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Birmingham City have been dealt a huge blow to their hopes of keeping Alen Halilovic at St. Andrew’s this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by We Are Birmingham, who revealed that Lee Bowyer’s side and the 24-year-old midfielder have failed to reach an agreement regarding a contract extension, meaning that the Croatian international looks set to leave the club upon the expiry of his current deal at the end of the month.

The Blues manager had previously gone on the record revealing his desire to keep Halilovic at the club this summer, stating his belief that the £720k-rated man brings “something different” to his side, as well as tipping the midfielder to become an “even better player” with a full pre-season under his belt.

Bowyer will be gutted

Having openly stated his wish for the club to do all they can to retain the services of Halilovic this summer, the fact that the midfielder now looks likely to be moving on to pastures new is sure to leave Bowyer gutted.

Indeed, despite a distinct lack of direct goal involvements, the former AC Milan man nevertheless impressed for Bowyer’s side following his arrival on a free transfer back in November.

Over his 17 Championship appearances, only nine of which came as starts, the 24-year-old managed just one goal, provided no assists and created no big chances for his teammates, with these metrics seeing the attacking midfielder earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.65 – ranking him as Birmingham’s 19th-best performer in the second tier.

However, the one goal Halilovic did score was a rather remarkable 25-yard curler that saw Birmingham clinch a 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers, while the 10-time capped Croat also often dazzled with his trickery and creativity in the Blues midfield.

As such, the fact that the former Barcelona player once dubbed the next Lionel Messi, as well as a “phenomenal” talent by Miroslav Bicanic, looks set to once again be searching for a new club this summer is undoubtedly a disappointment for Birmingham, as it feels we did not quite see Halilovic reach the limit of his potential during his short time with the Blues.

In other news: Forget San Jose: Bowyer must sanction BCFC summer swoop for “complete” £38k-p/w beast

The career path of former Celtic star Shaun Maloney is a strange one.

For the Hoops, he was one of the most exciting players in the Scottish game, combining close-touch control with the ability to find the back of the net and create goals on a regular basis at Parkhead. During his stay at Paradise, the Scot played 135 times, scoring 30 goals and registering 31 assists.

Since then, he has gone on to win the FA Cup with Wigan and now he’s the assistant manager of Belgium, the number one-ranked international side in world football. It’s funny how things work out for some players in the game.

Another footballer with an intriguing story is Ryan Gauld. The midfielder left Dundee United for Sporting Lisbon as a teenager, moving to Portugal as one of the most vibrant young talents around.

He was dubbed the Mini Messi and it was clear to see why. Speaking about his game, his former coach Ian Cathro once said: “We don’t allow players to be technically brilliant in this country.”

Instantly, that was what set Gauld apart from everyone in Scotland. It’s also why he managed to attract suitors on the continent.

The attacker is now 25 years of age and, although he hasn’t lived up to the Messi hype, he’s beginning to flourish in Portugal.

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Gauld only played five times for Sporting Lisbon before moving to Farense. Remaining in Portugal, the promising Scot has scored an eye-catching 20 goals in 71 outings for his current club.

His form earned shouts for him to be included in the Scotland squad for the European Championship, while Celtic have also been tipped to sign him.

“For me, it’s a no-brainer for Celtic to just inquire because he is now a massive person of interest,” Tony Haggerty told ACSOM this week.

In luring him to Glasgow, the Hoops could unearth their new Maloney. After all, the former Bhoys gem is a player to whom he has been compared by Gordon Strachan.

The former Celtic manager commented in 2014: “He’s a little bit like Shaun Maloney. Ryan has got things, he can see things on the pitch. He can execute passes and, invariably, he gives you a good weight of pass.”

In carving out 2.4 shots per and 2.3 key passes per game this term, there are clear similarities with the way Maloney played. The latter often rampaged forward before providing the finishing touches to a Celtic attack.

Another figure who has been effusive in their praise for Gauld is Sergio Vieira, Farense’s head coach, who remarked: “Ryan’s got quality in his passing and dribbling and he’s now shown he can score goals too.”

Vieira continued: “He’s aggressive and competitive, despite his smaller size and tactically very intelligent. I feel he’s the complete player and as a person, he’s humble, ambitious and self-determined. He’s been easy to deal with, always listening and ready to improve.”

