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Some Manchester United fans have been left slamming the display of Bruno Fernandes in the first half of their game against Aston Villa at Saturday lunchtime.

Although the Portugal international showed his class with some wonderful passes at times, some members of the Old Trafford faithful were left disappointed by a few of his efforts on goal.

Fernandes squandered a good chance within the first few minutes of the match, and put one of his freekicks straight into the wall, leaving some Red Devils supporters questioning why Cristiano Ronaldo is not taking them over him.

Nonetheless, the 27-year-old knows he can certainly do better, with no fewer than four goals already in the Premier League so far this season before today’s fixture (Transfermarkt), and will be hoping to grab a goal in the second half.

Man Utd fans on Fernandes display

These MUFC fans slammed his performance in the first half on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that he is ‘horrible’ at set pieces:

“Bruno Fernandes is a very ordinary footballer, I feel, and most importantly, it has taken me a fair amount of time to realise that. Bruno footballing IQ<<<“

Credit: @angryplasticgod

“Fernandes and Ronaldo over a freekick is just a terrible combination. You know they’re both gonna miss.”

Credit: @Dips_bytheway

“Fernandes needs to quit playing. Ronaldo should be on freekicks”

Credit: @Utdskipper

“Fernandes, come on.”

Credit: @PhiloeEsq

“So stupid from Bruno”

Credit: @chaviedon_

“Bruno is horrible with set pieces. Bro”

Credit: @trei_bie

In other news, find out what transfer news has Red Devils buzzing here!

Crystal Palace fans will have to be patient with deadline day recruit Odsonne Edouard, according to The Celtic Way reporter Anthony Haggerty.

Patrick Vieira, who was appointed as Roy Hodgson’s successor in July, solved his search for a new striker by signing Edouard from Celtic in a deal worth £14million.

Palace followed up their interest in Edouard after being unwilling to meet Arsenal’s £20million valuation for Eddie Nketiah.

Edouard has made the move to Selhurst Park having enjoyed a trophy-laden stint with Scottish giants Celtic, where he scored 86 goals in 179 appearances.

The 23-year-old, who is the France under-21s’ all-time top goalscorer, has also enjoyed an impressive start to the new season by finding the back of the net three times.

But he was ready for a fresh challenge and even changed his agent at the start of the year as he looked to seal a move away from Celtic.

Haggerty is certain Edouard will be prolific for Palace but feels he still needs to work on his game if he is to be a roaring success in the Premier League.

He told Football FanCast: “I think he is a highly talented and skilful footballer. In front of goal, he will score if you put him through one-on-one or put the ball across the box. He takes a mean free-kick as well.

“He will frustrate the life out of you though. He will take an extra touch and try to beat guys.

“To cut it in the Premier League, you need to be the complete package, run into the channels, play guys in, hold it up and compete. That’s maybe where he lacks.”

The summer transfer window might have closed for English clubs, but there’s still a handful of European sides who are able to conduct some business over the next few days.

What’s the story?

One of the leagues still able to buy and sell is the Turkish Super Lig, and recent reports claimed that Fenerbahce were interested in securing the services of Liverpool striker Divock Origi.

The Belgium international has been linked with a move away from Anfield in recent months, but PA Media sports reporter Carl Markham has revealed that the 26-year-old is set to stay put on Merseyside for now.

He tweeted: “Contrary to reports in Turkey @LFC have had no approaches – from anyone – for Divock Origi”.

Jurgen Klopp will be gutted

Although losing Origi without being able to bring in a replacement would have left Reds manager Jurgen Klopp short of options in the final third of the pitch, he may still be gutted that a sale could not be secured.

The 19-time English champions were working with a limited budget over the summer and were only able to bring former RB Leipzig centre-back Ibrahima Konate as a result.

Several fringe players such as Xherdan Shaqiri, Harry Wilson and Marko Grujic departed Liverpool, duly raising substantial funds for the club, but director of football Michael Edwards was either unable or unwilling to bring in further reinforcements with the money those sales generated.

