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Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst is closing in on his first transfer window at Ibrox following his move to the club in November.

The January transfer window is just over a week away and with it comes heaps of speculation regarding players coming to and leaving Glasgow.

One player who could be on his way out is midfielder Ianis Hagi. It was recently reported that Galatasaray are set to have a meeting to discuss a potential swoop for the Romanian international, whilst Aston Villa have also been touted with an interest in his services.

Bye-bye Hagi

Rangers may well be waving bye-bye to Hagi if Galatasaray and Villa firm up their interest in the playmaker, but the Gers could sign a dream replacement in the form of Bologna’s Andreas Skov Olsen.

Italian outlet il Resto del Carlino recently claimed that Ross Wilson has made an enquiry to see if a deal is viable next month and the forward could solve a major problem for van Bronckhorst in terms of replacing Hagi should he leave Ibrox.

FFC published an article explaining why it could be beneficial for Rangers to sell the Romanian to kickstart a business model based around buying young talent and selling them on for profit. This would require the Gers to use a portion of their profits to sign prospects who could be worth more in the future and the signing of Olsen would tie in with this strategy.

The 21-year-old winger fits the profile of player the club should be looking at to continue to develop talents that they can sell on; young, experienced, potential, pedigree. He has already played 67 games in the Serie A and been capped 15 times by Norway at senior level, showing that he has been able to play regularly at the top despite his age.

Olsen has also shown promise with an impressive record in attack. He has scored 51 goals for his club sides and 19 for Norway at youth and senior level, meaning that he has 70 career strikes to date. In his last ten World Cup Qualifying outings for his country, he has averaged a superb WhoScored rating of 7.39 – with five goals and three assists to his name.

Consider those stats and his lethal left-foot, and it becomes clear to see why he models his game on Dutch legend Arjen Robben.

Therefore, the £5.85m-rated gem could be the perfect candidate to replace Hagi as his statistics suggest that he has the quality in the here-and-now to make an impact in the final third for Rangers to make up for the ex-Genk man’s exit.

Olsen also has the potential, given he is only 21, to improve further and be sold on for a profit further down the line, which could benefit the Gers in the short and long-term.

AND in other news, “He’s not going to” – Huge Rangers claim made that’ll have GVB and fans running scared…

As per The Star, Glasgow Rangers are set to ramp up their interest in out-of-contract midfielder John Lundstram next week.

The Lowdown: Gers eye Lundstram

Rangers have been linked with the 27-year-old for a number of months as they look to prepare their squad for the next campaign (Glasgow Live).

Lundstram is soon to officially become a free agent after leaving Sheffield United at the end of his contract (Transfermarkt).

The Latest: Gers to step up interest in Lundstram

It is being reported that the Gers are to step up their interest in the Blades’ Lundstram, according to The Star.

Burnley and Crystal Palace are believed to be the two other clubs interested in the 27-year-old’s services.

The Verdict: Worth fighting for

Sheffield United may have been relegated from the Premier League last season, but Lundstram has impressed over the past two campaigns. He has racked up 62 top-flight appearances and, during the 2019/20 term he scored five goals and provided three assists as the Blades finished in the top half. Billy Sharp even called him a “real menace” during that campaign.

Now a free agent, he could end up being a bargain for Ross Wilson and co. He is still only 27, and at a value of £6.3m (Transfermarkt,) they would clearly be signing him for a snip – obviously the wages would need to be taken into account (he earned £25,000 per week last term; only two Gers players were better paid). This could prove to be a fantastic signing if the Gers can beat their competitors to his signature.

In other news, Rangers are set for a 40% discount as they target this 21-year-old.

Once the transfer window opens, Celtic will have a colossal job on their hands.A number of Hoops players, including Odsonne Edouard and Kris Ajer, have been linked with the exit door while they have several loanees that will head back to their parent clubs after a spell at Paradise.

On the chalkboard

One man who will definitely leave the Bhoys behind this summer is Scott Brown as the midfield veteran heads to Aberdeen to take up a player-coach role.

His replacement in the middle of the park could be Crystal Palace’s James McCarthy.

