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Glasgow Rangers dropped what could be two vital points in the race for the Scottish Premiership title at Saturday lunchtime ahead of the Old Firm derby.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team were pegged back deep into injury time by Matthew Wright, after twice taking the lead through debutant Amad Diallo and later Connor Goldson.

James Tavernier had equalised for the visitors after Jordan White and Regan Charles-Cook answered Diallo’s opener with two quick goals before half-time, in what was a really poor defensive display in particular from the Light Blues.

The Transfer Tavern have now used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst performers (to have played at least 45 minutes) were for the Gers on the day, and they may now be looking over their shoulder regarding their place in the XI against Celtic…

Cedric Itten

Itten ranks third to last as he was given a 6.7 overall rating by SofaScore.

The Switzerland international was hauled off just before the hour mark for Kemar Roofe with the score still level, emphasising the lack of impact he made on the game.

He lost six of his seven duels, and failed with both of his shots on goal, while he also could not manage a single dribble, and lost the ball a total of 10 times.

Itten was the only Gers starter to have recorded fewer touches than his own goalkeeper Allan McGregor, and fans were particularly critical of his display above others in the team.

Calvin Bassey

Bassey had a poor match by his standards, making a silly mistake that led to the second goal being conceded, and justifiably was only given a 5.9 rating.

The central defender lost out on two of his duels, and also failed to block any shots or make any interceptions, while he was guilty of giving the ball away on seven separate occasions.

Allan McGregor

Unsurprising, McGregor was given the lowest rating (4.6) after his two bad errors which both led to goals.

The Scotsman was simply not himself, recording just a 76% pass accuracy, one of the lowest out of his teammates, while he also lost possession six times in total, and only managed to make one save.

In other news, find out what contract update has Gers gushing here!

An update has emerged on Newcastle’s transfer plans, regarding Tottenham central midfielder Harry Winks.

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Mail, the English dynamo is set to become a key target for the Magpies in the January transfer window.

The report claims that Eddie Howe wants players with Premier League experience and has identified Winks as someone who could come in and improve the squad.

Dream signing

Howe could land his dream midfield signing in Winks as the 25-year-old has the ability to control games and function effectively in a possession-based side.

Earlier this week, the ex-Bournemouth boss picked out Jonjo Shelvey as a player who could help him change the style of play at St. James’ Park due to his quality on the ball – suggesting he wants to move to a progressive, possessional play, side. He said:

“I think we’ve got some very good technical players. Just picking one, for example, in Jonjo Shelvey. I knew how good Jonjo was on the ball technically having played against him and seen him many times.

“But having worked with him, you realise he’s a great technician and he can play passes all over the pitch — long, short. He’s someone I’ve looked at in terms of our philosophy, how we want to play and he will become very important for us as we develop.”

In a similar vein, Winks has previously been lauded for his quality on the ball. Back in 2019, ex-Spurs and Leeds player Paul Robinson praised his ability to dominate matches. The 41-year-old said:

“For me, I think Harry Winks is one of the best of the bunch. He dominates the game, defensively and offensively he offers you both and his ball retention, the stats speak for themselves.

“A fit Harry Winks is an important selection for England.”

This shows how the £91k-per-week dynamo could be perfect for the way Howe wants to play, making him a dream signing for the Magpies. Winks has a career average pass completion of 90%, along with 2.0 tackles and interceptions per game, showing that he is an effective passer of the ball who could dictate the flow of games for Newcastle.

Therefore, PIF must ensure that they are able to thrash out a deal with Spurs in January as he could play an important role in Howe implementing an exciting brand of football on Tyneside. If he can get Winks back to his best and dominating matches in midfield then he could be a dream addition to the team.

AND in other news, Howe could find Newcastle’s next Cabaye with swoop for “intelligent” 40-goal beast…

Graeme Jones is set for his first match in charge of Newcastle as interim manager against Crystal Palace in the Premier League today.

Steve Bruce was relieved of his duties earlier this week and Jones now faces the unenviable task of trying to pick up the Magpies’ first win of the league campaign at Selhurst Park.

