As reported by The Sunday Post, former Celtic striker John Hartson believes that Brendan Rodgers will stay at the club for another season at least amidst reports he could be set for a return to the English Premier League.

What’s the story?

Rodgers has been linked with various jobs in English football over the past couple of months, including the Arsenal post, a sign of his enormous success at Celtic Park since arriving in the summer of 2016.

However, one former Celtic favourite believes he is unlikely to entertain any thoughts of leaving this summer, despite the tempting nature of a job at the Emirates, should Arsene Wenger leave.

As quoted by The Sunday Post, John Hartson said:

There would also be a transfer budget of more than £150m. That is bound to be attractive to many, many people. My feeling is that he will stay at Celtic for at least one more year. I think he will want to stay to try to achieve eight titles on the trot. He will maybe then review his position. But he also has a long-term contract with Celtic, and I don’t imagine he will be in any rush to leave. Only time will tell.

It’s been a rare occurrence for Celtic managers to have a multi-year deal over the last decade, with a rolling contract the norm before Rodgers signed a new deal.

Will he see it out and guide the club to a famous ten titles in a row?

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No signs of discontent

Rodgers has had nothing but praise for the club and the people he works with on a daily basis, whether it be staff at Lennoxtown or the decision makers like Peter Lawwell. The Celtic boss is a forthright guy so if there was any unhappiness at all, there may have been signs of it in press conferences and the like.

The fact is the manager loves the club, loves his current job and is eyeing significant success in Celtic colours.

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There’s an argument to be made that it doesn’t get much better than the double treble the club will potentially win this season, but there’s improvement to be made in Europe and if he can guide the Hoops to 10-in-a-row he will go down as a club legend for decades to come.

That’s worth more than the riches of the Premier League.

Most teams that head into a two-legged tie 3-0 down from the opening fixture, will not feel too optimistic about their chances of progression.

Manchester City supporters, though, are not giving up, and it is hardly a surprise given how scintillating the team have been this season.

Pep Guardiola’s men have a 16-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, and will tie up the title with a win over Manchester United this weekend.

The Cityzens have been beaten just once in 31 top-flight games, and that was by Liverpool, who are the ones holding onto a 3-0 advantage over their fellow North-West outfit in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

City were stunned in the first 45 minutes of the encounter as Jurgen Klopp’s men went 3-0 up thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane.

City did not register a single shot on target, and frontman Gabriel Jesus suffered plenty of criticism from supporters as a result.

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Ahead of next week’s second leg, some fans are hopeful that Raheem Sterling, who was brought on to a chorus of boos from the Liverpool crowd on Wednesday night, will be the saviour.

The England international is heavily disliked by Liverpool supporters due to his decision to leave them for City in 2015.

Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.

West Ham United could have Andy Carroll available for Monday’s Premier League clash with Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium.

Carroll has not represented the Hammers since picking up an ankle injury in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the early stages of 2018.

The 29-year-old returned to first-team training earlier this week, however, and has been tipped to play a part against Stoke on Monday night.

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Carroll, who was linked with Chelsea in January, has only scored two Premier League goals during a disappointing season, and has been the subject of ridicule from West Ham fans throughout the campaign.

There is no question that the Englishman is a monster of a centre-forward on his day, but the West Ham fans are questioning how long it will be before he is back on the treatment table.

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The Hammers are not quite out of the woods when it comes to the threat of relegation this season, and Carroll, who is valued at £9m by transfermarkt.co.uk, might well have a big part to play.

A selection of the Twitter reaction to the striker’s return can be seen below:

Manchester City’s standards have been so high in a season that has seen them march relentlessly towards the Premier League title, as well as lifting the EFL Cup, that a run of three defeats represents easily their worst spell of the season.

The high-profile nature of the matches – which arguably made up their biggest of the season – means that the timing of the slump could not have been any worse for the former Barcelona manager.

That means he takes his side to Wembley to face Tottenham on Saturday with his side suddenly rattled and slightly vulnerable and has no shortage of questions to answer ahead of the trip to North London.

Football FanCast have taken a closer look at some of the issues that will be occupying Guardiola’s mind as he looks to get his side back on track and avoid making it four defeats in a row on Saturday…

Should Aguero be recalled?

