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According to a report by Turkish news outlet Fotomac, via Sport Witness, Galatasaray could open ‘official’ talks to sign West Ham United forward Andriy Yarmolenko once their new president is elected.

The Lowdown: Yarmo out of favour…

The Ukraine international barely featured for West Ham over 2020/2021 due to a combination of injury issues and other players being ahead in the pecking order.

Indeed, Yarmolenko started just one Premier League game all season under manager David Moyes and played out the vast majority of his appearances as a substitute.

The 31-year-old bagged three goals in six appearances across both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup competitions last year but that was the summary of his contribution.

The Latest: Galatasary come calling…

Fotomac, via Sport Witness, now bring the latest on Yarmolenko and his future in the English capital.

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The forward is now attracting heavy interest from Turkish Super League giants Galatasary who plan to be ‘aggressive’ in the transfer market this summer.

It is reported that they could even open official talks to sign Yarmolenko once some club issues are resolved, such as the election of a new president and the future of their current manager.

The 94-cap international’s agent even apparently confirmed that Turkish clubs are looking to sign him according to this report.

The Verdict: Time to go…

West Ham star Declan Rice once dubbed Yarmolenko as ‘really special’ in an interview with the club’s official website, but we believe now may be time for him to leave east London.

Yarmolenko played far more often over 2019/2020, scoring five goals in the Premier League, but he has cut a bit-part figure to say the least over these last six months.

The Hammers may need to adopt a sell-to-buy policy like many clubs up and down England due to the coronavirus pandemic and we can’t think of anyone better for the chopping block.

In other news: Barry Fry makes claim on potentially ‘great news for West Ham fans’, find out more here.

Monday night’s affair between Crystal Palace and Leeds United saw both sides share the spoils.

Coming into this tie, the Eagles and the Whites will have been cautious, knowing that they are dangerously close to the relegation battle taking place just a few places below.

In theory, Leeds would have wanted the points more, sitting just five points above Everton who are in 18th place. But, on the pitch, it was Vieira’s side who were the aggressors – almost doubling the visitors’ total amount of shots, with 17.

Although Palace failed to score and consequently secure a win, a draw was much needed for the Eagles, who had conceded five and scored just one coming into this fixture in all competitions.

The clean sheet was much-required too, and the goal could have happened for the home side, which is why a section of the fanbase will be disappointed with one player in particular.

With a total expected goals tally of 0.97 xG across his four shots, Jean-Phillippe Mateta will have been astonished that his name somehow evaded the score sheet.

In fairness to him, his movement made him a thorn in the side of the opposition defence, though he failed to take one of his four chances which included an opportunity along the lines of a tap-in.

That chance alone came with an xG total of 0.73, meant that the Frenchman had a high chance of burying that opportunity based on previous shots from that vicinity.

Excluding his runs, the £53k-per-week earner did not offer anything else to the game and rarely helped his side in the build-up play, instead relying on through balls.

His ten passes and fewer touches (32) than goalkeeper Vicente Guaita are a reflection of his failure to assert himself in other aspects of the game and his 25% shot accuracy is perhaps the overall indicator of Mateta’s night against Leeds.

Though it’s the 71% ground duels lost that Eagles fans will be frustrated with the most.

The 24-year-old won just two of his seven ground duels last night and was a hindrance to his side in their attempts to win back possession.

It was not the best night for Mateta, though on another day he could have left with at least a goal to his name.

It’s now been four games without a goal for the Frenchman.

In other news: Vieira must finally unleash CPFC’s £15.3m “delight” today, he will terrify Leeds – opinion

Everton’s game against West Ham on Sunday afternoon should be a captivating one.

The Hammers are in the race for Champions League football, while Carlo Ancelotti’s men are vying for a place in the Europa League.

Both potential achievements would be just desserts for their impressive campaigns but Everton will have to play a lot better than they did last weekend.

On the chalkboard

Ancelotti’s side suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa last time out and one of the biggest reasons was due to Mason Holgate’s lacklustre defending. He surrendered possession to Ollie Watkins inside his own half before the Villa striker found the back of the net.

However, the defender wasn’t the only poor performer on the day – Portuguese midfielder Andre Gomes was also particularly abject, but not for the first time since returning from injury. The former Barcelona man was lumped off with 20 minutes to go against Arsenal after turning in a lightweight performance which saw him win only two tackles.

