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Simply looking to widen their buffer at the top of the Premiership table on Christmas Eve lunchtime, Celtic will welcome St. Johnstone to Glasgow.
Celtic
Starting with the hosts, opening up Christmas Eve holding a commanding nine-point buffer over the chasing pack, Celtic appear to be cruising towards another Premiership crown this season. Marking their return from the World Cup break with back-to-back wins against Livingston and Aberdeen over the past week, Ange Postecoglou s men will be looking to lay down another marker here. In fact, it should be highlighted, the Hoops have now won each of their last 10 straight top-flight matchups a run that stems all the way back to September 18th. With the mood in their camp at a real high, th…
Mason Holgate has pledged his future to Everton, signing a new five-year contract with the Premier League club.
The defender who moved to Goodison Park from Barnsley in 2015 has become a regular this season, making 26 first-team appearances in all competitions.
His form at the heart of the Everton defence had led to reports of interest from Manchester City, while the 23-year-old is rumoured to be on the brink of an England call-up.
After spending the second half of the 2018-19 campaign on loan at West Brom, Holgate is excited about his long-term future with the Toffees after agreeing a deal that runs until June 2025.
| Holgate 2025!
— Everton (@Everton)
This is my fifth year at Everton and my development as a person and a player…
Napoli are set to sign Gabri Veiga from Celta Vigo, according to Fabrizio Romano, following a successful conclusion of the transfer negotiations between the two clubs. The fee that the Serie A champions will be paying for the services of the young midfielder is believed to be set at €36 million, add-ons included.
A number of top clubs across Europe were linked with Gabri in the past, not least in England where the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea were said to be keeping an eye on him and considering attempts to take him to the Premier League. However, there doesn t seem to have been any concrete steps to make any of it happen, and Napoli have obviously taken advantage of the situation.
The highly-rated 21-year-old playmaker was only promoted to the seni…
Fulham are set to sign Kevin Mbabu from Wolfsburg in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Fulham, who will play in the Premier League next season after winning promotion from the Championship, have an agreement in place with Wolfsburg over the defender.
have reported that Fulham will pay Wolfsburg €7.5m €5.5m (£6.4m £4.7m) up front plus €2m (£1.7m) in performance related add ons for Mbabu. The 27-year-old has yet to agree personal terms or pass a medical.
Mbabu struggled during his time in England when he was at Newcastle United. The 27-year-old Switzerland international midfielder has been on the books of VfL Wolfsburg since 2019 and has established himself as one of the better defenders in Germany. Mbabu made 14 starts and…
Thomas Tuchel believes Chelsea must consider N Golo Kante s poor injury record when they discuss a new contract with the France midfielder.
Kante has been crucial to Premier League, Champions League and Europa League wins since arriving at Chelsea in 2016, earning a reputation as one of the world s finest midfield enforcers.
But the 2018 World Cup winner has been beset by injury woes in recent seasons, and was ruled out for several weeks after suffering a hamstring injury ahead of last week s 3-0 defeat at Leeds United.
Kante made at least 34 Premier League starts in each of his first three seasons with Chelsea, but has failed to start more than 24 games in each of his last three full campaigns.
With the 31-year-old having entered the final 12 months of h…
Gareth Southgate says it would be “ridiculous” to overly experiment as England head to hostile Hampden Park to face in-form foes Scotland in a so-called friendly.
Both sides are on the cusp of qualification for next summer’s European Championship as they meet on Tuesday evening for the 116th edition of the world’s oldest international fixture.
Southgate sees England’s first friendly fixture since March 2022 as an important test and learning step for his side, fresh from Saturday’s challenging 1-1 draw against Ukraine.
Scotland have won their last five matches and will be roared on by a sold-out Hampden Park crowd on Tuesday, when the 53-year-old knows he has to get the balance right with his selection.
Full focus on Scotland: together
Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of Atletico Madrid left-back Renan Lodi on a season-long loan.
Forest will reportedly pay Atleti an initial £4.2million (€5m) loan fee for Lodi, who has also renewed his deal with the LaLiga club until 2026.
Lodi becomes promoted Forest s 18th signing of a busy transfer window.
The Brazil international joined Atleti from Athletico Paranaense in June 2019 and has made 84 appearances in the Spanish top flight, scoring four goals and adding six assists.
…
Real Madrid and Barcelona are interested in signing Chelsea central defender Antonio Rudiger, according to El. Rudiger has reportedly told Chelsea that he wants to leave, and both Spanish giants Madrid and Barcelona are keen on the 28-year-old.
Chelsea have offered Rudiger a new contract, but the centre-back has yet to respond to the 2021 Champions League winners. Barcelona were already in the frame to sign Rudiger, who is out of contract at Chelsea next summer, and now Madrid has entered the picture.
Rudiger has been on the books of Chelsea since 2017 and has now established himself as an important player in manager Thomas Tuchel’s team. The centre-back has won the FA Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League once each with the Blues.
…
PSV hold the advantage in their Champions League play-off following a thrilling 3-2 victory at BATE that was sealed by an 89th-minute header from substitute Donyell Malen.
PAOK held Benfica to a 1-1 draw in Lisbon while the first leg between Red Star Belgrade and Red Bull Salzburg ended goalless in Serbia as they battle to secure a place in the group stage of the competition.
BATE took a surprise lead in just the ninth minute of Tuesday s tie at Borisov Arena when Jasse Tuominen turned a low cross from Aleksandar Filipovic through the legs of Netherlands goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet.
The Eredivisie side were level before the break when referee Felix Zwayer gave a penalty for a handball by Nemanja Milunovic, Gaston Pereiro drilling home the penalty despite Denis …
Chelsea booked their passage to the semi-final of the Carabao Cup on penalties after Mykhailo Mudryk’s stoppage-time equaliser rescued a 1-1 draw against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.
Mudryk slotted home after a mistake from Kieran Trippier just as Eddie Howe’s side looked to have done enough to ease past the hosts, who struggled to create for much of the game.
Earlier, Callum Wilson had given the visitors a first-half lead on the counter-attack.
A big moment!
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
But as the game went to spot-kicks, Trippier again was culpable, firing wide from 12 yards before Matt Ritchie saw the critical kick saved by goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic to see Chelsea through.
The first chance went to the hosts. Enzo Fernandez’s c…