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Glasgow Rangers inflicted the second Old Firm derby blow of the season to move 19 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership as ten-man Celtic were left to rue their missed chances.

Ianis Hagi, making his 26th appearance of the season, has made himself virtually undroppable after his heroics in the second half.

Celtic were the better side for the most part, but now sit far behind their arch-rivals as the title race starts to look like it is all but over.

Steven Gerrard’s side had made their best start to a domestic campaign since 1928 but started the derby game on the back foot. However, everything changed after Hagi replaced Kemar Roofe at half-time, with the Ibrox boss later confirming that Roofe had suffered a knock.

Undroppable

Hagi, 22, started on the bench but his performances over the past couple of weeks have surely made him impossible to drop for Steven Gerrard.

Roofe’s versatility has proven to be an added bonus – since his arrival in the summer, the 27-year-old has made 12 starts out of his 21 appearances across all competitions on the right-wing. There’s no doubt his absence will be a bitter blow for the Ibrox boss, who already faces the prospect of travelling to Premiership rivals Aberdeen without Scott Arfield and Ryan Jack.

On the right, Hagi has looked pretty comfortable on almost every occasion he’s played, slotting into place alongside the likes of Alfredo Morelos, Jermain Defoe and Cedric Itten over the course of the campaign.

There are some similarities between the two players, with both having a penchant for scoring sensational screamers. But there are also some obvious major differences, with the Romania international demonstrating an ability to dictate play and bring others into the game.

He’s already provided ten assists in all competitions this season, ten more than Roofe so far, and has excelled in the Europa League.

Hagi has scored one goal in four games, while he is averaging two shots per game in comparison to the Jamaican’s 2.3. He has also made more key passes per game – 1.7 to 0.7 – while he’s also produced 31 passes on average.

Once hailed as an “outstanding” player by the Ibrox boss, the Romanian has provided seven goals and 12 assists in 39 appearances for the Gers, via Transfermarkt.

Should Roofe be ruled out for an extended period of time, Hagi has shown that he is more than capable of filling his boots.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers dealt huge injury blow after Old Firm clash with Celtic…

Sheffield Wednesday are still looking for their fifth permanent manager in three years following the sacking of Tony Pulis nearly a month ago.

The 63-year-old was given his marching orders by Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri after a run of games which saw the Yorkshiremen win just once in ten outings.

Pulis was soon thrown under the bus by the Thai businessman for a variety of reasons, but what stuck out most was how unhappy he was with the style of football on offer.

Chansiri told reporters in a virtual press conference, via talkSPORT: “I was not convinced about his style of play so it was not the right choice,” before adding: “I told him I don’t like the old English style but he told me he wouldn’t play like that, his tactics would depend on the opponents.”

This is something he’ll have to get right with his next appointment and he ought to look no further than Slavisa Jokanovic, who has been linked with the vacant managerial role in the past week.

The 52-year-old has twice won promotion from the Championship, taking both Watford and then Fulham up to the Premier League, which ultimately will be the Owls’ long-term goal should they stave off relegation this campaign.

It’s been over 20 years since top-flight football was played at Hillsborough Stadium.

Aside from his obvious ability to improve teams drastically, Jokanovic has always been lauded for his exciting and attacking brand of football. Indeed, his Cottagers were once dubbed the ‘Man City of the Championship’ by the Guardian’s Paul MacInnes.

In addition to that, the Premier League’s official website wrote this about that very side: “They play attractive football based on movement and domination of the ball.”

Former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe once lauded the Serbian as an “outstanding coach” to Sky Sports, and added: “The style of play is one that draws a lot of praise, a lot of plaudits last year for the way they did it.”

While Jordi Cruyff, who appointed him at Maccabi Tel Aviv, also praised his coaching ability, he said: “He played various systems. He does like to play from behind but he also likes to adapt himself to moments that he might not have control of. I think his reading of the game was very good.”

The Owls have endured many a playing style over the years, but this type of football is most comparable to that of the Ron Atkinson era, the very man to guide Wednesday to League Cup glory in 1991.

