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Celtic’s Giorgos Giakoumakis has persistently struggled for fitness during his career, The Athletic’s Kieran Devlin has revealed. 

The lowdown

Having led the Eredivisie scoring charts last season, Giakoumakis joined Celtic on the final day of the summer transfer window for a fee of up to £2.5m.

He was brought in as a replacement for Odsonne Edouard, who left to join Crystal Palace, but as we pass mid-October, the Greece international has only played 33 minutes of football for the Hoops.

Giakoumakis has apparently looked ‘rusty to put it mildly’ in Ange Postecoglou’s training sessions and suffered a calf injury in the warm-up for the Premier Sports Cup tie against Raith Rovers last month.

The latest

In a Q&A for The Athletic following the weekend win over Motherwell, Devlin was asked by a Celtic supporter to shed some light on ‘why it has taken so long for [Giakoumakis] to be fit’.

In reply, he said ‘that fitness issue is an ongoing thing’ for the 26-year-old.

‘Speaking to people who have known him before’, Devlin was left with the impression that Giakoumakis’ largely healthy 2020/21 season – he started 30 of VVV Venlo’s 34 Eredivisie games – was ‘an anomaly with his form and fitness’.

The verdict

This is very worrying to hear for Celtic fans. It suggests that the club may struggle to get their replacement for Edouard, who scored 86 goals in 179 appearances at Parkhead, fit and firing.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Giakoumakis’ prolific 2020/21 season did prove to be an ‘anomaly’ in terms of his form, either, as he only netted three goals in 48 outings for his previous club AEK Athens.

Could this prove to be a costly recruitment mistake from Celtic? Let’s hope the Greek striker doesn’t end up being too injury-prone to get a proper chance to prove himself in Glasgow.

In other news, the stats show these were Celtic’s poorest performers at the weekend

Manchester United appear to have turned a corner in terms of their recruitment since the arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and one purchase stands out amongst them all.

For years, it appeared as though the Red Devils hierarchy were playing a game of Football Manager when it came to their dealings in the transfer market.

Whenever a big name became available, such as Angel di Maria, Radamel Falcao, or Bastien Schweinsteiger, United snapped them up without any consideration as to whether they would fit in the current manager’s plans.

However, after many seasons spent meandering post-Sir Alex Ferguson, the arrival of Bruno Fernandes back in January 2020 marked a new era for the English giants.

After joining the Old Trafford outfit via a £46.5m move from Sporting Lisbon, Fernandes couldn’t hide his love for the club and promised to inspire Solskjaer’s charges to silverware.

“For me to now play for Manchester United feels incredible,” said the Portugal international. “My love of Manchester United really started when I used to watch Cristiano Ronaldo play and ever since then I have been a big fan of this great club.

“I have worked hard to get to this moment, and I can promise the fans that I will give everything for the badge to help bring us more success and trophies.”

And Fernandes certainly delivered on his pledge to give everything. The now 27-year-old produced an astonishing return of eight goals and seven assists in his first 14 Premier League games for United, impressing a whole host of onlookers, including Roy Keane.

“He’s lifted everybody at the club. It’s as if he’s been there 20 years. He’s got pure quality,” claimed the Sy Sports pundit and former United legend.

“The big plus for Ole over the last year or so is that the recruitment seems to be getting better. He looks like he’s going to be a big player for United for the next few years.”

Fernandes has continued in the same vein ever since, taking his tallies up to 44 goals and 28 assists in just 90 outings for the Red Devils, an outrageous output that has seen his market value skyrocket to £81m.

There’s no doubt that United struck gold over the £180,000-per-week beast, but now he must deliver on his promise to secure a major trophy, ending the club’s longest drought in over 30 years.

And, in other news…Report reveals worrying Man United update that should leave Ole feeling concerned 

Newcastle United journalist Liam Kennedy believes that the club are happy with Joelinton after his adaptation to life in England.

The striker has struggled at times during his time with the Magpies and has not exactly been a prolific presence up front.

