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An exciting claim has been made regarding Rangers and the chances of Giovanni van Bronckhorst landing one of the Ibrox club’s top targets…

What’s the talk?

Get French Football News journalist Adam White has claimed that PSG youngster Xavi Simons could be interested in a move to Ibrox, having been linked with a switch to the Scottish giants in recent months.

The reporter told GIVEMESPORT when asked about a potential deal:

“Would he go to Rangers? In theory, I think that I could see that happening and I could see him wanting to go.

“But I think it’s one of those things that’s perhaps still in the very early stages if it is happening at all.”

Buzzing

Van Bronckhorst will surely be buzzing with this news for several reasons. Firstly, it suggests that there is the potential for this deal to be done from the player’s perspective, which indicates that he would be interested in working for the Dutchman at Ibrox.

He will also be excited by this claim as Simons could be an excellent addition to the Rangers squad if they are able to snap him up this month. The 18-year-old has broken through into the first-team set-up at PSG with four senior outings this term – two coming in the league.

The boss of the Ligue 1 giants, Mauricio Pochettino, hailed the youngster’s versatility earlier this month, saying:

“Xavi Simons? There is a big difference between the reserve and the first team. Xavi can play in different positions; as a torchbearer, he can also play on the side. Maturity comes with time; you have to take into account the leadership of the team and complementarities.”

If he is deemed good enough to compete in the forward areas with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Angel Di Maria, then he could have what it takes to be a key player for the Gers. The aforementioned PSG stars are all regulars in Ligue 1 and the Champions League, with Messi recently being named in the FIFPro World XI.

This shows the level of quality he is playing alongside and why he could be an immediate asset to Rangers as he is already mixing it with them at the age of 18. His record of five goals and six assists in 12 games for PSG’s U19 team also highlights the talent he has and suggests that he could add an extra attacking edge to van Bronckhorst’s side.

The ex-Feyenoord boss could also be buzzing with this prospective deal as Simons is someone he’d be able to coach over a number of years. He could oversee the player’s development and help him to fulfil his potential, which would be thoroughly enjoyable for the head coach if he is successful.

AND in other news, Forget Kent: Rangers dud who lost 11 duels let GVB down badly, he’s “not happy”…

Antonio Conte could be on the verge of making one of his first mistakes at Tottenham Hotspur after a recent claim emerged about central defender Joe Rodon.

What’s the word?

The 24-year-old Wales international has barely featured under the Italian since his arrival last month, featuring for only 54 minutes against NS Mura in the Europa Conference League, in what was just his fourth start of the season overall.

He was signed from Swansea City a year ago for around £11m and could now look to force an exit this January, in a bid to earn some more minutes on the pitch.

According to Football Insider, the 6 foot 4 colossus is “100 per cent” keen to secure an exit next month. Meanwhile, Spurs are seemingly on the lookout for defensive reinforcements, having been linked to the likes of Inter Milan’s Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni, as well as AC Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli.

Now, Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge, who is generally clued up on things behind the scenes at Hotspur Way, has delivered his verdict to GIVEMESPORT. He said:

“As it stands right now, I just get this feeling that Antonio Conte doesn’t think he’s at the level Tottenham need.”

Bad call?

This is a worrying claim as it almost certainly highlights the fact that the 52-year-old isn’t a fan of the Jose Mourinho addition, not at least because of his one start under him and that lasted less than an hour.

It is interesting that Conte will not turn to him despite their mini injury crisis that has seen star centre-back Cristian Romero ruled out for a couple of months heading into the start of 2022.

Rodon features regularly for his country and excelled at Euro 2020 alongside fellow Lilywhites defender Ben Davies, who the Italian has deployed in his back three regularly.

Indeed, the Welshman has played nearly as many times for Rob Page’s Dragons (12) as he has Spurs (16) in 2021.

But it’s a little perplexing as he clearly has a lot to offer and is a more natural centre-back than his compatriot and perhaps an even more reliable option than someone like Davinson Sanchez, who has been regularly lambasted as a “liability” during his time in N17.

Valued at £18m by CIES Football Observatory, Rodon has delivered fine performances for Wales, leading to praise such as “flawless” and him being a “special player” by journalist Ian Mitchelmore.

Meanwhile, in the past, he has been likened to two Premier League greats by Sky Sports’ Andy Hinchcliffe. “You look at Rio Ferdinand and John Terry and there are elements of both in Rodon’s game,” he claimed.

He’s also a player that the Lilywhites faithful have also been very keen to see and some feel that he should be in the starting XI more often, especially with Romero out injured – as seen in reactions relayed by This is Futbol earlier this month, once after the aforementioned Football Insider report and again after he was snubbed from a matchday squad.