However, selling the £10.8m-rated Origi may have topped up the club’s coffers enough for Klopp to secure his top targets in January, while Diogo Jota and Takumi Minamino provided cover and competition for the famed front three.

Instead, Origi faces another few months warming the Liverpool bench as the club’s hierarchy watch his market value plummet even further, a situation that both parties would surely rather have avoided. A return of one goal in all competitions last season illustrated just how much his stock has fallen since his glorious 2019.

It remains to be seen whether the former Lille hitman eventually departs over the remaining months of 2021, but Klopp will certainly be looking for a solution to the Belgian’s prolonged Anfield struggle.

In other news… Edwards can redeem himself at Liverpool with January move for “devastating” maestro 

Celtic’s talks with Shamrock Rovers for defender Liam Scales are thought to be at an advanced stage, according to Glasgow Live.

The Lowdown: Scales links

Initial links to Scales came out last week, with The Irish Mirror’s Paul O’Hehir one of the first to share discussions between the two clubs for the 23-year-old.

Scales, who was described as ‘really, really good’ by Rovers manager Stephen Bradley, admitted recently that he could be on the move before the transfer window slams shut, with Norwich City and Southampton also thought to be keen on his services.

The Irish Examiner’s John Fallon believes that Celtic could have to pay a ‘significant’ six-figure sum for Scales, and it seems as if transfer talks are progressing well.

The Latest: Advanced stages

Glasgow Live shared a transfer story on reported Celtic target Fabricio Bustos on Monday evening.

Within their report, they dropped a line on Scales, stating that talks between the Glasgow giants and Shamrock Rovers are at an advanced stage.

The Verdict: Desmond’s deal?

Dermot Desmond has a 25% stake in the Irish champions, so perhaps the Celtic chief has helped talks to progress in the past week.

Should Scales arrive at Parkhead, he would offer Ange Postecoglou plenty of versatility. Last season, the Republic of Ireland under-21 international made 10 appearances in his primary centre-back position, 12 as a left-midfielder, one as a left-back and one as a defensive midfielder.

He also showed his goalscoring knack with a crucial last-gasp winner over Longford Town at the weekend, a result which maintained Rovers’ three-point lead in the League of Ireland Premier Division and ensured a happy 23rd birthday for the defender.

He may not be an instant starter, should he sign for Celtic, but over time he could prove a key member of the squad in a number of positions.

In other news: Roma interested in Celtic ace, find out more here. 

Newcastle United are now reportedly willing to listen to offers for four of their first-team players before the summer transfer window ends.

The Lowdown: Spending not over

After the signing of Joe Willock on a permanent deal from Arsenal, the St. James’ Park faithful have been linked with a number of other players that they could potentially bring to the North East before the window shuts.

Among those names are the likes of Hamza Choudhury, Ethan Ampadu and Malang Sarr.

The Latest: Players up for sale

As per The Daily Mail, the Tyneside club are now willing to listen to offers for Sean Longstaff, Jeff Hendrick, Fabian Schar and Ciaran Clark as they look to raise some funds to bring some more players in.

All four players featured in a fair amount of games in the first team under Steve Bruce during the 2020/21 season, with Longstaff playing in 27, Clark 26, Hendrick 23 and Schar 19 (Transfermarkt).

The Verdict: Sell for the right price

If the Magpies can get the right price for all four players, then they should sell them all in order to raise some much-needed funds and bring in one or two more players of quality to help improve their starting eleven.

Longstaff is currently rated at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, Hendrick £8.1m, Schar £8.1m and Clark £2.7m, so their sales could raise over £30m altogether, which would be a handy number to have left in the transfer kitty.

While depth may be an issue, using those funds to purchase a quality centre-back and holding midfielder would be an excellent way to round off the window after the capture of Willock.

In other news, find out who is still pursuing this ‘excellent’ NUFC ace here!

Serie A giants Napoli are eyeing up a loan move for Liverpool left-back Kostas Tsimikas this summer, in what could be a surprise Reds exit.