Bruce’s denouement came in the form of a 3-2 defeat to Tottenham last week, with Newcastle 3-1 down at half-time before Jonjo Shelvey was sent off in the second half.

How many changes will Jones make to the side? Here is our predicted XI for today…

We are predicting that he will make four changes to the side from last week, with Miguel Almiron, Fabian Schar, Jeff Hendrick and Jamal Lewis all coming in.

In defence, Schar and Lewis could come into the XI for Ciaran Clark and Matt Ritchie. We published an article explaining why the Northern Ireland left-back should start, with the ex-Norwich man deserving of a chance to show that he can be an upgrade on Ritchie in the Premier League following the £39k-per-week dud’s disappointing showing against Spurs.

Clark has started six Premier League games and averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.62. He has won 64% of his duels and made four clearances per match. Meanwhile, Schar has achieved a score of 6.75 in two league starts, winning an exceptional 83% of his duels and making 4.5 clearances per game. This suggests that the Swiss defender could come in and be an upgrade alongside Jamaal Lascelles, which is why Jones could select him for this match.

In midfield, Hendrick could start ahead of Sean Longstaff. The Newcastle academy product had a nightmare against Spurs as he was hauled off after 60 minutes and was given a SofaScore rating of 6.4 as he lost half of his duels. The Irishman scored in his last appearance against Wolves, which suggests that he could come in and add a goal threat to the team.

Almiron watched on from the stands as Newcastle lost to Tottenham due to his late return from international duty, which means he could now be fresh and raring to go for this clash with Palace. The wide midfielder could come in for Joelinton, who we have urged Jones to axe, and play out on the right, with Allan Saint-Maximin switching out to the left-hand side.

We are predicting that the rest of the XI will stay the same, with Callum Wilson, Saint-Maximin, Lascelles, Javier Manquillo, Karl Darlow, Isaac Hayden and Joe Willock all retaining their places.

AND in other news,  Jones must ruthlessly axe £80k-p/w NUFC flop who’s “offering nothing”, he’s dreadful…

According to reports by Gazzetta dello Sport (via SportWitness), Tottenham are looking at Dušan Vlahović alternatives, leading to the monitoring of Sassuolo’s Gianluca Scamacca.

The Lowdown: Spurs need goals

Ever since Fabio Paratici arrived in London, Spurs have been linked with a move for Fiorentina’s Vlahović. The 21-year-old striker is in fantastic form this season, having scored 15 goals in 17 Serie A appearances, making him the league’s top goalscorer. Fabrizio Romano has claimed that it will take a bid of £59.5m to lure the youngster away from the Italian side.

These links emerged after Manchester City offered £125m for Harry Kane in the summer. Spurs of course rejected this offer, but retrospectively this seems like a hasty decision. Kane has struggled this campaign, having scored just one goal in 13 Premier League appearances.

At 29-years-old, the Englishman is in the prime years of his career. If Tottenham did decide to sell the striker, they may never receive an offer anywhere near this previous sum, and perhaps that is why they are searching for cheaper alternatives to Vlahović.

The Latest: Spurs monitoring Scamacca

According to a report by Gazzetta dello Sport (via SportWitness), Tottenham remain extremely interested in the signing of Vlahović.

However, the newspaper claim that Sassuolo’s Scamacca is currently being monitored by a couple of major English teams, and is deemed ‘popular’ in the Premier League.

Tottenham are allegedly one of the teams interested in the player, especially if Kane parts ways with the Lilywhites in 2022.

The Verdict: Sound alternative?

Vlahović is also on Manchester City’s radar, as Pep Guardiola remains without a proper striker. If the Premier League winners decide to not go in for Kane in the summer, it is expected that they will pursue the Serbia international, and perhaps that will take the decision out of Paratici’s hands.

However, Scamacca could prove to be a good alternative. Despite scoring just five goals in 17 appearances this season, the youngster has shown enough potential for Davide Ballardini, one of his managers at Genoa, to liken the 22-year-old to a young Christian Vieri.

