Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl continued his impressive start to life in the dugout at Ibrox with a 2-0 win over Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on Tuesday night.

Set-piece goals from Emmanuel Fernandez and Nicolas Raskin were enough to seal all three points for the Gers in front of their home fans, to take the team up to second in the league table.

The former Sheffield Wednesday boss will have been pleased with Raskin’s performance in the middle of the park, as the Belgian got on the scoresheet and won 11 of his 15 duels, per Sofascore.

However, there is always room to improve the squad and there could yet be more competition for the central midfielder to come through the door in the next few weeks.

Rangers are in talks to sign new midfielder

The German head coach is looking to add to his options across the pitch before the end of the month, and is reportedly looking at a star who could be even better than Raskin in midfield.

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According to Bold, Glasgow Rangers are currently leading the race to sign Hacken central midfielder Silas Andersen before the end of the January transfer window with the player ‘high on their wish list’.

The report claims that the Gers have made contact with the Swedish club to enquire about a potential deal for the 21-year-old starlet, as they look to bolster their squad.

It adds that the Light Blues are now in talks with Hacken to discuss a transfer fee for the Danish youngster, but the report does not reveal how much money they want for his services.

Bold also reveals that Celtic are also one of a number of other clubs in the race to sign the Allsvenskan talent in the coming weeks, which means that Rangers do face competition for his signature.

Why Andersen could be even better than Raskin for Rangers

The Gers could bring in an even better option than Raskin in the number six position by swooping to sign Andersen ahead of Celtic and any other interested parties this month.

Like the Belgian star, the Hacken central midfielder is typically deployed at the base of the midfield, tasked with breaking up play and playing passes to kickstart attacks for his side.

In the 2025 Allsvenskan campaign, Andersen showed that he could provide quality in and out of possession with his performances in the middle of the park, as he contributed with goals, assists, tackles, and interceptions at an impressive rate.

Talent scout Jacek Kulig, as shown in the post above, described him as a “superb” holding midfielder. U23 scout Antonio Mango, meanwhile, hailed his “impressive” performances and his “relentless” nature.

This highlights how much he has caught the eye with his displays for Hacken, which is further backed up by the reported talks between Rangers and the Swedish side, as they have been impressed enough with his performances to enter talks to sign him.

25/26

Raskin (SPL)

Andersen (Allsvenskan)

Appearances

19

26

Goals

2

2

Interceptions per game

0.6

1.7

Tackles per game

2.2

3.2

Clearances per game

1.9

3.3

Duels won per game

6.7

7.4

Ground duel success rate

56%

60%

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Andersen could be an even better option than Raskin in midfield for Rangers as a number six, based on their respective defensive output, as he can produce more defensive interventions whilst winning a higher percentage of his duels.

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These statistics suggest that the Danish youngster could offer even more to the team out of possession than the Belgium international, breaking up more attacks and creating more possessions for the Gers to build attacks from, if he can carry his form over to Scottish football.

This could then open the door for Rohl to play Raskin further up the pitch, possibly in the number ten position or in more of a free role ahead of Andersen and Connor Barron, which would allow him to showcase more of his attacking quality.

The Belgian star has scored two goals and provided four assists in the Premiership so far this season, per Sofascore, and produced five goals and 11 assists in all competitions last season.

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Therefore, Andersen could be a brilliant signing for Rangers because he has the potential to be even better than Raskin in the holding midfield position, whilst also giving the manager the freedom to unleash his current star in a new role.

To say it’s been a wild start to 2026 for Chelsea would be something of an understatement.

New Year’s Day brought news that Enzo Maresca had left the club, and on Sunday, interim manager Calum McFarlane oversaw a spirited 1-1 draw away to Manchester City.

Then, just a few hours after that, reports emerged of Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior being in the capital to complete his move to become the new manager.

As if that wasn’t enough, the club now look set to make the most of the transfer window, and are eyeing a record-breaking move for someone who could send Pedro Neto packing.

Chelsea target Neto upgrade

In no small part due to the managerial situation and their general form, Chelsea went into Sunday’s game as massive underdogs.

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However, while they were certainly second-best in the first half, the Blues looked just as good, if not better than City, in the second 45 and were more than deserving of their point.