The Brazilian made 31 appearances in the Premier League last season and scored just four goals, while providing two assists.

It remains to be seen how many minutes the 24-year-old will have this term, after Callum Wilson was signed from Bournemouth last summer.

But Kennedy believes that the club are confident he has the ability to provide proper back-up to Wilson this season, after showing signs of improvement in the back-end of the season.

He said: “Joelinton is a player who is starting to get used to the physical aspect of the English game. And I think from March onwards last year, we actually started to see a player where you’d say ‘he can add value to the team’, so I think they’re okay with having him as a stand-in.”

Joelinton has scored a total of 10 goals in 80 games for the club, and has never hit double figures in a single campaign, while also laying on seven assists.

Steve Bruce’s side begin their season against West Ham United this weekend.

Following on from their disappointing 2-1 defeat against Norwich City, things didn’t go to plan when Southampton took on Liverpool at Anfield where Ralph Hasenhuttl chose to go with a formation of three centre-backs, two wing-backs, two central midfielders and three forwards, which ultimately led to a 4-0 defeat against the Reds.

Next up for the Saints is a midweek league clash against Leicester City who are currently five places and four points above them in the league table.

On the chalkboard

One player that didn’t start against Liverpool but managed to make a good cameo appearance off the substitutes bench that should now be in the team to take on Leicester from the start is Nathan Tella.

After replacing Che Adams at the start of the second half at the weekend, Tella did his best to make an impact on the game and managed to show his attacking and defensive capabilities.

Even though he didn’t have a shot at goal, Tella created goalscoring opportunities for his teammates by making two key passes and one accurate cross, creating one big chance in the process, a wonderful opportunity at the back post that Adam Armstrong somehow spurned.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-southampton-news” title=”Check out the latest Southampton news!”]

The 22-year-old, who is currently valued at £1.8m according to Transfermarkt, also did his bit from a defensive point of view in the second half against Jurgen Klopp’s rampant Reds by making two interceptions, one tackle and one clearance to stop Liverpool from scoring even more goals on the day.

Labelled as an “energetic” player in the past by Hasenhuttl, this latest performance earned Tella an overall match rating of 6.9/10 according to SofaScore, making him the highest-rated Southampton player on what was a rather disheartening day for the south-coast club.

Looking ahead to the Leicester match in midweek, not only would it be in Southampton’s best interest if Hasenhuttl didn’t go with the same formation that he went with against Liverpool, he should definitely reward Tella for his second-half contributions against Liverpool with a place in the starting XI on Wednesday.

With Armstrong failing to impress against Liverpool, missing that gilt-edged opportunity from Tella’s supply line, perhaps he could be the one to make way on this occasion.

In other news: Gao could replicate Adam Armstrong masterclass at Southampton with “elite” 16-goal ace – opinion

Michael Ball has called for Manchester City to spend their money wisely and not pay over the odds for Harry Kane.

Kane has been among City boss Pep Guardiola’s top summer targets since the England captain publicly confirmed he was eager to leave Tottenham Hotspur in a bid to challenge for more silverware.

The Sun reported Kane was set to get his wish and join the current Premier League champions in a £160million deal after Spurs chairman Daniel Levy sanctioned the move. However, City dismissed claims of the transfer, which would break the British transfer record, being agreed.

Kane finished last season as the Premier League’s Golden Boot winner and also registered the most assists, resulting in him snapping up the Playmaker award.

Guardiola is looking to strengthen his attacking options after seeing club legend Sergio Aguero depart following the expiry of his contract and join Spanish giants Barcelona.

While he believes Kane is the ideal replacement for Aguero, former City left-back Ball does not feel the 28-year-old is worth £160million.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “I hope they don’t pay £160million but I hope Harry Kane still goes to Manchester City.

“They need that type of player to push for that Champions League, which is what they’re craving.

“If they feel £160million is worth it to make that happen, so be it.”

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League manager Lawrie Sanchez thinks Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish could start having regrets over letting Roy Hodgson go.

Hodgson and the south London club parted ways at the end of the season and it has been a bit of a nightmare for Parish finding a replacement.

