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Charlton Athletic will hope to extend their unbeaten run to six games on Saturday as they take on AFC Wimbledon at Plough Lane. A win could take them further into a playoff contention spot, potentially jumping above fifth-placed Doncaster.

The Addicks came away with all three points against relegation-threatened Bristol Rovers on Tuesday,  scoring a late goal to seal a 3-2 victory. First half goals from Andrew Shinnie and Jake Forster-Caskey cancelled out their opposition’s two goal lead before Conor Washington found the back of the net in the 84th minute.

It seems as though new manager Nigel Adkins will be without injured duo Ryan Inniss and Marcus Maddison in his first game in charge, but they have no new absentees leading up to this fixture. Adkins was appointed on Thursday after Lee Bowyer left the managerial position for Birmingham City.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Adkins to line his side up against AFC Wimbledon, with two changes from the team which started against Bristol Rovers in midweek…

Ben Amos is expected to retain his place in between the sticks, despite not putting in a great performance on Wednesday. Wimbledon have scored the second fewest goals this season in League One, so he shouldn’t be in for too much trouble tomorrow afternoon.

Their back four is expected to remain the same, with Ian Maatsen, Jason Pearce, Akin Famewo and Chris Gunter all keeping their places in the starting lineup. Out of all the teams in the top of half the league table, Charlton have conceded the highest number of goals, and so Adkins will want his defence to sharpen up if they are to withhold a playoff position.

Jake Forster-Caskey and Liam Millar will most likely keep their places in their midfield, but we could see Ben Watson come back in to add more solidarity and experience. Andrew Shinnie should also start again after an impressive performance in midweek.

Conor Washington has now scored four goals from his last three games and should definitely be in Adkins’ starting XI on Saturday. 27-year-old Chuks Aneke comes in for Jayden Stockley after missing out on a starting place against Reading. Aneke is the club’s top goalscorer in this campaign with 12 goals.

Noel Whelan has suggested Glasgow Rangers winger Ryan Kent could be the subject of more interest from elsewhere this summer, after the Ibrox outfit rejected a bid last year.

Whelan discusses Kent’s future

Kent was heavily linked with a move to Leeds last summer, with the Gers even turning down a £10m bid for the former Liverpool man (via RTE).

In the end, he stayed at Ibrox, but Whelan believes Leeds may make another move for the 24-year-old if he can change his position to a more central role. He told Football Insider:

“They’ll consider their options. But now they have Raphinha, he’s now considered that top player.

“I don’t think we’ll look there now unless Kent really considers playing a number 10 role. He’s a player that can adapt across that midfield area, whether that’s on the left, the right or the centre.

“It depends on where they are looking to strengthen. We know we need more midfield players, that’s a fact. Do they want more of a natural attacking centre-midfield player?

“Mateusz Klich is out of favour but Stuart Dallas is doing a fantastic job in that area with his energy and quality. But we need more options.

“Ryan Kent will always be an option because he’s at the right age and he’s got lots of ability to go into a Premier League outfit.”

Interesting

Kent has been in impressive form for Rangers so far this campaign. In 46 games in all competitions, he has 11 goals and 13 assists (Transfermarkt), with his performances helping the Gers win their 55th Premiership title. 40 of those displays have come on the left of the front three.

He has appeared twice in attacking midfield, and has actually done rather well, scoring one and providing two assists. Of course, that is too small a sample size to be able to make an accurate judgement on whether he can play regularly as a number 10, but it certainly indicates he has the ability to give it a try. Still, this may be a moot point as Steven Gerrard will be eager to keep him at the club ahead of a tilt at the Champions League next season.

In other news, Rangers fans react to this latest injury news.

Plenty of Crystal Palace supporters have been reacting to a social media post regarding defenders Joel Ward and Scott Dann.

Both Ward and Dann are out of contract at the end of the current campaign, but it seems as though they may not leave Selhurst Park over the coming months.

According to reliable BBC reporter Alex Howell, the pair are in talks with Palace in regards to extend their respective Eagles stays.

Ward, 31, joined the club way back in 2012 and has made 266 appearances for the club.

Meanwhile, Dann, who arrived in 2014, has turned out on 178 occasions for the club, with the pair becoming two of the more experienced members of Roy Hodgson’s squad.

Palace fans react

Howell shared the update on Twitter on Tuesday lunchtime, with the post receiving plenty of interaction.

This is what some Palace fans had to say in reply to the contract update on the pair, with many not impressed.

“shambles”

Credit: @cam_cpfc

“Is this a joke?”

