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Aston Villa have been busy in the transfer market already this summer, adding Anwar El Ghazi, Jota, Wesley and Kortney Hause to their books on a permanent basis.

However, there is still plenty of work for the club to do. In a recent update, Alan Nixon claimed on Twitter that they were working on asking prices for Tyrone Mings and Neil Etheridge, but Jack Butland’s potential fee was too high.

Responding to the claim, there were mixed views shared as fans gave their opinions on the situation that was playing out.

One supporter said it sounded like Villa were being held to ransom by the clubs they were trying to do deals with but another said there was still plenty of time to get things done.

With asking prices for Butland and Etheridge high, two fans urged their team to go after Tom Heaton instead, making reference to the £5m fee they may have to pay. However, one individual was still keen to see the Cardiff goalkeeper arrive.

At the moment, the rate for the Stoke ‘keeper appears to be in the region of £30m.

Jed Steer recently signed a new deal with the club but it doesn’t appear as though the Villans are backing down in their pursuit of a new stopper.

Here’s the best of the debate from Twitter.

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Neil Lennon has offered Celtic fans a positive transfer update ahead of the club’s pre-season training camp in Austria next week, as reported by The Scottish Sun.

What’s he said?

Celtic’s squad now compared to the end of last season is a undeniably depleted and despite David Turnbull’s imminent arrival in midfield, the priorites in defence remain just as urgent.

Lennon though has called for patience and insists he is happy with the work Celtic are doing behind the scenes to ensure the necessary players arrive.

How does Neil Lennon turn his doubters into believers? The answer lies in the video below…

Asked how many signings fans could expect to see this summer, as quoted by The Scottish Sun, the Hoops boss said:

“I don’t know, maybe half a dozen. Certainly we’re looking in defensive areas to strengthen.

It’s important to be patient. We are very, very calm. We are talking about it every hour of every day.

No matter what people think of Peter [Lawwell], he has the club’s best interests at heart and is a very good negotiator.”

Upcoming UEFA deadline

Mikael Lustig, Cristian Gamboa and Jeremy Toljan have all left the club since the end of last season, so the Hoops only have the inexperienced Anthony Ralston available at right-back currently, and that’s the clear first priority position for the recruitment team at Celtic Park.

There’s a lack of quality in cover at centre-back too, with only the disappointing duo of Jack Hendry and Marvin Compper available in support of first-choice defenders Jozo Simunovic and Kristoffer Ajer.

Clearly though the Hoops manager’s comments suggest the necessary defensive overhaul is on the way.

Watch Celtic Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

While Lennon stresses patience, there is an urgency required to get the right players in because there can be no complacency when it comes to the Champions League qualifying process.

With Celtic playing FK Sarajevo on 9th July in Bosnia, the initial UEFA signing deadline for that round of qualifying is 4th July and the club need to get bodies in the door for then.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to Birmingham Live, Rekeem Harper is edging ever closer to committing his future to West Brom.

What’s the word?

A number of top academy stars have left Albion in recent years with the likes of Kemar Roofe, Tyler Roberts and Izzy Brown all departing.

This summer they could see yet more flee the scene. Louie Barry has been linked with a remarkable switch to PSG or Barcelona whilst Jamie Soule has also caught Borussia Dortmund’s eye.

However, there is a continuing saga revolving around Harper. The 19-year-old played 23 times in all competitions last term but his future has been in doubt for a while with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.

Things hadn’t particularly progressed throughout the back end of 2018/19 but the club revealed they had offered him a new deal in their retained list.

Yet Birmingham Live now report that he is edging closer to staying with the Baggies. He had previously been linked with a potential move to Juventus or Liverpool.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Barry should be tossed aside

Another matter West Brom could look to sort out this summer is the future of Gareth Barry. The 6 ft 1 midfielder was initially released by the club but Express & Star now suggests Bilic is set to take a look at him.

But if Harper does now sign a new deal, would there be any need for Barry? Arguably not.

The West Brom man produced some consistent performances last term, making 1.5 tackles per game and completing 80.2% of his passes.

Despite that, he’s now 38 and shouldn’t really be considered as Albion welcome in a new era.

The fans in the video below had some very strong words for Michel Platini who was detained over alleged corruption this week…

Instead, they need to be building their side around players like Harper. Not only would Barry hinder Sam Field’s game time, but a new deal for the seasoned professional would also likely reduce Harper’s impact.