However, while the likes of Reece James, Enzo Fernández and even Liam Delap all took the game to the hosts, there were a few starters who underwhelmed, with Neto perhaps being the worst of the lot.

After all, the Portuguese international failed to register a shot on target, missed one big chance, lost the ball 12 times, failed in 50% of his dribbles and registered an expected assists figure of just 0.02.

In other words, it was a disaster class in a huge game, and therefore, it makes sense that the club would be looking to sign an upgrade on the former Wolverhampton Wanderers star.

At least that is what they appear intent on doing, according to a report from Spain, which claims Chelsea are interested in Vinícius Júnior.

In fact, the report goes further than that, revealing that the Blues are now preparing an offer worth a whopping €150m for the Brazilian international, which is approximately £130m, which would be a new British record.

In good news for the West Londoners, Real Madrid have yet to come to an agreement with the winger on a new deal, and there is a belief that the player himself is open to the move.

With that said, it would still be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line for Chelsea, but one well worth pursuing, especially as Vini Jr would be a monster upgrade on Neto.

How Vinícius Júnior compares to Neto

The first reason Neto should be worried about Chelsea potentially signing Vini Jr this year is the fact that he can and has played on both flanks before.

Sure, the Brazilian certainly favours the left, and is at his most potent there, but on top of playing numerous other positions on the pitch, he’s also made more than a few appearances off the right, for club and country.

However, the far more pressing concern for the Portuguese international is that his potential new teammate is simply more dangerous than he is.

For example, since the start of last season, the former Wolves star has scored 15 goals and provided 12 assists in 78 games, totalling 5298 minutes.

That comes out to a reasonable enough average of a goal involvement every 2.88 games, or every 196.22 minutes.

In stark contrast, the “world-class” Real Madrid star, as dubbed by Owen Hargreaves, has scored 27 goals and provided 27 assists in 83 appearances, totalling 6488 minutes.

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That comes out to a far more impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.53 games, or every 120.14 minutes.

Finally, the former Santos gem also comes out miles ahead of the Blues star when comparing their underlying numbers.

For example, he does better across most metrics, such as non-penalty expected goals plus assists, shots on target, key passes, shot- and goal-creating actions, tackles won, and more, all per 90.

Vini Jr vs Neto

Statistics per 90

Vini Jr

Neto

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.54

0.43

Shots on Target

1.28

0.64

Passing Accuracy

79.3%

74.2%

Key Passes

2.18

1.86

Passes into the Final Third

1.79

1.22

Shot-Creating Actions

5.72

3.49

Goal-Creating Actions

0.77

0.35

Tackles Won

0.71

0.35

Successful Take-Ons

3.08

1.57

All Stats via FBref for the 25/26 League Season

Ultimately, Neto could still be a useful player for soon-to-be manager Rosenior, but if Chelsea really want to give him the best chance of success, they’d go out and sign Vini Jr to replace the former Wolves man.

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England’s 1-0 win in Oslo can be best described as solid but unspectacular, although Roy Hodgson won’t mind one iota as Ashley Young’s 9th minute strike gave him a debut win as manager of the Three Lions, in what was England’s first win against Norway for 32 years

There were plenty of positives to be taken from the friendly, notably the performance of Rob Green in goal and that of Andy Carroll who put in an excellent shift on his own upfront and look very much the domineering centre forward that saw Liverpool prepared to pay £35m for his services.

Other positives to take from the evening were the international debuts of Martin Kelly and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, while Scott Parker appears to be over the Achilles injury that saw him miss the end of Tottenham’s campaign. Unfortunately England did pick up an injury setback last night with Gareth Barry who limped off and will have a scan today on his groin to discover whether he will be fit enough for the tournament.

Hodgson however seem pleased with his England side’s first outing, although felt that the players should have done a little more with the attacking chances they had.

“I think the discipline of the team, the overall desire of the players to really work hard for each other and to make certain that we did come away with a victory after a good start with the early goal.

“After that we did have to withstand quite a lot of pressure from the Norwegian team, at least in terms of ball possession, but we kept our shape very well and we worked very hard.

“If we are going to criticise ourselves, it is maybe that we could have done a bit more on occasions with the counter attacking chances that we had. We did produce a couple of shots that hit the post and a couple of good saves from the keeper, but occasionally after winning the ball back and defending so well we had some great opportunities on the break.” Sky Sports

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England take on Belgium next Saturday in the final friendly ahead of the Euro Championships that kick-off against France on the 11th June.

