESSSSS”

Credit: @stannersisaac8

“Great news. What about Neves? Man U Twitter going a bit feral about signing him. Hopefully just hype”

Credit: @wolftown1977

In other news, find out who the Wanderers pose a ‘threat’ to sign here!

At the beginning of the day it looked as though Wolves were going to sign Renato Sanches on a loan deal.

However, deadline day has not gone as planned for Bruno Lage and co, with the Old Gold missing out on two targets now in the final hours.

What’s the word?

Wolves missed out on the acquisition of Sven Botman, with the Dutchman proving to be too expensive.

However, despite Sanches merely being a potential loan move, it looks like Lage won’t get that move done either.

The Molineux outfit had been pushing for the central midfielder in the concluding hours of the window but the two clubs haven’t been able to come to an agreement.

Tim Spiers revealed the bad news on Twitter, saying: “Not good news re Renato Sanches. Deal off as things stand, clubs too far apart on loan agreement (particularly the option next summer).”

The Athletic journalist did state there was a little margin of hope, adding: “Important to stress the ‘as things stand’ part of this tweet. Not off full stop, dialogue still open but plenty still to agree.”

Lage has hope

If Wolves can’t sign Sanches on the final day of the window, then it should be seen as a colossal blow.

The Old Gold haven’t been able to conclude much business this summer, but this was a deal which could have taken them to the next level.

He’s long been seen as one of the most promising central players in Europe and it would have been a considerable coup to bring him to Molineux. With a potential option to buy him as well, he could have been a phenomenal replacement for Ruben Neves if the latter did eventually leave next summer.

Neves has been linked with a move away for the vast majority of the transfer window and his absence would be felt hard if you judge him by his performance against Spurs over a week ago.

The two Portuguese players are competent when it comes to breaking down the play but are both calm and composed in possession the ball. Last term, for instance, they both completed more than 84% of their passes.

If you consider the lack of options Wolves have in that area of the pitch, it makes the need for Sanches even more greater.

After a quiet few months on the transfer front, this should leave the club’s supporters feeling rather dejected. It will also be a frustrating piece of news for Lage.

That being said, there is still a sliver of hope left with a few hours to go in the window. Negotiations are still ongoing and the deal isn’t definitely off. Will Wolves finally sign a new central midfielder? Time will tell.

AND in other news, David Ornstein delivers hopeful Wolves transfer update on D-Day, fans must be buzzing…

Carlton Palmer has offered his thoughts on Darren Moore and his pull as a manager at Sheffield Wednesday.

What’s the talk?

Former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer has hailed Owls boss Darren Moore as a ‘very, very good’ manager and suggested that his coaching skills will pull players to the club.

When asked about whether or not Lewis Wing being open to a permanent deal at Hillsborough was down to Moore’s influence, Palmer told Transfer Tavern:

“Of course, I mean Darren Moore, like I’ve said to you before, I’ve got a lot of time for Darren, I think he’s a very, very good manager, he’s a very good man-manager.

“So, it’s testament to Darren, but also a testament to the team and the supporters down at Sheffield Wednesday, that gets everybody going and everybody wants to be part of a winning team.”

Fans will be excited

Sheffield Wednesday fans will be excited by these comments from Palmer as they suggest that Moore’s management skills could allow the club to sign players they would otherwise not be able to if they had a different head coach.

Take Wing as an example. The 26-year-old played 32 times in the Championship for Middlesbrough last season and decided to ditch the second tier to for Moore in League One. He offered a glimpse of what he is capable of in Wednesday’s EFL Trophy win over Newcastle’s under-23’s earlier this month, recording an incredible SofaScore rating of 9.5.

Wing created an eye-catching eight chances for his teammates in the 3-0 win, whilst also winning three tackles and making two interceptions. This shows that he was able to make an impact at both ends of the pitch, taking the ball off the opposition and then splitting open the defence with his passes to create shooting opportunities for his teammates.

This shows the level of player Moore has been able to attract to Hillsborough despite the club’s League One status, backing up Palmer’s comments.

It is down to Dejphon Chansiri and Moore to ensure that they target the right players and get the results on the pitch in the short-term. However, fans can be excited, for now, at the prospect of Wednesday being able to pick up coups in future windows thanks to Moore’s influence.

AND in other news, Chansiri must avoid Sheff Wed nightmare with £14k-p/w “leader”, Moore would be fuming…

Former Leeds United star David Norris believes that the club could well suffer from second-season syndrome this term.

The Whites enjoyed an excellent season last term, securing a comfortable top-10 finish under manager Marcelo Bielsa after their promotion from the Championship.

Leeds have opened their campaign, however, in roundly terrible form.

Bielsa’s side have only taken two points from their opening three games, losing 5-1 to Manchester United in a thumping opening day defeat, while they have also drawn 2-2 with Everton and 1-1 with Burnley.

Leeds are back in action this weekend after the international break and face Liverpool on Sunday as they look to record their first win of the campaign.

Of course, Sheffield United are something of a warning for Leeds, given their appalling fall from grace.

The Blades finished ninth in the 2019/20 campaign and seemed poised for a big season in 2020/21 under the management of Chris Wilder.

However, they finished rock-bottom and were relegated to the Championship, taking just 23 points from 38 games.

And Norris is concerned about the prospect of Leeds following in their footsteps this season, as expectations have naturally risen at the club.

Speaking to The Transfer Tavern, Norris said: “It would have been a worry for me even before those games, second season syndrome is a thing because it happens. You ride the crest of a wave with promotion, when you’re first promoted, teams don’t know too much about you, you’re an underdog, you’ve got nothing to lose.