They will not be thrilled by this latest update, so with the writing seemingly on the wall for Rodon, Conte could well be about to drop his biggest blunder yet in north London.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Conte: Spurs could form frightening duo with “fearless” £18m-rated beast…

West Bromwich Albion must start picking up a good run of form if they want to be in contention for an automatic promotion spot at the end of the season, the side is currently four points adrift from the top two in fourth place in the table behind Blackburn Rovers, Fulham and Bournemouth.

What’s the word?

Valerien Ismael has confirmed the return of two influential players back into the side ahead of the Cardiff City clash at the Hawthorns this afternoon.

Both Alex Mowatt and Karlan Grant will be available for the fixture against the Bluebirds today, with Mowatt completing the isolation period after testing positive in a virus outbreak in the West Brom camp, and Grant has been said to have had a false positive test, so will be available sooner than anticipated.

The Albion manager spoke in his pre-match press conference to explain Grant’s situation in particular;

“KG (Grant) received a negative PCR test after the (Derby) game,”

“He missed the game due to a wrong positive test, lateral flow. He has trained since midweek completely, with the squad.

Although the pair return to the side, Ismael confirmed that Robert Snodgrass remains out, Matt Phillips is expected back for the FA Cup game with Brighton, Kean Bryan is out with a season-long ACL injury, Kenneth Zohore is recovering from a muscle injury and Dara O’Shea is expected back in training in January.

Fans will be buzzing

Fans will be buzzing that Mowatt and Grant are back and available for team selection, after an abysmal performance from the Baggies in defeat against Derby last weekend that prompted fans to take to social media and make a point of how missing the duo affected the game;

One fan tweeted after the shocking Derby County defeat;

“Missing Grant and Mowatt yday our 2 best players was killer. Defence is brilliant, Val cannot be blamed for the team missing chances or making mistakes. The things he can control are very good.”

Indeed, Grant’s return to the team will be colossal considering the striker is currently the club’s top scorer on nine strikes this term. As for the latter, he has also been a crucial part of the side, bagging three goals.

Albion need to give everything today to attempt to close the gap on their Championship promotion competitors, Cardiff City are in a relegation battle down in 20th, but could escape the drop zone today if they were to beat the Baggies away from home, so we expect to see a passionate game as both teams fight to gain points at opposite ends of the table.

Either way, Ismael’s side will have a huge advantage by welcoming back two key performers.

In other news: Ismael must start Taylor Gardner-Hickman against Cardiff

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has been handed a major injury boost ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with Brentford…

What’s the latest?

The Argentine is set to welcome back star striker Patrick Bamford to his matchday squad as the 28-year-old isn’t going to feature for the U23s on Friday night, as he had done last week.

“It’s likely Patrick and Luke [Ayling] will be available on Sunday. Pascal [Struijk] has a knock around his hip, but we think he’ll also be available,” Bielsa revealed to reporters during his pre-game press conference.

It remains to be seen if Bamford will start the match on Sunday but he came through 90 minutes against Manchester City’s U23s unscathed on Monday and has been back in training for a few weeks now.

Major boost

This will be a massive, massive boost at just the right time for Bielsa and the Leeds squad.

The Yorkshire giants finally picked up their third win of the season in midweek, defeating Crystal Palace at Elland Road, where they will host their old Championship rivals, so they will be in a confident mood heading into kick-off.

With Bamford potentially involved, it hands some further encouragement to everyone concerned with Leeds.

He had missed United’s last nine league games in the Premier League and they have largely struggled in his absence, particularly in front of goal as they have scored more than two goals in a game just once without him.

The £19.8m-rated frontman provided one goal and two assists from the opening five games of the season and has averaged three shots per game, so clearly he is a massive influence in the final third.

‘Top player, Bamford,” once claimed Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, before adding: “I can remember before the season I heard on talkSPORT that people said, ‘Leeds need a proper goalscorer, Bamford is not good enough’. I’m so happy that he could prove them wrong, he’s an exceptional player, perfect.

“The work rate is outstanding and still playing the football he plays on top of that and scoring goals, that’s rare.”

That glowing endorsement from one of the very best managers in Europe shows exactly how crucial Bamford is to Leeds’ fortunes, so to have him back this week will certainly be a major boost to Bielsa and co.

AND in other news, Bielsa could repeat Gelhardt masterclass with Leeds swoop for 20 y/o “manager’s dream”…

Alison Conroy has dropped an extremely worrying injury update on Celtic winger Jota.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, the Sky Sports journalist revealed that, as a result of the hamstring injury the Benfica loanee picked up in Celtic’s 1-0 win over Hearts last week, the 22-year-old has now been ruled out of the League Cup final against Hibernian on December 19.

Speaking about the condition of the winger, Conroy said: “Jota will miss the League Cup final.”

