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Interest is hotting up in Portsmouth centre-back Jack Whatmough ahead of the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The News, who claim that Championship side Luton Town are seriously considering a move for the 24-year-old defender in the coming weeks, while Millwall are also credited with an interest.

The report goes on to claim that Danny Cowley desperately wants to keep hold of the former England U19 international this summer and has prioritised his re-signing over every other Portsmouth player – with the centre-back’s current contract at Fratton Park due to expire at the end of June.

Big mistake

It is unsurprising to learn how eager the Pompey boss is to retain the services of Whatmough beyond the summer, as the defender proved a crucial part of the club’s campaign this season.

Over the £113k-rated man’s 34 League One appearances, he helped his side to keep 11 clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.1 interceptions, 1.6 tackles and 3.8 clearances per game, in addition to chipping in with two goals and providing one assist, culminating in a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.92 – ranking him as Portsmouth’s joint seventh-best performer in the third tier.

As such, losing a player of the £3.1k-per-week 24-year-old’s ability would undoubtedly come as a huge blow for Cowley, as the 42-year-old looks to build a squad capable of going one further than his side managed this time around and secure a play-off, or even an automatic, spot next season.

So, the former Huddersfield Town gaffer should be doing all he can to convince Whatmough – who has been at Portsmouth since he was 13 years of age – to remain at Fratton Park this summer, or else he risks making what could be the worst mistake of his Pompey career to date in letting one of the club’s most prized possessions leave for nothing.

In other news: Catlin must sanction Pompey swoop for “rampaging” £7.5-p/w gem who Cowley would love – opinion

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Sheffield United striker Brian Deane believes his old side should be considering Slavisa Jokanovic for the job in the Bramall Lane dugout.

In their search to replace Chris Wilder, Sheffield United have narrowed down their shortlist to five names, but Jokanovic, 52, is not thought to be included despite being linked to the role.

Current caretaker manager Paul Heckingbottom, however, is one name that is currently being considered.

Deane, though, thinks overlooking the former Fulham and Watford boss could be a mistake.

When asked by FFC if Sheffield United have missed a trick by not considering someone who has won Premier League promotion before, the retired Premier League footballer said:

“Yeah, possibly. I think that they needed to react before they have done because it’s like the club is just drifting now.

“I just hope they’ve got a plan in place, to be honest, but there just seems to be a lack of direction right now.”

Given that Jokanovic has taken both Fulham and Watford from the Championship to the Premier League in the past, he certainly looked like a safe bet for Sheffield United.

It seems, however, that the Blades want to go down another route in their quest to make a quick return to English football’s top division.

Many Everton fans have been left to laud an injury update given by Abdoulaye Doucoure before they play Brighton and Hove Albion away on Monday night.

Writing on his official Twitter page, the former Watford ace has revealed that his rehabilitation is going ‘very well’ and added that he is ‘confident’ that he can play again before the end of the 2020/21 term.

Doucoure has missed the Goodison Park faithful’s last four games in total over all competitions, in where the Merseyside club have been knocked out of the FA Cup to Manchester City and have picked up just one point from their last three matches in the Premier League (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, the central midfield player is clearly very important to Carlo Ancelotti’s team, and so it has come as a much welcome relief that he should be back before the end of the season.

Everton fans on Doucoure injury update

These Toffees supporters lauded the injury update on Twitter, with one Blues fan even going as far as to claim that it was ‘fantastic’:

“Get in Abdoulaye. We miss you and you are needed. Get fit soon!!!”

Credit: @ChrisG01

“Great news. We miss you lad, you’ve quickly become a key part of the first team”

Credit: @sunscreemer

“Is right lad”

Credit: @PaulBrownEFC

“Fantastic news”

Credit: @keithsweeney5

“Excellent news, stay strong”

Credit: @1965_donna

“What a day”

Credit: @tombest94

In other news, find out which EFC loanee was slammed for his recent display here!

Newcastle United are leading Celtic in the race to sign Wigan Athletic striker Kyle Joseph.

That’s according to the Daily Mail, who claimed that the teenager’s representatives held talks with the Hoops back in February ahead of a potential pre-contract agreement.

Newcastle’s greater offer

However, it seems as if St James’ Park is a more likely destination for the 6ft 1in forward, with the Magpies stepping in with a greater offer.

Celtic could have paid a compensation package of just £230,000 for the 19-year-old, but Newcastle are willing to pay around £850,000 to try and force through a move.