“And when you stay up, then teams know a bit more about you. The expectation rises from within the camp, the fans, people have been talking about Leeds being in the top six, seven, eight, pushing on those doors after just one season, so the expectation rises, and it becomes a lot more difficult.”

If you were asked to name a player who’s donned the famous Celtic jersey at Parkhead and been hailed by the world’s most expensive footballer, you’d probably turn your attention towards Virgil van Dijk.

The centre-back has turned into one of the best that the game has seen since departing the Hoops, but the colossal Dutchman isn’t the focus of this article. Instead, our attentions are on Timothy Weah, a man born out of football royalty and famous heritage.

The son of former Liberian Ballon d’Or winner George Weah, the 21-year-old’s career has stuttered, stalled and never really taken off until now.

However, he will be eternally grateful for the platform given to him by Brendan Rodgers at Celtic. He signed on loan by the Bhoys from Paris Saint-Germain back in January 2019 and just days later, Neymar was hailing the immense potential in Weah’s locker.

“It is a very exciting move for him from what I have seen of his talent he has everything to go and be one of the top attacking players in Europe,” the Brazilian said.

Rodgers was clearly excited about what he could bring to the table, describing the 21-year-old as “sensational” during his time in Glasgow.

He only played half a season at Paradise but contributed to five goals in 17 outings. It was a fabulous glimpse of what the tricky forward could become down the line.

It never really happened for the American and he’s now playing for Lille, where he won Ligue 1 last term.

Once he left PSG, it will have been hard to envisage him ever winning the French top-flight, but it’s bizarre how football can sometimes work.

Weah wasn’t a regular starter for Les Dogues but he was a vital squad player, scoring five times throughout the season.

He has struggled to replicate the extraordinary feats that his father achieved but his price tag has begun to rise since leaving Celtic behind.

At the time of his arrival in Scotland, the attacker was valued at just £4.5m by Transfermarkt. Fast forward to the present day and the youngster is now rated at £10.8m by the same source. That’s an eye-catching rise of 140%.

It’s a glowing indication of that potential which Neymar talked about a few years ago. Weah is finally starting to realise it and he should have Rodgers to thank.

Celtic remains his one and only loan spell in professional football, and without being given a platform to perform at senior level, he might not now be playing for a club as prestigious as Lille.

The former Hoops manager has always had a keen eye for spotting talent and he wasn’t wrong in his assessments of Weah.

AND in other news, Move over Bitton: Ange has a rising star in “powerful” rarely-seen 19 y/o at Celtic…

Rangers face Motherwell at Ibrox in the Premiership today as they attempt to bounce back from a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Ligue 1 side Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday night.

The loss ended a run of six games without defeat in all competitions, with Steven Gerrard’s team having won five of their last six going into the match.

They now come up against a strong Motherwell outfit who have started the season well. Graham Alexander has led his men to three wins, one draw and one defeat in five league matches thus far.

Gerrard lined up with Joe Aribo out on the right wing against Lyon and the change in personnel did not work in his favour. The former Charlton man gave away possession 12 times, lost seven of his 10 ground duels and only completed one key pass all game.

This is why the Rangers head coach must now drop Aribo in order to unleash ex-Leeds forward Kemar Roofe on Motherwell.

The 28-year-old has already scored two goals from two starts in the Premiership this season and netted 14 goals from 18 starts last term. This shows that he is a proven goalscorer at this level and is a player who can be relied upon in front of goal.

Aside from being a threat with the ball, Gerrard also once said that Roofe is a handful for opponents to deal with when fit due to his exceptional work rate out of possession.

The manager said: “Touch wood he stays fit and if he does then he will be a real handful at this level. He works his socks off, he does everything out of possession that you ask of him, he is clever and bright and he can create and score. He has got the mentality that I really like.”

This shows how the £26k-per-week attacker can be a match-winner for Rangers. He can hassle defenders and force turnovers with his work rate, whilst also providing a regular supply of goals, as shown by his league record for the club. At the end of the day, goals win you games and Roofe has shown that he can score them regularly in the Premiership – making him a potential match-winner for the Gers.

Gerrard must now unleash him against Motherwell and demote Aribo to the bench if he is not going to move him back into central midfield. Hopefully Roofe will be able to showcase his quality and help the Gers to the three points today.

AND in other news, Premier League side are eyeing up swoop for 28y/o Rangers beast

Sheffield United have been dealt a boost regarding the fitness of Ben Davies ahead of their upcoming Championship fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Yorkshire Live, Slavisa Jokanovic revealed that he expects the centre-back to be available for selection against Derby County this afternoon despite being withdrawn towards the end of the Blades’ 3-1 victory over Hull City last weekend and being left out of his side’s Carabao Cup penalty shootout loss to Southampton on Tuesday.

Speaking about the current condition of the Liverpool loanee, Jokanovic said: “The situation with Ben at the moment is that after every game he is in a little bit of a complicated situation with injury. This is because he has not been active for many months on the field. Now he is improving and we expect him to be ready for the game.”

Jokanovic will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Davies has been for Sheffield United this season, the news that the defender looks set to be fit for the visit of Derby to Bramall Lane today is sure to have left his manager buzzing.

Indeed, over his three Championship appearances for the Blades this term, the £2.7m-rated man has helped his side to keep one clean sheet, as well as making 1.3 interceptions, two tackles and 3.7 clearances and winning six duels per game.

These returns have seen the 26-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 7.10, ranking him as Jokanovic’s joint-fifth best performer in the second tier.

As such, the return of the centre-back will undoubtedly provide United’s chances of picking up three points against Wayne Rooney’s side this afternoon with a big boost – something which will delight everyone involved with the Blades.

In other news: Sheff Utd dealt potential blow on “powerful” £6.3m-rated ace, Jokanovic will be fuming