The latter struggled to make inroads as it was last season and if he signs a new deal he will surely be expecting to play a more regular part. With Barry in the team, he wouldn’t achieve that.

Looking at the bigger picture, Harper is someone who could be crucial in the years to come. Furthermore, he’s a player with plenty of resale value.

Barry, on the other hand, has neither. As a result, Bilic must focus solely on new terms for Harper.

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Rangers have announced that goalkeeping prospect Robby McCrorie will head out on a season-long loan to Scottish Championship side Queen Of The South next season.

The 21-year-old is currently on a long-term contract at the club, with his current deal not expiring until 2022, so he has plenty of time to make a push for the first-team.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

It won’t be the youngster’s first taste of senior football away from Rangers, having enjoyed a successful spell at Berwick Rangers during the 2017/18 season, also joining Morton during the last transfer window, making 15 appearances between January and May.

With Allan McGregor firmly installed as the number one goalkeeper at Ibrox, there’s little scope for McCrorie to get the game time he needs to develop and regular action on loan should help him return as a better player.

McGregor can’t play for forever at Rangers, being 37 years of age, so McCrorie could well prove to be a viable long-term solution in the position.

Watch Rangers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

These fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the deal, with a variety of opinions given…

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According to French media outlet La Voix du Nord, Crystal Palace are leading the race to sign Lille centre-back Adama Soumaoro, and Eagles fans have been quick to offer their views on a potential move on Twitter.

La Voix du Nord suggest that it is a two-horse race for the 27-year-old involving the south London outfit and Monaco, although the player would prefer to have the chance of playing in the Premier League.

The central defender would certainly arrive at Selhurst Park with some pedigree seeing as he captained his team to a second-place finish in Ligue 1 last season – securing Champions League football for Lille as a result – as well as successfully completing a remarkable 94.3% of the passes he attempted in 20 French top flight outings.

Watch Crystal Palace Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Should Palace buy him, he would likely provide some strong competition for the likes of Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins at the heart of the backline, with Scott Dann being linked with a move away from SE25 this summer.

Eagles supporters have been quick to have their say on the rumour via social media, and there are certainly some differing views.

In the video below, find out which Chelsea academy prospect is reportedly being lined up to replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka at Crystal Palace…

While one said “we’re not buying a CB unless someone is offering us LOADS for Sakho”, another said they would “take him” even if a new right-back and striker should be more of a priority.

Another individual looked at it in a slightly different way, suggesting that manager Roy Hodgson should give a younger player a chance instead if Dann does end up going, which of course would be a risk but was something that paid dividends with the use of Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Scott Arfield has returned to Rangers training and fans are very optimistic about his upcoming campaign.

Arfield had been away with Canada at the Gold Cup before returning to Steven Gerrard’s side. They got to the quarter-finals, but were beaten 3-2 by Haiti, despite going two goals up.

The 30-year-old now returns to Ibrox some way behind his teammates and Gerrard is aware of this. The Rangers boss has said Arfield is: “Only probably on day five or six of pre-season, so he is one we will integrate a little bit slower because we want to be careful with Scott.

“It’s important the fans understand that Scott is three weeks behind the team.”

Watch Rangers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Arfield joins the Gers in between the two legs of their first qualifying round for the Europa League. Gerrard’s men recorded an emphatic 4-0 win over St. Joseph’s last week and will look to ease through the second leg tonight.

He also spoke about his excitement for the season on his return, telling Rangers TV: “What an unbelievable opportunity for anyone playing for Glasgow Rangers at this time, you need to enjoy this experience because we’re all ready to go at it.”

Fans are loving his return and attitude, and plenty took to Twitter to welcome their midfielder back to the club…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Leeds United’s managing director Angus Kinnear has been quick to talk up his team’s work in the transfer window, via Leeds Live, but in reality his recent comments are rather misleading.

The Whites’ transfer window up until this point has been somewhat underwhelming. They’ve only brought in two new faces to the first team in Ben White and Helder Costa, and with the sale of Pontus Jansson, you could argue that they’re actually weaker than they were last season as they’ve lost a defender who got into the division’s Team of the Year.

