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Rangers played out a 1-1 draw with Slavia Prague at the Sinobo Stadium on Thursday evening and Steven Gerrard’s side will be confident that they can progress further in the Europa League by winning next week’s second leg at Ibrox.

Nicolae Stanciu gave the hosts an excellent start when he curled into the top corner after just seven minutes but Rangers fought back and equalised thanks to a scrappy goal from Filip Helander before half-time. Gerrard’s side were on top in the second half but had Allan McGregor to thank for securing a draw as the 39-year-old made an unbelievable save in the final few minutes to ensure that the teams finished level.

Although there were some excellent performances on show from Rangers, one man who struggled throughout the game was Nathan Patterson.

The 19-year-old continued his recent run in the side by starting in the Czech Republic, as captain James Tavernier is still sidelined through injury and Leon Balogun showed his vulnerabilities as a right-back in the previous round against Royal Antwerp.

However, he was tormented by the impressive Stanciu for much of the game, with SofaScore awarding the right-back a disappointing 6.4/10 rating for his performance, which was the worst of any Gers player who started the game.

Whilst the teenager made an impressive five clearances, three tackles and three interceptions during the game, the Slavia attackers regularly had the better of him down his side, as he was dribbled past as many as five times on Thursday evening.

For context, Filip Helander and Connor Goldson weren’t dribbled past at all, whilst left-back Borna Barisic was dribbled past just once, so it definitely seems like the home side targeted the young right-back and exploited his inexperience.

It was also arguably a poor display from the defender from a passing perspective, as he would complete just 17 passes during the game, which was fewer than the 24 passes McGregor would complete, which emphasises that he wasn’t able to get on the ball very often.

Unfortunately for Gerrard, on the few occasions when Patterson did have the ball at his feet, he was wasteful with it, as he lost possession 16 times, which again was more than both of Rangers’ centre-backs despite them having much more of the ball.

After the game, Gerrard suggested that the academy talent “became a man” with his performance on Thursday but the stats suggest that the youngster still has a lot to learn before he can be considered a serious challenger for Tavernier at right-back in this Rangers side.

And, in other news… No time for niceties: Wilson must axe £7.5k Rangers flop this summer; he’s simply not good enough

Marcel Brands should seal a summer swoop for Everton to sign VfB Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic and hand Carlo Ancelotti a second Dominic Calvert-Lewin type player.

What’s the word?

According to Tutto Juve, Serie A powerhouse Juventus are exploring a deal to sign Stuttgart striker Kalajdzic at the end of the season, but face vivid European competition.

The 23-year-old forward is thought to be on the radars of Everton, Newcastle United and RB Leipzig, after his Bundesliga side slapped an ‘affordable’ €20m (£17m) asking price on him.

Kalajdzic is noted by the Italian publication to be seen as the next Erling Haaland after scoring 13 goals in 24 German top-flight games this season, and he could well make a similar leap as the Borussia Dortmund sensation he is compared to.

Haaland trails only Bayern Munich’s 32-goal monster Robert Lewandowski in the Bundesliga Golden Boot race with 19 in 20 games, while Kalajdzic ranks sixth having contributed 28% of Stuttgart’s 47 efforts to date.

Reports by the Daily Mail also presented West Ham United as a potential destination for the £7,500-per-week attacker earlier this month, as David Moyes draws up a shortlist of options to target at the London Stadium.

Those claims also mentioned RB Leipzig’s interest but added that of Serie A side AS Roma, which have been supported by German publication Kicker, who note that Stuttgart’s Sporting Director Sven Mislintat has confirmed that player sales are likely this summer.

But the Mercedes-Benz Arena natives’ asking price has been questioned with the Daily Mail citing a valuation of around £15m, while Kicker claim a fee of between €20-25m (£17-21.5m) will be needed to strike a deal.

Should Everton sign Kalajdzic?

