A significant update has emerged regarding the future of one Celtic player, with contract talks not believed to be going well at the moment.

Celtic transfer news

The winter window has closed and the Hoops will already be looking at which players could arrive at the club during the summer transfer window, as Brendan Rodgers ensures he doesn't rest on his laurels. In fact, one player who could arrive before that point is former Newcastle United and Crystal Palace striker Dwight Gayle, with the 34-year-old linked with a move to Parkhead in recent days. He is now a free agent after his departure from Stoke City on deadline day, meaning he is free to join whoever he wants.

While new signings are to be expected later this year, there is also the very real threat that some key players leave Celtic this summer, not least Matt O'Riley. A new update has suggested that the Hoops will accept a £25m offer for their star midfielder, should it arrive at the end of the season.

Now, another report has suggested that one more Celtic player could be out of the door once the current campaign reaches its conclusion, albeit for different reasons to O'Riley.

Montgomery set to leave Celtic after injury blow

A new report from Football Insider's Wayne Veysey has claimed that Adam Montgomery looks increasingly likely to leave Celtic this year, with contract talks not moving in a positive direction, having returned injured from a loan spell at Motherwell.

"Adam Montgomery is set to leave Celtic at the end of the season and has likely played his last match for the club, sources have told Football Insider… he is yet to agree to an extension despite holding contract talks with the club.

"Well-placed sources have told Football Insider that is it looking “increasingly likely” that the Hoops will let him leave the club for free after a devastating injury blow."

Montgomery's injury setback at Motherwell was a cruel blow for him, as he looks to kick on in his career, and it does now make complete sense for him to leave Celtic in the summer. The 21-year-old will be out of contract in the summer of 2025, and considering Rodgers doesn't see him as an important part of his plans, allowing him to leave for a small fee, rather than on a free transfer when his expiry date arrives.

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It seems pointless to suddenly offer Montgomery a long-term deal when he has only made 20 appearances for Celtic over a number of years. He is at an age now when he will want to enjoy regular football at a permanent new club, rather than being loaned out constantly, having already spent spells at Aberdeen, St Johnstone and Fleetwood Town, as well as Motherwell.

Lionesses star Lucy Bronze will leave Barcelona this summer despite being offered a contract to remain with the European champions.

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Bronze to leave Barcelona this weekDefender's exit comes despite a renewal offerChelsea have held discussions with LionessWHAT HAPPENED?

Bronze's contract expires this month and as well as the England defender talking about her love for the club, reports suggested that Barca wanted to keep her around, too. However, doing so was always going to be difficult due to the financial regulations that the Catalans need to adhere to. Even before Alexia Putellas renewed in a bumper deal last month, it was widely reported that Bronze would need to take a pay cut if the two parties were going to come to an agreement on a new contract.

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In the end, Barca were able to put an offer on the table for the England star but understands that Bronze's decision not to accept it comes from her wanting to be guaranteed a bigger role in the team. The 32-year-old will now become a free agent when her deal runs out on June 30.

WHAT BARCELONA SAID

A statement from Barcelona read: "Seven titles out of eight possible. This is the legacy left to FC Barcelona by one of the best defenders in the history of women's football. And it is that Lucy Bronze will not renew her contract that tied her to the club until June 30 of the current season. The club wishes Lucy Bronze the best of luck and success in her new stage, both personally and professionally."

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DID YOU KNOW?

Unsurprisingly given her calibre, there has been plenty of rumoured interest in Bronze while her contract has been expiring, with clubs in England and the United States among those keeping tabs on her situation. understands that Chelsea have held discussions with her over a move.

As the old saying goes, 'When it rains, it pours,' and it sure is pouring for Crystal Palace this season.

The Selhurst Park faithful have been put through the wringer of late, with a loss to Everton in the FA Cup, Premier League humblings from Arsenal and sworn rivals Brighton & Hove Albion, and now an injury crisis that sees the likes of Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Marc Guehi set to spend a significant amount of time on the sidelines.

With so many things going wrong at once, it's not hard to understand why fans have been making their displeasure at the board and Steve Parish known in recent games, and while it isn't all his fault, Roy Hodgson's lack of results and tedious football has made his position at the club untenable.

So, with news that he's not long for the hot seat, who's set to replace him?

The Eagles search for a new gaffer

The fan protests seem to be working in south London, as a report from The Guardian has revealed that Parish 'strongly contemplated sacking Hodgson' in the aftermath of the club's embarrassing 4-1 defeat away to Brighton over the weekend.

