Former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie is ecstatic that six Hoops players have made it into PFA Scotland’s Team of the Year for 2021/22.

The Lowdown: Hoops dominate Team of the Year

The Hoops are on the verge of being named the new Scottish Premiership champions, taking a six-point lead with them into the final three matches of the campaign.

Celtic’s dominance has now been recognised, with the news that Cameron Carter-Vickers, Josip Juranovic, Tom Rogic, Callum McGregor, Jota and Kyogo Furuhashi are all named in the Team of the Year.

All six have enjoyed superb seasons, playing a huge role in Ange Postecoglou’s side being so close to title glory.

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The Latest: McAvennie reacts to news

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie couldn’t hide his delight at the news:

“I can’t believe it, if you told me six players would make it into the team of the year at the end of last season, I wouldn’t believe it. The team we had last year was rotten. In such a short time Ange has turned it around.

“If you look at those six, Juranovic, Jota, Kyogo and Carter-Vickers all came in this season. I can’t believe that. Four brand new signings all in the team of the season, it’s just, wow.

“That is down to Ange as well because he brought them in. He is the one to thank in all this.

“McGregor and Rogic have improved so much as well, all of them deserve it. I know it doesn’t really mean much but it’s just another sign for the incredible year we have had and hopefully it’s a good sign for the future.”

The Verdict: Richly deserved recognition

To see over half of the Team of the Year dominated by Celtic players is just reward for their efforts, with Postecoglou getting huge amounts out of his squad in his first season at Parkhead.

Carter-Vickers has been an influential figure on loan from Tottenham, averaging 4.1 aerial duel wins per game, while Rogic and McGregor have brought class and fight to the midfield.

Meanwhile, Jota has been another inspired loan signing, chipping in with 18 goal contributions in the league – nine goals and assists each – and both Juranovic and Kyogo have also done their bit for the cause at right-back and in attack, respectively.

In other news, Celtic are reportedly keen on selling one player this summer. Find out who it is here.

Wolves host Norwich City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, with Bruno Lage’s men looking to end a run of five matches without a win whilst conceding ten goals in their last three games.

With the Canaries already relegated, Dean Smith’s outfit will be the ideal side for the West Midlands club to face for their final home game of the season – at least on paper, that is.

Although seriously unlikely, qualifying for Europe is still possible for the Old Gold, who sit five points behind seventh placed West Ham United with two matches to go.

However unlikely finishing higher than eighth may be, it will be vital that Lage’s men secure a positive result to sign off from Molineux for the season after a woeful couple of weeks which have seen a promising campaign turn slightly sour.

It is also an opportunity for the manager to give other players a chance in the starting line-up, with forward Hwang Hee-Chan ideally in line for a start.

Lage must unleash Hwang

The South Korean has endured a mixed first campaign in England, having joined Wolves initially on loan from RB Leipzig before making the move permanent in January.

Having scored five goals and provided one assist in 28 Premier League appearances, the 26-year-old has laid a platform to build upon going into next season. Moreover, those five goals make up 14% of Wolves’ tally of 36 this term, with Lage’s men scoring the fourth-fewest goals in the top flight.

Described by his manager as a “top player” whilst also being deemed to be someone who has “got everything” by pundit Ian Wright, Hwang has started just three of Wolves’ last eight matches, with game-time inconsistent for the South Korean. He had to make do with minutes as a substitute against Chelsea and Manchester City in the team’s last two matches.

Goals have been at a serious shortage of late from the Old Gold forwards, with Raul Jimenez scoring just once in his last 11 appearances, whilst Fabio Silva and Pedro Neto haven’t scored all season.

The latter has struggled to make an impression on Lage since returning from a serious knee injury and could be in line to return to the bench after a couple of starts.

However, the £26k-per-week centre-forward is also suffering from a lack of goals, with Hwang enduring an 11-match goal drought, having not scored since the 2-1 defeat at Arsenal in late February.

Therefore, being handed an opportunity to end that dry spell against the league’s bottom club in Norwich could certainly prove worthwhile in order to regain some confidence going into the summer and pre-season.

AND in other news: Wolves handed huge boost as early Norwich team news emerges, Lage will be delighted

Paul Heckingbottom has delivered a Sheffield United injury update before the clash with Fulham, revealing that a return for Rhian Brewster could be on the cards sooner than expected.

The Lowdown: Out of action

The 22-year-old first joined the Blades from Liverpool back in 2020, for a club-record fee of £23.5m, penning a five-year deal with the club.

The England U21 international sustained a serious hamstring injury during United’s 2-0 victory over Peterborough in January, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.

The Yorkshire outfit also have a couple of other key first-team players, including the likes of David McGoldrick and most recently Oli McBurnie, facing spells on the sidelines, but it seems as though the most positive news to come out of Bramall Lane is surrounding Brewster.