That hasn’t stopped Kinnear bigging his side up though, and he has stated that the signing of Costa shows a commitment to going up.

“I think he’s going to be one of the best players in the Championship next season, and I’d be very surprised if it’s not one of the biggest Championship signings.” he said.

“When people are asking whether Leeds are committed to going up and whether we’re investing, they just need to look at the signing of Costa and realise that’s the case.”

Watch fans explain why the Football League is better than the Premier League in the video below…

He’s completely misleading the fanbase, and they’re certainly too smart to believe what he’s saying.

Leeds’ net spend during this transfer window is pretty much even as they sold Pontus Jansson for £5.5m and got £10m for Jack Clarke, while their only expenditure has been £15m to sign Costa which won’t actually be paid until next year.

This is not a commitment to going up. It’s just reinvesting what has been recouped back into the squad. It’s a model that Leeds have been using under Andrea Radrizzani for years. The sales of Chris Wood and Ronaldo Vieira for £15m and £7.7m respectively subsidised the costs of bringing in the likes of Patrick Bamford for £10m.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Kinnear is making out as if the owner is stretching the finances as far as he can, and going all out to get the Yorkshire club back to the top flight. In reality, they’re actually not investing at all, and are just spending the money they’ve recouped from player sales.

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Toby Alderweireld had been available for £25m in this summer’s transfer before his release clause expired last week.

The 30-year-old once again enjoyed an impressive season for Tottenham Hotspur during the 2018/19 campaign and it is a touch surprising that he was not acquired for that price.

There remains huge uncertainty when it comes to the Belgium international’s future, though, as his contract will expire at the end of next season.

Alderweireld has been in good form for Mauricio Pochettino’s side during pre-season and impressed against Bayern Munich in the Audi Cup final on Wednesday night after coming off the bench at the interval.

The 6ft 2 centre-back also scored in the penalty shootout as Spurs won the trophy.

Alderweireld then took to social media after the match to comment on the success and that forced a number of Tottenham fans to call for an extension to his current deal.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Tottenham Hotspur have tabled a new bid for Real Betis star Giovani Lo Celso, per The Daily Telegraph.

What’s the word?

Spurs are attempting to complete their third senior signing of the transfer window, having already acquired Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon and Jack Clarke from Leeds United. The latter, of course, has been loaned back to the Championship club.

Sources have confirmed to Football FanCast that Spurs are interested in acquiring Lo Celso’s signature and The Telegraph now claims that a new offer has been lodged.

Betis, the report states, are keen to receive a total of £65m for the Argentina international and chairman Daniel Levy has now made a fresh offer closer to that figure. It also says Lo Celso is still considered one of Mauricio Pochettino’s “top targets” this summer.

With the player hopeful of a deal being sorted prior to Thursday’s deadline and the Lilywhites seemingly now following suit with a more appropriate bid, this one could be on the verge of a significant breakthrough.

Haggling

Spurs have haggled for Lo Celso all summer.

The report states that the player wants to make the move and has already informed Betis of that.

Tottenham chairman Levy, though, consistently drives a hard bargain and tries to take moves down to the wire.

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That has happened again but the master of the late deal seems to have finally decided it is time to stop playing around and get this deal done.

Time is of course running out, with the transfer deadline coming at 5pm on Thursday.

It appears though that a breakthrough has been found, particularly with Spurs in a rush to get their third deal done.

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Despite securing a 4-1 win on the opening day of the Premier League season, all was not completely rosy in the Liverpool garden.

The Reds raced off to a four-goal lead by half-time, but there were moments where they looked defensively shaky. Their problems at the back eventually led to Norwich striker Teemu Pukki grabbing a consolation in the second-half, and one man who Liverpool fans weren’t happy with was Joe Gomez.

The England international had a difficult night at the back alongside Virgil van Dijk, and seemed to struggle with the off-the-ball movement of Pukki.

After seeing Gomez’s problems on Friday night, Liverpool fans took to Twitter to voice their concerns about the defender’s performance.

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Many blasted the 22-year-old’s defensive discipline and even suggested he could go on to “ruin” the club’s season if he continued to perform like that.

Indeed, some urged Jurgen Klopp to start Joel Matip ahead of Gomez for the side’s next clash, and insisted the Cameroon international is a far better centre-back option.

Check out some of the reaction of Liverpool fans below:

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