However, the report has also revealed that finding a suitable replacement willing to take over before the end of the season is proving to be complicated.

One of the names on the list is former Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper, a man who helped guide the Tricky Trees to topflight status, was once tipped for the England job, but was ultimately let go when his team hit a bad vein of form.

So, would the 44-year-old be a good choice to succeed Hodgson?

How does Cooper compare to Hodgson?

Now, while Cooper might not necessarily be the most glamorous of managerial hires, and the way it ended at Forest will inevitably be held against him, his body of work is impressive, and there isn't an apparent reason why he would fail at Selhurst Park.

His journey in coaching started at Liverpool, where he worked his way up to become manager of the U18s for the 2012/13 season before landing the job of England's U16 manager for a year between October 2014 and June 2015. At that point, he became the manager of the U17's for three years and took the team to World Cup glory in 2017.

A triumph as impressive as this understandably turned heads in the Football League, and two years later, he took over Swansea City before finally landing his most recent job in charge of The Garibaldi in September 2021.

So, with a career path like that, data analyst Ben Mattinson's claim that he would be "the next England manager" makes a lot of sense.

However, for all his impressive experience, he can't compete with the decades that Hodgson can call on, including spells as the Inter Milan boss and England manager.

That said, in terms of their most recent jobs, the junior coach comes out ahead, as in his 107 games with Forest, he won 42 games, drew 27, lost just 38 and collected 1.43 points per match.

Cooper

Hodgson

107

37

42

12

27

10

38

15

1.43

1.24

In comparison, Hodgson has taken charge of 37 games since returning to Palace last year, won just 12 of them, drawn ten, lost 15 and collected just 1.24 points per match.

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Ultimately, though it may be harsh on a man who clearly cares about the future of Crystal Palace, it would be a smart idea from Parish and Co to give Cooper the job, as he has an impressive track record both with junior and senior sides.

Jayawardene will be joined by his Mumbai Indians colleague Shane Bond on the staff, while Edwards steps into her first head coach role

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2019

Charlotte Edwards and Mahela Jayawardene have been appointed as the head coaches for the Southampton-based teams for The Hundred.Jayawardene is the sixth coach to have his appointment confirmed for the tournament for a men’s team. The two men’s sides yet to have their head coaches announced are the Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets, with Tom Moody and Stephen Fleming expected to fulfil the respective roles.That means than none of the men’s sides will be coached by Englishmen, which Andrew Strauss, who stepped down as England’s director of men’s cricket last year, has labelled a “great opportunity” missed.ALSO READ: The Hundred a ‘great opportunity’ missed for English coaches – Strauss”Personally I think that [The Hundred] was a great opportunity for English coaches to be appointed,” Strauss said. “Each of those teams will have their own reasons for appointing experienced coaches, who have coached in T20 cricket elsewhere in the world.”You can completely understand that, but there is a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation in that unless English coaches get an opportunity, how do they get the experience?”Jayawardene, who has coached Mumbai Indians to two of the last three IPL titles, will work alongside another member of their staff in Shane Bond. Bond is bowling coach at Mumbai Indians, and head coach at Sydney Thunder, and will be an assistant coach in The Hundred.Former Hampshire captain Jimmy Adams and former England assistant Richard Halsall will also be part of the staff.The job is first head coach role for Edwards, who has spent the past two season as director of women’s cricket at Hampshire. She has also worked as batting coach in the Big Bash for Adelaide Strikers, and said “it’s the right time” to make the step up to head coach.”I feel like I’ve learned a lot from coaching overseas and working with the Southern Vipers,” she said. “It’s my time to have a go and see what I can do.”I think The Hundred is going to have a positive impact on the game at a grassroots level. I’m really looking forward to being there from the start and watching it all unfold. It’s really exciting because I’ve been to Australia and seen the impact the Big Bash has had and you just feel like we can do exactly that and more.”Jayawardene said that the tournament would be “innovative and exciting” and that it was a “great privilege to be head coach of the Southampton-based team.”I think The Hundred will interest the world’s best players because England is a great place to play cricket,” he said. “The structure of the tournament is good and that means most of the guys will put their name in the hat because this is a tournament that excites them.”Mark Nicholas has been appointed as the franchise’s chairman.