Joseph has scored five goals in 14 League One games this season, with three of those coming in a 4-3 win over Burton Albion back in December.

Transfer Tavern take

In the long run, this latest development could prove to be a blow.

Celtic have already secured a pre-contract agreement with Sheffield Wednesday’s Liam Shaw, with the Hoops looking to target UK-based prospects with high upside potential on a pre-contract or for a nominal fee.

Joseph appears to fit that mould, but it seems as if Celtic could well miss out on the Wigan ace following this latest development.

In other news: Celtic star tells club he doesn’t want to play for the Hoops again, find out more here. 

Southampton fans are livid after their U23 side lost 7-1 to Leicester City on Monday.

It has not been the best few days for the St Mary’s outfit. On Sunday, they were defeated 1-0 by the Foxes at Wembley in the F.A Cup semi-final with a pitiful performance. Despite what was a massive occasion, they failed to even muster up a single shot on target (SofaScore). Quite frankly, that just isn’t good enough.

On Monday, their development squad faced the East Midlands side’s equivalent. Although it was only 2-1 at half-time, they ended up being defeated by six goals. The result now means Southampton are bottom of the Premier League 2 South section, having won just four matches so far this season in 22 outings (FlashScore).

The result was shared by the club’s official Twitter account, and it attracted plenty of attention from the Saints supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their disgust at the outcome.

Let’s see what the Southampton fans had to say below

“Gao out”

Credit: @clkj15

“The club is rotten”

Credit: @Ak_Wharton

“Yup, Leicester built on it for sure. Utter shambles.”

Credit: @ipalacio

“If this happened as regularly as it is nowadays under Les Reed there would of been riots. This is down to both Ralph & Matt Crocker. Seriously need to sort it out.”

Credit: @andrewhal20

“Shambles of a club in every level at the moment. Changes needed.”

Credit: @Jimwhite72

“Cracked me up seeing this. Not even any message with the pic. It is actually excruciating being a saints fan isn’t it.”

Credit: @Leweyd90

In other news, Southampton fans slammed this man at Wembley.

Tottenham Hotspur legend Graham Roberts has told Football FanCast that he is certain Harry Kane has not demanded a transfer away from the club.

The Spurs captain has been at the centre of a whirlwind 24 hours in which Sky Sports News reported that he had asked to leave the club.

They also claim that there has already been enquiries fielded to his representatives by Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea, as they look to ascertain his availability.

Any deal would likely be hugely expensive for the buying club if Kane were to leave Spurs, given that he has three years left to run on the six-year contract he signed in 2018.

Nevertheless, there will now be plenty of reports linking Kane away from the club, but Roberts is sure that he has not formally requested a move.

Indeed, the 27-year-old has been with Spurs since he was a child and has scored 220 goals for the club, while he is also England captain, and Roberts does not believe that Kane will have made any kind of demands.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, the ex-Spurs hero said: “Reading between the lines, he hasn’t gone in and demanded a transfer.

“That’s a definite. Harry’s not that sort of person.”

It remains to be seen if there is a formal bid launched by any of the three clubs said to be interested, but it seems as though Spurs are in for a long summer.

Some Liverpool supporters have been praising Ozan Kabak, claiming he was one of the few positives in the 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid on Tuesday night.

It was a bitterly disappointing evening for Jurgen Klopp and his players, with their performance horribly below par in Spain.

In truth, the final score was arguably kind on Liverpool, with their defending leaving a lot to be desired and too many attacking players off the boil.

The Reds now have a mountain to climb in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final tie next Wednesday, especially with no fans allowed inside Anfield.

One player who again stood out was Kabak, however, with the Turk producing a solid display, barring one error in the first half.

While a number of more experienced players around him threw in shocking performances, he looked an assured presence at the heart of the defence.

It was further proof that Liverpool should consider the idea of signing Kabak permanently in the summer – at 21, he has lots of potential.

Liverpool supporters praise Kabak

These Reds fans took to Twitter to laud the youngster’s showing.