Everton appear to be drawing up their own shortlist of attacking weapons that Ancelotti and Brands can target at the end of the season, as the Goodison Park natives have recently been linked with FC Barcelona’s Martin Braithwaite too.

The Toffees may be putting precautions in place with speculation surrounding the long-term futures of Joshua King and Moise Kean on Merseyside, while Cenk Tosun will only have a year remaining on his £60,000-per-week contract come June.

Tosun is unlikely to be offered new terms given his struggles in the Premier League with 11 goals in 58 games since a £27m move from Besiktas in 2018, while King is yet to find the back of the net since his Deadline Day arrival last month.

Brands instead moving to sign Kalajdzic could see the Everton chief land Ancelotti a second Calvert-Lewin type, one who is able to match the Toffees’ top-scorer on the pitch, rather than force the Blues to play to a different tune.

Ancelotti often relies on Calvert-Lewin to offer a focal point in attack that Everton can target and play off, with the 24-year-old contesting 8.8 aerial duels a game in the Premier League – close to double the next-most of Lucas Digne (4.7) and Yerry Mina (4.6), per WhoScored.

Kalajdzic, who has been dubbed an “Ibrahimovic-machine” in comparison to Zlatan Ibrahimovic for his 6 ft 5 stature, can match that presence, having contested 5.2 aerial duels per game in the Bundesliga this term, along with taking 2.1 shots to Calvert-Lewin’s 2.5.

While the fee needed may still be unknown at this point, Brands should surely be working on a deal for Kalajdzic to join Everton.

AND in other news, Everton have their eyes on a £105k-p/w striker with three goals in 34 games for his current side…

According to The Sun, Manchester United are keeping tabs on both Kingsley Coman and Jadon Sancho as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seeks to bolster his wide options.

What’s the word?

Solskjaer’s side already secured the signing of Amad Diallo from Serie A side Atalanta in the January transfer window but now it seems that they want more.

United are currently second-placed in the Premier League, with the Red Devils putting three past Newcastle to move 10 points behind Manchester City.

However, Solskjaer is still keen to add further reinforcements to his squad this summer as he targets a first Premier League title for the club since Sir Alex Ferguson last won one in 2013 and he has identified Coman and Sancho as two of his top targets.

Coman or Sancho?

But the likelihood is it’ll be either-or for Ed Woodward. So, who should be the top target for the Red Devils and why?

In Coman, who is nearly four years older than Sancho, United would land a player with bags of experience at the top level of the game.

Sancho, however, could be the difference-maker to add a spark in their attack which has often been accused of looking rather one-dimensional due to their over-reliance on Bruno Fernandes.

Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, given Fernandes’ excellent goal return for the Red Devils, but if United opt for Sancho and stick him on the right wing, he’ll likely score goals. Lots of goals.

The England international has scored 44 goals and recorded 59 assists across 128 appearances in all competitions. By comparison, Coman has provided fewer goals and assists in over 180 appearances for Bayern Munich.

It’s been an open secret Solskjaer has harboured a long-standing interest in the 20-year-old monster, with the club trying to persuade the highly-rated right winger to move to Old Trafford on more than one occasion, but ultimately to no avail. Reports in recent times have revealed that he could only cost the club £50m in a cut-price deal.

If we compare the attacking duo this term, it’s close but no cigar. Sancho is still edging Coman in almost every area. Coman is averaging just 1.7 key passes per game whereas Sancho has made 2.3 key passes.

Perhaps crucially, the latter also surpasses the 24-year-old in terms of dribbles per match in the Bundesliga (3.2). For context, that’s more than other United player in the Premier League this season thus far, which suggests that he’d offer a greater attacking threat.

It may seem like we’re in danger of repeating ourselves but it’s growing increasingly evident that Woodward must sanction a swoop for Sancho in the summer after he scored against Schalke at the weekend.

AND in other news, Man Utd’s Victor Lindelof let Ole Gunnar Solskjaer down on Sunday…

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Juventus forward Paulo Dybala recently, and if he were to join the Reds, it would surely spell the end for Divock Origi.