On a night when City needed goals against Liverpool, Aguero was left on the bench as Guardiola went in search of thrust from wide areas and midfield control.

It nearly paid off and if City had gone in 2-0 up at half-time as they should have – if Leroy Sane’s goal wasn’t disallowed for offside – then we might be viewing Guardiola’s decision in a different light.

However, the fact remains that it didn’t come off and the City boss surely has to consider bringing the Argentine back into the starting eleven here.

Who should play in holding midfield?

As City lost their heads in the second half of last weekend’s Manchester derby, Fernandinho picked up his tenth booking of the season and that means that he will miss the next two matches.

That could pose something of a problem for Guardiola because there is no obvious candidate to stand in. Ilkay Gundogan could deputise as a conservative midfielder or maybe the Catalan – ever the innovator – could move John Stones into the role.

Either way, there should be space in the hole for Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli to exploit and one of Guardiola’s main concerns will be how to plug that gap.

Who is Spurs’ biggest threat?

Harry Kane is now back in the fold and – after a week of consternation – it was decided that he was back among the goals with a glanced strike against Stoke to leave him four behind Mo Salah in the race for the Golden Boot.

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However, with the English striker still not quite at his sharpest, it is Christian Eriksen who may well represent the biggest threat to Guardiola’s vulnerable backline.

As we’ve mentioned, there might well be space in behind the City midfield and the man valued at £63m by Transfermarkt will fancy his chances of getting away from Kyle Walker and exploiting it.

West Ham United are six points clear of the Premier League relegation zone with four matches of the season remaining, and Irons fans on Twitter have been discussing the one position in the team they would strengthen by signing a player for £30m.

Should David Moyes keep the east London outfit in the top flight, the Scot will be considering a huge overhaul of his squad in order to ensure they don’t find themselves struggling at the wrong end of the table again next term.

Following the continued below-par performances of Cheikhou Kouyate and Mark Noble in the middle of the park, central/defensive midfield could be one of the 54-year-old manager’s priorities, but the London Stadium faithful would prefer to see him splash the cash on a new centre-back instead.

West Ham supporters, who slated Moyes on social media following another thrashing at Arsenal, were quick to have their say on the one position they would bring in a new face, and while one said “CB no doubt whatsoever”, another said “a good CB, don’t care who”.

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Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Rangers were thrashed 5-0 by Celtic at Celtic Park on Sunday in a match in which they needed to avoid defeat to stop their arch-rivals winning the Scottish Premiership title, and Gers fans want Josh Windass to be sold at the end of the season as a result.

The 5ft 9in attacker has impressed in terms of statistics for the Glasgow outfit this term having scored 17 goals and provided a further eight assists in all competitions, but the Ibrox faithful haven’t always been convinced about his attitude.

The 24-year-old certainly struggled to make any sort of impact against Brendan Rodgers’ men before he was replaced by Alfredo Morelos, and his latest display hasn’t done him any favours with the passionate fan-base.

Rangers supporters, who also slammed Windass’ teammate Daniel Candeias on Twitter for his first-half display, were quick to have their say on the former Accrington Stanley man’s showing via social media, and while one said “sell immediately”, another said “hopefully that’s the last we’ll ever see of Windass in a Rangers shirt”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp would request three Real Madrid players in a deal that would involve Mohamed Salah moving to the Bernabeu, according to Don Balon.

What’s the story?

Salah has been a revelation for the Reds this season having scored 43 goals in all competitions so far.

There were some doubts over the Egyptian international’s ability when he arrived at Anfield from Roma last summer due to his failed spell at Chelsea.

However, the 25-year-old has since proved all critics wrong by putting in some sensational performances as part of Jurgen Klopp’s front three.

Salah’s form has understandably attracted interest from other clubs, and according to Don Balon, Liverpool’s Champions League final opponents Madrid are keen to sign the attacker.

The report adds that if a deal were to be struck, Klopp would want three players from Los Blancos, including Gareth Bale, Mateo Kovacic and goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

Should Liverpool consider a deal?

Having Bale as a like-for-like replacement for Salah would have been a great coup a season ago, but the Welshman has struggled with injuries since.

There is no doubt that the former Tottenham Hotspur star is capable of creating magic, but his fitness issues present a huge risk for Klopp.