Credit: @Dazzaedwardo

“Amazed at this”

Credit: @kpgardener61

“I think that about sums up our ambitions for next season”

Credit: @Raymond30952890

“Why are we wasting money on dann? Been a legend but time for him to go I’m afraid”

Credit: @JacobStockton

“This rebuild is a myth”

Credit: @danofthesouth_

In other news: Palace’s rivals join race for Eddie Howe following Eagles talks, find out more here. 

Lee Johnson has breathed fresh life into this Sunderland team and they are now currently sitting comfortably in the playoff places.

Though, if there was one negative to take from his reign at the Stadium of Light, it would be constant injury problems.

On the chalkboard

Johnson’s tenure has been plagued with fitness and injury concerns. At the moment, he has three centre-backs missing in Bailey Wright, Jordan Willis and Tom Flanagan. He is also missing his full-backs in Conor McLaughlin and Denver Hume.

You can also add new signing Ross Stewart to that list and midfield stalwart Grant Leadbitter too.

The 35-year-old limped off the field of play during Sunderland’s draw with Crewe after just a matter of minutes. Leadbitter had been introduced as a substitute but went down holding his shoulder and he looked to be in some pain.

A stretcher was brought onto the field but fortunately, he was able to walk from the field of play. That being said, he suffered a dislocation to his shoulder and will now face a period on the sidelines.

The good news is that it won’t require surgery. However, if Leadbitter was to suffer the same injury again, he would have to go under the knife.

Time to unleash Neil

With Luke O’Nien currently playing at centre-back and Max Power playing at right-back, it leaves Johnson’s side quite stretched in the middle of the park.

Elliot Embleton was loaned out in the January transfer window too so the manager could have to pick from the club’s academy crop to fill the void.

Carl Winchester has now started successive games but if they’re looking for alternative options, they simply have to unleash Daniel Neil.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-sunderland-news-and-gossip” title=” Latest Sunderland news and gossip!”]

The 19-year-old made a late cameo in the dying embers during Sunderland’s 2-0 win over Rochdale, an appearance that marked just his second in League One. He is rarely seen in the first-team but as Johnson’s selection of Oliver Younger told us last weekend, there is a space for young talent if they work hard.

Neil certainly has those qualities and could add a sense of freshness to the Sunderland midfield if chosen. Possessing the ability to play as a number 10 or slightly further back, there are plenty of roles to suit his qualities and attributes.

Those already with the Mackems obviously rate him highly too. Speaking about the teenager just before the season kicked off, O’Nien commented: “Dan has been exceptional right throughout pre-season.”

The midfielder continued: “Every day in training, he’s like a dancer with those magic feet. He’s creating and scoring goals in training all the time.”

Johnson has favoured two more defensive-minded players in his midfield since taking charge but he evidently loves attacking players. You only need to look at the way Aiden McGeady and Charlie Wyke have contributed this term. Between them, they have been involved in 35 league goals.

Add a more offensive player in the style of Neil to the equation and you could see the Black Cats scoring even more.

It’s a frightening prospect but Neil could certainly get more game time now. Leadbitter’s injury has opened up a vacant spot that Sunderland’s youngsters could benefit from.

AND in other news, Imagine him & McGeady: SAFC must land 29-goal ace who Moyes once dubbed “priceless”…

As the final days of the January transfer tick down, clubs are scrambling to get some last minute deals over the line. Celtic are no different after being linked to several new potential signings this month.

Both incomings and outgoings have been rumoured to take place, but one story of interest which has come to fruition is the Hoops’ keenness on Ben Davies. The Preston North End defender has attracted a lot of attention amid his contract expiry in the summer, but it’s Celtic who look to have beaten the rest to the punch.

According to 90min, Davies has agreed pre-contract terms with the Glaswegians, which will see him move on a free transfer at the end of the season. The Bhoys have been struggling defensively this campaign so signing a new centre-back simply had to be a priority for them, particularly with the mounting interest in Kristoffer Ajer from rival clubs.

Why is Davies a good signing for Celtic?

It’s no secret that the reigning Scottish Premiership champions are having a nightmarish season. Not only do they trail by a whopping 23 points to their Glasgow rivals, but they were handed an early exit from their Europa League run. The Hoops finished bottom of the pile in their group and shipped the joint-highest amount of goals in the group stages.

Neil Lennon has also struggled with an injury-ridden squad. Christopher Jullien has missed a total of 29 matches for Celtic this season due to respective back and knee injuries, according to Transfermarkt.

Shane Duffy has equally been disappointing, but due to his lacklustre performances on the pitch. Celtic were recently said to be considering ending his loan move from Brighton early after not quite cutting the mustard in Scotland.

