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Rangers, and by extension their sporting director Ross Wilson, are preparing to make a six-figure bid for Aberdeen starlet Lancelot Pollard, according to The Scottish Daily Express.

The lowdown

Pollard, a 15-year-old attacker, has worked his way up through the youth ranks with the Dons, even featuring for their under-18 side.

Having won the club’s Young Talent of Month award in October, he’s regarded as one of the leading talents in their academy.

Rangers are planning for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s first summer transfer window at the helm after he took over from Steven Gerrard in the autumn.

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The latest

Reliable reporter Scott Burns, a long-serving journalist for The Scottish Express, says that Rangers are ready to submit a six-figure offer for Pollard to win the race for his signature.

They know that there’s ‘big interest’ in the player and therefore feel pressure to get the deal over the line.

Liverpool are actively pursuing Pollard, while Manchester United have been monitoring him too.

The verdict

The fact that six-figure fees are on the table for a player so young speaks to his potential, as does the interest of three heavyweights.

Pollard is seemingly levels above the other players in his age bracket, hence Aberdeen’s decision to fast-track him.

If Liverpool were to match Rangers’ offer, then it could come down to which club can offer the player the clearest long-term path to first-team football.

While he’s unlikely to be in the senior picture for a good while yet, it’s definitely a name worth remembering.

In other news, Frank McAvennie reacts to transfer developments involving Rangers and a PL club.

So far this season, Sheffield Wednesday have endured a rather mixed start to their League One campaign, winning four, drawing three and losing three of their opening ten league games with 15 points under their belt.

Their previous league game saw Darren Moore’s side fall to a 2-1 defeat at home to Oxford Uniter after a late injury-time winner snatched all three points for the visitors right at the death.

After that, the Owls were in action again in midweek with a 2-1 victory over League Two side Mansfield Town.

Looking ahead to their next league match against Bolton Wanderers, there’s one Owls player that played in midweek that we feel should be dropped with the weekend showdown – Saido Berahino.

On the chalkboard

Wednesday signed Berahino, who Moore described as having “a wonderful knowledge and understanding of the game,” on a permanent deal from Belgian club Zulte Waregem back in the previous summer transfer window.

Since then, the 28-year-old, who is currently valued at £1.35m according to Transfermarkt, has made just four appearances for the Owls in League One, scoring one goal which came in their 1-1 draw against Shrewsbury Town.

Looking at his performance in midweek against Mansfield, Berahino failed to have a shot at goal either on or off target, made just 11 passes, eight of which were accurate and lost possession on seven occasions before being substituted at halftime, ultimately earning him a rather uninspiring overall match rating of 6.5, making him the Owls’ second-lowest rated player, according to SofaScore.

Taking this into account, it would be in Wednesday’s and Moore’s best interest if Berahino was not included in the starting XI to face Bolton at the weekend.

In terms of who could come in for the former West Brom forward at the weekend, Callum Paterson is one name that could return to the side considering he has two goals and one assist to his name in the league and an overall season rating of 6.77, making him one of Wednesday’s highest-rated players according to WhoScored, which shows just how important he has been for the team.

Either way, Moore will have to make sure whoever he starts up front against Bolton at the weekend will be able to help the side secure all three points to get the closer to the top of the table and in the running for a promotion place.

In other news: Moore must ruthlessly axe 25 y/o Sheff Weds ace for Bolton clash, he struggled vs MTFC – opinion

If this was Odsonne Edouard’s farewell from Celtic then he has waved goodbye to Parkhead in the worst possible way.

The Frenchman has been linked with a move away from the Hoops for a considerable period of time with speculation mounting in the last few days.

Teams in England are interested in securing the Bhoys forward while a bid from Rubin Kazan has also been forthcoming.

However, if Ange Postecoglou was sceptical about accepting the terms offered, he should simply take the money and run.

Edouard has been a fantastic servant to Celtic down the years, scoring 86 times. Yet, he could now leave the club amid huge disappointment.

Postecoglou has been a breath of fresh air to the Glaswegian side and they have improved significantly from an attacking point of view since he arrived.

Though, when it really mattered in the Old Firm on Sunday lunchtime, Celtic struggled to create.

Edouard isn’t the chief suspect in that but when he was presented with an opportunity, he couldn’t find the net.

It was an abject performance from the isolated striker who managed to complete just four passes in the entire match before he was brought off on 68 minutes.

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Celtic slipped to a consecutive defeat and this one will hurt immensely, especially after the 23-year-old’s first-half miss.