The Lowdown: Tsimikas struggles at Liverpool

Tsimikas only moved to Anfield from Olympiakos last year, with Jurgen Klopp seeing him as someone who could provide ideal cover for Andy Robertson.

The Greece international was limited to just two late substitute appearances in the Premier League, such were his injury problems throughout the campaign.

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The Latest: Napoli eye up left-back

Tsimikas has looked good in pre-season for the Reds, but according to Italian journalist Ciro Venerato [via Sport Witness], Napoli are keen on signing him on loan and have ‘spoken with Liverpool’.

The Italian side see Chelsea’s Emerson Palmieri as their first-choice target, but Tsimikas is considered a more viable alternative.

Liverpool are not willing to let the 25-year-old leave, however, preferring to keep hold of him.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-9/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

The Verdict: Exit makes no sense

It is pleasing to hear that Liverpool don’t want to sell Tsimikas, with his potential exit making no sense at all.

Robertson is in desperate need of having an available backup this season, having cut a tired figure at times in 2020/21, no doubt due to starting all 38 of the Reds’ Premier League games – he has since played every minute of Scotland’s Euro 2020 campaign.

If Tsimikas can avoid injury and keep himself fit, he can be a useful squad option, having hopefully settled properly at Anfield now and affording Robertson some much needed rotation.

In other news, some Liverpool fans are unhappy with an update regarding one Reds target. Find out who it is here.

Manchester United have received a potentially significant boost in their pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Ilaix Moriba.

What’s the story?

The Red Devils have been linked with a move for the highly-rated 18-year-old in recent weeks as Barca have so far been unable to extend his contract, which currently expires next summer.

Well-known journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently provided an update on Moriba’s situation, tweeting some intriguing quotes from the Blaugrana’s president Joan Laporta.

He tweeted: “Barça president Joan Laporta again on Ilaix Moriba: “We cannot allow him to be promoted [to the first-team] and then leave. We won’t accept that with any player. If he wants to go and it’s because he has other options, he can leave the club”.

Manchester United fans will be buzzing

Moriba established himself as one of the most exciting young prospects in La Liga last season, scoring one goal and providing three assists in 18 senior appearances for his boyhood club.

However, with only 12 months remaining on his existing deal and no resolution in sight, an imminent Camp Nou exit could be on the cards for the teenager, who has rejected the club’s offer of a new contract.

The Spain under-18 international is likely to have plenty of potential suitors given his impressive array of skills, but news of Moriba’s availability will surely have the United supporters buzzing.

With Paul Pogba’s future far from secure, Red Devils manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is thought to be in the market for a new central midfielder over the coming months.

Big names such as Leon Goretzka, Saul Niguez and Eduardo Camavinga have reportedly caught the eye of the 20-time English champions, yet Moriba’s arrival would bring just as much intrigue as the aforementioned stars.

The 6 ft maestro would add significant strength in depth to United’s engine room, an area of weakness for them for so long, providing Solskjaer with the necessary tools to bring major trophies back to the red half of Manchester.

Whether the club’s hierarchy follow up their interest in Moriba with a concrete offer remains to be seen, but fans must be delighted to hear that he seems far from committed to the Barcelona cause.

In other news…Ole must move £7.2m-rated Man Utd ace this summer, he’s not been good enough so far 

Many Glasgow Rangers fans were furious as photographer Willie Vass was priced out of entry into Ibrox for the Gers’ pre-season clash with Arsenal on Saturday.

The Light Blues played host to the Gunners in a clash which eventually ended 2-2. It is the start of a new era at Ibrox, at least from a press point of view – Rangers have now taken the decision to charge reporters and outlets as much as £25,000 to enter the ground and cover matches (via Daily Mail).

The Gers have had problems with mainstream media in the past, hence why they have taken this move. However, it seems to have hurt others who were perhaps not originally targetted. Vass has been covering the Gers for years with the help of his camera, but it seems that he was unable to get into Ibrox for the Arsenal match over the weekend.