أصدر نادي بايرن ميونخ، بيانًا رسميًا منذ قليل، بشأن نجم الفريق هاري كين بعد استبداله في مباراة الأمس المثيرة ضد آينتراخت فرانكفورت.

وتلاقى الفريقان في قمة منافسات الجولة السادسة من الدوري الألماني، حيث تعادلا بثلاثة أهداف لمثلها.

وكاد بايرن ميونخ أن يظفر بنقاط المباراة كاملة، لولا المتألق المصري عمر مرموش الذي سجل هدف التعادل في الوقت القاتل.

وشارك هاري كين في المباراة كأساسي رفقة بايرن ميونخ، ولكنه لم يتمكن من استكمالها حيث عانى من انزعاج عضلي، أجبره على الخروج في الدقيقة 72.

وتوجه هاري كين اليوم إلى إنجلترا للمشاركة في المعسكر الدولي الخاص بشهر أكتوبر، لخوض مباراتين في دوري الأمم الأوروبية.

اقرأ أيضًا | قائمة إنجلترا لمباراتي اليونان وفنلندا في دوري الأمم الأوروبية.. استدعاء بعد 7 سنوات

وقال بايرن ميونخ في بيانه الرسمي: “أظهرت الفحوصات الطبية التي أجراها الجهاز الطبي لمنتخب إنجلترا أن هاري كين لا يعاني من إصابة في العضلات”.

وأضاف: “وبالتالي سيظل مهاجم بايرن ميونخ مع منتخب إنجلترا في المباريات الدولية المقبلة”.

ويخوض منتخب إنجلترا مباراتين ضد كل من اليونان وفنلندا، في إطار منافسات دوري الأمم الأوروبية، هذا الشهر.

Aston Villa haven’t just been successful in the transfer market over the last few years but they’ve also unearthed some fantastic gems from the academy.

Jack Grealish is always looked up to as a role model after he progressed through the Villa ranks to stardom, and Unai Emery is hoping the youngsters in his squad can have a similar impact as the Manchester City star once had at Villa Park.

Tim Iroegbunam and Jacob Ramsey are two exciting prospects who have been included in the first team, with the latter – who registered 13 goals and assists in the Premier League last season – becoming a key player.

However, there is a figure in the ranks who could surpass them both and become the dream successor to Ollie Watkins.

Ollie Watkins’ 2023/24 PL season

Simply put, Watkins is absolutely instrumental to the way Villa play, their chances of picking up three points, and their overall success.

This season in the Premier League, the England international has started every game, scoring 13 goals and picking up 12 assists, which makes him an extremely valuable asset.

Watkins is currently the joint-top assister in the league, alongside Kieran Trippier, and his ability to win games on his own makes him such a frightening forward to have, as proven by Villa’s recent 2-1 win over Fulham when he scored a brace.

Unfortunately for Villa, his incredible consistency and performances have piqued the interest of other Premier League rivals, with Arsenal being the main club reportedly interested in signing Watkins, and therefore, let’s take a look at who could be the heir to the number 11.

Louie Barry could become Watkins 2.0

Louie Barry is a name that both Villa and Liverpool fans will be very aware of, with the young striker scoring against the Reds in a 4-1 FA Cup defeat back in 2021.

Since then, the “incredible” gem, as per Declan Rice, has yet to receive a real opportunity with the Villa first team, spending most of his time on loan at numerous EFL clubs.

This season, the 20-year-old was starring for League Two leaders Stockport County before picking up a serious hamstring injury, which has kept him out since October.

Any injury is extremely disappointing, but it’s even more frustrating when in excellent form like Barry was. The attacker had scored nine goals and picked up two assists in 15 games. The Villa loanee even holds a club record, scoring in seven consecutive league games.

Minutes per game

77

Goals

9

Assists

2

Shots per game

2.5

Key passes per game

1.1

As can be seen in the table above, he was influential for the Hatters at the start of the season, terrorising defenders with his elite movement and direct approach.

A frequent attribute of Barry’s is the ability to drift out wide to the left-hand side, where he can dribble directly at the defender, cut inside, and either curl an effort into the far corner or pull it to the near post. Even the Stockport admin in a live match report said he’s “unstoppable” when he does the above.

Overall, Barry has the potential to become the perfect successor to Watkins, and if the star does leave Villa Park, Emery will know who to call on.