That has been a theme of his performances when playing against some of English football’s big boys. Gomes won just one of his 12 ground duels against Liverpool back in February and three of 14 duels against Chelsea in March. He was equally as bad when the Villans beat Everton at Goodison last time out.

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The midfielder lacked physicality again and prevailed in only two of his nine defensive duels throughout the contest, losing 78%. Therefore, Ancelotti must take the ruthless decision to axe him from his starting XI against West Ham this afternoon.

The £140,000-per-week earner isn’t up to speed and the Toffees are now bolstered by the return of Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Dangerous Doucoure

The Frenchman was back in full training this week after missing a period of seven league games dating back to the beginning of March.

Doucoure has been absent due to a small fracture in his foot but that now looks to have healed sufficiently for him to be ready for action.

It would be a gamble to start him given his fitness issues but he’d likely offer a lot more physicality in the middle of the park compared to Gomes. The ex-Watford general has won 1.8 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game this season, compared to 1.4 tackles and 0.4 interceptions per match from his Portuguese colleague.

This should be a straightforward decision for the manager to make. Out with Gomes and in with Doucoure against David Moyes’ Irons.

AND in other news, Imagine him & DCL: Everton must swoop for £24.9m gem who gives oppo “sleepless nights”…

Rangers enjoyed a busy January transfer window as they brought in a number of players to bolster Gio van Bronckhorst’s squad at Ibrox.

Ross Wilson was hard at work as he secured deals to bring in James Sands, Amad Diallo, Aaron Ramsey and Mateusz Zukowski, with John Souttar also set to join at the end of the season.

The Gers are two points clear of Celtic at the top of the Premiership table and these additions could help them to land a second successive league title.

How could van Bronckhorst’s best XI now look? Here is our take on it…

The back four may remain exactly the same, with Zukowski the only addition to the head coach’s immediate options for the rest of the season.

James Tavenier has averaged an outstanding SofaScore rating of 7.81 for the Gers, with the skipper popping up with five goals and ten assists from right-back in the Premiership. This shows that there is no need for the Polish recruit to come straight into the XI and he could spend the next few months learning from the club captain and developing his game on the training pitch.

In midfield, Ramsey could replace Scott Arfield as one of the three, playing alongside Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo. The £16k-per-week Canadian gem has popped up with some important goals this season, scoring three goals in 15 Premiership outings this season.

However, the arrival of the former Arsenal man could force him to be resigned to a place on the bench for the rest of the campaign. Ramsey is a proven performer at the top level, having scored in the Premier League and Serie A for the Gunners and Juventus throughout his career, and could – therefore – bring an added level of quality to the side.

This could also leave January signing Sands on the bench, with Kamara starting in the dictating midfield role slightly behind Aribo and Ramsey. The Finland international has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.03, completing an impressive 91% of his attempted passes, whereas Sands has recorded a score of 6.95 and completed 87% of his pass attempts.

Whilst there may not be a great deal between them, statistically, Kamara has been at Rangers longer and could have van Bronckhorst’s trust for now. However, the USA international could work his way into the XI and keep his place if he continues to put in solid performances when called upon.

In the front three, Diallo could be the club’s best option on the right-wing. He had a dream debut as he scored in the 3-3 draw with Ross County, whilst also creating one chance and completing one dribble.

Rangers have struggled for goals in the right-wing position, with Scott Wright and Ianis Hagi managing just four between them. This is why Diallo could end up being a regular starter as his competitive bow for the club suggests that he could be the goal threat they have been lacking.

AND in other news, Body blow: Rangers dealt big injury setback ahead of Old Firm, Gvb will be gutted…

Former Manchester City defender Michael Ball reckons a switch to the Etihad Stadium could hinder Antonee Robinson’s career.

According to The Mirror, the Premier League champions are targeting a move for the USA left-back, who was recently relegated with Fulham.

Robinson joined the Londoners from Wigan 12 months ago, although that deal only came around soon after the 24-year-old had seen a sensational move to AC Milan collapsed in January 2020.

But the defender put the disappointment of that failed transfer behind him to feature 28 times in the Premier League for Fulham in what was his first taste of top-flight football.

And the flying winger is now on the radar of Pep Guardiola, who’s still not been able to find a settled left-back despite having the likes of Benjamin Mendy, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Joao Cancelo, who is predominantly a right-back, at his disposal as potential options.