The Argentine’s contract with the Serie A side is set to expire in 2022, with it suggested that the Old Lady could look to cash in on him next summer, to avoid potentially losing him for free at the end of next season.

Dybala has often been a regular at Juventus since joining from Palermo in the summer of 2015, making 244 appearances, contributing 98 goals and 40 assists in that time.

However, the 27-year-old has found himself on the fringes of Andrea Pirlo’s squad this season, making just eight starts and three substitute appearances in Serie A, in which he has contributed two goals and two assists, averaging a solid 7.04 rating.

This suggests that he still has a lot of quality and that he has impressed on his rare appearances, so he would surely be looking to establish himself as a regular member of Liverpool’s attack if he were to make the move to Anfield this summer.

Therefore, with Origi having struggled throughout the season so far, it is difficult to see where the Belgian international would get any game time should a player of Dybala’s quality arrive.

The former Lille man, who earns £60k per week at Liverpool, has failed to score or assist in any of his 12 Premier League and Champions League appearances this season, whilst his 6.19 average rating in the top-flight is one of the lowest in the squad.

It was suggested that Origi could depart during the winter transfer window but he ended up staying put, although it seems likely that his first-team chances will only decrease further now that Diogo Jota has recovered from his injury.

Dybala was described as a player of “extraordinary quality” by Juventus and Italy legend Alessandro Del Piero in 2020, so whilst Origi has some memorable moments in a Liverpool shirt, there seems no doubt that Dybala is a much better overall player than the Belgian, so it would not be a surprise to see him depart should the Argentinian join Jurgen Klopp’s side in the summer.

And, in other news… Edwards should seal Liverpool swoop for 6 ft 3 beast who silenced Messi at 19

Aston Villa narrowly avoided defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at the AMEX Stadium on Saturday after the hosts squandered several chances to take the lead.

Dean Smith had a lot to thank his goalkeeper Emi Martinez for at the final whistle after a string of first-class saves (nine to be precise) ensured the Villans extended their unbeaten run to two games in a row after a patchy run of form.

The result means that Villa lie eighth in the table, level on points with Tottenham Hotspur and just four points behind fourth-placed Liverpool with two games in hand over the defending Premier League champions.

Smith singled out praise for his first-choice stopper after the game and said “it was a one-man show at times” following his heroics in the 0-0 draw with Graham Potter’s side on Saturday. However, we feel someone else deserves a special mention as well.

That just so happens to be Tyrone Mings, a player who has gone from playing non-league football for Chippenham Town to earning four England caps since returning to the Premier League with AFC Bournemouth.

The former Cherries star was given the task of keeping the likes of Neil Maupay and Leandro Trossard at bay for most of the game and he managed to keep them in his back pocket for the most part.

Maupay is the Seagulls’ top scorer this season with a tally of seven goals but Mings largely kept him under control as he struggled to have much of an impact – the Frenchman’s tally of 13 total passes was the lowest of any starter for Brighton on the day.

During the full 90′ minutes, Mings made eleven clearances, which was more than any other player including Martinez and at least seven more than his closest rival in the form of Brighton defender Lewis Dunk (4).

Only Matt Targett (2) and Ahmed El-Mohamady (2) made more tackles than Mings in the entire game. In terms of blocking shots, only Ezri Konsa blocked more shots than the 27-year-old. He also wasn’t dribbled past at all, which shows that he was a difficult presence to get back and a testament to how the Seagulls were reluctant to take him on one v one.

Despite their best efforts, Brighton couldn’t break down a determined Villa defence which was well marshalled by the England international. Maupay tried time and time again to break the deadlock, but he couldn’t even manage a single shot on target, which was a testament to Mings’ defensive shift at the back.

The towering colossus, who currently earns around £25,000-per-week at Villa Park, has quietly gone about his business this season but it may no be too long before one of the Premier League’s giants come calling for his signature in the summer.