Kyogo Furuhashi got down the left-hand side and then put the ball on a plate for Edouard inside the six-yard box.

So used to tucking away those opportunities with relative ease, he somehow missed with the goal at his mercy. He tried side-footing the ball home but got it all wrong, skewing the attempt wide.

That was the forward’s biggest moment in the game and indeed Celtic’s as they were left to rue that miss in a 1-0 defeat. Had he scored, Postecoglou would be walking away from Ibrox with a small smile on his face; instead he will be angry with his star striker for failing to put the ball away.

Edouard’s afternoon was capped off by a measly 19 touches – a number that happened to be lower than goalkeeper Joe Hart who took 56 touches.

From those occasions where he had the ball, he managed to surrender the ball on ten occasions. That meant the in-demand attacker gave away possession every 1.9 touches.

Furthermore, he only won 40% of the physical duels he was involved in.

If Edouard does move in the remaining days of the transfer market, this was not a fond farewell. Celtic look considerably better when Kyogo is playing through the middle instead.

AND in other news, Forget Montgomery: Celtic can soften Taylor injury blow by signing “incredible” 20 y/o…

BBC Sport’s Adam Pope has delivered an exciting verdict on Leeds United midfielder Jamie Shackleton after his performance in the Carabao Cup victory over Fulham.

What’s the story?

The 21-year-old was handed a starting role in Marcelo Bielsa’s side’s third round tie at Craven Cottage on Tuesday night, playing in the holding midfield role usually occupied by Kalvin Phillips.

And, writing on Twitter after the game, Pope said: “Shackleton was right in the thick of it tonight too. Really set about the DM role before switching to right back. Really pushing hard now.”

Fans will be excited

Yet to make a start in the Premier League this season – his three appearances in the competition have only totalled 56 minutes – Shackleton’s chances of doing so were boosted earlier in the summer when Leeds opted against signing a new central midfielder, or at least failing to do so.

Versatile enough to play either in midfield or even as a full-back, the academy product showed in that game against Fulham that he could become a major player for Bielsa this season.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for Leeds Live, Beren Cross gave him an eight, saying: “Looked very comfortable in the defensive midfielder role. Not a position he has played often, if ever, under Marcelo Bielsa. Got around and made a passing option for team-mates as often as he could. Looked neat and nimble on the half-turn. Looked blistering when he moved to right-back in the second half.”

Despite the lack of real game-time in the Premier League, there’s no questioning that Bielsa is a big fan of the Leeds youngster,

In fact, speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Southampton in the top-flight last season, the Leeds boss himself said: “I believe in Shackleton as an important alternative for Leeds United. He’s in a similar process to that of Pascal (Struijk).

“The only thing is that Pascal has a continuity that Shackleton hasn’t been able to have. I consider him a player that I can trust and I’m satisfied with what he has brought to the team. Apart from that, he is a very serious player, very applied and very conscious of what is needed to play at this level.”

With Pope now saying that Shackleton is really pushing hard to become a more established part of the first-team squad at Elland Road, fans will surely be buzzing at the prospect of seeing the 21-year-old continue to progress and shine.

Meanwhile, Leeds could unearth their new Pablo Hernandez in this starlet…

Tottenham Hotspur sit top of Group G on goal difference as they return to UEFA Europa Conference League action later this evening.

Nuno Santo and his side will be looking to make it four straight wins in all competitions when they head to the Netherlands to face Vitesse at the GelreDome.

The Portuguese is expected to ring the changes, keeping in mind their Premier League clash with West Ham United on Sunday afternoon, so not all of Spurs’ first-team stars will make the trip.

One player who shouldn’t travel is centre-back Cristian Romero, who narrowly made it back from South America to face Newcastle United at the weekend.

He started and played the full 90 minutes as the Lilywhites defeated the Magpies 3-2 at St James’ Park but you could tell that his preparation for the match was far from ideal, thus he should remain in England and be rested for tonight’s encounter.

During the match, the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick described the 23-year-old defender as “unsurprisingly very shaky”, whilst football.london’s Alasdair Gold made note of his blunder for the home side to open the scoring.

Romero was beaten far too easily by Callum Wilson just minutes into the game and he never really recovered, not that it was his fault for his selection.

Just a couple of days earlier, he featured for Argentina in their win over Peru in Buenos Aires, he then had to fly back on a private jet along with Spurs’ other three players who had been on international duty in the continent, only just making it back on Saturday – one day earlier.

