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Leicester City travel to the London Stadium for their second Premier League game of the season tonight, and they’ll be hoping to make it back-to-back victories when they take on West Ham United.

The Foxes began their 2021/22 campaign with a satisfying 1-0 victory over Wolves last weekend, getting their hunt for a top-four finish off to a solid start.

What’s the word?

Their victory over Bruno Lage’s men was made even more impressive by the fact that they were missing several key first team players for the match, and Rodgers has revealed that he’s set to be without summer signing Ryan Bertrand once again as the 32-year-old recovers from a viral infection.

“The squad will be about what we had last weekend,” the manager said in Friday’s press conference. “Ryan Bertrand won’t be available. It’s mostly the same, but Timothy Castagne will be available.”

Castagne’s return will be warmly received by the Leicester manager and fans alike, with fellow full-back James Justin also sidelined through a serious knee injury.

However, the Northern Irishman confirmed that compatriot Jonny Evans has not recovered in time from a foot complaint to make his first appearance of the season.

“(Evans) is out (on the grass) but he’s not training with the team. It’s just ongoing with Jonny and the injury. We said we would see where he’s at after the international break. He’s not near to playing as of yet,” Rodgers said.

More bad news has filtered through over the course of the weekend, as The Athletic’s David Ornstein disclosed that Jannik Vestergaard will also miss tonight’s clash with West Ham due to injury.

The 6 ft 5 centre-back was brought into the club to provide cover for Wesley Fofana, who isn’t expected to feature for the remainder of the year, but then he picked up a problem himself in training, ruling him out of action.

Brendan Rodgers will be gutted

Despite Castagne’s return offering a brief reprieve on the fitness front, Vestergaard’s absence on top of those of Evans and Bertrand will leave Rodgers feeling gutted as their defensive injury crisis continues to plague the club.

A string of absences contributed to the Midlands outfit missing out on a Champions League qualification spot in the last two consecutive seasons, and the former Celtic boss must already be worried that history could repeat itself once again this time around.

In other news… Forget Perez: Rodgers must unleash Leicester’s “incredible” £18m-rated gem versus West Ham 

Former Premier League striker Nigel Jemson has expressed his surprise that his beloved Liverpool have not been linked with a potential move to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur.

The £108m-rated England captain has been at the centre of a long-running saga throughout the summer, with Manchester City trying to extricate him from north London.

They have yet to table an offer that meets chairman Daniel Levy’s asking price, however, with reports suggesting that he is demanding around £150m.

Kane was left out of the majority of pre-season, but did make his first appearance of the season at the weekend, coming on as a substitute against Wolves in the 1-0 win at Molineux.

Liverpool have kept their powder largely dry this summer, only bringing in the defender Ibrahima Konate on a permanent deal.

And Jemson is surprised that they have not been linked with a deal to bring Kane into the club from Spurs, and thinks he would be an excellent signing for the Reds.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, he said: “So if Harry Kane wants to leave for trophies, then Manchester City’s the place.

“But then again, would he do a good job for Liverpool? Yes, he would. And I find it quite bizarre that he was never, ever linked with Liverpool.”

Rangers have been heavily linked with SC Heerenveen midfielder Joey Veerman throughout the transfer window but it seems he is resigned to staying with the Eredivisie side, which is a blow to Steven Gerrard at Ibrox.

What’s the word?

Rangers have been tracking the Dutchman for a number of months but Heerenveen were clearly not keen on selling one of their top prospects and have rejected bids from a number of clubs, which perhaps discouraged Rangers from acting further on their interest.

Veerman has now spoken out on his future, with AZ Alkmaar the latest side to see their advances turned down, saying:

“I am simply paid by Heerenveen. I am also a player of this club.

“It now takes another day and a half for the transfer window to [close], so it will be quite difficult to leave.

“I already knew about AZ’s offer two days earlier. It’s just before the transfer period, but I can’t change that.”

A blow for Rangers?

From Veerman’s quotes, it seems unlikely that he will leave the Eredivisie side before the transfer window shuts and unfortunately for Rangers, after their Champions League exit last month it was perhaps always going to be difficult to match Heerenveen’s asking price.

However, it is still a blow for Rangers that he won’t be joining, as his performances in the last two seasons suggest that he could have been a huge hit at Ibrox.

Last season saw the 22-year-old contribute seven goals and ten assists in 31 Dutch top-flight appearances, averaging a superb 7.40 rating from WhoScored for his performances, whilst he has two assists to his name in just three appearances so far this campaign.

