Celtic have rarely had a problem when it comes to scoring goals under Ange Postecoglou, something that was seen first-hand over the weekend when they won 9-0.

Not only did the Hoops secure the SPFL title last season in his debut campaign in charge of the Parkhead club, they also ended up scoring more league goals than any other side in the division (92).

One figure that has been a focal point in the team in regards to putting the ball in the back of the net is Kyogo Furuhashi.

In 20 league appearances last term, the Japanese striker scored 12 goals in total, leaving only Giorgos Giakoumakis (13) with more.

The 27-year-old has been in the same hot goalscoring form this season too, as he’s found the net six times in five league games.

With the end of the summer transfer window in sight, the next few days could see the Hoops add some extra attacking depth to their squad, thus giving Postecoglou the chance to form a potentially deadly duo alongside Kyogo.

One name that has been mentioned with a move to Celtic Park that could fit this bill is Bamba Dieng.

Having made 42 senior appearances for Olympique Marseille, the 22-year-old has nine goals and three assists to his name.

Hailed as a “serious talent” by journalist Graeme Bailey, Dieng has also been described as an “explosive” player by Jorge Sampaoli.

To compare his previous Ligue 1 campaign with Kyogo’s recent season with the Bhoys, both players ended up with the sixth-highest average for shots per game at their respective clubs, with Dieng having 1.5 and Furuhashi having 2.2.

Also, the attacking duo had an almost identical rate for shots at goal per 90 minutes (3.42 v 3.43) last season, further highlighting the similarities between the pair.

With the Senegal international being able to switch between playing as a centre-forward and as a left-winger, this also mirrors the current Celtic attacker, who has been known to play in both positions in his career, which could make it easier for Postecoglou to form a partnership between them.

If the Australian feels that an extra attacking figure is needed for his squad, securing a deal for the Marseille star is something the Hoops should look to do before the summer transfer window closes.

Nottingham Forest are interested in signing Wolves centre-back Willy Boly in the summer transfer window, according to reliable journalist John Percy.

The Lowdown: Niakhate suffers injury

The Reds have made a promising start to life back in the Premier League, and while there are plenty of positives to take, thew news regarding Moussa Niakhate is not one of them.

Forest’s summer signing has been ruled out of action for a sustained period through injury, coming as an undoubted blow for manager Steve Cooper.

With Niakhate set to be absent in the coming weeks and months, it looks as though the Reds will turn their attention to signing another centre-back.

The Latest: Forest in talks over Boly

Taking to Twitter on Saturday evening, Percy claimed that Forest wanted to sign Boly, with the Wolves powerhouse into the final year of his contract, and that the Reds have already submitted an opening offer.

The Telegraph journalist tweeted:

“#nffc are in talks with #Wolves over a possible deal for centre-half Willy Boly. Opening offer of around £1m rejected, talks ongoing though nothing believed to be imminent as Wolves will try to sign a replacement. Forest moved for Boly after the injury to Moussa Niakhate.”

The Verdict: Too injury-prone

Boly is an experienced Premier League defender with 89 appearances to his name in the division, and Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves described him as ‘important’ last season.

Unsurprisingly given his 6 foot 5 frame, the Ivory Coast defender is a colossal presence in the air, winning two headers per game last season. That aerial ability could compensate for the absence of Niakhate, who had won 11 headers in his two top-flight appearances before being struck down with injury.

However, there would be an element of risk in Forest snapping up the 31-year-old, considering that injury problems of his own have limited his playing time in recent years. Indeed, he only managed 10 league starts in 2021/22.

The fact that Boly is into the last year of his contract could allow the Reds to get him in a cut-price deal, but it could be wise to look at a younger, less injury-prone option instead.

Rangers have enjoyed an excellent start to the season so far, winning four out of five Premiership matches while reaching the promised land of the lucrative Champions League group stages for the first time since 2010/2011.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst faces arguably his biggest test so far this season tomorrow as the Ibrox side travel to Parkhead to take on Celtic in the Old Firm derby.

Despite the season only being five games old, this match could have major implications, as with Rangers already two points behind, a home victory would stretch this to five and heap the pressure on the Light Blues.

Van Bronckhorst’s task may just have gotten a little bit harder, with summer arrival Tom Lawrence ruled out for the crucial match.

Worrying news for Van Bronckhorst

Lawrence has been excellent since arriving at the Ibrox side in the summer following his release from Derby County after five seasons at the club.

He netted 37 goals and registered 25 assists during his spell at the club while also gaining 23 caps for Wales and it has proved to be a great bit of business by the Dutchman to improve the team.