The Irishman is out of contract at the end of the season and will be available to lure to Glasgow on a free transfer.

Celtic have been linked with the 30-year-old for a good few months now and he could well become Dominic McKay’s first Celtic signing.

GIVEMESPORT claim that talks between McCarthy and the Hoops are now at an advanced stage.

Forget McCarthy

Despite being a boyhood Celtic fan, they need to completely forget about signing him this summer.

That’s because they have a number of young players in the same position coming through that they’d be better off blooding.

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The Hoops are in a transitional stage where they need to move away from older players and look towards the future.

Ismaila Soro is one player who should get a chance instead while they also have Luca Connell coming through the ranks.

However, there is a youngster who they will welcome to the club that should be given the limelight; Liam Shaw.

Celtic have agreed a deal to sign the 20-year-old, who is set to join up with his teammates at Lennoxtown for the first time this summer.

The Sheffield Wednesday youngster has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in England, playing in a multitude of positions. He can feature at centre-back but he also looks at home playing in midfield and using his long levers to stride forward.

Comfortable in possession and full of energy, his box to box style could completely reinvigorate this Celtic team.

He is adept in the air, winning 1.7 aerial duels per game but he also knows how to pick a pass and beat a man.

For instance, against Rotherham this year, he completed three key passes and four dribbles as Wednesday lost 2-1.

With Brown walking through the exit door this summer, the last thing they need to do is replace him with another ageing player. By utilising Shaw, it could breathe fresh life into a decrepit starting XI.

In a similar way to Ajer, he loves to burst forward, something we saw in the FA Cup earlier this season against Exeter.

He galloped beyond the halfway line in lung-busting fashion from centre-half before dancing past his marker on the right flank and fashioning a goal. It was a piece of play that The Mirror’s James Whaling said was “sensational.â€

Blessed with tremendous stamina and non-stop energy, McKay will need to urge the new management team to faze Shaw into proceedings as soon as possible.

AND in other news, Celtic set for huge boost as Lennoxtown news emerges, McKay & Desmond will be buzzing…

Alasdair Gold has dropped an update on the respective futures of Tottenham Hotspur midfielders Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso.

What’s the talk?

In a recent video posted on YouTube, the football.london journalist revealed that, with Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici planning an overhaul of the Tottenham squad this summer, the France and Argentina internationals are two players who look certain to be moved on at the end of the season.

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Regarding Spurs’ potential outgoing transfers this summer, Gold said: “Ndombele and Lo Celso have to be moved on. Whether it’s selling them or whether it’s loaning them again, those are two players who – you’d think – are not going to be at Tottenham next season.”

Time’s up

While it is true that both Ndombele and Lo Celso have enjoyed something of a renascence since their loan moves to Olympique Lyon and Villarreal respectively, it is undeniable that, considering the sheer amount of money Tottenham spent on their signings, both players have been failures in north London.

Following Ndombele’s £63m signing back in 2019, the 25-year-old struggled to live up to his hefty price tag, something which was all too evident from his performances in the first half of Tottenham’s Premier League campaign this season.

Indeed, over his nine Premier League appearances this term, the £31.5m-rated France international scored one goal, registered one assist and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as made an average of a mere 0.1 interceptions, 1.1 tackles, 25.6 passes and won 3.6 duels per fixture.

These returns saw the £120k-per-week midfielder average a rather disastrous SofaScore match rating of a mere 6.58, ranking him as Tottenham’s third-worst player in the top flight.

Meanwhile, over Lo Celso’s own nine league outings this season, the £19.8m-rated Argentina international scored no goals, provided no assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as made an average of just 0.1 interceptions, 0.9 tackles, 13.9 passes and won 2.7 duels per game.

These returns saw the £100k-per-week midfielder average an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.72, ranking him as Conte’s sixth-worst performer in the Premier League.

And, while the 26-year-old has offered Tottenham slightly more than Ndombele in previous campaigns, it is nevertheless undeniable that Lo Celso has also failed to live up to his £55m transfer fee.