After considering a host of names, Palace looked to have found their man in ex-Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo. However, talks broke down at the last minute, forcing the Eagles to turn elsewhere.

On Palace’s manager situation, Sanchez said in an exclusive interview with FFC:

“Steve Parish will later on think, ‘You know what? I quite like Roy. He wasn’t high-maintenance, he did the job, he kept us up and we kept our money every year. This is turning into a pain in the neck and they’ll be no guarantees we’re going to do any better.’ ”

During Hodgson’s four seasons at the club, Palace finished 11th, 12th and 14th twice in the Premier League. Simply put, they were never really in any real danger of being relegated under the Englishman.

He was quite a safe bet compared to someone like Frank de Boer, who he took over from, with the Netherlands manager having the Eagles almost rock bottom before his dismissal.

West Ham United are set to offer Declan Rice ‘fresh terms’ after managing to keep the England international in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Late business at London Stadium

David Moyes’ side left their business until the final few days of the transfer window this summer after securing Europa League football last season.

Craig Dawson made his loan move permanent and Alphonse Areola joined from Paris Saint-Germain on loan, before Kurt Zouma and Nikola Vlasic both signed from Chelsea and CSKA Moscow respectively.

Spartak Moscow midfielder Alex Kral then joined his fellow international teammates Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek in London, on a season-long loan from Spartak Moscow.

After a busy summer, the Hammers are turning their attention to keeping their current stars, with this latest report claiming Soucek and Coufal are set to sign new deals.

The Latest: New Deals set to be handed out

In the report from insiders Claret & Hugh, which details the bumper new deals set for the Czech pair, the final line may come of particular interest to Irons fans, suggesting that Rice is ‘another’ player who could have a new deal in the pipeline.

The report reads: “Declan Rice is another who could be handed fresh terms – as soon as he is willing to put to paper, there will be a deal waiting for him!”

After making his 24th appearance for England and scoring his first goal for the Three Lions, BBC pundit Chris Sutton has hailed the midfielder as ‘an outstanding talent’, whilst Gary Lineker also congratulated Rice on his Twitter.

The Verdict: Needs to happen

Rice has been instrumental for Moyes’ side since the former Manchester United boss arrived at the London Stadium.

Alongside Soucek in the middle, Rice has boasted 1.7 tackles and 2.3 interceptions per game this season, playing every minute of the Premier League campaign so far.

He has now deservedly cemented himself in Gareth Southgate’s squad and has been linked with a move to his boyhood club Chelsea – the Champions League winners’ interest shows exactly how well the Hammers star is performing.

Keeping Rice at the club is vital for everyone involved if West Ham are to continue their push into the top six.

Transfer deadline day was about as far from seamless as you can get for Everton and Rafa Benitez.

The Toffees were unable to shift high-earner James Rodriguez and therefore, didn’t sign attacking target Luis Diaz.

They also failed to bring in a right-back with Salomon Rondon remaining their final acquisition.

What’s the word?

That being said, you can’t say that Everton didn’t try in the final hours of the market.

According to reports in the Netherlands, they tried to sign Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek who has been extremely limited for game time at Old Trafford. That move didn’t go through but news has emerged that they also tried their luck on a Premier League full-back.

Via The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, the Merseyside outfit lodged an enquiry with Southampton to sign Kyle Walker-Peters in the final days of the window.

Sadly, the Saints were unwilling to entertain any sort of deal.

Rafa gutted

Considering Walker-Peters was nominated for the Fans’ Player of the Year at St Mary’s last season, it’s hardly unsurprising that Southampton battered away their interest in swift fashion.

However, that eye-catching fact is precisely why Benitez should be gutted to miss out on his services.

With Seamus Coleman’s contract due to expire next summer, the Toffees are in desperate need of finding a younger individual to take his place in under a year’s time.

Everton were interested in a number of right-back’s including Royal Antwerp’s Aurelio Buta and at one stage, it looked as though he would become part of the furniture at Goodison Park.