Meanwhile, as per SofaScore, the £31.5m-rated colossus was dribbled past three times, the second-most in the match, whilst he also lost possession 13 times and made just 49 of his 60 passing attempts, only proving that he was sloppy and a little sluggish on the afternoon.

He should remain in Nuno’s first-choice XI, however, he could probably do with sitting this one out in order to be fresh for this weekend’s London derby.

This decision could be hugely beneficial heading into Sunday.

AND in other news, £27m-rated “freak of a talent” facing fight to save Spurs career amid latest Nuno call…

Lots of Wolves fans have been left buzzing as the Midlands club released their third kit for the 2021/22 season.

Footage of the new shirt was released on their Twitter page, with players like Raul Jimenez, Ruben Neves and Adama Traore modelling it.

The jersey boasts a pre-dominantly white colour, with traditional Old Gold strips across the shoulders and around the sleeves and neck line.

After the home and away strips, it is safe to say that Castore have done a good job here once more, as the Molineux faithful will now be looking forward to their team wearing it throughout the campaign.

Nonetheless, it is now available to buy on WWFC’s website for those supporters eager to grab hold of and wear it when going back to games.

Wolves fans on third kit

These Wanderers were left buzzing as the third kit was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it was ‘stunning’:

“Stunning”

Credit: @BVitler

“That is beautiful”

Credit: @jaijjordan

“Castore have smashed it with all 3 kits this season”

Credit: @joee290896

“Work of art”

Credit: @rmpoodles

“Wow doesn’t get better, beautiful well done Castore”

Credit: @GodersTim

“Love love love love it”

Credit: @clolouisez

In other news, find out what Fabrizio Romano update has been lauded by Wanderers here!

Benfica are reportedly eyeing up a shock move for Wolves manager Bruno Lage, in what would be a potentially big blow for the Wanderers.

The Lowdown: Lage impresses in first season

The Portuguese tactician replaced Nuno Espirito Santo at Molineux last summer and he has shone in his first season, making Wolves an extremely difficult team to beat.

The Wanderers sit eighth in the Premier League table with six matches remaining, just two points behind West Ham and Manchester United in sixth and seventh, respectively.

The hope would surely be that Lage is in charge for some time yet given the progress he has made in a short amount of time, but a fresh update suggests that may not be the case.

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The Latest: Benfica keen on appointment

According to an outlet in Lisbon, Correio da Manha [via Sport Witness], Benfica are considering re-signing Lage after he spent a year there before heading to Molineux.

The job he has done at Wolves is seen as ‘proof’ that he could excel at the Champions League quarter-finalists once again, although the report also states that he could stay at Wolves in order to eventually join a ‘more competitive’ club, perhaps eyeing bigger and better things.

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The Verdict: European qualification key?

It would be a big blow to lose Lage this early in his tenure, with the positives comfortably outweighing the negatives for Wolves this season, having been hailed as ‘incredible’ by Robbie Keane.

Defensively, he has made Wanderers one of the league’s most stubborn outfits – they have conceded 28 goals, which is bettered only by Manchester City (20), Liverpool (22) and Chelsea (23) – and they have impressed with a three-at-the-back system.

The hope is that Lage shows loyalty and remains at Wolves beyond this summer – qualifying for Europe could be key in that respect, perhaps giving him more of an incentive to stay put.

In other news, two big clubs are keen on signing one Wolves player. Find out who it is here.

Aston Villa owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens will back Steven Gerrard in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a recent claim made by Ashley Preece, with the journalist stating in a recent Birmingham Live Q&A that the 41-year-old manager will get rid of a number of players he does not feel are of the standard required for Villa during the winter market, before going on to claim that NSWE will back the new Villa boss in pursuit of his own targets in the upcoming window.

In response to a question regarding Aston Villa’s January business, the journalist said:

“Gerrard hinted at doing business in January during [Monday’s] interview. He’s going to be backed by NSWE. He’ll get rid of players he doesn’t like and he’ll attract a serious calibre of player [and] should business get done. January is a tough market but the Gerrard factor gives Villa an edge. Gerrard will have the next six weeks to see what he wants and needs in terms of new recruits.”

Fans will be excited

While the appointment of a new manager always brings with it the hope of a side going on to achieve great things under their new coach, the news that NSWE are willing to fund Gerrard’s rebuilding of the Aston Villa squad in January is yet another reason for the Villa Park faithful to get excited.