The 6 foot 5 Scamacca is described by Whoscored as strong in the air and someone who ‘likes to tackle’, so perhaps he could be the perfect man to spearhead Antonio Conte’s new look Tottenham, performing the sort of role that Romelu Lukaku did for the manager last season at Inter.

Since signing in January, Willian Jose has had a torrid time in the Midlands. Wolves look no better with him leading the line, and it looks increasingly unlikely they’ll sign him permanently.

Jose was an eye-catching arrival. The Spaniard has proven pedigree in La Liga but he has struggled in the Premier League. He hasn’t scored in a Wolves shirt, registering just 19 touches in the area during 11 hours of football.

In that time frame, he’s had just ten shots at goal; clearly he is not the Raul Jimenez replacement Wolves were so desperately seeking.

Fabio Silva has hardly provided much either. The Portuguese was signed for big money last summer, £35.6m in fact, and has scored just twice in the top-flight.

Jimenez is still to return but you sense that Wolves could do with some added firepower when the transfer window opens.

One player they could target is Ivan Toney. The Brentford striker has been sublime this season in the Championship and as such, is attracting the eyes of not only the Old Gold but also Arsenal, Leicester and Leeds United.

The Bees have slapped a £30m price tag on his head and you can understand why. Toney has been exhilarating this term, bagging 27 goals in just 35 matches following his arrival from Peterborough.

Toney is also creative. The forward has registered nine assists in the second tier this term, proving to be a complete all-round player.

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It’s hard to deny that he isn’t better than Jose at this moment in time. Everything the Wolves target touches seemingly turns to gold while everything Jose touches goes awry.

Signing the Brentford striker, therefore, could be game-changing. He knows where the back of the net is and has pace in abundance.

He would also arrive with glowing appraisals. Before signing for the London outfit, Posh owner Barry Fry commented: “He’s turned into a tremendous all-round footballer. It’s important to remember Ivan is not just an exceptional goal-scoring forward, he’s also an outstanding defender.”

Those sentiments are also felt by Brentford manager Thomas Frank: “Ivan is a special, special player,” he said.

£30m would be a lot to pay, but as Shi proved with the arrival of Silva last summer, he is willing to pay up. Considering how lethal Toney has been, he’d definitely be worth the investment.

AND in other news, “The first thing I’d say to him” – Exclusive: Wolves icon Bull offers Fabio Silva unusual advice…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Newcastle United Hall of Famer Rob Lee says he hates the formation and system the Magpies are persisting with, and feels sorry for the likes of Dwight Gayle having to play as a winger.

Since Graeme Jones joined Newcastle they have adopted a split striker system which sees the two strikers play wider and allows midfielders to arrive into the box unmarked, however Lee doesn’t believe the Magpies have the players to play this way.

Lee would like to see players deployed in their natural positions for the remainder of the season, stating that Gayle is a goalscorer and if he’s on the wing, he won’t be able to get the goals Newcastle desperately need.

Speaking on the split striker system which has become the norm on Tyneside and why he feels for Gayle at the minute, Lee told FFC exclusively:

“I don’t like the formation they play. I don’t think we’ve got the players to play it and I know it’s Graeme Jones’ preferred way of playing, he likes his two strikers to split, but personally, I hate it.

“I feel sorry for the likes of Gayle because they barely touch the ball and you have to realise what Dwight Gayle is. He is a guy that can score goals and he’s brilliant at doing that.

“He’s very quick and plays on the last defender but he has to be around the box not wide because he’s not going to give you anything there.

“They seem to be persevering with this system and it’s not for me to say, but from looking inside and from what I’ve seen we haven’t got the players to play that way.”

Dwight Gayle was signed to help get Newcastle out of the Championship in 2016 and over his career, he’s proved his ability in the box having scored 165 goals in 248 games.

The Magpies lost their potential six-pointer against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday evening, and have to bounce back when they host Tottenham Hotspur on April 4.