As well as delivering a quality defender, Lawwell has killed two birds with one stone in terms of protecting the club’s finances, signing Davies on a pre-contract basis which means he arrives at Parkhead for nothing. Sky Sports recently claimed that Preston were looking for £2million to £2.5million for the defender’s services, but Celtic have managed to avoid paying anything at all for the centre-half.

The Hoops will expect the 6 foot defender to arrive at Parkhead in the summer and he will be a welcome recruit to the team. According to WhoScored’s comparison tool, Davies currently averages more clearances and interceptions per match than Jullien, Duffy and Ajer. He will be looking to wiggle his way into the starting lineup once he arrives.

Knowing Celtic will be looking to bounce back and win silverware next season, Davies will undoubtedly be rubbing his hands together as he eyes whose spot he could usurp in the current Lennon set-up. Lawwell will undoubtedly be pleased that he has a tried-and-tested defender on the way who didn’t cost a single penny.

In other news, Lennon will leave one very welcome parting gift for Celtic if he is axe…

Tottenham Hotspur veteran Moussa Sissoko was perhaps the one negative from Wednesday night’s emphatic Europa League victory over Wolfsberger AC.

But tht merely continues a worrying trend that should see the 31-year-old moved on in the summer.

He’s gone from a regular under Jose Mourinho to a mere bit-part player and certainly looks like a shadow of his former self.

Both Victor Wanyama, 28, and Mousa Dembele, 31, were sold by Spurs when the writing was on the wall, so Daniel Levy and co could repeat that feat here with Sissoko.

On the Chalkboard

The £16m-rated Frenchman had started 11 games in a row in the Premier League for Spurs between October and December this season but now finds himself down the pecking order, having only started two of their last seven outings, via Transfermarkt.

Therefore, it was on Sissoko to deliver when given an opportunity, just like on Wednesday night when Mourinho started him alongside Harry Winks, though in return, the bustling midfielder showed that he was terribly out of form as he graded as Spurs’ worst player (6.6) as per SofaScore ratings.

Usually, the former Newcastle man is solid defensively and very active in terms of work-rate, managing an average of 1.2 tackles on the season but against the Austrian minnows, he failed to manage a single tackle and was instead dribbled past once by the poorer quality team.

Sissoko was also weak and lightweight, winning only two of five duels in the 81 minutes he was on the pitch – this was the worst of any Spurs midfielder who started the match, whilst substitute Marcel Lavinier – a 20-year-old debutant at right-back – won double the number of battles in only 16 minutes of action, via SofaScore.

Though, his disappointing display in what was a routine win for Spurs was merely a microcosm for his overall form for the club – it’s trending downwards, and at 31, he really should have no long-term future at the club especially amid links to RB Leipzig livewire Marcel Sabitzer, and the emergence of Oliver Skipp.

In terms of Europa League starters, Sissoko ranks worst for average WhoScored rating in the whole squad (6.35) – only the young academy hopefuls that have received minutes from the bench have been graded worse.

Similarly, in the Premier League, the French midfielder sits 14th overall (6.59), which is second-bottom for those that have started 12 or more matches – clearly, this shows that Sissoko is regressing at a worrying rate and thus, should be sold in the summer.

This is reinforced by the fact that he is down on his numbers from the 2019/20 campaign, where he averaged a rating of 6.79 in the English top-flight, and managed more tackles (1.3), more dribbles (1.4) and more key passes (0.6) per appearance, via WhoScored.

Sissoko is also among the high earners at the club, raking in a reported £90k-per-week at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which is better earnings than Sergio Reguilon (£80k-p/w), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (£65k-p/w), and even Toby Alderweireld (£85k-p/w).

The long-serving Spurs passenger must be axed from the starting XI going forward and when the transfer window reopens, the north London outfit must do all they can to make some money on him.

All in all, he’s simply no longer good enough.

AND in other news, Matt Doherty silences his harshest Spurs critics vs Wolfsberger

Since Victor Orta joined Leeds United he has got the vast majority of his recruitment spot on.

Under Marcelo Bielsa, you need a very particular type of player, someone who’s willing to work hard and press from the front. They have to withstand his meticulous training ideas and his intense murder ball sessions.

Fail that, and you’ll be out the door quicker than you can say Thorp Arch. Jean-Kevin Augustin found that out the hard way.

Signed on loan from RB Leipzig in January 2020, he played just 48 minutes before departing Yorkshire with not even much of a farewell.

However, as Orta will tell you himself, there are plenty in this Leeds squad that appear to be tailor-made in a lab for Bielsa. One of them has been Patrick Bamford.