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With Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side having been unceremoniously dumped out of Europe by Bodo/Glimt last week – an outcome that was partly due to the 56-year-old Bhoys boss fielding a weakened side in the second leg of the tie – the Greek-Australian manager would undoubtedly have been hoping for a dominant performance and result in Sunday’s Premiership fixture against Hibernian in response.

However, after requiring a late Giorgos Giakoumakis winner against bottom of the table Dundee FC last weekend, the Hoops once again struggled to refind the form that saw them comfortably dismantle Rangers at the beginning of the month against Hibs, with the fixture at Easter Road ending 0-0.

Indeed, rather than looking refreshed after being handed a rest against Bodo/Glimt, the vast majority of Celtic’s starters turned in tired performances against Shaun Maloney’s outfit, with Daizen Maeda, Liel Abada and Tom Rogic all having afternoons to forget in Edinburgh.

Although, it will undoubtedly be the latter of this trio most disappointed with his display on Sunday, as the Australia international once again failed to offer his side anything in the middle of the park.

Postecoglou must axe Rogic

Despite having arguably been one of Postecoglou’s most impressive performers in the first half of the season, Rogic has seen his form rather dramatically fall off in recent weeks – averaging a well below-par SofaScore match rating of just 6.47 over his three appearances prior to the Hibs clash.

And, after once again being handed a start ahead of Matt O’Riley in one of the two more advanced roles in Celtic’s three-man midfield, Rogic failed to prove he was deserving of his starting berth in the Bhoys XI over his 58 minutes on the pitch on Sunday.

Indeed, the £1.35m-rated midfielder enjoyed just 28 touches of the ball – the second-lowest of any of Celtic’s starting outfielders – completed a mere 10 of his 15 attempted passes, failed to find his man with his two attempted long balls and his one attempted cross, lost five of his nine duels and gave away possession on 11 separate occasions – meaning he lost the ball with every 2.5 touches he had.

These returns saw the £21.5k-per-week Aussie earn an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.5, while The Celtic Way awarded the midfielder a five in their own player ratings, as well as stating of the 29-year-old’s display:

“The Aussie has looked out of sorts recently and was relatively quiet in the opening 45 and he also copped a booking more out of frustration than anything else with a mistimed challenge. He was given just 12 minutes of the second half before he made way for O’Riley.”

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As such, considering just how poor the player who David Turnbull claimed is “up there with the best” has been in recent weeks, Postecoglou simply must axe Rogic from his starting XI against St. Mirren this Wednesday, as a repeat performance of his Bodo/Glimt and Hibs displays could well cost the Bhoys dearly in what is an extremely tight Premiership title race.

In other news: Huge blow: Ange drops fresh 5-word injury update, Celtic fans will be devastated

Adam Jones has given his reaction to a fresh injury blow for Everton that has now emerged ahead of their game at home to Boreham Wood in the FA Cup.

The Lowdown: Onyango out

Writing in his latest piece for The Liverpool Echo, Jones relayed the latest team news from Frank Lampard confirming that Lewis Dobbin, Reece Welch and Isaac Price will all be in the squad for tonight’s match.

However, Tyler Onyango will unfortunately miss out with a hernia issue.

The Latest: Jones reacts

Taking to Twitter, Jones has now given his reaction to the news of Onyango’s absence, labelling it as a ‘real shame’:

“Real shame for Tyler Onyango, because I think he’d have maybe even had a good shout of starting tonight.”

The Verdict: Chances will come

Onyango should not be too disheartened with missing out tonight, as his chances will come with the senior team later on in the season.

He has already made three appearances in the Premier League this term, and if the Goodison Park faithful progress further in the competition, then Lampard will have to keep rotating his squad, which should give Onyango some more opportunities to impress.

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Unfortunately for the 18-year-old, he has been suffering from injury issues all season, and so he will want to recover this time as soon as he can so that he can prove his fitness to Lampard once he starts getting more call-ups.

In other news, find out what other big Toffees injury update has now been dropped here!

Pundit Alex McLeish has been reacting to rumours linking Scott Brown with a return to Celtic in a coaching role, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Brown news

Brown officially parted ways with Aberdeen earlier in the week, less than a year into his player-coach deal at Pittodrie.