Fans will be fuming

Considering just how important a part of the Celtic side Jota has become since making a temporary switch to Parkhead this summer, the news that the Portugal U21 international will miss one of the club’s biggest games of the season will undoubtedly have left fans fuming.

Indeed, over his 11 Premiership outings so far this season, the £3.15m-rated man has scored five goals, provided four assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of three shots and making 1.5 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the forward average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.38, ranking him as the Bhoys’ fifth-best performer in the league – of the players who remain a part of Postecoglou’s squad.

The £7.1k-per-week winger has also been in fantastic form over his five Europa League appearances, bagging two goals, providing two assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, with these metrics seeing the youngster average a SofaScore match rating of 7.40 – ranking him as the Hoops’ best performer in the competition.

As such, the absence of the forward for the final will undoubtedly come as a major blow to Postecoglou and his side, whose chances of lifting the League Cup at Hampden Park are considerably slimmer with Jota watching on from the sidelines.

In other news: Forget CCV: Celtic must finally unleash “immense” 21 y/o gem who’s “eager to impress”

Pundit Alan Hutton has been giving his thoughts on Celtic midfielder Tom Rogic and the hamstring injury that will keep him out until after the international break, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Rogic’s influence

Rogic has been a regular for the Hoops this season, missing only his first game of the season on the weekend against Livingston.

He’s netted once and registered four assists, while also leading the way for Celtic in regards to possession won in the final third and successful dribbles per match [Fotmob], showing exactly how crucial he is for implementing the style of play that Ange Postecoglou wants.

However, the Hoops won’t be able to call upon his services against Ferencvaros or Dundee prior to the international break.

The Latest: Ange and Hutton’s comments

Rogic went off injured against Hibernian towards the end of October, with Postecoglou revealing last week that the 28-year-old will be out for two to three weeks.

Hutton, who regularly features on BBC Radio 5 Live, was talking to Football Insider in a story on Wednesday morning, labelling it as ‘very disappointing’.

“Postecoglou will be gutted.

“When he came in, I thought he could get the best out of Rogic. I always thought he was a fantastic player who then went off the boil a little.

“His performances over the past few weeks have been of a high level. I thought Celtic were excellent against Hibs, which was a tough game. Rogic was a big part of that.

“Obviously to lose him is very disappointing because it was hitting those heights he was at a few seasons ago. He was a constant thorn in Rangers’ side every time he played them.

“He was getting back to that. So he’ll be hoping that he’s not out for too long because he’ll be a huge miss and they’ll need him.”

The Verdict: Ange must find a way…

The Hoops only managed to create three big chances at home to Livingston last time out, with a measly 0.26 xG in the first 45 minutes. [Fotmob]

Nir Bitton was the man to come in for Rogic, so Postecoglou may need to test a new approach in midfield against Ferencvaros or Dundee prior to the international break.

Rogic, Callum McGregor and David Turnbull have been the three midfielders Postecoglou has relied heavily on from the off this season, but he won’t be able to call upon his fellow Aussie, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Hoops cope over the coming weeks. Bitton is much more defensive-minded, managing just half of the key passes per game that Rogic does.

Postecoglou admitted that winger Jota could occupy a central role as a number eight, as mentioned by Kieran Devlin, so perhaps that could be an option for more attacking impetus.

In other news: £6.8m: McKay missed out on ‘extraordinary’ ace who’s ‘like Busquets’ before he left Celtic. 

Crystal Palace are reportedly interested in signing Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah but face stiff competition from a number of clubs.

The Lowdown: Nketiah could need new club

The 22-year-old came through the Gunners’ youth ranks as one of their most promising talents, but while the likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka have kicked on, he has struggled.

He has only featured in the Carabao Cup this season, admittedly scoring twice in as many games, and he seems to be further down the attacking pecking order than ever at the Emirates Stadium.

It could be that Nketiah now sees his future lying away from Arsenal, given his lack of opportunities in recent months.

The Latest: Palace in the race to sign Nketiah

According to TransferMarketWeb, Palace are eyeing up a potential move for the Arsenal striker, whose current deal expires at the end of this season and who had been personally wanted by Eagles manager Patrick Vieira during the summer transfer window.

That would mean the Eagles could snap him up on a free transfer next summer, although Leeds United and West Ham are two other Premier League clubs believed to be in the race for his signature.

The Verdict: Long-term addition?

Nketiah still doesn’t look the finished article, as highlighted by not playing a single minute of league football this season, but he has clear potential, scoring 16 goals in just 17 games for England’s under-21s.

With Christian Benteke and Jordan Ayew both 30 years of age, Vieira will soon need to plan for the long-term, and Nketiah could be the man to replace those two players at Selhurst Park over time.