The 28-year-old ranks fourth in the Light Blues squad this season with a WhoScored rating of 7.33 as he has adapted to life in Scotland with ease.

Having scored three times and adding a further two assists, Lawrence has already shown just how important he is to Van Bronckhorst, and despite Ryan Kent occupying his favourite left-wing position, the Welshman has adapted well to performing in a slightly deeper role than he is used to.

He suffered a knee injury in last weeks league win over Ross County and the manager will need to change his gameplan in the Welshman’s absence.

The club have had to deal with a host of injuries recently, with Alex Lowry, Ben Davies, and John Souttar all struggling fitness-wise, another injury setback is not what the manager needs.

Even at this stage of the season, the top-of-the-table clash will be crucial in regard to momentum and giving the players a vital psychological boost.

Hopefully, Rangers can forget their injury woes and produce a performance that is capable of taking all three points.

Tottenham Hotspur have seemingly entered pole position to sign Ukraine international Ruslan Malinovskyi as reports out of Italy share a promising update.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye new signings…

The summer transfer window deadline is under a fortnight away, andTottenham’s sporting director Fabio Paratici is running out of time to make further additions for Antonio Conte.

The manager himself has hinted at possible incomings, refusing to totally rule out more activity, with the likes of Malinovskyi repeatedly linked with Spurs.

After sealing Champions League qualification last season, the Premier League top four chasers will be looking to build upon the recent success under Conte and ensure that he is fully prepared for a long campaign ahead.

The Latest: Spurs in pole position for Malinovskyi…

According to reports, Spurs may be making some progress in the chase for Malinovskyi as news emerges from Italy.

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Corriere della Sera claim that north London is now a ‘favourite destination’ for the Atalanta forward, with Tottenham ‘at the window’ to sign him before September 1.

It’s added that relations between both Spurs and Atalanta are ‘excellent’ due to their past agreed deals over Cristian Romero and Pierluigi Gollini.

The Verdict: Make the move?

Described as one of Atalanta’s ‘top players’ by reporter Jake Anderson, the numbers certainly back up this theory.

Malinovskyi ranked among the Nerazzurri’s top five players last season for attempts at goal, key passes made and completed dribbles per 90 (WhoScored).

A solid and reliable force in the final third judging by those statistics, signing the experienced 49-cap star could be a shrewd move by Spurs near the end of this transfer window.

Furthermore, former Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele was apparently blown away by Malinovskyi in 2019 according to Ukrainian football federation official Taras Gerega, who claimed that the Frenchman ‘marvelled’ at the current Tottenham target.

Considering the 49-year-old’s standing in the game from his playing days, that is quite the endorsement for the Atalanta wizard.

West Ham United have pulled off a ‘remarkable’ deal for Lucas Paqueta, according to journalist Manuel Veth. 

The lowdown

The Hammers officially confirmed the signing of Paqueta from Ligue 1 outfit Lyon in the last 24 hours.

He became the club’s eighth arrival of the summer transfer window, following Gianluca Scamacca, Nayef Aguerd, Maxwel Cornet, Emerson Palmieri, Thilo Kehrer, Flynn Downes and Alphonse Areola (who made his loan move permanent) through the door.

West Ham’s London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal had previously been linked with Paqueta, as had Manchester United (via Evening Standard).

The latest

Veth of Transfermarkt and Forbes delved into the details of the move on Twitter.

He explained that 43% of the potential transfer fee wasn’t guaranteed, but that the deal could still make history for West Ham if it amounts to €60.63m (£51.8m), adding that Paqueta’s former club Milan were in line to receive some of the proceeds.

Veth tweeted: “Remarkable deal! Olympique Lyon have revealed that #WHUFC have paid €42.95m plus €18.68m in bonuses. The total fee would be a club record fee for West Ham. #Milan will receive 15% of the transfer profit.”

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The verdict

This signing should be regarded as a major coup for West Ham.

Paqueta scored 11 goals and provided seven assists last season for a Lyon team which finished a lowly eighth in the French top flight.

Having made the Ligue 1 Team of the Year in 2020/21, he earned the division’s Player of the Month award last October.

He has also made his mark at international level, notching 33 caps to date for Brazil, who are currently the number one-ranked international team in the world.

The 25-year-old looks like a potential difference-maker as West Ham look to improve upon last season’s seventh-place finish.

Nottingham Forest are reportedly interested in signing Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Calciomercato, the Midlands club – alongside Premier League rivals Newcastle United – are eyeing up a potential swoop for the French midfielder, with AC Milan seeking to terminate the second year of his current loan deal from the Blues.

Chelsea signed the 28-year-old from AS Monaco in the summer of 2017 in a deal worth a reported £40m.