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Salah may be having a slight lull given that he has failed to score in his last three appearances in all competitions, but selling the Egyptian international this summer is unthinkable from Liverpool’s point of view.

With regards to Kovacic, the midfielder could fill a hole left behind by Emre Can if the German international leaves at the end of the season.

Plus, Navas would certainly replace Loris Karius as number one goalkeeper, but losing Salah in the process would weaken the side.

Newcastle fans can’t believe the asking price for Islam Slimani, after reports claimed Leicester want at least £17.5million for the striker.

According to the Chronicle, Leicester City will demand “in excess of £17.5m” for the struggling Slimani this summer, which will likely rule Newcastle out of the chase.

The Algerian international, who has an impressive hit rate of 27 goals in 56 caps for his country, failed to impress on his loan spell with the Magpies.

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The towering striker moved to Tyneside in January, as Rafael Benitez tried desperately to add some goals to his side on a shoestring budget.

While the loan additions of Kenedy and Martin Dubravka were huge successes for the Magpies, Slimani barely played because of an on-going thigh injury, and failed to score in the four appearances he made towards the end of the season.

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Benitez is once again in dire need of some firepower up front, but the Chronicle report suggests that firepower won’t come from the Algerian, as the manager moves on to the next target on his long striker shortlist.

Fans are clearly in agreement that the Algerian is simply not worth that much, and some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…

Arsenal have confirmed the appointment of Unai Emery as the north London club’s new head coach, replacing the legendary Arsene Wenger after a 22-year reign.

The Spaniard made his name in his home country with Valencia and Sevilla, winning three consecutive Europa League titles with the latter outfit before taking the PSG job in summer 2016.

Emery ended his stint in the French capital with a domestic treble, but couldn’t bring the Champions League success the Ligue 1 giants so desperately crave.

The 46-year-old becomes part of a new structure at Arsenal, which also includes Sven Mislintat as chief scout and Raul Sanllehi as head of football relations.

That makes Emery’s job title – head coach rather than manager – somewhat telling, highlighting a breakaway from the virtually unilateral power Wenger yielded for the vast majority of his generation-spanning stint in charge of the Gunners.

Emery actually broke the news ahead of schedule, mistakenly posting an image on his personal website on Tuesday evening that read “Proud to be part of the Arsenal family”. That’s perhaps why his appointment has been confirmed on Wednesday morning.

Chief executive Ivan Gazidis told the club’s website; “Unai has an outstanding track record of success throughout his career, has developed some of the best young talent in Europe and plays an exciting, progressive style of football that fits Arsenal perfectly. His hard-working and passionate approach and his sense of values on and off the pitch make him the ideal person to take us forward.

“We conducted a confidential, wide-ranging and rigorous search involving extensive background references, data and video analysis, and personal meetings with all the candidates we shortlisted. All were interested in the position and we were unanimous in our choice of Unai to drive the next chapter of our history.”

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Do you think he’s a good appointment, Arsenal fans? Let us know by commenting below…

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Midfield maestro Thiago, who will go to the World Cup later this month with Spain, is one of four players that Bayern Munich will listen to offers for this summer, according to the Daily Mail, and he would be a perfect fit for Manchester United.

What’s the story, then?

The Mail report that the German champions are looking to trim their squad ahead of Niko Kovac’s first season in charge in Bavaria and that they are willing to countenance four departures.

They claim that along with Thiago, that quartet is rounded off by experienced central defender Jerome Boateng, combative midfielder Arturo Vidal and flying full-back Juan Bernat.

The report also says that the willingness to sell the aforementioned four also belies a desire to keep talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski.

Thiago is better than Pogba

Pogba has everything in his locker but Thiago is an artist, who has simply proved himself more capable of dominating elite games than the Frenchman.

He was brilliant as Bayern narrowly failed to qualify for the Champions League final despite a dominant performance in the second leg of their semi-final clash with eventual winners Real Madrid in April and has the class and technique United’s midfield is sorely lacking.

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He is valued at £54m by Transfermarkt but given that Bayern are open to a sale, there may be wiggle room and in the current market, anything under £50m for a man who will travel to the World Cup this summer as one of the main playmakers in a team jam-packed with midfield talent.

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