ExaminerLive described his side as “attractive” and “entertaining,” claiming that they had a “swashbuckling style of play,” so it’s easy to see why so many would be keen to see Jokanovic appointed.

Time is running out this January for any new hire, so Chansiri ought to act sooner rather than later and there isn’t a better candidate than the two-time promotion winner out there right now.

He could bring shades of Atkinson back to south Yorkshire.

AND in other news, Forget Murphy: Owls must secure future for £20k-p/w ace who Pulis dubbed a “top player”…

West Brom have seen many of their youth products burst onto the scene under Slaven Bilic since his appointment last year.

The likes of Kyle Edwards, Rekeem Harper and Dara O’Shea are all extremely well thought of by the Baggies boss, as was Nathan Ferguson before he swapped the Hawthorns for Crystal Palace, who he is yet to feature for.

But forget about all those for just one second, there’s one player who could be the next to breakthrough at Albion.

The Midlands outfit recently named an exceedingly strong side to face Sunderland in the Premier League 2 this week, giving game time to Charlie Austin, Kamil Grosicki and Matty Phillips, who would all be considered experienced first-team pros.

Despite the heavy-influence of many of Bilic’s senior squad, U23 boss Richard Stevens was still able to name some of his promising prospects, namely Aksum White, who delivered at right-back once again.

The 20-year-old provided the assist for the first strike of Grosicki’s brace, making it two from six starts in the youth competition.

Intriguingly, he’s showing major characteristics of the aforementioned Ferguson as he has also featured in central defence, the position at which the fellow 20-year-old began his career in before moving to the right.

White was also part of the squad that made history by making the FA Youth Cup semi-finals last season. He even lauded following their season-opener against arch-rivals Villa earlier in the season.

BirminghamLive graded his display 7/10, and claimed: “A very disciplined showing, in terms of his positioning. No nonsense tackling on the right side of defence to avert the danger.”

This merely reinforces how the West Brom staff rate him as he’s described as a “strong full-back” and “is a hard-working player who loves defending,” as per the official website.

The very fact that he has been given a senior squad number for the season (#47) tells you that there’s a chance he could feature in the first-team at some point.

White could well be the second-coming of Ferguson, no one knew who he was until Bilic handed him his debut, so you can forget about O’Shea on the right. Let him play through the middle with the marauding U23 workhorse there to battle Darnell Furlong instead.

AND in other news, West Brom nightmare over ex-academy sensation made worse by Aston Villa…

Steve Bruce must unleash Ryan Fraser from the start when Newcastle United visit Leeds on Wednesday night with the winger back ready for action after a hamstring injury.

The ex-Bournemouth attacker has missed the Magpies’ last four Premier League fixtures but has battled to overcome the issue and be passed fit for the midweek trip to Elland Road.

Bruce is yet to be given the chance to truly rely on Fraser since his arrival at St. James’ Park as a free agent in the summer, having only begun a strict training regime after signing with the Magpies.

Bruce felt Fraser’s Bournemouth exit played a role in his slow start to life on Tyneside, with the 26-year-old’s decision to reject a short-term contract extension to cover the delayed end of the season seeing him last step on the pitch in March.

“Considering he hasn’t played since March, his effort, endeavour and enthusiasm was there for everybody to see,” Bruce said of Fraser, via quotes by the Independent, after the Scotland international scored on his debut against Blackburn Rovers in the Carabao Cup.

“The only bit of quality we showed all night was the goal. It was a great ball, a great run and Ryan stuck it in well.”

Bruce now sees Fraser like a new signing after his rehabilitation was uninterrupted by the closure of Newcastle’s training ground following an outbreak of Covid-19, and has confirmed the £14.4m-rated forward will be in the squad to face Leeds on Wednesday.

“Fraser is OK. It has just been injury and he has trained for the past week and a bit,” Bruce said, via quotes by the Chronicle. “He has been interrupted because of the training ground closure.

“He is fully fit and like a new signing for us.”