Manchester United have recently been credited with an interest in the Englishman though whether Villa will be willing to entertain offers for one of their star players remains to be seen.

While Martinez may take home the headlines for his performance, it was Mings who arguably Smith’s unsung hero.

Although Celtic are struggling with  coronavirus issues, Neil Lennon has a lot to look forward to once he and his team are allowed to return to action.

The Hoops have an alarming 14 senior players in self-isolation due after they were deemed to be close contacts to Christopher Jullien, who tested positive. The boss has been forced to join them in quarantine and as a result, he missed his side’s latest Premiership fixture.

Despite the fact Celtic were operating with a skeleton crew on Monday, they were able to avoid total embarrassment and registered a draw against Hibernian, a game they very nearly won too. The man of the hour in that game was, not for the first time, David Turnbull.

Lennon gamble on Turnbull paying off

Many Celtic players are waiting patiently for their chance to break into the first team. However, only those who have caught the boss’ eye have been so lucky. Even veteran Leigh Griffiths finds himself low down in the pecking order these days.

Lennon recently took a chance on 2020 summer signing David Turnbull after his other midfield options failed to impress. The former Motherwell man made his first Celtic start against St Johnstone in the league and has gone on to contribute to five goals in nine appearances, according to Transfermarkt.

Turnbull was the difference for the Hoops last time out, scoring a late goal in the 82nd minute to  put his side into the lead. Unfortunately, Kevin Nisbet’s injury time strike meant Celtic had to settle for a draw.

On the back to that goal, In his last eight appearances under Lennon, Turnbull has gone just two games without contributing to a goal.

Sofascore reports that he averages a goal every 211 minutes, which is more than creative teammate and full Scotland international Ryan Christie.

Turnbull has produced the goods during Celtic’s hour of need and that simply mustn’t be overlooked. The £1.6million-rated midfielder has completely transformed Lennon’s engine room and must now be one of the first names on Lennon’s team-sheet every match, even when those 14 players return from quarantine

His portfolio of six goals so far is more than any other Celtic midfielder, which only highlights how crucial he is to this Glaswegian side.

Lennon has already admitted that he is in awe of Turnbull’s “excellent form” and provided he is continuously given chances, he will almost certainly continue to thrive.

The manager simply must continue to select him for as long as he remains fit as he is the man to provide the much-needed goals from midfield.

In other news, Celtic could land a bargain in Sheffield Wednesday’s Adam Reach…

According to The Daily Record, Glasgow Rangers target Jack Simpson has agreed a Bosman move to Steven Gerrard’s side, which could spell bad news for George Edmundson in regards to his future prospects.

What’s the word?

The Rangers centre-back has struggled for game time this season having fallen out of favour with Gerrard after he served a lengthy suspension for breaching coronavirus restrictions.

Gerrard is currently blessed with great defensive options again, with Leon Balogun and Filip Helander jostling for the position alongside Connor Goldson, so it’s no surprise that Edmundson finds himself at the bottom of the pecking order, as he has made just one substitute appearance in the Scottish Premiership so far this season, averaging a miserable 5.52 rating overall.

Following the news that Rangers have agreed a pre-contract deal with Simpson, it is within the realm of possibility that the 23-year-old could find himself heading for the Ibrox exit, considering the Gers also have Nikola Katic on their books, with Gerrard recently confirming that the Croatian is progressing nicely in his recovery from injury.

When one door opens, another closes

Rangers signed Edmundson from Oldham Athletic on a four-year deal for a fee in the region of £700,000 in 2019.

Since then, he has made 16 appearances for the 54-time Scottish champions, scoring twice and supplying an assist in all competitions.

Gerrard had insisted that Edmundson could still find a way back into the first team in the future, saying:

“I think the important thing here was to get the players out of the isolation period, first and foremost. Then it was about sitting down with the players face-to-face to gauge a reaction to how they feel and where they were at.