There is a clear element of risk in taking a punt on a youngster who is only getting piecemeal game-time, but considering that it would be a free transfer, it feels like less of a gamble, especially as Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hailed Nketiah as a ‘powerful’ player in the past.

In other news, some Palace fans have reacted to footage of one player. Find out who it is here.

Manchester United’s winless run in the Premier League extended to three games after they fell to a hugely disappointing 4-2 defeat against Leicester City this afternoon.

The Foxes scored two late goals to snatch a deserved victory against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s charges, with strikes from Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka securing all three points.

In truth, no United player can be proud of their showing at the King Power Stadium, but some members of the back four were particularly disappointing.

Right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka was poor in possession, completing just 50% of his dribbles and failing to pick out a teammate with any of his three attempted crosses, but it was Harry Maguire who really had an afternoon to forget.

The Red Devils captain was returning the starting line-up after being sidelined with a calf injury, and the 28-year-old looked extremely rusty against his former club.

Leicester forward Kelechi Iheanacho dispossessed the centre-back on the edge of his own box after he misjudged the weight of a David de Gea pass, setting up Youri Tielemans for the Foxes’ equaliser after Mason Greenwood had opened the scoring.

However, things went from bad to worse for the England defender. He needlessly put the ball out for a Leicester corner under no pressure in the 78th minute and was unable to clear his lines after the ball had been swung into United’s box leading to Caglar Soyuncu smashing the ball home from close range.

His desperately poor display saw SofaScore award Maguire a match rating of just 6.1 out of 10, the lowest received by any player on the pitch. During the 90 minutes, he won just 56% of his duels, made one error leading directly to a goal and was dribbled past on one occasion, highlighting his underwhelming performance at the King Power Stadium.

Questions will be asked over whether Maguire should have been starting so soon after coming back from an injury, but the 6 foot 3 gem let Solskjaer down against Leicester, piling further pressure on the Norwegian.

In other news… MUFC could secure their next Pogba in “devastating” £74k-p/w gem, Ole would love him 

Celtic failed to make it six wins from six in October following a 0-0 stalemate against Livingston on Saturday afternoon.   

The Hoops had a golden chance to take all three points and move to the top of the table with a stoppage-time penalty in the second half, but Giorgos Giakoumakis failed to convert the spot kick.

It wasn’t just the Greek striker who had an afternoon to forget, though, as The Transfer Tavern looks into the three worst-rated outfield starters by statistical specialists SofaScore…

Giorgos Giakoumakis – 5.8/10

Giakoumakis was comfortably Celtic’s worst performer with a match rating of 5.8/10. The 26-year-old lost possession on four occasions and missed a golden opportunity from the spot – his only shot on target throughout the entire 90 minutes.

He also lost four of his six duels and touched the ball just 19 times, completing only five passes all afternoon.

Jota – 6.6/10

On the left-hand side of a front three, Jota lost the ball on a whopping 27 occasions. The winger failed to complete a key pass at Parkhead and lost seven of his 12 duels.

He didn’t register a single shot either and was unsuccessful with 10 of his 12 crosses, leaving him with an overall match rating of 6.6/10.

Liel Abada – 6.7/10

Abada completes Celtic’s failed front three after being brought back into the starting line up by Postecoglou.

The 20-year-old was making his 20th appearance of the campaign and, like Jota, he failed to register a single shot on goal. He lost the ball 13 times, was beaten in five of his six duels and attempted just one dribble all afternoon.

It was a game to forget for Celtic’s attacking trio…

In other news: ‘It looks like’ – Sky Sports man reacts as Celtic seemingly close in on star with electric speed. 

Former Nottingham Forest star Nigel Jemson insists that the club’s owner Evangelos Marinakis has to be praised for backing the managers despite their poor start to the season.

Forest enjoyed a busy summer of recruitment, bringing in no fewer than nine first-team players, with five of those being loan deals.

Forest have, of course, sacked Chris Hughton after a terrible run of form that saw them lose six and draw one of their first seven games.

After the departure of the former Newcastle United boss, Forest won their first game of the season, against Huddersfield Town at the weekend, before appointing former Swansea City boss Steve Cooper to try and turn their campaign around.

Previously, the club had been linked with a swoop to sign former Sunderland striker Josh Maja from Bordeaux in Ligue 1, a deal that would have cost the club a total of £4m.

Jemson believes that such interest is a sign of just how committed owner Evangelos Marinakis is to the cause at the City Ground.

He said: “I think you’ve got to compliment the owner, he’s always given the manager money if he wants a certain player. It would have been an exciting prospect for him to come over but you don’t know the ins and outs, whether it’s more money or up front or installments or whatever it can be, or whether he’s turned it down, we don’t honestly know.

“But you have to be sure if you’re going to spend £4.5m on a player in the Championship, you’ve got to make sure he’s the right one.”