Gauld may have ultimately missed out on Scotland’s squad for Euro 2020 but Celtic should jump at the opportunity to sign him if it arises.

AND in other news, Howe would have been an instant hit if Celtic signed 45-goal bully who’s “impossible to beat”…

Former West Ham striker Brian Deane believes that Norwich’s Emiliano Buendia could become the dictator in the Hammers’ side next season.

Whilst David Moyes’ team sealed a Europa League place following their final-day victory over Southampton, they’ve been short of a creator in their squad.

Two of their top three assist makers were defenders in Aaron Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal, whilst sandwiched in between was summer signing Said Benrahma, who played a bit-part role for most of the season.

In complete contrast, Buendia racked up the most assists in English football’s top four leagues (16) in just 39 Championship appearances to help Norwich bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

And West Ham are reportedly considering a move for the Argentine, who’s also a target for Aston Villa, should they fail to convince Jesse Lingard to return on a permanent basis.

Buendia also added 15 league goals, which saw him named Championship Player of the Season and named in Team of the Season, but the Hammers are likely to face interest from the likes of Arsenal.

Deane told Football FanCast:

“Well if they were to get him, he’s going to have better players around him. And you would think that if he’s going to be the dictator in that squad, then there’s probably no limit.

“It’s one thing being a big fish in a small pond, but how does becoming a fish in a pond affect your performances?”

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has suggested that Aston Villa striker Keinan Davis will get his chance to shine against Everton in the Premier League.

What’s the story?

In what was a disappointing afternoon all-round for Dean Smith’s side on Sunday against Manchester United, Ollie Watkins received his marching orders late on in the game and will now miss the upcoming clash against the Toffees.

And, responding to a question in his post-match Q&A for The Athletic, Evans said: “Sure Davis will get his chance against Everton now. Will be good for him, but a shame for Watkins who would have liked to maintain his 100% attendance record.”

Time for Keinan Davis

With 15 goals in 37 games in all competitions in his debut campaign for the club, there’s no questioning that Watkins has been an absolute success story at Villa Park this season.

What has been even more remarkable arguably, is the fact he had played every single minute in the Premier League up until the point he was sent off against United on Sunday.

But with him now missing, Smith will surely turn to Davis to be his main man when the Toffees come to town in mid-week, with Wesley surely unlikely to be given a start just yet given the nature of his knee injury.

Davis has been restricted to just substitute appearances all season due to Watkins’ form, but has recently shown the ability to change a game off the bench, providing an assist against Fulham and then netting a late equaliser against West Brom.

The striker will surely be champing at the bit to make his mark on the side, and give Smith the belief that he’s someone who the manager can really rely upon going forward.

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It’s exactly why Villa fans will be buzzing at finally seeing Davis get his reward of starting from the off when they take on Everton at home on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, this Villa ace had a shocker vs Man Utd…

Kieran Maguire has dropped a big claim on Newcastle United’s anti-competition takeover case against the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Ashley launches case

Mike Ashley has launched an anti-competition lawsuit against the top flight with regards to their decision-making process in the failed takeover of the club from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

The chief executive of Sports Direct has since appointed Daniel Jowell as his QC for the case, which is separate from the arbitration case due to take place between the two parties involved.

The Latest: Maguire favours Ashley

Speaking to Football Insider, Maguire – who is an expert in the field of football finance – has claimed that Ashley could be the biggest potential winner in the long run as the case is launched, while also claiming that the Premier League being granted an extension to respond to it is a ‘filibuster’:

“The biggest potential winner in this is going to be Mike Ashley rather than Newcastle, in the long-term.

“And he is playing a long-term game. Newcastle fans have had to be patient and this is the kind of prevarication we do associate with our silver-tongued friends in the legal profession.

“We’ve seen it in the form of charges from the EFL against clubs that may or may not have the impact of deferring points deductions, for example. So it is a filibuster, in effect.”

The Verdict: Premier League delaying takeover

The fact that the Premier League have been granted an extension to respond to the case does seem like a delaying tactic in the bigger picture of the potential takeover going through.

They also have an arbitration hearing to face against the St James’ Park club, with the results not guaranteed to go their way.

What is for sure is that the results of both legal battles should paint a much clearer picture over the direction of where the potential takeover is heading, as Newcastle will be hoping that the outcomes are positive from their point of view.