The Latest: Promising signs

During a pre-Fulham interview with Yorkshire Live, the Blades boss admitted that out of all of the squad members on the injury list, it’s the former Liverpool starlet who has the best chance of staging a return in time for the start of pre-season.

He said: “Probably Rhian has the best chance. He has been on the grass for the first time.

“Others are touch and go and it will be a case of seeing how they go, but Rhian is the furthest down the line.”

The Verdict: One for the future

Despite only having made 16 appearances across all competitions for the Blades due to injury this season, the 5 foot 9 attacker has proven that he can be prolific in the final third, having made a total of 23 goal contributions in just 28 outings for Liverpool’s U23s side.

Given the fact that Heckingbottom’s side currently find themselves in the play-off places with one game left to play, there’s a strong chance that Brewster could be coming up against some of his former teammates next season, so the fact he will be able to ramp up his form and sharpness in the summer is great news.

Brewster has previously been dubbed a “magnificent” player by Reds legend Steven Gerrard, and for someone still at such a young age, there’s no doubt that he will prove to be a key player for United in years to come.

In other news… the Blades have pulled out of a move to sign a new shot-stopper.

Manchester United are looking to strike a deal for Juventus centre-back Matthijs de Ligt.

What’s the word?

That is according to journalist Oriol Domenech, who was speaking on Gerard Romero’s Twitch stream, [via The Express]. He claimed that incoming United manager Erik ten Hag is keen to add the 22-year-old to his ranks after the allegedly bullet-proof signing of Frenkie de Jong has all but been confirmed.

Domenech said that the 52-year-old wants both former Ajax players at Old Trafford to ignite his era in charge of the Red Devils. Both De Ligt and De Jong were part of Ten Hag’s Ajax squad which reached the semi-finals of the Champions League three years ago.

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Imagine De Ligt and Ten Hag together again

Having managed the 22-year-old at Ajax, Ten Hag knows exactly what De Ligt’s game is all about. The Juventus star, who is rated at around £63m by Transfermarkt, braved the move to Turin back in 2019. He hasn’t looked back since, making 27 or more Serie A appearances in each of his three seasons with the Bianconeri.

The young Netherlands international has also managed to transition his goalscoring touch from Ajax, having scored in each of his seasons at youth and senior level in Amsterdam and managing to keep this consistent across his three years at Juve.

With a passing completing rate of 89% in the current Serie A campaign, De Ligt is sound in possession, and that figure suggests that he nicely suits Ten Hag’s philosophy of playing progressively from the back.

However, his arrival would pose an issue for either Raphael Varane or Harry Maguire, both of whom are right-footed. De Ligt is also a natural right-footed centre-back; and judging by the way he sets up his Ajax side, Ten Hag likes to have one left-footed and one right footed centre-back within his four-man defence.

With Varane listed on FBRef as 59% right footed, Ten Hag could utilise the Frenchman’s left-footed ability and could deploy him as a left-sided central defender. In that case, Maguire – who currently occupies the role of left-sided centre-back despite his right-footedness – could well wave goodbye to his starting berth.

De Ligt, who has been dubbed “an absolute monster”, will turn 23 in August – the same age that Ruben Dias was when he made his move to Manchester City – so it could be the perfect time in his career for him to make an impact in the Premier League.

In other news – “100% sure..”: Man Utd can sign “underrated” £38m-rated gem who’s “better than Dias”

Liverpool travel to Wembley to take on Chelsea this afternoon in their second cup final clash against the Blues this year, and there have been some fitness doubts in the Londoners’ squad which will be a huge boost for Jurgen Klopp.

What’s the latest?

Thomas Tuchel took to his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon to cast doubt on N’Golo Kante’s availability for the final today.

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The Chelsea manager told the press about the Frenchman (via Chelsea’s official website): “He’s also trying and tried yesterday in team training and did more or less everything, hopefully now without a reaction,”

“It was a reduced training session because of the travel and fatigue so it was not a high-intensity training session but we will also try today with him.”

The midfielder is racing to recover from an injury he sustained in the Blues’ draw against Manchester United a couple of weeks ago and has missed three games so far.

Klopp will be relieved

If Kante isn’t in the line-up, it will be a huge boost for Liverpool when attempting to win the midfield battles this afternoon. Klopp will surely be relieved to see the Chelsea colossus missing, especially with Fabinho unavailable for selection after sustaining a hamstring strain earlier this week.

James Pearce revealed on Thursday morning that Jordan Henderson would reprise his role in the centre of the pitch to cover for the injured Brazilian, tweeting: “Jordan Henderson set to play the holding role in Saturday’s FA Cup final.”

Although not the starting midfield that the Liverpool manager may have envisioned playing in the final, Klopp still has solid options like the club captain to cover in the midfield three. With Henderson’s experience and leadership, there is no reason why he can’t inspire the Reds to victory against Chelsea this afternoon.