Everton will host Leicester at Goodison Park this evening in an important clash that could push Frank Lampard’s side further into safety from the relegation zone if they can take all three points from the game.

In terms of injury news, despite having an almost fully fit squad when Lampard spoke yesterday in his press conference to confirm the return of Yerry Mina and Donny Van de Beek, there has now been a new injury worry in the team that could see a starting player out for the game ahead.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been named as a doubt for selection following a rumoured injury problem according to journalist Chris Beesley from the Liverpool Echo. However, there is no clarity yet on whether he will play against Leicester City and will likely come down to the game itself for official confirmation of the striker’s condition.

With that being said, this is how Football FanCast expects Everton to line up against Brendan Rodgers’ side…

We expect to see three changes in the team that beat Manchester United, with a 4-2-3-1 formation deployed.

The first change we expect to see is Yerry Mina’s instant inclusion in the selection following his long-term injury problems that have kept him sidelined since the beginning of February when he picked up a high-grade quadriceps tendon injury during the game against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

The Toffees boss confirmed that the 6 foot 3 defender hailed a “monster” by Michael Ball, will “feature” in today’s team, and we predict he will replace Michael Keane to play alongside Ben Godfrey, which will be a huge boost in the back-line.

The second change that we think we will see in tonight’s game is the return of van de Beek but placed in a more attacking role, allowing the Man United loanee to have more freedom to be creative and play a part in troubling the Foxes defence, his attacking attributes are something he is well known for from his time at Ajax.

The third and final change we predict is Demarai Gray coming in on the left wing to replace Richarlison, who will take the centre-forward role in Calvert-Lewin’s absence.

If the rumours are true that the striker is injured again, Lampard will not be wanting to take any chances on his fitness and will likely either bench the forward or remove him from the squad completely ahead of the Merseyside Derby this weekend.

Everton can go six points clear of 18th place Burnley if they can secure their second win in a row against Leicester tonight, and Lampard will surely be hoping his team can carry their confidence from their surprise win over Man United into the game, especially with the added quality re-joining the side in the likes of Yerry Mina.

AND in other news: Lampard must unleash “unselfish” £22.5m-rated Everton star, he’ll terrify Leicester

With over 200 games for Celtic, Tom Rogic has played a key role in the club’s domestic success over these past few seasons.

But this campaign has seen the Australia international really struggle to match anywhere near the kind of form that he’s shown previously – he’s managed just one solitary goal in 18 appearances and hasn’t even completed the full 90 minutes in the Scottish Premiership.

It is a far cry from his 2016/2017 season when he bagged 12 goals and provided six assists in all competitions, and his lack of form should have Neil Lennon act immediately.

Against Hibernian last time out in the Scottish Premiership, he was hugely disappointing. Having been restored to the starting line-up following a raft of enforced changes, Rogic let his big opportunity slip through his hands.

Playing in that all important number ten role, the Australian just couldn’t provide the Hoops with any sort of creativity or cutting edge. He provided no key passes whatsoever, a stat made worse by the fact that both of Celtic’s full-backs on the day, Diego Laxalt and Jeremie Frimpong, managed one each.

Rogic also had just the one shot on target, something that holding midfielder Ismaila Soro matched. It was no surprise that in the 67th minute, and the scores still locked level at 0-0, he was taken off for a Celtic youngster in Ewan Henderson.

Glasgow Live gave him a match rating of 5, saying that whilst he had “some nice touches here and there”, he was “sloppy on the ball for the most part”.

And former Aberdeen striker Noel Whelan admitted that Rogic just hasn’t been near his usual self this season, saying: “Rogic has struggled this season, he really has. He used to be the player you could rely on to produce a moment of magic, to do something special.

“But we haven’t seen much of that recently, even though the whole team has been terrible. You look at him and he’s a shadow of his former self, like quite a few of them. He’s not fit to wear that famous jersey, and he’s not the only one.”

When it comes to choosing the team for Saturday afternoon’s clash against Livingston, Lennon shouldn’t be putting Rogic into the starting line-up. The midfielder’s time as a bona-fide star is well and truly up.