It is fair to say that the news did not go down well with many Gers supporters, and these fans took to social media platform Twitter to share their frustration over the “scandalous” development.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about Vass being denied entry

“absolutely SHAMEFUL!!!!”

Credit: @LachlanMacNeil

“No way this should be happening. Willie has been there on the journey & they should roll out the red carpet for him. Terrible from Rangers.”

Credit: @stef5512

“Yes. This needs fixed pronto @RangersFC @RangersFCSLO. It’s not on.”

Credit: @jmc_1872

“@RossWilson28 this needs addressed asap, it’s disgusting move, I get you can’t differentiate but what @WillieVass has done for the club for years is above all of this”

Credit: @graemeb8787

“That’s scandalous what Rangers are doing to a man that stood by our club”

Credit: @boris1873

“Can’t believe what I’ve seen on here today. Willie Vass not getting entry in to Ibrox unless he pays the same money as the gutter establishments that have tarred Rangers for years. Willie stood by us through all the tough years and shouldn’t be treated like this.”

Credit: @sharpdiv7

In other news, many Rangers fans were livid over this club tweet.

Aston Villa are plotting a club-record move for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, according to The Mirror.

The report claimed that Villa are ready to spend up to £40m on their former loanee to bolster their attacking ranks for the 2021/22 season.

Abraham, who scored 26 times in 40 Villa appearances during the 2018/19 campaign, is also of interest to Crystal Palace and West Ham. He is not in Thomas Tuchel’s plans at Stamford Bridge and it seems as if Dean Smith wants to reunite with the striker at Villa Park.

A £40m move for the 23-year-old would end up breaking Villa’s club record for a second time this summer following their £34.5m deal for Emiliano Buendia.

Villa fans react

The Mirror shared the news on Twitter on Saturday lunchtime. Here’s what these Villa fans had to say in reply, with one describing a possible deal for Abraham as ‘big’ and another insinuating that it may help towards keeping the in-demand Jack Grealish at Villa Park.

“NSWE may wanna pick up the phone, European football’s on the line”Credit: @Avfc_Barry”Personally would be all over this.”Credit: @AVFCTheReligion”Screams project keep Jack ngl”Credit: @VillaVisionBen”If true, this team is truly building, having 2 strikers of Watkins & Abraham quality competing is a big boy move.”Credit: @LordMillman29″Bring him home”Credit: @JackAVFC__”It seems there are two things coming home this summer….”Credit: @Conradreturns_7

In other news: Villa willing to break club-record for one man if Grealish leaves, find out more here. 

Lee Ryder has dropped some promising insight from sources close to Mike Ashley on the potential takeover of Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Newcastle statement

The St James’ Park club released a statement on their official website requesting for the upcoming arbitration process to be made public and claimed that they have ‘nothing to hide’, even suggesting that the Premier League should have ‘no reason to be afraid of the public spotlight’ providing that they have acted ‘lawfully and properly’.

The statement certainly seems to suggest that they are confident in getting a positive result, and perhaps less so for the top flight, who have not agreed to their request as of yet.

The Latest: Ashley insight

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Ryder – a journalist who has been following the latest developments in the takeover saga closely – has revealed that sources close to Ashley have claimed that the 56-year-old sees the takeover as a ‘done deal’.

This echoes the confidence of the statement released by the club and shows that the owner is certainly not ready to back down.

The Verdict: Promising

The claim that Ashley sees the takeover as a ‘done deal’, along with the bullish statement from Newcastle, is promising in terms of the Tyneside club getting a positive result in the arbitration hearing.

If the results go in their favour, the whole takeover process should be sped up, which will come as music to the ears of the Toon Army, who have waited long enough for the deal to happen.

It is set to be an intriguing legal battle over the next month, as the arbitration proceedings will be pivotal in determining the direction of where the takeover is heading.

In other news, find out who is putting more pressure on the Premier League over making arbitration public