“Don’t wanna see anyone get on to Kabak. He bailed Phillips out numerous times and if it wasn’t for him we would’ve held 5. Our 2nd best player tonight”

Credit: @RB_07Ftbol

“Ozan Kabak appreciation tweet. Our best player tonight. Very unfairly taken off by Klopp. Hope it doesn’t affect his confidence”
Credit: @Klopptinho

“Ozan Kabak was our best player imo”
Credit: @TaintlessRed
“I’d like to thank Kabak and Thiago for showing up today”Credit: @lfcels_“No one can defend this performance. No one stepped up, except for Kabak maybe”Credit: @danliv9“I thought he was instrumental in steadying things in the second half, weren’t as open in defence as the first. No idea why he was subbed, pointless tbh”Credit: @LFCKey_In other news, one Liverpool player has been linked with a move to a fellow Premier League club. Find out who it is here.

Crystal Palace have seemingly handed Celtic a major boost in their pursuit of Eddie Howe.

That’s according to Football Insider, who have been informed from sources close to both the Eagles and the Hoops.

Burnley’s Sean Dyche is now the favourite to take over from Roy Hodgson, with a Palace source admitting ‘Dyche figures most prominently in the thoughts of the board’ – ten words that could be key in Celtic’s attempts to land Howe.

Howe has spoken to Palace ahead of a potential Selhurst Park swoop, but it seems as if they now have Dyche at the top of their list.

A Celtic source meanwhile believes the 43-year-old, who verbally agreed on a Parkhead move at the beginning of the month, has been hedging his bets while waiting to see how events pan out in London.

Transfer Tavern take

In our opinion, Dyche being the favourite for the Palace job may now lead to Howe eventually putting pen to paper on a Glasgow move.

As a Hoops source believes, he could have been waiting to see what was going on in Croydon, however, he was tabled a ‘wonderful offer’ by Celtic and may now be willing to sign the paperwork with Dyche moving to the fore in London.

Of course, details such as his coaching staff, salary and transfer budget may still need to be agreed, but with Palace now aiming for Dyche, we feel that will only spell good news for the Hoops going forward if Howe is their man.

In other news: Manager of Premier League giants talks to Celtic star ahead of possible summer move, find out how it went here. 

Glasgow Rangers fans are delighted after Steven Davis equalled Peter Shilton’s British record for the most international appearances.

On Thursday, Davis was in action for Northern Ireland against Italy. While the Azzurri prevailed 2-0, it was still a special night for the Gers midfielder – he picked up his 125th cap for his country, which saw him equal goalkeeper Shilton’s England haul (via BBC).

This is just the latest impressive achievement for the former Southampton man. He has been an important part of Steven Gerrard’s Rangers squad this season, making 41 appearances in all competitions (Transfermarkt) as the Ibrox outfit have strolled to the Premiership title. Such was the level of his displays, he even signed a new one-year deal recently despite being 36 years of age.

Upon his latest outing for Northern Ireland, Rangers’ official Twitter account congratulated Davis. The fans then took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the legend and shower him in praise.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Davis below

“An outstanding achievement from Steven Davis”

Credit: @alegil2101

“Hero”

Credit: @Clarkie8

“#UlsterPirlo”

Credit: @robertmcnaught

“Wonderful . Legend”

Credit: @doxterisation

“He’s the goat”

Credit: @Declan_1872_

“He’s utter class. Model pro and unbelievably talented. Glad he’s ours, then and now.”

Credit: @delinquentrich

In other news, Rangers fans react to this injury update.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who made 333 appearances for Newcastle United, believes Allan Saint-Maximin needs more help from his teammates if he is to produce performances like his match-winning one against Burnley.

Saint-Maximin came off the bench against the Clarets in the second half with Newcastle trailing 1-0, and within six minutes he had got an assist and a goal to completely turn the match on its head.

His second goal was very typical of the Frenchman as he picked up the ball in his own half, before heading for goal and forcing both James Tarkowski and Ben Mee to back-pedal towards their own box before the winger fired low into the bottom corner.

Speaking ahead of the Toon’s clash with high-flying West Ham United on why Saint-Maximin needs help from his teammates if he is to become more consistent, and how injuries may always be his downfall, Lee told FFC:

“We do need to see consistency from him and it’s up to the other players to get him the ball more often when he is playing well, because usually when he’s playing well everything will go for him.

“All we need is for him to get his fitness up because he’s been struggling with niggling injuries all season because he’s so quick. I think he’ll be one of those players that struggle with injuries, especially hamstrings.”

This season has been an injury-plagued one for Saint-Maximin having picked up calf, groin and ankle injuries which has seen him miss 18 games for the Magpies.

When the £38,462 per week winger has been on the pitch he’s been a difference-maker with his willingness to get the ball moving forward having completed 51 of his 81 dribbles in the league.