“I spoke to them both individually and they were both very sad over the incident, they were remorseful, apologetic and full of regret. They first and foremost wanted to apologise to the supporters and their team-mates for their actions.
“In my position, it was time to support these two players once I saw that reaction. It was the reaction I wanted to see.
“Now it’s about me giving them the support and managing them to come back to top players because they are good players, we need them here to help and support us moving forward.”

However, reports in recent weeks have revealed Rangers will consider a January loan exit for Edmundson as he hasn’t played despite returning from suspension.

Having excelled for Bournemouth, the Scottish giants have taken a gamble on Simpson and it’s fair to say that they could be duly rewarded. He is currently averaging more tackles and clearances per game than Edmundson, which suggests that he could be a significant upgrade on the Rangers outcast. He’s currently valued at £1m but Rangers are getting him for free.

If Edmundson can’t re-establish himself in the first team at all between now and the end of this season, then it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see him leave for pastures new in the near future.

AND in other news, Filip Helander proved a point to Steven Gerrard with his performance against Ross County…

Anthony Gordon betrayed Carlo Ancelotti with a horror show performance as Everton beat Championship strugglers Rotherham United in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

Goals from Cenk Tosun and Abdoulaye Doucoure ensured the Toffees’ name enters the hat for the next round, despite the Blues often being at sixes and sevens with no clear cohesion between the heavily changed line-up.

Gordon started well with a promising presence on the left-wing to play Tosun through with a perfectly weighted pass for the Turkey international’s first goal of the season, turning Rotherham’s Michael Ihiekwe inside out on the half-way line to create space for himself.

The talented Toffees product had almost struck his first goal in senior football not long before feeding Tosun after an excellent driven run through the centre, and later baffled the visiting backline with a cleverly disguised pass down the line.

Unfortunately, though, Gordon’s day took on a downward spiral thereafter, with the Liverpool Echo’s Phil Kirkbride noting on Twitter how the 19-year-old displayed poor body language after the break.

Ancelotti did not wait long before hauling Gordon off as the first of his second-half changes to introduce Bernard, and cap off what turned out to be a miserable afternoon for the £4.5m-rated youngster despite the early promise.

Gordon departed the field in the 61st-minute having lost four of his seven ground duels and possession six times, while failing to attempt a single cross or long ball despite recording 22 touches, per SofaScore.

The Liverpool-born talent often registered his touches on the cusp of the half-way line and almost shared as much time spent in the Rotherham penalty area as he did on the edge of Robin Olsen’s box.

Yet despite that, he attempted two shots on goal with one blocked and sending the other off-target, while emerging successful with just one of his two dribbles and playing one key pass from a mere nine successful attempts.

No Everton player attempted fewer passes in total than Gordon (11) during the opening hour of the match, with Olsen even registering 22 efforts in goal for the third-lowest tally ahead of Tosun (12), per WhoScored.

It was a display that will see Ancelotti look fondly on other players should he need replacements for Richarlison anytime soon in the Premier League, even with Andre Gomes often proving an easy target for Rotherham to circumnavigate in the engine room in a disappointing display from the Portuguese.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands must sign “quick” Everton target who “makes football look easy”…

Very rarely do we end up questioning Celtic.

Over the last ten years, they have been dominant, winning nine SPFL titles in a row.

However, this season looks as though it could pan out differently. That’s because Rangers are currently 11 points clear at the top of the table. There are a host of problems within the Parkhead ranks, but how can they solve them?

On the chalkboard

It’s not often we ask where the goals have gone in this Celtic team but beyond Odsonne Edouard this season, there appears to be a concerning lack.

Of course, Mohamed Elyounoussi has found form and scored a hat-trick recently, but the performances of Albian Ajeti are becoming a colossal concern.

The £4.5m summer signing scored five goals in his opening six games for the Hoops, but his displays have dropped off at an alarming rate.