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It didn’t take long for news to surface over a possible Parkhead return, with The Scottish Sun claiming the Hoops would be willing to create a coaching pathway for their former captain.

There could be a role in the senior academy and B-team for Brown, while Celtic are also on the lookout for a new coach for their Under-18 side.

The Latest: McLeish reacts

McLeish, who contributes for BBC Radio 5 Live, was asked by Football Insider for his thoughts on the links regarding Brown.

This is what he had to say in reply, labelling it as a ‘great idea’ by the Hoops.

“If he feels the urge to hang up his boots, then it kind of smacks of common sense, Celtic giving him an opening.

“I think his desire is to become a coach and possibly a manager in the future. First, Scott has to retire.

“For Celtic, I’m sure it’s a great idea to bring one of the legends back to the club in a coaching capacity. If they’ve got the space, then why not?”

The Verdict: Hoops need to act fast

If Celtic want to bring Brown back to Glasgow, they may have to act fast, with Leicester City and former Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers already offering him a quick return to coaching in the Midlands.

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Ange Postecoglou seemed open to the idea of the 36-year-old returning to Lennoxtown when talking on Thursday, however, it doesn’t look like Brown will be short of options. It could be one to keep an eye on over the coming weeks, as Brown looks “to focus on his coaching development”.

In other news: ‘Seems that’ – Journo now drops more Parkhead exit news on ‘horrendous’ Celtic ‘waste of money’. 

Celtic star is David Turnbull close to making return to training, The Scotsman’s Andrew Smith reports.

The Lowdown: Turnbull and Furuhashi’s absence

Ange Postecoglou has been without both Turnbull and Kyogo Furuhashi since the winter break due to respective hamstring issues.

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The Hoops have coped extremely well without their most creative and prolific players, though, dropping just two points from a possible 30 in the Premiership.

They have established a three-point lead over Rangers, with journalist Mark Guidi believing Furuhashi could be back for the trip to Ibrox at the beginning of April. Even more positive injury news has now emerged regarding Turnbull, who could actually make a return before his attacking teammate.

The Latest: Nearing return

Smith relayed comments from Postecoglou in a story for The Scotsman on Thursday afternoon.

The manager revealed that Turnbull, all being well, will train with the team next week after the game with Dundee United and refused to rule the Scot out of the clash with Ross County next Saturday.

The Verdict: Huge news

Turnbull, labelled as ‘phenomenal’ by Alan Hutton, has created a whopping 99 chances in 28 games this season, 50 more than any other Celtic player.

So, having him back fit before the month is out would be a major boost as the Hoops enter the crunch stage of the season.

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You’d expect the attacking midfielder will be around for the Glasgow Derby at the beginning of April, and possibly before going off Postecoglou’s update.

In other news: ‘For Celtic…’ – BBC Radio 5 Live man reacts to ‘great’ news he’s now hearing from Parkhead. 

Erik ten Hag is set to leave Ajax for Manchester United in the summer, should the Red Devils make their move, according to journalist Mike Verweij, as relayed by Sport Witness.

The Lowdown: Preferred candidate

It looks set to be a summer of change at Old Trafford, with interim boss Ralf Rangnick expected to move into a consultancy role at the end of the season.

One of his first tasks will be to help bring in a new full-time manager, with Samuel Luckhurst believing that Ten Hag is the preferred candidate at this moment in time.

The 52-year-old has been in charge of Ajax since 2017 and has averaged an impressive 2.35 points per game in charge of the Dutch giants. [Transfermarkt]

The Latest: Weekend update

Sport Witness relayed comments from Verweij regarding Ten Hag on Saturday, claiming that the Ajax boss had an agreement with Marc Overmars to leave the club if he were to receive a tempting offer.

Overmars is no longer at the Johan Cruyff Arena, although the journalist believes that the agreement would still be honoured by former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who is the Amsterdam club’s chief executive.

Verweij also had information with regards to who could move with Ten Hag to Manchester, saying: “I don’t think so [Ten Hag’s entire backroom staff will leave]. I heard that [assistant] Mitchell van der Gaag is nominated to go.”

The Verdict: Rangnick set to get his way

It looks as if Rangnick will get his way when it comes to the search for a new manager, with reports suggesting that the interim boss wants to pursue the Dutchman.