But former Citizen Ball doesn’t think he would play regularly at the Etihad and has advised Robinson to decide against a possible move.

He exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“I don’t think a move to Manchester City would help him. I think he needs to stay at a team to develop, gain experience and play week in, week out.

“Of course, he will like the links, but will he play week in, week out? I don’t think he will, so it would hinder his career.”

Former Newcastle United winger Keith Gillespie has told The Transfer Tavern in an exclusive interview that he does not expect to see Jonjo Shelvey lining up in defence in the near future.

In what can only be described as a shock decision given that Shelvey’s trade has always been in midfield, manager Steve Bruce decided to drop the 29-year-old back into defence in Newcastle’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool at the end of last month.

Albeit a surprise, such a ploy is obviously not unheard of, with the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp having often done something similar with Fernandinho and Fabinho – usually because of injuries.

It is not something Gillespie thinks Newcastle fans will see with Shelvey going forward, though, stressing that the former Liverpool and Swansea City man belongs in the centre of the pitch.

“I don’t think that’s a long-term thing,” Gillespie told TT. “You want somebody like Shelvey in the middle of the park, getting on the ball, dictating games. He’s got a wide range of passing.

“It was a surprising one for me seeing that happen, but I don’t think it’s something that they’d be looking at long term.”

Indeed, definitely one of the more stranger things in what had already been a very strange Premier League season.

Sunderland have announced a friendly with Sky Bet Championship side Hull City as they ramp up their pre-season preparations [Sunderland AFC Official].

The event will be the final fixture of the Black Cats pre-season schedule, as it is pencilled in at the Stadium of Light on Friday the 30th of July at 7pm [Sunderland AFC Official].

Before the clash, Lee Johnson’s men will travel to York City, Tranmere Rovers and Harrogate Town in a bid to build up fitness before the Sky Bet League One campaign begins [Sunderland AFC Official].

Intriguingly, former Sunderland captain George Honeyman will be in line to return to his boyhood club, as he is now on the books of the Tigers [Hull Live].

In light of this, many Sunderland fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions on recent developments.

Sunderland AFC fans react:

Replying to the Sunderland AFC Official Twitter account, here is what some Black Cats supporters had to say about the friendly update, with one fan calling it ‘bizarre’:

“Think I’m boiling my head that night”

Credit: @M_Stubbs82″Sign players thanks”Credit: @harrytdixon20″A bit of a insult playing a team who beat us in getting automatic promotion last season don’t you think”Credit: @Simmysafc”That’s not quite the big home friendly I was after mind”Credit: @LiamIDST”No game for 18 days and then 4 games in 9 days. Bizarre”Credit: @chrissavedlatin”We gonna have any players left? How we supposedly strengthening the team when already managed to get rid of our top 4 goal scorers before even replacing them as usual”Credit: @ColArmstrongIn other news, a pundit has exclusively slammed Sunderland after their talisman departed the Stadium of Light.

Celtic have been dealt a fresh injury blow ahead of their upcoming Premiership fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Sky Sports, Ange Postecoglou revealed that, following the midfielder’s first-half substitution in the 3-1 win over Hibernian in midweek, Tom Rogic now looks set to miss the next two to three weeks of first team action after pulling his hamstring, starting with today’s visit of Livingston.

Speaking about the condition of the 28-year-old prior to the clash against the Lions, the Celtic manager said: “He had a scan on his hamstring. It’s going to put him out for at least two to three weeks.

“It’s not a major one but he definitely won’t be involved in these games. Then obviously we have the international window, and if everything goes to plan, he should be available once we get back from that.

“All injuries are frustrating, but the flip side of that is Tommy has probably played more football in the first couple of months of the season than he has for quite a while. He was probably due a spell anyway.

“Him and Dave Turnbull in particular, because Cal [McGregor] had a bit of time out with injury, have been carrying the burden of the midfield. To be honest, even if he had come through, I probably wouldn’t have played him [on Saturday] anyway.

“Hopefully, if nothing else, this freshens him up for another run at it. But he was outstanding, he has been all year, but in the first half against Hibs he was at the centre of all the good stuff we were doing.”