He has now failed to score in his last eight outings and against Hibernian last weekend he was isolated and afforded few goal-scoring chances.

With Neil Lennon’s job under pressure, he needs to find a remedy soon.

Klimala at the ready

It’s taken a long time for the Polish striker to be ready but there is now no better excuse than to give him regular match action for the first time in Glasgow.

Patryk Klimala looked sloppy and wasn’t really up to scratch with the British game when he joined in January but he’s shown some strong signs in 2020/21, so much so that he simply has to be considered over the out of form Ajeti.

Why? Because he’s bulked up in terms of his stature and has three goals from just two starts all season. Remarkably, Klimala has played only 13 minutes in the Europa League this season, but that’s the competition where Lennon has to utilise him first.

The Pole must use Thursday as an audition to put himself right at the forefront of the manager’s plans, because in his minimal game time this season, he has been impressive.

Speaking about Klimala at the beginning of the season, Lennon said: “Patryk worked hard again. There are aspects of his game he needs to improve on.”

He continued: “It can be difficult coming to a new environment but he’s made his point and he’s headstrong. He wants to be part of it and wants to bulldoze in and make a contribution, so we are happy with that.”

So, what better occasion to throw him into the starting XI than in Europe?

It surely can’t get any worse than Ajeti showed last Saturday. Celtic need change in attack.

In other news, Celtic may be about to FINALLY replace Scott Sinclair…

Theo Walcott may have played his final Everton game already, having hinted at a move into coaching during his spell on loan with boyhood club Southampton.

The attacker returned to St. Mary’s on Deadline Day after the Saints struck a deal with Everton that sees the Goodison Park natives continue to pay £45,000 of the 31-year-old’s £100,000-per-week contract.

His terms are set to expire at the end of the season, though, and it is unlikely that a new deal is tabled having fallen down the pecking order under Carlo Ancelotti, with just 950 minutes of action handed to the former Arsenal star since the Italian’s appointment.

Walcott is yet to fully establish himself in the first-team fold at Southampton following his return to the south coast, with Ralph Hasenhuttl starting the attacker against Chelsea and seeing him assist in the 3-3 draw only to then be without the ex-England ace in victory over Everton.

But Walcott has revealed that he has been working closely with Hasenhuttl off the pitch since his homecoming, and could continue working with the Saints boss beyond his one-season loan.

“The manager has pulled me to one side a few times and put me in a room to go through a lot of tactics, which is nice to see, just to get my coaching head on, because that’s something in the future I might want to look at,” Walcott told the Saints’ website.

“It’s very interesting. I’m really enjoying my short time working with the manager at the moment and hopefully it can be a long-term thing.”

Along with working with Hasenhuttl, Walcott has been working with Southampton’s young talents and, given his comments, could look to move into a coaching position at the end of the season.

“I want to help the academy graduates coming through now,” Walcott added. “I’m sure they’ve got a lot of questions to ask – quite a few of them have already been asking me things.

“A lot of them have been saying, ‘I watched you at Arsenal and now I’m playing with you’, so that’s a nice touch. I feel like everyone’s a really hard worker.”

Should Walcott not be offered a new contract for next season and leaves Everton, his record at Goodison Park will not be as fruitful as he would have liked when signed for more than £20million by Sam Allardyce in 2018, having scored just 11 times and offered nine assists in 85 games.

He is clearly now looking at the bigger picture, though, and the forward maestro would be a superb addition for Southampton in a player-coach type role given his 47-caps for England, experience competing in the Champions League and 348 career Premier League appearances.

Walcott also has a superb footballing brain, and was hailed by Arsene Wenger during their time at the Emirates Stadium with the former Arsenal boss once noting via Sky Sports: “He has all the ingredients to be a great striker, because of the quality of his runs. He is an intelligent player, a good finisher.”

AND in other news, Marcel Brands can repeat his summer masterclass by landing an Everton-linked £76k-p/w powerhouse.