Since then, the midfielder has made just 43 appearances for the west London club and spent the majority of his time away from the Blues on loan with the likes of Napoli, Milan and a temporary return to Monaco.

A big mistake from Cooper

His second loan spell with Milan last season saw the former Monaco midfielder make just 14 Serie A appearances for the current Italian champions.

In those outings, Bakayoko had only four shots at goal (none of which were on target), along with making just 13 successful tackles, 45 successful pressures, 10 blocks, 11 interceptions and eight clearances, which is lower that the majority of players at the club (as per FBref).

The midfielder’s performances earned him a disappointing overall season rating of 6.3/10, making him the lowest-rated player to start more than two league games for the Rossoneri according to WhoScored.

Not only has he been unable to convince his parent club that he has what it takes to be a useful player for them, he has also failed to impress while out on loan.

Despite previously being labelled a “monster” for the west London club by Jake Heasman, it’s safe to say that taking a punt on bringing the player back to England with Forest would be a big mistake from Steve Cooper.

With all that in mind, we feel that the Midlands club should forget about potentially securing a deal for the Chelsea outcast, either on loan or permanently, as his poor 2021/22 season in Italy suggests that he may not have what it takes to be able to enjoy a resurgence in the Premier League.

If bringing in a new midfielder before the summer transfer window shuts on Thursday night is in Forest’s plans, they should look elsewhere rather than taking a chance on Bakayoko.

Fulham’s failure to keep hold of Matt O’Riley looks to have been a disastrous decision, as the 21-year-old Celtic star is now reportedly wanted by a host of Premier League clubs including Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Leicester and Newcastle United.

O’Riley was a product of Fulham’s academy but would make just five appearances for the first team during his time with the Cottagers, so it was no surprise when he opted to leave the club on a free transfer in 2020.

MK Dons were the beneficiaries, as the young midfielder starred in their side for one and a half seasons, contributing ten goals and eight assists in 54 appearances before a move to Celtic.

He has gone from strength to strength during his brief time with the Bhoys, with four goals and three assists to his name thus far, while his overall performances have been enough to attract the interest of top Premier League sides.

According to ESPN, the Denmark U21 international is attracting significant interest from top-flight clubs, while Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg and Lille are also interested in O’Riley.

They suggest that while Celtic have no intention to sell the midfielder after less than 12 months in Glasgow, a bid of £20m could tempt them to sell this summer, which would represent a significant profit on the £1.5m they paid to sign him.

Considering he left Fulham for absolutely nothing, the club’s failure to offer such a talented youngster regular first-team football looks to have been a huge mistake by the Cottagers.

There is little doubt that O’Riley would have prospered in Fulham’s title-winning Championship side last season had he remained at the club, and he could have been a quality player for Marco Silva to have in his Premier League midfield.

O’Riley has started the new season where he left off with Celtic, averaging a strong 7.12 rating from WhoScored for his performances, which is only bettered by Bernd Leno and Aleksandar Mitrovic in Fulham’s squad.

Ross County boss Malky Mackay was full of praise for O’Riley last season, saying:

“The fact Celtic have gone and found O’Riley is a fantastic piece of business.

“He’s a wonderful young player. I even enjoy the fact he’s decided to go and play for Denmark, that he’s confident enough to throw his hat in there.”

Should he arrive in the Premier League and continue his upwards trajectory with a top-half club, then it will become even more evident that losing him for free was a rather shocking piece of business by Fulham.

Leeds United said goodbye to a club icon in Kalvin Phillips during the summer transfer window and, in the other direction, Manchester City sent Darko Gyabi, who joined the west Yorkshire outfit for around £5m.

Marc Roca (Bayern Munich) and Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig) also joined the club on permanent deals, which helped bolster Jesse Marsch’s engine room following the loss of such an integral figure.

But it’s actually the England U18 international that could hold the keys to replacing Phillips’ influence in the long run.

Despite the Premier League champions letting him go for such a low figure, he was very highly rated around the Etihad Campus.

The Manchester giants haven’t been afraid to give up their young talents if necessary as Gyabi follows in the footsteps of players such as Jadon Sancho, Brahim Diaz and Kelechi Iheanacho.

After all, the 18-year-old gem is more likely to break through into Leeds’ first team than he is under Pep Guardiola.

MEN journalist Simon Bajkowski described Gyabi as a ‘defensive midfielder that oozes class on the ball while also having impressive physicality for his age and a superb engine to support attack as well as defence’ in one article profiling his talents.

Meanwhile, professional football coach Harry Brooks dubbed the starlet a “wonderful talent” on Twitter, where he added:

“He will have made his Premier League debut by the end of the season, I have zero doubts. If you’re building an ideal number 8 in a lab, you’d come up with something like him.”