Fans will be gutted

Considering just how impressive Rogic has been for Celtic so far this season, the news that the midfielder looks set to miss up to three weeks of action is sure to have left fans of the club gutted.

Indeed, the 28-year-old has formed an impressive trio alongside David Turnbull and Callum McGregor over his 11 Premiership appearances this term, with the £1.35m-rated man bagging one goal, registering two assists and creating five big chances for his teammates. He has also taken 1.2 shots and made 1.5 key passes per game, with these returns having seen the Australia international average a SofaScore match rating of 6.97.

As such, the news that Rogic will miss not only the Livingston clash, but also the Hoops’ Europa League crunch match against Ferencvaros as well as the trip to Dundee in November, is sure to come as a big blow to Postecoglou, who will undoubtedly be hoping that the £16k-per-week midfielder can pick up where he left off upon his return from injury.

In other news: Ange must unleash Celtic’s “top-class” £2.7m-rated ace on Saturday, he’s being wasted

Many Arsenal fans have been left buzzing as a transfer update emerged on James Maddison.

Speaking to The Football Terrace, football journalist and transfer expert Pete O’Rourke has claimed (via LTArsenal):

“Maddison, this one is gathering pace. Arsenal are growing ever more confident that there is a possibility of a deal happening. Encouragement from both sides – representatives and a bit from Leicester City too. Player fancies move to Arsenal.”

The North London club are looking to recruit a new attacking midfield player to the Emirates Stadium, following the departure of Martin Odegaard back to Real Madrid after his loan spell ended.

Maddison could well fit the bill, having notched up a very impressive 11 goals and a further 10 assists in 41 games in total over all competitions across the 2020/21 season (Transfermarkt).

Comparing his stats in the Premier League to Odegaard in the last term, the Englishman averaged more shots (2.4) and key passes (1.6) per match (Whoscored), and thus could certainly be an upgrade for Mikel Arteta.

Nonetheless, taking him off the hands of the Foxes, who will be playing European football this campaign unlike the Gunners, would certainly be a statement signing.

Arsenal fans on Maddison transfer update

These Gooners buzzed as the transfer update was shared on Twitter:

“Let’s go Gunners”

Credit: @AruhoAmon3

“Make it happen, this kind of quality! Our midfield”

Credit: @ebo_doright

“Everything is forgiven if you make this happen @Arsenal”Credit: @AshishAFC”AH MADDERS!!!!!!!”Credit: @AFC_FORD”Wow, Mads + Neves .. we have a chance”Credit: @salman_otaiby”Oh we’ve got wonderful pull tears in my eyes”Credit: @AfcCian1In other news, find out which top goalkeeper AFC are interested in signing here!

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith will come under increased pressure surrounding his job, should he fail to better their fortunes by the next international break [Football Insider].

The Lowdown: Aston Villa make slow start to 2021/22 campaign

The Villans have started off 2021/22 in indifferent fashion, sitting 12th in the Premier League table after amassing four points from four encounters [BBC].

Much expectation has been placed upon the Midlands club this campaign, following an expensive window which brought the arrival of the likes of Emiliano Buendia, Danny Ings and Leon Bailey to the club [Transfermarkt].

Now, there could be trouble ahead for Smith following recent reports.

The Latest: ‘Fighting for his job’

According to a Bodymoor Heath source at Football Insider, Smith will be ‘fighting for his job’ should he fail to improve their league position ahead of the next international break.

Tough fixtures lie in wait for the Clarets, with Everton, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur on the agenda before their players set off to play for their respective nations.

The Aston Villa hierarchy will not waste any time in searching for a fresh face in the dugout should results not improve.

The Verdict: Lange won’t mess around

Confliction surrounds the notion of Smith coming under increased pressure. On one hand, the former Brentford manager has achieved incredible success at Villa Park.

Achieving promotion to the Premier League through the play-off route in 2019, Smith has since restored the profile of his boyhood club in the top-flight with respective 17th and 11th placed finishes.

Despite this, football is unfortunately an ever-evolving results business. With increased ambition comes increased expectation, and sporting director Johan Lange and owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens will expect to see a return on their investments this summer.

Following disappointing results such as a 3-2 defeat away to Watford and a 1-1 draw at home to Brentford, Smith may well be running out of time after the looming troublesome run of fixtures.

In other news, Aston Villa fans react to a mind-blowing statistic. Find out more here.