Former Rangers man Michael Mols certainly rates Veerman highly, as he discussed whether or not he would be a good fit at Ibrox all the way back in April, saying:

“He is perfect with the ball and in possession, he’s a really great player. His passing and movement with the ball is really relaxed in a good way.”

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Therefore, it is a shame for Rangers that they couldn’t sign the £7.65m-rated Veerman this summer but after seeing links with him for the past few months, it seems as if any hope of him moving to Ibrox is over.

And, in other news… Rangers beast redeemed himself with superb Old Firm display

Crystal Palace may have discovered their ideal heir to departed winger Andros Townsend after Jesurun Rak-Sakyi shone on the international stage.

The highly-rated 18-year-old scored the final goal in 6-1 thrashing of Romania at St George’s Park on Monday after coming off the bench late on, securing a dream start for new England Under-20 manager Keith Downing.

Rak-Sakyi had never represented England at any age level before his impressive cameo appearance, and his eye-catching exploits could provide a much-welcomed selection headache for Patrick Vieira in the weeks to come.

Following the departure of previous Palace boss Roy Hodgson, the capital club embarked on a mass overhaul of their first-team squad, replacing several experienced campaigners with exciting young acquisitions.

However, one former star who wasn’t replaced was Townsend. It’s led to Vieira opting to us Jordan Ayew on the right-hand side of attack in the opening stages of the new season, but the Ghana international hasn’t scored a Premier League goal for Palace since last November.

Summer signing Michael Olise is another option in that position, although the former Reading ace has only just returned to training following an injury and prefers to play through the middle.

As a result, Rak-Sakyi could prove to be the solution to the south London outfit’s right-wing conundrum.

Although the teenager has played the majority of his football on the opposite flank, his stronger foot is actually his left, meaning he would have the ability to cut inside and pose a more serious threat to the opposition goal if he switched sides.

And he showcased just how much of a threat he can be last season, bagging eight goals and providing a further eight assists in just 16 appearances for Palace’s U18s, before being promoted into the U23s.

Rak-Sakyi was rewarded for his standout displays in 2020/21 after Vieira handed him his Premier League debut off the bench against Chelsea in the club’s curtain-raiser at Stamford Bridge, and that should be the first of many top-flight outings for the youngster this term.

And, in other news…2 key passes, 17 duels won: Crystal Palace gem leads the way with superb August

Glasgow Rangers fans have shared their anger with an article from The Scottish Sun on Grant Adam, who was on the books at Ibrox for two years between 2010 and 2012.

The Gers have had their troubles with the media in recent weeks. Recently, The Daily Record published a report from Mark McGivern, who had uncovered a number of offensive and bigoted tweets from contributors The Heart and Hand podcast, one of the Gers’ official media partners. In return, Rangers fans found tweets in the same vein from the newspaper’s writers in what has descended into a tit-for-tat online war.

It seems the Scottish Sun have now incurred the wrath of the Gers supporters. They tweeted a story about goalkeeper Grant Adam, who could potentially be jailed for allegedly stealing £15,000. Even though he never made an appearance for the Gers, he has been referred to in the post as an ex-Rangers player.

The Gers fans were far from happy with what they saw, and they took to Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say below

“Here we go again, Ex Rangers player”

Credit: @dave_n84

“Another paper bites the dust.”

Credit: @BigJY1976

“Astoundingly bad journalism”

Credit: @Matt_2k8

“Another fine example of MSM reporting and they wonder why journalistic print is dying.”

Credit: @Tomachenko10

“Shows just how much they make from using rangers’ name in headlines for click bait. Should be a back handed compliment that they need to use us to make any money. But you just know that everyone who clicks on it is foaming at the mouth, desperate to see some negativity about us”

Credit: @SteSteStevie

“Grant Adam left Rangers years ago and then has had at least 7 clubs since, he isn’t ” ex-Rangers” as we are not his last club! This is frankly desperate from the Scottish Sun”

Credit: @TheGers5

In other news, this Gers star has refused to commit his future to Ibrox.

The start to Ange Postecoglou’s reign at Celtic has been a frantic affair, one which was encapsulated by three new signings being acquired on transfer deadline day.

In total, 12 new faces arrived for the first team squad, but it will take a long time before we see the very best of the Hoops this season.

They have played some wonderful attacking football but have been particularly inconsistent, especially at the back.

On the chalkboard

With Celtic losing Kristoffer Ajer this summer, they were always going to find things harder.

However, Postecoglou identified his replacement quickly, with Swedish centre-half Carl Starfelt arriving in a £4.5m deal from Rubin Kazan.

Sadly, the defender has been a bit of a liability since penning terms with the Bhoys.