The London-born teen is yet to make his senior debut for Leeds but did feature on the bench in their Premier League opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers, which is perhaps a sign of things to come.

He has, however, been lighting it up for the U23 squad already, having scored and assisted from a defensive midfield role in a 5-1 win over Nottingham Forest – his fourth appearance for the team in the Premier League 2 competition.

As such, Gyabi could well be the man that both Marsch and Leeds need to fill that massive void left behind by Phillips, so you can forget Roca or even Adams. It could be a very bright future for the former City gem at Elland Road.

AND in other news, Elland Road favourite: Orta has struck gold at Leeds with “relentless” £25m “machine”…

When Wolverhampton Wanderers sold Rui Patricio to AS Roma last summer, the Molineux faithful may have been worried about who would be a suitable long-term replacement for the Portuguese goalkeeper.

The 34-year-old became one of the club’s big statement signings when they were promoted to the Premier League in 2018 and went on to make 127 appearances, keeping 37 clean sheets in the process.

Bruno Lage has hit the jackpot on his replacement, however, with Jose Sa impressing so far during his spell at the club.

Wolves hit the jackpot with Sa

A £6.25m deal was agreed between Wolves and Olympiacos for the transfer of the Portuguese goalkeeper following Patricio’s departure last summer and his arrival has made the Old Gold all but forget about their former ‘keeper.

The £29k-per-week shot-stopper made 37 appearances in his debut campaign, keeping 11 clean sheets as Wolves finished in the top half of the table.

Three further clean sheets have followed this season, although the club’s goalscoring woes have continued, netting only three times as they sit near the relegation zone.

Lage has gotten the best out of Sa, allowing him to make a seamless transition to the English game and this has been rewarded with a string of solid performances. His value has also skyrocketed too, with CIES Football Observatory valuing the goalkeeper at €20m (£17.8m) – an increase of 165% in just over a year.

It was an excellent move by Lage to bring him to the club and if he continues to perform like this, then there is no reason to suggest why his value cant increase over the next couple of seasons.

Former Old Gold keeper Matt Murray lavished praise on Sa following a victory over Everton last season, saying:

“I’ve been really impressed with Sa. I liked what he had done for Olympiacos, and thought he did really well for them, and it was interesting to see how he came in and stepped into Rui Patricio’s shoes.

“He’s very good with his feet and is very composed, and Wolves want to have more possession and play with a higher line, and he’s that dominant goalkeeper. I’ve been really impressed and by all accounts from the lads, he’s a proper top guy, a real character and good in the dressing room.”

As Wolves’ attacking options continue to flatter to deceive, it’s a good job Sa is constantly saving them from even more misery.

Steven Gerrard delivered arguably Glasgow Rangers’ greatest achievement by leading the Ibrox side to their 55th league title and first Premiership crown for a decade in 2021.

The Englishman restored the club’s reputation on the continental stage, twice reaching the Europa League last 16, defeating teams such as Porto, Feyenoord, and Galatasaray along the way.

However, his success in the transfer market was mixed and this might be the chink in his armour according to some Rangers supporters. Although, he did hit the jackpot on Romanian star Ianis Hagi in 2020.

Gerrard hit the jackpot on Hagi

Rangers signed Hagi on loan from Genk in January of 2020, with the club still in the hunt for the league title.  Three goals and two assists in just 13 matches saw Gerrard make the move permanent for £3m the following summer – and this could well prove to be fruitful for the club in the future.

In his two full seasons at Ibrox, Hagi has scored 12 goals and registered 19 assists in 72 matches, a solid enough return from the attacking midfielder.

However, it is undoubtedly his future potential that will have Giovanni van Bronckhorst most excited, although this hasn’t stopped any potential suitors from looking at the player.

The likes of AS Roma, Lazio, and Aston Villa have all been linked previously, with a fee of £18m being required to prise one of the Light Blues’ top talents away from the club – with this marking an astonishing 500% increase for what the club paid for him.

Hagi suffered a serious injury in January against Stirling Albion in the Scottish Cup and he has yet to return to the pitch, with Van Bronckhorst aiming to get him back to the level he was at before the injury.

The club suffered a drop in their creativity following his injury, relying primarily on Joe Aribo to create chances against domestic opposition who regularly deploy a low block.

Gerrard once claimed Hagi was “an absolute dream to work with” and there is no doubt that once he is fully recovered from his injury, the 23-year-old will once again become an important part of the Light Blues squad.

Van Bronckhorst will surely net the club a fortune on the Romanian in the next few years, but he has unfinished business at the club to attend to first.