The Blues have been going through a period of inconsistent form in the Premier League lately, with only two wins from their last six games, whereas Liverpool continue their long unbeaten run in the top flight as they chase for the title.

However, with the two sides meeting three times over the season so far in all competitions, neither has managed to get a winning result inside 90 minutes, so it will be interesting to see if this match goes all the way to penalties like it did in the Carabao Cup final.

AND in other news: Liverpool eye summer move for £144m-rated “golden boy”, he’s even better than Haaland

After witnessing Simone Zaza’s infamous – and frankly spectacular – penalty miss at Euro 2016, clubs would have been forgiven for halting any interest in the striker, such was the shambolic nature of the Italian’s stuttering run-up and blazed effort in a game of such magnitude.

No strangers to making bold – and often bizarre – deals in the transfer market, though, West Ham United were unperturbed by that spot-kick horror show, eventually signing the player from Juventus on a season-long loan deal later that summer.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing in football, with GSB likely wishing they had heeded the warning signs, as the journeyman forward went on to distinctly underwhelm in a Hammers shirt.

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One of many notable names to have failed to make the grade for the east London outfit over the last decade or so, Zaza’s time in English football is only noteworthy for just how brief it was and how little impact he made.

Having been signed for a reported £5m loan fee by then-Irons manager Slaven Bilic, the Policoro native went on to feature just 11 times for the club in all competitions, spending a mere 571 minutes on the pitch and failing to register a single goal.

In the end, all that came of his Premier League stint was two yellow cards, with those bookings costing the club £2.5m apiece in relation to his loan fee.

Such was the dire nature of Zaza’s time in east London, Bilic and co eventually severed ties with the player just a matter of months into his loan spell in order to avoid having to pay an appearance-related £20m purchase option, as the striker secured a January move to La Liga side Valencia.

Upon his departure, the Italian’s father insisted that it had been a “huge mistake” to make the move to the London Stadium, with the club and their supporters seemingly thinking the same.

Since then, the 30-year-old has somewhat faded from view, eventually making his return to Italy after an 18-month stint in Spain, with the 18-cap international now plying his trade for Serie A outfit Torino.

He has scored just 20 goals in 102 games across all competitions for his current club, notably failing to find the net in ten league appearances so far this term, all of which have come as a substitute.

Such has been Zaza’s decline since his stint in the Premier League, he is now valued at just £1.8m by Transfermarkt, despite having reached a peak of £22.8m back in January 2018 after a brief purple patch at the Mestalla.

As for West Ham, the only saving grace is that they hadn’t agreed to a permanent deal in the first place, with Simone Zaza now just another name on their list of failed centre-forward additions.

In other news, West Ham eyeing swoop for “aggressive” £45m-rated warrior, just imagine him and Rice

Tottenham Hotspur are among the teams interested in Brennan Johnson…

What’s the word?

That’s according to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, who claims that Spurs are taking a look at the 20-year-old, as well as his Nottingham Forest teammate Djed Spence ahead of the summer transfer window.

Although it could be dependent on their league status heading into next season. The Reds will face Huddersfield Town in the Championship playoff final on Sunday afternoon.

It remains to be seen if the Midlands outfit would be open to a sale and for exactly how much. Previous reports back in January suggest that they were looking for in excess of £20m.

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Dele Alli 2.0?

This would not be the first time that the north Londoners have looked to the EFL for a new signing, though this has brought them mixed success.

On one end of the spectrum is Joe Rodon, who has struggled to break into the first team but on the other, there’s Dele Alli, who was once one of the Premier League’s best young midfielders following a move from MK Dons.

Indeed, during the 2016/17 season, the Englishman bagged a whopping 18 goals and laid on a further seven assists, leading to Lilywhites legend Darren Anderton comparing him to Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard (via Goal.com).

“I’ve got to say that I loved Stevie G as a player and Scholesy but Dele Alli for his age is just a freak of a talent,” he said.

Johnson has been putting up those sorts of numbers in the Championship this campaign, having provided Forest with 18 goals and ten assists across 48 appearances, also averaging 1.3 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

His performances and undoubted talent have led to quite the praise.

“[He] is just an unbelievable player with the right mentality,” once claimed his former manager Sabri Lamouchi, whilst The Athletic’s Paul Taylor believes he has “remarkable potential”.

Both players are capable of playing in the middle as a creative no.10 and out wide, too, so on the above evidence, Spurs could well stumble upon their next Alli in the Reds prodigy.

AND in other news, Paratici eyeing Spurs swoop for £60m-rated “phenomenon”, just imagine him and Romero…

Leeds United have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to secure Premier League survival.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Leeds Live, Frank Lampard revealed that he will be able to call upon each of Michael Keane and Donny van de Beek – both of whom missed the 3-2 defeat against Brentford last weekend due to injury – for Everton’s fixture against Crystal Palace on Thursday evening.