On his debut, he looked insecure in possession of the ball against Jablonec and he has made a number of high profile errors since.

Starfelt sliced the ball into his own net against AZ Alkmaar in a defeat which very nearly knocked them out of the Europa League.

During that clash, John Hartson was appalled with the Swede, labelling him a “schoolboy” and “clumsy” for his part in the loss.

The former Celtic striker also laid into him after his performance in the Old Firm derby two weeks ago.

Speaking about the way the Hoops conceded, Hartson commented: “If you look at Helander, he runs from really deep and he arrives. So how Celtic don’t see Helander on the edge of the box, nobody marking him, is beyond me.

“Someone’s got to block his run and be cleverer, and Starfelt, capped 26 times by Sweden, he’s come in, alright it’s early in his Celtic career, but it’s happened too many times. That’s about the fourth or fifth bad call that Starfelt has made.”

The solution

With the new signing having a difficult start to life in Glasgow, it wouldn’t be a bad idea if Postecoglou took the decision to axe him from the starting XI against Ross County on Saturday.

With that in mind, the Hoops should turn to a further new face; Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The United States international signed just minutes before the deadline and should be capable of fixing Celtic’s defensive issues.

After all, he not only already has experience of the British game, but fits into the manager’s style of play. Carter-Vickers is capable of bringing the ball out of defence and can pick a pass, something which is vital when it comes to Postecoglou’s system.

He likes his defenders to be able to transition with the ball well, and possessing a pass success rate of 84% suggests that his new signing should fit in well.

If he’s fit enough, the American needs to play over Starfelt this weekend.

AND in other news, 100% duels won: Ange surely drooling after new Celtic signing’s international display…

Just a few years ago, spending £9 million on a single player represented a huge investment for Crystal Palace, and Connor Wickham became one of the club’s most expensive signings when he arrived for that fee back in 2015.

The stocky striker had endured a tough time at previous club Sunderland, scoring just 15 goals in 91 appearances during a four-year stay at the Stadium of Light.

A move back down south represented a fresh start for the now 28-year-old, and he welcomed the transfer with open arms.

“I needed a fresh start. I had four years up north, and it’s been a bit stop-start. Now I’ve come back home, and I can settle down and see my family a bit more and hopefully let my football do the talking,” Wickham revealed.

However, things didn’t go as planned for the former England Under-21 international despite a solid start to life at Selhurst Park.

In his maiden campaign for Palace, Wickham bagged six goals and provided three assists in 24 outings for the capital club, indicating the promise and potential that the youngster possessed.

But a cruciate ligament injury limited him to just four Premier League starts in 2016/17 and forced him to watch the entirety of the next campaign from the sidelines as he battled to return to full fitness.

On his return to first-team action in 2018, Wickham’s injury woes continued to plague his time in south London, with a string of issues limiting him to just 159 minutes of action in all competitions.

A short-term loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday failed to revive his career in the second half of 2019/20 before another injury-hit season saw the unlucky hitman fail to make a first-team appearance last term.

Wickham’s struggles as Palace led to the club’s hierarchy releasing him on a free transfer over the summer, finally putting an end to his misery at Selhurst Park and capping off a true transfer nightmare for chairman Steve Parish.

It was considered a risky transfer at the time and ultimately, the risk didn’t pay off for Palace. Hopefully, lessons have been learned after Wickham’s nightmare spell at Selhurst Park.

And, in other news…Signed for £26m, released for free: Parish endured Palace nightmare over 31y/o dud 

Speaking to the press, Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo has confirmed a blow for his side ahead of their north London derby clash with Arsenal today.

The Lowdown: Spurs absence blows…

Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura, Ryan Sessegnon, Eric Dier and Bergwijn have all suffered injury scares recently, with Nuno cursing the international break as a result.

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Furthermore, Davinson Sanchez, Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero were briefly unavailable for selection due to their South American international fiascos and 10-day training camp in Croatia.

The Latest: Nuno confirms Bergwijn blow…

Ahead of their highly-anticipated north London derby clash with Arsenal this afternoon, Nuno has confirmed a blow, with Bergwijn set to miss the game.

Indeed, the 23-year-old remains out of contention for Tottenham, coming as a real headache for the Spurs head coach given the winger’s electric start to the campaign.

“The injury he has is very painful. So first of all he has to settle down the pain,” the Spurs manager explained (via football.london).

“He’s not totally stopped, he’s doing some fitness, upper body. But we have to be careful with this injury. For now he’s not available.”

The Verdict: Big loss…

Lauded as a ‘top player’ by former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson, the winger’s unavailability certainly comes as a big loss for Spurs.