Meanwhile, Celtic face a transfer battle for this young striker…

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit and BBC regular Noel Whelan has been left stunned by a recent alleged development that Tottenham are very close to selling Serge Aurier to Ligue 1 giants Paris-Saint Germain.

The Lowdown: Aurier on verge of Spurs exit…

As explained by Football Insider, the Ivorian’s exit to PSG is apparently ‘all but done’, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side now closing in on the re-signing of Aurier, who left Paris for Spurs in 2017.

Indeed, it is reported that Tottenham have accepted a bid for the 28-year-old, who is close to sealing a move back to the French capital.

The Latest: Whelan can’t believe Aurier development

Baffled by the development, former Leeds striker Whelan believes that Aurier should be counting his lucky stars if PSG re-sign him.

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“If Aurier gets the chance to go to PSG he’s the luckiest man in the world,” the pundit explained to Football Insider.

“He’s won the lottery. If he’s not good enough for Tottenham, I can’t see how he’s going to be good enough for PSG.

“It’s their money, they may have seen something they like. They must be seeing a different player.

“I think the two right-backs, that’s been a nightmare as well for Tottenham. There’s been a few signings that have not worked out.”

The Verdict: Right to be baffled?

Despite an imperious start to the season which earned praise from Alasdair Gold, Aurier has arguably dipped in form and it has resulted in him becoming one of the top candidates to be sold by Spurs this summer.

Reports have even suggested that he could be offloaded for as little as €12m (£10m), but this Football Insider claim doesn’t go into detail of the alleged bid accepted by Tottenham.

PSG’s interest and possible signing of Aurier this summer could be motived by finding a cheap defensive option to firm up Pochettino’s squad.

Even though Whelan is perhaps right to be baffled by this development, if the 28-year-old does complete a move back to France, we would advise him not to expect much game-time at the Parc des Princes.

In other news: Spurs fans warned as Levy eyes ‘big name’ manager, find out more here.

Leeds United must seize a golden chance to sign Udinese star Rodrigo de Paul after a major transfer development.

What’s the story?

Reports last summer suggested that Leeds were very much interested in bringing the Argentina international to Elland Road, and The Athletic’s Phil Hay recently indicated that the midfielder wants to come to Yorkshire.

Now, according to Italian publication Milan Live, De Paul’s “farewell” from Udinese seems to be close, with the midfielder pictured in tears on the substitute’s bench after the final Serie A game of the season against Inter.

The report adds that along with Leeds, a number of Italian sides are interested in signing him, with the likes of Milan, Inter, Juventus and Napoli all following him closely.

Kinnear’s golden chance

It was only in recent weeks that Leeds United’s chief executive, Angus Kinnear, dismissed suggestions De Paul was a player they were trying to sign.

But, when you look at the kind of player that he is, and the fact he does appear set to leave Udinese given the recent transfer update, Kinnear must surely seize this golden chance to snap him up.

Udinese coach Luca Gotti said: “Rodrigo is not the only one we have here who has a bright future but he can play for all the top clubs. Any team in the world. I mean, he starts for Lionel Messi’s Argentina. I’ve been able to watch this metamorphosis from up close, the shift in mentality that turns a good player into a top player, a champion.

“He’s become a leader and is the first person to demand more of himself. Rodrigo is able to pass that work ethic on to his team-mates.”

And, the Udinese’s technical director, Pier Paolo Marino, has also spoken highly of the £34.2m-rated midfielder, adding: “Rodrigo is animated by a profound love of football. It’s one of the attributes all top players must have. He’s a tireless worker who mixes quantity with quality, training as hard as he plays. In a nutshell, he’s the ideal player.”

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De Paul’s tears at the weekend seemed to hint at him having played his final game for Udinese, and while Kinnear poured cold water over speculation, it’s time for him to perform a major U-turn and sign him this summer.

Meanwhile, Leeds United are plotting a fresh move for this star…