As such, while Tottenham are unlikely to recoup anywhere near their £118m outlay from the potential sales of the two players this summer, finally moving the duo on permanently would nevertheless appear an extremely wise move by Paratici – if for nothing else but to free up roughly £220k of Spurs’ weekly wage budget – as the pair’s time in north London is well and truly up.

AND in other news: Bid made: Paratici in talks for Spurs’ 1st summer signing, no one’s “identical to him”

Swansea City have just nine games left of the Championship season and with Steve Cooper’s side just six points behind Watford in second-place, automatic promotion is still a real possibility for the Swans.

The South Wales club enjoyed an excellent start to the Championship season which was built on an impressive defensive record as well as a dangerous partnership of Andre Ayew and Jamal Lowe up front.

The Swans looked on track for automatic promotion and a potential title challenge when they produced arguably their best performance of the season in the 2-0 win over table-topping Norwich City in early February, whilst the loan signing of Conor Hourihane in midfield added some real quality in the Swansea midfield.

However, instead of pushing on from this position, Swansea have fallen away in recent weeks, whilst a superb winning run from Norwich has all but sealed their promotion back to the top-flight, as they currently sit eight points clear at the top of the table.

Heavy defeats against Huddersfield Town and Bournemouth have emphasised that teams have seemingly figured out the key to unlocking Swansea’s previously imperious defence, whilst the goals have also dried up, with Lowe in particularly bad form at the moment.

Back-to-back defeats ahead of the international break, including a home defeat against South Wales rivals Cardiff City, have cast serious doubt on Swansea’s promotion hopes but they will be hoping that the international break means they can reset ahead of the remainder of the season.

Ahead of the run in, we’ve predicted the outcome of every Championship game that will be played to generate a predicted final league table:

Cooper’s side have a favourable run-in that sees them take on several relegation candidates including Birmingham City, Sheffield Wednesday, Wycombe Wanderers and Derby County, so we feel that they will come back into form.

However, they travel to Watford on the final day and with the Hornets in impressive form of late, we predict that the Swans will, unfortunately, suffer a final day heartbreak at Vicarage Road, with Watford finishing second behind Norwich, whilst Swansea end up finishing fourth, meaning they have to settle for a play-off position.

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Swansea will certainly have to improve their recent form if they want to take it to the final day but considering their fixtures, Cooper’s side could still be in with a chance of automatic promotion this season, but we predict a play-off semi-final clash with the Cherries is what’s in store for the Swans.

And, in other news… Swansea handed huge boost with £3.6m-rated “leader”, Cooper will be relieved

Lee Ryder has dropped some enticing insight from the Premier League on the upcoming anti-competition case involving Mike Ashley and Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Legal battle

Mike Ashley has launched two separate claims against the English top flight over the failed takeover deal between him and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

One is the arbitration case due to take place this summer, and the other is the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) lawsuit over their decision-making process with regards to the failed takeover bid.

The Latest: Premier League insight

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Ryder has shared that Ashley is facing strong opposition from Premier League chiefs who are denying any suggestion that his wish to sell the North East club was rejected.

Subsequently, the top flight are trying to get his CAT case thrown out, as they go through detailed evidence put forward recently.

Ryder adds that although there has been no decision made as of yet over when the anti-competition case can get under way, Ashley has been briefed that this could change at any time, and it looks likely that it will roll on in July.

The Verdict: Intriguing

It is certainly odd to hear that the Premier League are denying any suggestion that the proposed deal between Ashley and the KSA group was rejected in their quest to get the CAT case thrown out.

The St. James’ Park faithful clearly feel the opposite, and so it will no doubt be interesting to see what the results of both cases will be and how the league’s plot pans out.

Nonetheless, if the Tyneside club are successful in the legal saga, they will then need full cooperation from the top flight with regards to speeding up the takeover process.

With the summer transfer window already underway, and the start of the new 2021/22 season set to start in August, this will be vital if they are to make an immediate impression if the bid is able to go through.

In other news, find out what latest news the consortium are ‘devastated’ by here!

Speaking to Football Insider, Sky Sports pundit Paul Robinson has been left thrilled by a claim involving Tottenham Hotspur and Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.