Indeed, there are a number of players currently taking up space in Gerrard’s first-team squad that are perhaps ready for the chop, such as Anwar El Ghazi and Keinan Davis, while, despite only being at the club for a matter of days, the former Liverpool captain has already been linked with moves for a host of exciting players, such as the likes of Ryan Kent, Julian Alvarez and Jesse Lingard.

As such, despite the fact that Villa are currently languishing down in 16th place in the Premier League standings, there is very much a great deal for fans of the club to look forward to in the coming months, particularly following Preece’s recent claim that Gerrard looks set to be given a war chest in a bid to improve his squad during the January window.

In other news: Purslow must sanction AVFC move for “outstanding” £18k-p/w ace, Gerrard would love him

Aston Villa were involved in one of the biggest transfer deals the Premier League has ever seen last summer when they sold Jack Grealish to Manchester City for a fee of £100m.

Now that the next summer window is on the horizon, it seems as though the Villans and Steven Gerrard could be set to cash in on another player that has been a part of the club for a fairly significant period of time.

What’s the news?

According to Football Insider’s sources, Norwich City are eyeing up a summer transfer move for striker Keinan Davis.

The report also claims that Gerrard is expected to give the green light to allow the striker to leave Villa Park this summer, with a reported transfer fee of £4m being touted for Davis’ signature.

Great news for Gerrard

Having joined Villa’s U18 side back in 2015, the centre-forward has gone on to make 122 appearances for their U23 and senior teams combined.

In those appearances, the striker found the back of the net 16 times and delivered 16 assists along the way.

Back in the previous January transfer window, the Englishman joined Championship club, Nottingham Forest, on loan until the end of the season.

Since joining the Reds, the 24-year-old has scored five goals and provided three assists in 19 appearances across the Championship and FA Cup.

To highlight how impressive the Villa man has been on loan, he is currently listed as Forest’s highest-rated player by WhoScored with a rating of 7.27.

He is also listed in the top five out of Forest’s players for the average of shots, key passes and dribbles per game he’s made in the second division.

Unfortunately, the attacker will have to spend the rest of the season on the sidelines after picking up a campaign-ending injury.

Having been described as being “a very difficult player to play against” by Lee Bowyer, Davis has shown that he has what it takes to play in the Championship and be an effective striker.

However, with only one goal in 34 Premier League appearances to his name for Villa, it’s safe to say that he hasn’t been able to cut it at that level.

With Norwich now looking likely to get relegated, it’s easy to see why they would want a player like the Villa loanee, who Dean Smith knows about, in their ranks for next season.

If Villa pick up a suitable transfer fee for the striker that they can then put towards adding some top-quality players to their squad, this would surely be great news for Gerrard.

In other news: Lange must seal £10m AVFC deal for “unplayable” £45k-p/w talent, Gerrard will love him

Keith Downie has now dropped some exciting Newcastle United transfer news involving Dan Burn.

The Lowdown: Bid made

As per Sky Sports journalist Downie, a bid of £8m from the St. James’ Park faithful has already been rejected by Brighton and Hove Albion to sign Burn, and it is expected that they will go in with another offer before the January transfer window shuts.

While they have signed Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood, and Bruno Guimaraes looks set to join them on Tyneside, they have still not signed a central defender or a left-back, and so these are positions that still need filling as the clock ticks.

The Latest: Burn interested

According to Downie, Burn would be interested in a move to the Magpies before the deadline, as he is a Toon fan:

“Newcastle are expected to go back in for Brighton defender Dan Burn. 

“The St James’ Park club have had an initial offer in the region of £8m rejected for the 29-year-old. 

“Burn is a Newcastle fan and we’re told he’d be interested in a potential move back north.”

The Verdict: Exciting

The fact that Burn is a NUFC supporter and would be interested in a move back north is very exciting ahead of Transfer Deadline Day, as it means that should a fee with the Seagulls be agreed, personal terms and add-ons should not be a problem when negotiating his transfer.

Crucially, Burn is equally as comfortable at left-back as he is at centre-back, and so can add depth in both positions for Eddie Howe with no difficulties.

Nonetheless, he would be an upgrade on the Magpies boss’ current options, as he averages more tackles, interceptions and passes at a higher accuracy than Ciaran Clark, Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles in the Premier League so far this term (WhoScored).

Even with an opening £8m bid rejected, this is a deal that should not cost too much given he is out of contract next year, and thus could potentially end up being a bargain.

In other news, find out which ‘amazing’ attacker alongside Eddie Nketiah Newcastle could sign here!