But Fraser is only expected to be named among the substitutes at Elland Road, which would be a mistake by Bruce who should be handing the Aberdeen-born maestro only his second Premier League start in black and white.

Bruce lauds Fraser for being a “very, very meticulous” player who was “champing at the bit” to get started for Newcastle, only to see that option taken away through injury. But his desire to get going will simply have grown whilst out for the past month.

In that time, Toon fans have often seen their side struggle for creativity in midfield with Sean Longstaff the only one to provide a key ball in defeat to Southampton, no single player proving multiple key balls against Chelsea, Jonjo Shelvey the sole midfielder to create chances at Crystal Palace while neither Longstaff nor Miguel Almiron provided a key ball in Saturday’s win over West Brom.

Matt Ritchie may have fashioned a joint-game high three key balls against Slaven Bilic’s Baggies, per WhoScored, but also failed to register a single successful dribble while Almiron lost two of his three and accounted for 42% of the Magpies’ total seven shots on target.

Bruce can solve his need for consistent creativity in midfield on both fronts by starting Fraser, not by introducing the £41.8k-p/w attacker from the bench when chances to influence proceedings are far slimmer.

AND in other news, Lee Charnley must secure a January loan exit for an in-demand Toon gem Steve Bruce takes for granted.

Steve Bruce has suggested that Newcastle have already begun the process of scouting potential targets ahead of the January transfer window, but he also revealed that scouts not being able to view targets live is an issue.

The Magpies invested around £35M in the squad over the summer, and it is thought that Mike Ashley will make funds available for Bruce again in January irrespective of what happens surrounding the takeover saga, per Chronicle Live. That assurance comes after Newcastle opted not to invest in the squad during last season’s winter window.

Scouting challenges for Newcastle revealed

It has been reported that Newcastle have been preparing to operate ‘business as usual’ behind the scenes in January, with the likes of Ashley, Bruce and head of recruitment Steve Nickson drawing up plans for potential targets, per Chronicle Live. However, those plans would be subject to change were any developments over the takeover to emerge.

In the absence of any such developments, Newcastle will continue to identify and scout the targets that Bruce is seeking in January. In the summer the Magpies boss was insistent on ensuring that players brought in would arrive with prior Premier League experience, in order to avoid having to wait for players to settle into English football, per Chronicle Live. He may opt for the same approach this coming window.

Speaking in his press conference ahead of Newcastle’s meeting with Everton, Bruce revealed that the lack of access scouts have into grounds at the moment makes signing players more challenging. He also admitted signing players without having viewed them is not something he wants to do.

He said: “The scouting team have set themselves up at St James’ Park. They’re there for three days a week.

“The difficulty is, of course, it’s never quite the same so it’s very difficult just to watch a video and I think I’ve seen something like 10, 12 games this week. We’ve got to be careful we don’t over saturate that but that’s a different story.

“On the scouting ones, they are doing a lot by video and a lot with the technology we’ve got where we can watch any game in the world.

“The technology today is quite remarkable but it’s not quite the same as seeing people live so we’re identifying the targets that we would look at and hopefully get the chance to see them live because buying someone without seeing them live is certainly not my cup of tea and it’s certainly not Steve Nickson’s, either.”

Steve Bruce might have take transfer gambles to strengthen his squad

Newcastle were looking to add further to their squad before the summer window closed, but they missed out on both Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley. The need to add more bodies in midfield has only been heightened by the recent hernia injury for Jonjo Shelvey, while there are also other areas of the squad which need addressing during the winter window.

Whilst the current situation of scouts not being able to view players firsthand is challenging, the Magpies could negate that somewhat by looking for readymade Premier League players as they had done in the summer. That would enable the Magpies to have more faith in the players being signed, but what they cannot do is use it as an excuse not to add to their squad at all.

In other news, find out what this club’s stance is over a £23m-rated rising star is amid Newcastle’s interested here.