Should he arrive at Old Trafford, Ten Hag may inherit a smaller squad than the one Rangnick currently has, with five players out of contract at the end of June, one of whom is Paul Pogba.

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It appears that the Ajax boss is the main target, though, and following this update, it seems as if a deal is there to be done between the two clubs.

In other news: Deal until 2025: Romano reveals Man Utd have secured ‘intelligent’ move ahead of summer shake-up. 

Alan Hutton has now dropped a big Glasgow Rangers transfer claim on Cedric Itten.

The Lowdown: Exit on the cards?

As per Football Insider, a source from the Ibrox faithful has revealed that the club are now ‘open’ to letting Itten go out on loan again in the summer, or even letting him go completely.

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The Switzerland international spent the first half of the season on loan at German side Greuther Furth, where he scored two goals, but has since been recalled back by Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Transfermarkt).

However, he has not been picked for a matchday squad since the 3-0 loss away at Celtic in the Scottish Premiership back in early February.

The Latest: Hutton reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, former Teddy Bears right-back Hutton has claimed that Itten will now be ‘moving on’ this summer:

“It’s more what we haven’t seen from him.

“He came back into the fold but hasn’t been involved a lot under the new manager. You just think that maybe he’s had a look at him and thought that the options ahead of him are good enough.

“There’s no space for him in the matchday squads – which can be difficult when you have to leave players out.

“I do feel for him that way.

“But the bigger picture is that it hasn’t worked out for him, and that can be how it works out – sometimes it doesn’t run smoothly.

“In the summer he needs to be thinking about his future and playing football. You’d think that he’ll be moving on to pastures new.”

The Verdict: Sell

The Light Blues should not waste their time with any more loans for Itten, and instead should be looking to sell the striker on permanently.

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He is simply £14,000-per-week to stay, and when he has played, he has not exactly lit the world alight, with just seven goals in two seasons in a Gers shirt.

Nonetheless, RFC already have plenty of forward options, and so Itten would not be missed.

In other news, find out which ‘excellent’ attacker Rangers are now eyeing here!

An update has emerged regarding Newcastle’s interest in Philippe Coutinho, who is currently on loan to Aston Villa from Barcelona. 

What’s the talk?

According to Sport, the Magpies are interested in a deal to sign the Brazil international and are willing to offer him more money in wages to turn down a permanent move to Villa Park.

The report claims that the Midlands club can sign him for €40m (£34m) this summer as part of their loan agreement, with the Toon now hoping to swoop in ahead of them.

Cabaye replacement

Callum Wilson is Newcastle’s top scorer in the Premier League with just six strikes in the top flight, with Allan Saint-Maximin (five) their only other player with more than two goals.

The Toon have struggled to find goals across the pitch and lack attacking quality in the middle of the park. No Magpies central midfielder has more than three direct goal contributions this season, which suggests that they are still looking for their Yohan Cabaye replacement.

In two-and-a-half seasons with the Tyneside club, the Frenchman produced 17 goals and 10 assists from midfield as he proved that he had the quality to be a difference-maker in the Premier League. The statistics from the current campaign show that no-one has been able to take on his mantle this term, but Eddie Howe can now finally replace him with a deal for Coutinho.

As you can see from the graphic above (with stats via WhoScored and the Premier League), both players are similar in terms of their actions on the pitch. They both like to create chances for their team-mates on a regular basis, whilst also taking plenty of shots themselves.

Both players are deadly from set-piece situations, with Cabaye’s four Premier League free kicks and Coutinho’s five showing that they can be a danger from a dead ball. Bringing in the latter would duly add another weapon to Howe’s attacking armoury.

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Roberto Firmino previously dubbed the Brazilian “phenomenal” and claimed that the 29-year-old has “magical powers” and Coutinho’s statistics back up that high praise. The former Liverpool midfielder has 45 goals and 38 assists in his English top-flight career, proving that he can score and set up goals at the top level, creating moments of magic in the final third with his quality on the ball.

This means that Newcastle can find their new attacking threat from midfield, a Cabaye 2.0 if you will, by signing the Brazil gem this summer. PIF must splash the cash to make sure that they can bring him in ahead of Villa to bolster Howe’s squad.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano drops major Newcastle United transfer claim which will excite supporters…