They missed out on him and also failed to complete a move for Denzel Dumfries who ended up going to Inter Milan for just €12.5m (£10.7m). He was deemed too expensive in a window where Benitez and Marcel Brands were clearly limited financially.

Although Dumfries topped the tree in terms of their options this summer, Walker-Peters would have been an extremely viable alternative.

Throughout last season, the 24-year-old caught the eye with some powerful defensive displays. The English full-back was immense in the tackle, winning 2.8 challenges per game according to WhoScored.

If we head down those at Everton last term, it’s a statistic that would have ranked him second in the squad, only behind the diminutive Allan.

On top of that, he was exciting in forward areas, registering 1.5 dribbles per match. Again, that ranks him second in the Toffees squad. On this occasion, only Richarlison betters him in that area.

With those factors in mind, Benitez will be sad to miss out on him.

AND in other news, “Our information is” – Sky journo makes late Everton claim, Benitez will be gutted…

Everton star James Rodriguez was ‘on course to be fully fit’ for the start of the Copa America in June. 

That’s according to Danny Donachie, the club’s Director of Medical.

The Colombian Football Federation announced at the weekend that James is to be omitted from the squad given that he was ‘not at the optimum level of competition’.

But Donachie described the injury that ruled James out of Everton’s last two Premier League matches as ‘very small’.

And he said the club had ‘no issues’ with him jetting off for the tournament, which is scheduled to begin on 13 June.

The ‘only discussion’ they had with the Colombian FA was whether the pre-tournament World Cup qualifiers would come too soon for the 29-year-old.

Everton’s advice was to allow James to miss those games to prepare himself fully for the group stages.

Intriguingly, Donachie also revealed that he had seen the tests Colombia carried out and insisted that there was ‘nothing in them’ to cast doubt on James’ availability.

The Toffees expected him to be in ‘top condition’ by the time his country got their campaign underway against Ecuador, and loads of fans have been reacting to these claims after they were confirmed by the Toffees on Twitter.

Everton fans react to Medical Director’s James revelations

“The plot thickens”

Credit: @MainManMina

“Why are we briefing against our own player? Be thankful he’s getting a full summer without footy and get him ready for next year. Why add fuel to da fire? This club man.”

Credit: @AbelSouthall

“This is hysterical”

Credit: @ellieq

“Just have him fit for the start of next season”

Credit: @JayMagee6

“I’m glad he’s not playing for Colombia honestly. He really needs rest and a vacation.”

Credit: @djfsnow

“OK, Great. Is this the same person who manages Mina, Bola’s, Gbamin’s recovery!!!!”

Credit: @Tw1ttr1

“Don’t see the point in this article to be honest only gets people against our best player”

Credit: @shaungt

In other news, read fans’ reaction to links between this star player and a European heavyweight. 

Glasgow Rangers have reportedly now told Josh McPake that he can leave in the summer.

The Lowdown: Loan after loan

McPake has been sent out on loan no fewer than five times by the Teddy Bears in his career so far, most recently to Tranmere Rovers back in the January transfer window.

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He has only managed to make one senior appearance for the club, and so his long-term future under Giovanni van Bronckhorst is uncertain after a nomadic stint in Glasgow.

The Latest: McPake update

Speaking to Football Insider, an Ibrox source has revealed that the Light Blues have now given the ‘green light’ for McPake to leave on a permanent deal, as he is ‘surplus to requirements’.

The Gers have personally ‘told’ McPake that he can go after his loan spell at Tranmere ends.

The Verdict: Shame

It is certainly a shame that McPake’s career at RFC has not quite worked out, especially coming through their youth ranks.

Described as ‘excellent’ and a ‘great talent’ by Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver, another team that he has gone out on loan to, the 20-year-old signed a new deal at Rangers just last year, a testament to how highly-rated he is.

However, the summer seems the best time for both McPake and the club to part ways, as the Scottish winger looks to seek more regular first-team football and the Light Blues bank a potentially decent profit.

In other news, find out who has been ‘non-existent’ for Gers here!