The Lowdown: Tottenham in talks for Kounde…

According to reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his Here We Go podcast, Tottenham are in talks with Kounde’s agents regarding a possible move to north London this summer.

Indeed, Spurs and new boss Nuno Espirito Santo are in the market for star defenders and a revamp of their backline is expected.

The Latest: Robinson thrilled by Kounde claim…

Reacting to this Romano claim, Sky regular and former Tottenham goalkeeper Robinson has been left thrilled and believes he is a possible signing who would excite supporters.

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He also described the France international as a ‘very welcome addition’ if Spurs can get a deal over the line.

“He is the world-class centre-half that Spurs so desperately need,” he explained to Football Insider.

“To be honest, I think Spurs need two or three centre-halves because they are nowhere near good enough in that area right now.

“A player the calibre of Kounde, a top-class international centre-half, would be a very welcome addition indeed.

“That would be a signing that would fill me with optimism and anticipation for the new season.

“There is a lot of questions and a lot of uncertainty at Spurs going into next season but Kounde is a signing who would excite fans.”

The Verdict: Bang on the money…

The 22-year-old is arguably one of the most exciting young defenders in world football and it’s safe to say Tottenham securing his signature would be huge.

Over his 33 La Liga starts for Sevilla last season, the youngster averaged a head-turning 90.1% pass accuracy (WhoScored) – arguably summing up his commanding and composed displays at times.

Tottenham need this kind of authoritative presence at the back and we believe he is indeed a possible signing who could turn many heads.

In other news: ‘I’d be excited, Spurs fans’…Stan Collymore thrilled by major news out of N17, find out more here.

Lyndon Dykes’ tenth goal of the season wasn’t enough to see Queens Park Rangers to victory as Rotherham United came from behind to thrash Mark Warburton’s side.

The Rs boss was left reeling after the match, claiming he was “angry” before adding: ” Very simply we didn’t deserve to win (after) the last half an hour.”

He’ll undoubtedly want to rethink ever giving Niko Hamalainen an opportunity again as he was absolutely abysmal on the left flank in the absence of Lee Wallace.

West London Sport graded him as QPR’s worst-performing player, and dealt a scathing review of his performance. ‘On this showing looks horribly out of his depth and probably won’t be seen again soon,’ wrote Ian McCullough.

‘Offered nothing whatsoever as an attacking outlet and looked vulnerable defensively all game. His weak challenge on Crooks on the stroke of half-time resulted in a broken nose for De Wijs and was then caught ball-watching as Ladapo wandered past him to slam home Rotherham’s equaliser.’

The numbers would reinforce such a statement.

As per SofaScore, the 24-year-old was unable to get a foothold on the game, managing only 49 touches which were some 11 touches fewer than goalkeeper Seny Dieng (60) and lower than the average that Wallace usually puts up (55).

Warburton’s current system is heavily dependant on his wing-backs getting up and down the pitch, but the Finland ace struggled to contribute at either end.

He failed to provide an accurate cross from four attempts, leaving Dykes to feed off scraps for large spells of the match, and he also made only 64% of his passes – the worst of any QPR outfield start barring the Scottish forward. Nor could he manage a successful dribble. Hugely ineffective.

Defensively, Hamalainen was just as poor. He lost possession a whopping 16 times, meaning every three touches saw him gift the ball back to the Millers, and similarly, the 5 foot 9 lightweight won just three of eight duels (37.5%).

This was the 24-year-old’s first start since an abysmal outing at Birmingham ten games ago, and it’s easy to see why as he once again let Warburton down when finally trusted to start.

As evident above, it would be a surprise to see Hamalainen given another shot before the end of the season – he really was that poor.

If there was one word to summarise the last 12 months for Celtic, it would be drama.

Parkhead has witnessed some remarkable events since May 2020, from basking in a ninth league title in a row to enduring hapless protests against the Bhoys ownership.

Then, just when you thought their devastatingly bad season was coming to an end, Eddie Howe kicked the Hoops where it hurts.