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The uncertainty over whether the potential takeover can be completed is not ideal going into the summer transfer window, as the Magpies do not know what kind of players they will be looking to buy, but the Toon Army will probably not care one bit if it means that the KSA consortium can end Ashley’s tenure.

In other news, find out what big Joe Willock transfer update has been dropped!

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has given the thumbs up to his old side bringing in a new striker this summer.

This season, Ollie Watkins has been the first-choice No.9 at the Midlands club and has led the line well, with the 25-year-old managing to get his name on the scoresheet last time out against Fulham – his 11th league goal.

Nevertheless, Villa could still move for a centre-forward in the next transfer window. According to The Telegraph, there is a desire at Villa Park to provide Watkins with some serious competition for the 2021/22 campaign.

It remains to be seen who the Premier League outfit end up bidding for, but the decision to target a striker in the first place is the right move for Hendrie.

On the rumours that Villa are likely to buy a new No.9 this summer, the retired midfielder told FFC:

“I think sometimes when you’re in a position where you haven’t really got to look over your shoulder and see who’s coming in, if you’re having a bad game or you’re not scoring goals [it can be a problem].

“I think that [competition] is healthy in a football club. I really do because it gets people on their toes, it gets reactions out of players. If you’re not playing well, you know the next man is coming in, so it keeps everyone on their toes and that’s important, it’s really important.

“Ollie Watkins has had a free season if you like, you know, there’s been injuries to Wesley, who’s struggling to get back to full fitness.”

As well as bringing in a centre-forward, The Telegraph reports that Villa could also add a winger to their squad as owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens look to fully back manager Dean Smith.

This season has been the very definition of a horror show for Celtic and everyone at Parkhead.

The Bhoys have surrendered their grasp on the league title and they will finish the 2020/21 campaign without a single trophy to their name.

It ends what has been a decade of complete dominance for the Hoops and throughout the rest of the season, nothing but pride is at stake.

They capitulated in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup last weekend, ruing not only a missed penalty and a succession of excellent chances but also their defending.

As Rangers won 2-0, it was their two full-backs who had to be held accountable from a defensive point of view.

On the chalkboard

Diego Laxalt has had a very inconsistent stay at Celtic. Going forward he has looked like creating plenty of chances but when he tries to defend, he is left all at sea.

Against Dundee United a few weeks ago he was tortured by Lawrence Shankland and he was left at the mercy of Joe Aribo in a similar fashion last Sunday.

The Rangers winger led Laxalt a merry dance down Celtic’s left-hand side and the Uruguayan was powerless to stop it.

For the opening goal, he wasn’t even in the picture as Steven Gerrard’s men countered and then scored acrobatically from Steven Davis.

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Though, for the second strike, Laxalt was worse. The AC Milan loanee was turned inside out by Aribo who then rolled the ball across goal. Jonjoe Kenny didn’t track Ryan Kent and he then inadvertently put the ball in his own net.

It was a shocking performance from the left-back, a player who surely won’t warrant the £7.2m fee Celtic could pay to sign him permanently in the summer.

John Kennedy has to take the decision of dropping him when the Hoops face Aberdeen on Wednesday night.

He was a liability last weekend and has to be taken out of the firing line. After all, his performance sparked considerable criticism.

Celtic podcaster Paul John Dykes called his first-half against Rangers a “nightmare” during the interval while John Hartson had some very choice words for the defender.

Speaking on Premier Sports’ live coverage of the clash, Harton said he “does nothing” before unleashing the following: “Well he went off after half time obviously and John Kennedy would have been disgusted with his left-back. He’s from good stock as well. He’s on loan from AC Milan. He is a good player.”

Unfortunately, Laxalt has rarely shown that he’s a good player while in Glasgow.

With little time remaining in the season and nothing to play for, it feels pointless to field an individual who is almost certainly going to depart in a few months.

Kennedy needs to axe him for good, starting on Wednesday evening.

AND in other news, Celtic may have their new Tierney in “tricky” 18 y/o who’s rarely-seen at senior level…

Fans of Southampton have been reacting to a post on Twitter, in which the club relayed footage of Saints centre-forward, Che Adams, in action for Scotland.