Celtic missed out on signing £25million Tottenham Hotspur acquisition Ryan Sessegnon, who is currently on loan with Hoffenheim until the end of the season. His admirable versatility and strong presence in front of goal during his Fulham days attracted a lot of attention, but he has fallen down the pecking order at Spurs.

Whilst Jose Mourinho is a fan of his and has labelled him a “fantastic” player, the 20-year-old still has a lot to learn. This loan spell could be the making of him under the Portuguese icon, or it could attract interest from other clubs.

Celtic must revisit Sessegnon talks

The Hoops registered their desire to sign the England youth international just before the summer transfer deadline. Sky Sports reported that the Premiership outfit were very keen on Sessegnon, but finances proved to be a problem in getting a deal over the line.

Indeed, the current climate has hit many clubs hard and sacrifices have been made. But with plenty of clubs interested in Odsonne Edouard, Neil Lennon could be looking to cut his cloth there and use the funds to invest in a player like Sessegnon.

His final season with Fulham saw him take on a multitude of roles, including right-back, left-back, left-wing and centre-forward (via Transfermarkt). As it stands, this kind of versatility would be hugely beneficial to Celtic, who have seen an ongoing change in their starting lineup.

It’s been a tough 2020/21 season for the Hoops so far, who have fallen out of favour in the league and are having a torrid time in Europe. Lennon appears to be jamming square pegs into round holes as he juggles an injury-ridden squad. The recent controversy with Mohamed Elyounoussi could also see him lose the clinical striker, who has made a big impact on the club this term.

This is exactly where the manager would have benefited from Sessegnon, who has shown his confidence in slotting into almost any position on the pitch and performing to the highest standard.

In other news, Shane Duffy was biggest Celtic disappointment against Sparta Prague…

As confirmed by the club’s official website, Newcastle star Allan Saint-Maximin has penned a new six-year contract to stay at the club.

What’s the word?

The Frenchman has been a revelation at St James’ Park since arriving from Nice in the summer of 2019, lighting up the Premier League with some virtuoso individual performances – no Newcastle fan will forget his incredible hat-trick of assists away at Bournemouth at the back end of last season for example.

Now, the club have confirmed that Steve Bruce’s side have taken a major step in ensuring Saint-Maximin’s best days are on Tyneside, with a bumper new contract all signed.

The Daily Mail had earlier revealed that there had been interest in the winger, but Bruce himself knows that keeping the 23-year-old happy on and off the pitch at St James’ Park is crucial to the side.

Some redemption for Mike Ashley

Mike Ashley will never be a fan favourite at Newcastle, and rightly so given the way the club has stagnated over the years – no European football has been seen at St James’ Park since the 2012/2013 campaign. But his part in helping to strengthen the first-team squad over the course of the summer transfer window have been important in ensuring Bruce can help the Magpies kick on.

But more than the amount of money he could put into the club to help bring new signings, getting Saint-Maximin to commit his future to the club and shelve interest from elsewhere may go down as the best piece of business Newcastle could do this year.

The Frenchman has made himself a talismanic figure for the Magpies, and that’s clearly shown in how they perform when he’s on the pitch, as opposed to when he’s not. In the 15 Premier League games they have played without Saint-Maximin in the starting line-up, they have won just one match. In contrast, in the 26 games he has been, they’ve won almost half, with 12.

So for all the positives in signing Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser and Jamal Lewis, among others, getting Saint-Maximin to stay tops the lot.

In other news, Newcastle dodged a bullet by not signing this Premier League ace.

After taking the lead through a wonder strike from Grady Diangana, West Brom came away from their clash against Everton on Saturday afternoon with nothing to show at the end of it.Slaven Bilic’s side hit the self-destruct button right on the stroke of half-time when former Arsenal man Kieran Gibbs retaliated and stuck out a hand in James Rodriguez’s face, earning himself a straight red card from referee Mike Dean.

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The Baggies battled back to make it 2-2 thanks to a free-kick from Matheus Pereira, but the Toffees eased to a victory in the end against ten men.