The 43-year-old also revealed that Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ben Godfrey will be available for selection at Goodison Park, however, the former Chelsea boss claimed that it is currently unclear as to whether Godfrey will be fit enough to feature from the off.

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Concerning the current state of his squad, Lampard said: “Ben may be in the squad and that more a testament to him as he’s striving to get fit. He is in the squad but I will make a decision on whether he is involved at all. Michael Keane has recovered and Donny van de Beek will also be in the squad. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is fine too.”

Supporters will be gutted

With Leeds’ hopes of securing survival on the final day of the season – something which FiveThirtyEight predict there is currently a 40% chance of – being severely dented should Everton pick up all three points against Palace tomorrow evening, the news that Lampard looks set to have all of Keane, Van de Beek, Calvert-Lewin and Godfrey available is sure to have left the Elland Road faithful gutted.

Indeed, according to SofaScore data, Keane, Calvert-Lewin and Godfrey currently rank as the Toffees’ fifth, ninth and 14th-best performers in the top flight of English football, while Van de Beek proved during his time at Ajax – scoring 41 goals and registering 34 assists over 175 appearances in the Netherlands – that he is a talent who can always provide a moment of inspiration for his team.

As such, the news that the quartet all look as if they will play some sort of role on Thursday night is undoubtedly awful news for the Whites’ survival hopes this season – as an Everton win, coupled with a Burnley victory over Aston Villa tomorrow evening, would all but represent the final nail in the coffin for Jesse Marsch and his side this term.

AND in other news: Orta now plotting Leeds bid for “incredible” £40m target, he’s “one to keep an eye on”

New Liverpool signing Fabio Carvalho will play a ‘key role’ immediately at Anfield next season, according to reliable journalist Dominic King.

The Lowdown: Carvalho move sealed

The 19-year-old has signed for the Reds ahead of officially joining on July 1st, in what is an exciting piece of business by the club.

Carvalho enjoyed a superb season for Fulham, scoring ten goals and registering eight assists in the Championship, as the Cottagers sealed their return to the Premier League.

While there could have been the option of loaning the attacker out immediately this summer, perhaps back at Fulham to gain top flight experience, that doesn’t look as though it will be the case.

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The Latest: King drops interesting claim

Taking to Twitter, King claimed that Jurgen Klopp sees Carvalho as an immediate part of his plans from next season onwards:

“Liverpool have agreed a £7.7m deal with Fulham to sign Fabio Carvalho and he will officially move to Anfield on July 1. No intentions to loan Carvalho out next season, Liverpool see him as having a key role to play.”

The Verdict: One for the present & future

Carvalho looks like a huge prospect and it is encouraging to hear that he is already considered a massive part of Klopp’s plans in 2022/23.

The manager clearly thinks that he is ready to make a big impact from the off, with Fulham boss Marco Silva describing him as a ‘fantastic’ player.

The fact that Carvalho can operate in an attacking midfield role or across the front-line is perfect, in terms of versatility, and it could be that he begins to usurp more senior players in those roles, such as Roberto Firmino.

In other news, one Liverpool attacker has been backed to stay at the club. Find out who it is here.

Frank Lampard is reportedly plotting a move for Barcelona star Memphis Depay in order to bolster Everton’s attacking options ahead of next season.

What’s the word?

According to reports from Spanish outlet Sport, the Toffees are among the clubs who are interested in the 28-year-old, with Arsenal and Newcastle United also keen on securing the services of the Dutchman.

His contract expires at the end of next season, and Lampard could be tempted to lure him to Everton as part of a possible summer rebuild.

However, valued at £40.5m by Transfermarkt and with a wage of £158k-p/w, Depay won’t come cheap.

Depay would be a great coup for Everton

Everton narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League with a stunning 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace on Thursday, but Lampard won’t want to be in that position again, and his squad could be in need of an overhaul during the summer.

Signing Depay would be a solid piece of business, with his first season in Spain seeing him score 13 goals in 37 appearances despite Barcelona experiencing some considerable struggles during the campaign.

With Richarlison (11) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (five) struggling for goals this season in comparison to 2020/21, it’s clear that a new centre-forward is needed to improve the Toffees’ attack for next term.

Over the course of the 2021/22 season, Depay has generated more shot-creating actions (76) in La Liga than both Richarlison (62) and Calvert-Lewin (26) in the English top flight. The Dutchman is also effective from wide areas, putting in 61 crosses, with the Everton duo only managing 31 between them.

This vast skill set would no doubt please Lampard, and with former Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman describing Depay as a “joy to watch”, Everton could do a lot worse than bringing the former Manchester United forward back to the Premier League.

AND in other news, Everton handed huge injury lift as early Arsenal team news emerges