Bergwijn has so far averaged more key passes per game (1.3) than any Lilywhites player in the Premier League this season (WhoScored).

He has also managed the second-most shots on goal in that time behind superstar Son (WhoScored), and we believe that Nuno will be gutted to miss his presence today of all days.

In other news: ‘Yessssss’, ‘We need this massively’…Many THFC fans erupt as Spurs eye ‘perfect signing’, find out more here.

Crystal Palace right-back Joel Ward is unbeaten in nine appearances against Brighton, as stated by the Eagles’ official Twitter channel on Wednesday.

Unsurprisingly, a number of Palace supporters have taken to social media to praise the defender following the tweet.

The 31-year-old made his 280th Palace appearance in the 1-1 draw with Brighton on Monday evening, keeping up his record of featuring in every minute of Premier League action under Patrick Vieira. Unfortunately, Ward and his defensive partners couldn’t hold on to the lead heading into injury time, with Neal Maupay equalising for the visitors with seconds remaining.

However, the draw means that Ward is still yet to lose to the Seagulls in nine meetings as a Palace player, the club confirmed.

Palace fans react

@CPFCtransfersHQ shared a post on Ward, with Palace posting a similar tweet on their official account a few hours later.

Here is what these Eagles fans had to say in reply, with many praising Ward. One labelled it a ‘great stat’ and another called the defender ‘immense’.

“Build him a statue with his testimonial.”

Credit: @alex_westry

“Record is fantastic. 4-5-0. 17 points from 27.”

Credit: @jonnyjkyle

“Great stat and Wardy continues to perform consistently well for us.”

Credit: @NSymonds2012

“unsung hero imho. immense Monday night. how he controlled the ball in 2nd half by the main stand effectively sitting on it was pure skill or luck. but the tenacity”

Credit: @collisonmre

“Best value player for Palace ever. Period.”

Credit: @SidViscous9

“Very underrated player ~ all the mugs that call for Clyne instead of him are just dumb”

Credit: @garyspencerr

In other news: ‘Wanted this to happen for so long’ – Many CPFC fans buzzing as news emerges on £25k-p/w ace. 

With James Rodriguez departing Everton last week, it has balanced the books somewhat and will allow the Toffees to be a bit more ambitious in the January window.

Rafa Benitez wasn’t too active throughout his first market at Goodison Park but their campaign has still been impressive.

What’s the word?

One player that Everton were rumoured with making a move for in the summer was Newcastle attacker Allan Saint-Maximin.

The winger was the subject of £60m interest but that fee seems completely out of the question at the moment.

The Frenchman is rated at £27m via Transfermarkt and if that’s the kind of price that would be involved, Everton must stump up the cash.

His name is being touted with Merseyside again but Benitez’s men aren’t the only ones that might find themselves in the race.

That’s according to Don Hutchinson who speaking this week tipped him with a move elsewhere.

He said this week: “I feel for Saint-Maximin. On a serious note, as a Newcastle fan, I am petrified we’re going to lose him.”

“He is far too good for us. Incredible player. He’s the type of player Tottenham should be looking at, or Everton. He’s better than us.”

Imagine him & DCL

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been injured over the last few weeks but on the field of play, the striker made an impressive start to the season.

He has scored three goals in three outings and has formed a vibrant partnership alongside the club’s new signings; Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray.

The offensive duo have been outstanding since signing for Everton, contributing seven goals in the royal blue of Everton.

They are wily and tricky characters but Saint-Maximin would be an undoubted upgrade on the pair of them, someone who could also help take Calvert-Lewin to the next level.

The Englishman has already enjoyed an exciting relationship with Richarlison, a player who uses mesmerising dribbling and pace to exploit defenders.

Those two qualities are typified within Saint-Maximin as well.

The Newcastle forward is a real livewire, combining pace and close touch control to terrify defenders. In the words of Steve Bruce, he is “scary” but “wonderful.”

He has enjoyed a scintillating start to the new campaign as well. Playing in a central role up front, the 24-year-old has found the net on two occasions and registered three assists.

His tally of 4.2 dribbles per game is also the third-best among every player in Europe’s top five leagues. He is ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for that statistic.

With that in mind, just imagine the regularity at which he’d be able to open up space and fashion chances for Calvert-Lewin.

Naturally, Saint-Maximin drags players towards him, a quality that would undoubtedly help a striker as prolific as Everton’s star man.

Providing the price is right, this move feels like a no-brainer.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Gordon: Everton have a gem in rarely-seen 17 y/o with “great potential”…