The striker has attracted his fair share of criticism during his time at Elland Road but this term he’s been a revelation, scoring 13 Premier League goals. To emphasise that achievement, Bamford had netted just once at this level before promotion last year.

One of the players who helped him get to such a promising level at Leeds was Kemar Roofe. The duo played in tandem during the 2018/19 campaign and brought the best out of each other.

Bamford was the player to make things stick up top, acting as a support act for other players. Roofe, meanwhile, was the striker who’d get in behind and stretch the defence.

Indeed, since he departed for Anderlecht in the summer of 2019, Leeds haven’t really had a player capable of doing the same. They tried to replace him with Eddie Nketiah but he never got a chance to prove himself, being recalled to Arsenal after half a season.

Leeds have been a breath of fresh air to the top-flight this term but you can’t help but think they need just a little more pizzazz in the final third. One man who could give them that is Ivan Toney.

The Brentford sensation was linked with a move to the Whites last week and if he arrives, he could replicate what Roofe gave so willingly to Bielsa’s side.

Speaking about the former Leeds man in February 2019, Eddie Gray typified the Rangers’ striker’s qualities expertly. This came after the forward suffered a cruel injury: “It’s a blow for a number of reasons (the injury), goalscoring obviously. He’s lead the line well, but he’s got that little bit of pace. It is something we [Leeds] have not got in abundance. Real pace. I’m talking about, like Norwich pace.”

Indeed, Leeds still lack a bit of speed. Raphinha has added to that but despite their free-flowing capabilities, few in the squad can blow a defender away.

Toney could do that, however. He has had a breathtaking season in the Championship, scoring a haul of 26 goals in 34 outings.

He has pace, and pivotally for Bielsa, can defend from the front. Peterborough owner Barry Fry said before he left for the Bees: “He’s turned into a tremendous all-round footballer. It’s important to remember Ivan is not just an exceptional goal-scoring forward, he’s also an outstanding defender.”

Indeed, those sentiments have also been delivered by Brentford boss Thomas Frank: “Ivan is a special, special player,” he began.

“He showed top positioning in the box, which is what we work with him on, but also he read cleverly (where to go) off the shoulder of the second central defender and showed perfect timing to get in front of him – and then a one-touch, perfect finish, just fantastic,” Frank added.

Playing off the shoulder and picking up little pockets of space is incredibly similar to Roofe. Put Toney’s clinical goal-scoring ability into the equation and you have a far more fearsome proposition.

Frank concluded: “But it is also his work ethic which is so important. Defending from the number nine backwards is key for me and there is so much more about him that he brings to the squad.”

With that in mind, the 24-year-old feels like the perfect man for Bielsa. If they can steal a march on other suitors for Toney’s signature, he would be a first-class signing.

AND in other news, Leeds have their perfect Pablo heir in rarely-seen 19 y/o, he’s a “great talent”…

Southampton have been linked with a move for Brazilian free agent Wellington recently and if he were to join the Saints, it could be bad news for 20-year-old academy ace Will Smallbone.

According to reports in Brazil (via Sport Witness), Wellington’s agent has now confirmed the interest from Southampton in the 29-year-old, who is currently training on his own after being released by Athletico Paranaense last year.

Although it would be strange to see Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side bring in the midfielder, who has no experience playing outside of Brazil, if he were to sign, it could seriously harm Smallbone’s chances of featuring in the Austrian’s side this season.

The academy graduate looked to be on the verge of becoming a first-team regular last season, as he made nine appearances in the Premier League, as well as one appearance in the FA Cup, where he scored his only goal for the senior side to date.

However, he has been limited to just two appearances in the Premier League so far this season, both of which came in the Saints’ two opening fixtures and after they suffered defeat in both of those games, he has not featured since.

He has also made just two appearances in the Premier League 2 this season, as he is regularly on the bench for Southampton’s first-team but doesn’t get any minutes, which can’t be doing his progress any good.

Hasenhuttl has stuck with the midfield duo of James Ward-Prowse and Oriol Romeu for much of the season, whilst Ibrahima Diallo has impressed on his rare starts in the absence of Romeu.

Therefore, it seems unlikely that Smallbone will be able to force his way back into the first-team any time soon, and if Wellington were to join, it would only harm his chances further.

After Smallbone made his Premier League debut in 2020, the Austrian manager was full of praise for him, saying:

“The whole package is strong, with a lot of potential in my view.

“He has a lot of things that really help a team, being good on the ball, covering a lot of distance, but also to work against the ball and win balls, this is very important.”

Therefore, Hasenhuttl clearly rates him, but you worry how much playing time he will get if the Saints add to their options in midfield during this month’s transfer window.