KL Rahul and Umesh Yadav are the only players to be left out from the squad that beat the West Indies recently

Alagappan Muthu12-Sep-2019Shubman Gill has won his first Test call-up on Thursday as India announced their squad for the home series against South Africa. The Under-19 World Cup winner replaced KL Rahul from the team that went to the Caribbean recently while Rohit Sharma has been green-lit as India’s new opening batsman.Rohit to captain Board President’s XI against the South Africans

Having been selected to open the batting for India in Tests, Rohit will get a sneak-peek at the South African attack when he leads the Board President’s XI in the three-day tour game in Vizianagaram starting September 26
Board President’s XI: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, AR Easwaran, Karun Nair, Siddhesh Lad, KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Jalaj Saxena, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Avesh Khan, Ishan Porel, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav

Mayank Agarwal kept his spot at the top of the order but there has been a lot of speculation over who will partner him. Rohit’s name had done the rounds in the lead-up to the squad being named, with former captain Sourav Ganguly and one-time IPL team-mate Adam Gilchrist among those supporting his promotion up the Indian batting order. Then the man himself expressed his desire to do the job and chief selector MSK Prasad was happy to give Rohit all three Tests against South Africa to make his case.”Yes, we are definitely looking at him [as an opener], and we want to give him an opportunity,” Prasad said. “He [himself] is keen, and all of us in the selection committee are keen [as well]. We want to push him, and give him some opportunities up the order, and see where he stands, and then we will take a call.”He has been opening in white-ball cricket for more than a decade [since 2013]. We feel he has the ability to bat up the order, we have seen that in white-ball cricket, and if he can do that in red-ball cricket, then nothing like it. We have a lot of practice matches coming up, which will be a boost to this side.”ESPNcricinfo LtdThis continues a lengthy second coming for Rohit, who last year said he had made peace with the start-stop nature of his Test career. It was 2010 when he was supposed to don the India whites for the first time, but an ankle injury threw a spanner into those plans. He finally made that long-awaited debut three years later against West Indies and smashed back-to-back centuries, suggesting that he was more than ready for the step up to the longest format. However, issues against the moving ball have restricted him to 27 Test appearances, prompting him to go rather philosophical last May.”There’s limited time you have as a player and I have finished almost half of it. There’s no point in spending the remaining half thinking whether I’ll be picked or not. I am going forward with the theory of ‘whatever time I have, make it count’,” Rohit told , referring to his record in international red-ball cricket.Gill, meanwhile, has been banging the door down to India’s Test team for a while. In July, the 20 year-old had expressed his disappointment at not being selected for India’s tour of the West Indies, saying he expected to be there in at least one of the squads. He responded by scoring an unbeaten 204 off just 248 balls after coming in at 14 for 3 against West Indies A in the third four-day game. Earlier this week, captaining India A against South Africa A in Thiruvananthapuram, Gill scored 90 in the first innings.In 14 first-class matches so far, Gill has amassed 1443 runs at an average of 72.15 with a highest score of 268. In Ranji Trophy 2018-19, he was the top-scorer for Punjab with 728 runs at an average of 104 despite playing only five games.”He has done well both as an opener and in the middle order, so he can be a back-up for both the slots,” Prasad said. “That’s the reason when KL [Rahul] was dropped out, we had given him the opportunity, but as he keeps playing he’ll get more opportunities because he’s a player for all three formats.”Speaking specifically on Rahul, Prasad added: “To tell you the truth, I think he’s an exceptional talent. We backed him, but his form has definitely dipped in red-ball cricket. With Shikhar not there, Murali Vijay has gone out, so you need to stick with one opener. You just can’t keep changing both the openers in the side. Probably with the seniors [having] exited, KL has got more opportunities but unfortunately he was not delivering consistently, and only delivering in patches. And even during those patches you could see that brilliance in him, so that gives you confidence ‘Come on, let’s back him.’ When he’s on song, he’s a treat to watch. Whoever we give an opportunity now, we will give them a fair run. We have created a bench-strength succession chart in each department in all formats.”The rest of the team lines up as it did in the Caribbean, where Virat Kohli became India’s most successful Test captain after winning the series 2-0. Jasprit Bumrah leads the fast bowling attack alongside Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami. Both Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin, and Kuldeep Yadav too, can expect more game time with the three Tests being played in spin-friendly Visakhapatnam, Pune and Ranchi. Rishabh Pant lines up as first-choice wicketkeeper while fast bowler Umesh Yadav has been pushed out. The first Test starts on October 2.