For so long it looked as though the 43-year-old was going to be announced as the new Celtic manager. However, due to complications involving his preferred backroom staff, a move for him collapsed on Friday.

The Glaswegian side have moved on quickly, though. They are already in advanced talks with Australian manager Ange Postecoglou, who wants to join the Hoops, and Celtic could announce him at some point next week.

It’s thought that the hierarchy have been tracking Postecoglou for a number of months, but we think they should be focusing on someone else now.

Their failure to get Howe through the door has opened up a wonderful avenue to bring Paulo Fonseca to the club. They’ve already seen Celtic-linked Enzo Maresca head to Parma and they cannot afford to miss out on a third managerial target.

Fonseca is leaving Roma this summer and has reportedly been offered to Dermot Desmond and co.

What they’ve done with that information is unknown but they’d be foolish to pass on the opportunity. After all, the self-professed “brave” manager plays a brand of football for which Celtic should be pining.

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His Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk teams were known for playing at breakneck speed, moving the ball around with short passing in an incisive manner.

Considering how much possession Celtic often enjoy, finding a manager who knows how to utilise it in the desired way will be key.

The Bhoys averaged one of the highest possession rates in the whole of Europe this term, amassing 61.9% of the ball. Those are incredibly high numbers but it provides evidence for why Desmond needs to hire a man comfortable at passing the ball around.

Postecoglou’s Yokohama F Marinos average 64.7% of the ball this season but, crucially, Fonseca has the experience of managing in Europe to a successful level. The 48-year-old took Roma to the Europa League semi-finals this year, thriving in an area where Celtic have been off the pace for a while.

They were the dominant force domestically for so long but have struggled to go beyond the group stages of the Champions League or the last 32 of the Europa League.

Therefore, Fonseca could revive their fortunes in this area. At the same time, he would likely introduce more attractive football and a never-say-die attitude, and Desmond should relish the thought of him taking over at Paradise.

AND in other news, Celtic must sign 49-goal gem who left a “huge impression” on Neil Lennon…

Rangers travel to face St Johnstone in the Premiership this weekend as they look to build on their Old Firm derby success prior to the international break.

Steven Gerrard’s side beat their crosstown rivals 1-0 before players jetted away to play for their countries, with Filip Helander scoring the only goal of the game at Ibrox.

They are now set to go up against a St Johnstone team who are yet to record their first win in the league. With four games played, they have three draws and one defeat to their name, scoring once and conceding twice.

One player who Gerrard could bring in to help break down the opposition’s stubborn defence is right-back James Tavernier. He missed the win over Celtic due to a viral infection and is now back in training ahead of this weekend’s match, which means that he could be available for selection.

Leon Balogun filled in at right-back against the Hoops and put in a solid defensive display. He was given a SofaScore rating of 7.2, making seven clearances and four tackles during the game, but he failed to create a single chance for his teammates or register a shot on goal.

This suggests that he does not offer the same attacking threat as Tavernier, which is why the former Newcastle man must be unleashed against St Johnstone. He has already provided three assists in as many games this season, averaging a sensational 4.3 chances created per match.

Last year, Gerrard hailed him as unstoppable when he’s at his best and claimed that he does not get the credit he deserves. The Gers head coach told the club’s official website: “I think Tav is someone who, when he goes through the gears, is unstoppable, and we have seen that, or flashes of that so far this season. I think he is really close to being at his best.

“Tav is a huge player. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves I don’t think from our own supporters or the credit he deserves from outside.”

This highlights how highly rated he is by Gerrard, with his statistics from the 2020/21 Premiership campaign backing up the manager’s comments. Tavernier produced 12 goals and nine assists from right-back, creating 11 ‘big chances’ and averaging two key passes per game.

Therefore, bringing the defender back into the team for this weekend’s clash could win the game for Rangers, as his attacking threat from right-back could increase their chances of scoring. He could come up with a crucial goal or pass to create a goal to turn a draw into a victory, which is why Gerrard must include him in his starting XI ahead of Balogun on Saturday.

AND in other news, “Strange one”: Alan Hutton makes worrying Rangers injury claim that’ll concern Gerrard…