Having been called up to the Scotland squad for the first time in his career last month, Adams went on to feature in all three of Steve Clarke’s side’s World Cup qualifying fixtures against Austria, Israel and Faroe Islands, with the 24-year-old providing an assist in the Scots’ 1-1 draw with Israel and scoring his first international goal in the 4-0 rout of Faroe Islands.

His goal, in particular, was very impressive, with the Southampton striker picking up the ball some way outside the Faroe Islands penalty area, taking a touch, before powerfully firing the ball into the bottom corner of the helpless goalkeeper’s net.

And, after Southampton relayed footage of Adams’ strike on Twitter, fans of the club flocked to have their say on the matter, with many heaping a considerable amount of praise on their player.

So, what exactly did these Southampton fans have to say in reaction to the footage of Che Adams’ goal for Scotland?

“Yes lad.”

@lukepauloliver

“So happy for him tho.”

@chxrlottewx

“What a goal by Adams. Congratulations on your first goal for Scotland.”

@finlayhibberd09

“Will be better than Ings. Fact.”

@JHallett123

“Absolutely brilliant. Let’s go Che.”

@DWTheDoctor

“Finish.”

@cj_garrett

In other news: loads of Saints fans pleaded for this ‘no brainer’ deal for this ‘superb’ £60k-p/w star – find out more here!

Leeds United have been handed a major boost in their transfer chase for Brentford striker Ivan Toney.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s side are eyeing up a move for the forward this summer, and it now appears that Brentford would be willing to do business – at a certain price.

Football League World have claimed that the Championship side will demand a fee in the region of £35m to let the striker go, with the Bees feeling that he has more Premier League pedigree than current Aston Villa frontman Ollie Watkins.

The report reveals that Brentford believe the “25-year-old has an even greater potential to score goals in the Premier League than Watkins”.

Radrizzani must act now

With Leeds now knowing what it will take to prise Toney away from Brentford, the Whites simply have to go after the striker who’s bagged an impressive 126 goals in his career already.

Speaking earlier last year, Peterborough’s director of football Barry Fry said: “He’s turned into a tremendous all-round footballer. It’s important to remember Ivan is not just an exceptional goal-scoring forward, he’s also an outstanding defender.”

Toney himself has the confidence that he could cut it at the highest level, even comparing himself to Milan and Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

He said: “I’ve always liked Zlatan. I just love his confidence. Some people see it as arrogance but you must be like that to succeed. I’m similar to Zlatan in both my confidence and the way I play. When he wants to do something, he just does it. I have some of that in my game and personality. And I believe I’ll be a Premier League striker.”

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Given how he’s taken to the Championship like a duck to water, Andrea Radrizzani must surely open up the cheque-book and make a move for Toney this summer, who could potentially explode in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Leeds could sign another Stuart Dallas in this ace…

Robby McCrorie has refused to rule out another loan exit away from Glasgow Rangers next season.

McCrorie discusses Gers future

23-year-old McCrorie is currently on loan at Livingston in the Premiership and has played 14 games in the top flight so far this term (Transfermarkt), with boss Gary Holt calling him “excellent” on his league debut (The Scottish Sun).

Speaking ahead of Livingston’s clash with Hibernian this weekend, McCrorie was discussing his Rangers future, and he refused to rule out leaving on a temporary basis once more. He said (via sportsmole.co.uk):

“We have six league games left and hopefully a run in the Scottish Cup but I don’t think I can look too far in terms of the summer.

“It is not really up to me what happens, that is up to the gaffer at Rangers.

“I will go in at pre-season or whatever and try to do my best. It will be a case of looking at it.

“But I love playing football so I would probably be open to going out on loan again but we will see.

“I signed a deal in the summer so I have another two years at Rangers after this season. The most important thing for any young player is to be playing games.

“I will go back at the end of the season, assess what is best for going forward and I have all the support networks to help me get where I need to go.”

Plenty of competition

At 23, McCrorie will have been hoping to have already broken into the Gers side. Unfortunately, he has one of the greatest goalkeepers in the club’s history in front of him in Allan McGregor. The 39-year-old has kept 16 clean sheets in 23 league matches this campaign and has shipped just seven times – he is arguably as good at the moment as he has ever been.

Still, it is clear McGregor is approaching the end of his career. When he does eventually retire, McCrorie could well have a chance to finally establish himself as the Gers’ number one. The youngster just has to be patient and wait for his opportunity.

In other news, Rangers fans react to this Ondrej Kudela footage.