And, in other news… Hasenhuttl can unearth his next JWP in Saints academy sensation once linked to Barca

With just under five weeks until the January transfer window opens, it will be all hands at the pump for Sunderland.

Will Stewart Donald be the man in charge of the operations or will it be Juan Sartori and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, the club’s prospective new owners?

What’s the word?

Well, Sunderland are currently locked in negotiations about the sale of the club.

It was reported by The Guardian two weeks ago that Donald had accepted a bid from a consortium led by Sartori in order to sell his majority stake.

Now, with that in mind, Sunderland supporters will be eager to discover where the club could operate in the transfer market.

Of course, the EFL’s salary cap will mean money can’t be spent instantly or as powerfully as the new owners may like, but we have received a small glimpse into where they could bring new faces from.

That comes courtesy of Eric Devin at Get French Football who told the Sunderland Echo this week:

“Perhaps he [Dreyfus] has established networks in France – I know we’ve seen through the likes of Brentford that French players can come and make a splash.”

Devin added: “So perhaps he is looking at using those networks to scout players from the Championnat and Ligue 2. He may want to challenge himself to establish the club in that way and it seems an interesting choice.”

French connection

It’s natural for Dreyfus to start assessing the French market first because that’s where his beloved Marseille are located. If he’s going to be an expert on any part of football, then it’ll be in his homeland.

But what does targeting the French market all mean?

You only need to look at how players who previously plied their trade in that part of the world got on at Sunderland to understand how they could fare.

The club’s record signing Didier Ndong was at Lorient in Ligue 1 before signing for a fee of £13.6m. He didn’t exactly set the world alight in the north-east, finding himself part of the squad that was relegated in 2016.

Ndong was fierce in the tackle, completing 2.9 challenges a match in the Championship but left the Stadium of Light behind after making just 54 appearances. Considering the back to back relegations he was part of, the midfielder was a gigantic waste of money under the Ellis Short ownership.

Similarly, Lamine Kone was also signed from Lorient. The defender was part of two Premier League seasons but like Ndong, found himself being relegated in successive years.

Ndong and Kone had the chance to form the spine of Sunderland’s XI but ended up being incredibly divisive figures at the club, ultimately failing.

If Dreyfus is going to target the French market, he needs to find a different sort of character to the aforementioned duo.

In other news, Stewart Donald is on the verge of REPEATING Bain and Byrne’s big mistake…

All eyes at Celtic are currently on Neil Lennon. Arguably, a Hoops manager hasn’t faced this much heat in over a decade.

Over the last nine years, the Hoops have embarked on a remarkable period of dominance, winning the SPFL title in every single year.

In 2020/21, it was supposed to be about their tenth crown but clearly, it has not followed the script.

Out of Europe and 11 points behind rivals Rangers, Lennon is facing huge pressure and supporters are far from pleased. After losing to Ross County, a number of fans rallied at Parkhead to protest against the management.

Although Celtic weren’t expected to beat Milan on Thursday, shipping another four goals is unlikely to have helped Lennon’s cause.

Equally, it should not have helped Peter Lawwell’s case. That’s because the CEO of the football club has spent a ridiculous sum of money on seven players who are costing Celtic dearly.

The men we’re talking about are defenders, namely Vasilis Barkas, Scott Bain, Jeremie Frimpong, Hatem Elhamed, Shane Duffy, Greg Taylor and Boli Bolingoli.

The accumulative fees of those men all amount to around £14m, with Barkas being the most expensive at £4.5m.

In this situation, one has to question whether any due diligence was done with these acquisitions. After all, the Bhoys have conceded 12 goals in their last three European outings. Meanwhile, they have shipped 13 strikes in 13 SPFL outings too. That’s ten more than Rangers despite playing two fewer games.

Barkas and Bain have made costly errors in the last week, while Jeremie Frimpong looked out of his depth when Celtic drew 2-2 with Hibernian a fortnight ago, losing possession 18 times. As for Hatem Elhamed, three of the four goals Milan netted on Thursday night came down his right channel.

Furthermore, Duffy looks set to cut his loan spell short and head back to Brighton in January while Boli Bolingoli had a controversial summer, breaking pandemic protocols.

It’s safe to say that a number of Celtic’s defensive signings simply haven’t cut it at Parkhead.

For the Glaswegians, these signings are as much to blame as Lennon is. Of course, his coaching should improve them but Lawwell arguably shouldn’t have spent the money in the first place.

Celtic are a complete mess right now.

In other news, this Celtic star was a complete PUSHOVER against Milan…