And after watching him lose his cool and get himself sent off, West Brom fans took to Twitter to voice their frustrations with Gibbs.

A couple of fans suggested that the Baggies desperately need a new left-back before the end of the transfer window, with one supporter even insisting that Gibbs should never play for the club again.

Make no mistake about it, up until that sending off, West Brom looked in control of the game, registering the same number of shots on target in the first-half (3) and being unfortunate with the nature of Everton’s equaliser through Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

But Gibbs’ sending off completely changed the complexion of the game, and it was no surprise to see the Toffees run away with it after the break.

When Bilic heads back on to the training field, he’ll have to have a serious think about Gibbs going forward.

In our Transfers that shook the club feature, Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at deals that many may not have seen coming and the impact that they had during their time by using statistical data and pundit remarks.

Kevin Keegan is a name that makes the hairs stand up on the necks of Newcastle United fans around the world.

A fine player for the Magpies, the now 69-year old scored a rather impressive 48 goals in 78 games in English league football between 1982 and 1984, according to Soccerbase.

Many supporters of the Tyneside club would have therefore relished the appointment of Keegan as manager ahead of the 1993/94 season, when he won 24 of his 43 matches in carge, with his team scoring 89 goals in the process, as per Transfermarkt.

The 1994/95 season would see his record dip slightly, as the Englishman won 23 of his 47 games as coach, with his side managing to score nine fewer goals (via Transfermarkt).

However, it was arguably not until the 1995/96 campaign that Keegan really made his mark. Finishing just a mere four points off of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in the Premier League table, the Geordie guided his team to a quite respectable second place. On the other hand, this could remarkably be seen as an ultimate failure, with the Magpies being 12 points clear at the top of the table in February.

Ultimately, Keegan’s tenure at St. James’ Park came to an end in the January of the following year, as the Toon Army still ponder what might have been.

However, little did they know back then that this was not the end of the Messiah. Indeed, the silver fox returned as manager in the northeast in January 2008 in what may have come as a shock.

Unfortunately, Keegan only managed to win four out of his 17 games in charge during his second spell in charge (per resigning after only eight months in the job, which left the club searching for a new boss very early in the campaign.

With all of this in mind, it cannot really be said that the return of King Kev was all that successful, and so fans may still be cursing their luck that his reign could be deemed ultimately as another failure, with flashbacks of the 1995/96 Premier League title collapse still fresh in their minds.

Geordies, was Keegan’s return to Newcastle a failure? Comment below with your views!

Tottenham are holding talks with Southampton to sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the summer. 

Jose Mourinho has identified Hojbjerg as his top target to transform the side that he inherited from Mauricio Pochettino.

Hojbjerg has made it clear he wants to leave Southampton as he is looking for a new challenge. He will be out of contract next year and this summer could be the last chance for Ralph Hasenhuttl to cash in on his former captain.

According to Football Insider, Spurs are negotiating with the Saints over a possible move, with Tottenham confident that they can complete a deal for the Dane this summer. The Saints were demanding £35m for the ex-Bayern Munich ace but he could be available for a cut-price deal worth £20m as they are eager to get rid of him as soon as possible.

Although Daniel Levy is infamously tight-fisted, the club believe that they will be able to reach an agreement with Southampton in a matter of weeks.

Hojbjerg was stripped of the captain’s armband after refusing to sign a new deal with the Saints and a move is surely in the interests of both parties involved.

Spurs have borrowed a huge sum of money from the Bank of England, as Levy has taken out a £175m loan to cover the costs of these uncertain times. However, the club have held early discussions with his agent Pini Zahavi to sort out conditions of the contract.

Everything seems to be working in Tottenham’s favour, as Zahavi has a strong relationship with Mourinho, which should in theory smooth things over.

As it stands, Spurs should easily be able to afford the asking price, as they splashed the cash to sign Tanguy Ndombele last year. However, clubs are working under extreme conditions, so fans will have to wait and see what deals can be made before the transfer window closes.

Tottenham fans, should Daniel Levy sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the summer? Let us know down below!