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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.

Steve Bruce must recall Jeff Hendrick to the Newcastle United starting line-up for their FA Cup third round trip to Arsenal on Saturday in order to give Mikel Arteta a scare.

Hendrick has not featured for the Magpies in any of their last five fixtures across all competitions, with Bruce opting against fielding the Republic of Ireland international from the bench for even a second.

Newcastle failed to win any of the matches in which Hendrick did not play a role in the action, despite the 28-year-old providing one of United’s two goals during their 5-2 mauling at Leeds United last month whilst earning his 10th and most recent start of the season so far.

Hendrick had been one of Bruce’s favoured midfield options over the opening months of the Premier League campaign with minutes in 10 of their 12 matches, but now finds himself with a point to prove all over again following his summer arrival as a free agent.

Former Burnley captain Frank Sinclair firmly believed Hendrick would prove to be a player Sean Dyche would miss at Turf Moor following his exit, feeling the £8m-rated ace had been “terrific” during his four-year spell in Lancashire.

Bruce, too, expected big things from Hendrick and described the midfielder as a “big asset” who is entering his peak, and must now turn to him once again to best-place Newcastle ahead of their FA Cup trip to Arsenal.

Arteta will not be scared of facing the Magpies should Bruce opt to name the same central midfield pairing which lost at home to Leicester City last time out, as a dual-axis pivot of Sean and Matty Longstaff was as far from ideal as it possibly could have been.

Sean Longstaff endured a horror show as he was overrun in the engine room against the Foxes, and even the second-half introduction of the experienced Jonjo Shelvey failed to turn the tide as he allowed Youri Tielemans to drift through unchallenged to score his side’s second of the day.

Bruce would risk Newcastle’s position in the FA Cup by keeping his faith in those who were exposed by Brendan Rodgers’ side last week, so must turn to Hendrick and offer the 60-cap international a recall at the Emirates Stadium.

Hendrick had been a creative and combative presence in Bruce’s plans when fielded in the Premier League prior to his festive omission, with the Derby County product providing 0.8 shots, 0.6 dribbles, 1.6 tackles and 1.0 interceptions a game, per WhoScored.

His long-range passing had also been at a higher level than seen from the likes of Isaac Hayden (1.7), Miguel Almiron (0.7) and Matty Longstaff (0.5) with 1.8 accurate attempts a game, and is the only Toon player other than Callum Wilson to have scored more than once in the top-flight this term.

AND in other news, Steve Bruce has no alternative but to perform a U-turn and tie a £4.5m-rated Newcastle star down with a new deal now…

Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite will have thrilled Carlo Ancelotti after producing a brilliant performance during his Blackburn Rovers debut at home to Stoke City on Saturday.

Branthwaite only moved to Ewood Park  on Thursday after agreeing to a half-season loan deal to become the Championship side’s first signing of the January transfer window.

The 18-year-old described the deal as a “no-brainer” as Tony Mowbray’s side was the only club he wanted to leave the Toffees for, after making only one first-team outing at Goodison Park this term due to an early-season ankle injury.

Branthwaite played the full 90 minutes as Blackburn rescued a point at home to Stoke on Saturday, in a game that saw the Potters’ influence grow throughout the second-period as Rovers struggled to find their rhythm.

Stoke took the lead late in the first half courtesy of a Nick Powell header but were pegged back by Adam Armstrong, who saved the Lancashire outfit’s blushes against a 10-man Potters side with his 16th goal of the Championship campaign.

Despite Stoke’s pressure, Branthwaite offered a reassuring presence at the back with strong and assertive challenges, and Rovers have been lauded by Lancs Live for bringing a ball-playing centre-half to Ewood Park, even if the £15,000-per-week titan’s inexperience occasionally came to the surface at set-pieces.

Rovers supporters also flooded a club tweet praising Branthwaite for an assured display, with some describing the 6 ft 5 colossus as their Man of the Match for his brilliant efforts.

Branthwaite deservedly earned the praise of Blackburn supporters following his debut, as his performance offered Mowbray a key figure beside Rovers captain Darragh Lenihan that will have undoubtedly delighted Ancelotti back at Everton.

The teen talent, making his first senior appearance in any competition since September, attempted one additional tackle compared to his experienced central defensive partner Lenihan, with each man boasting a 100% tackle success rate with in each of their three and two respective tackles, per WhoScored.

Branthwaite further stood firm to provide his side’s second-most clearances (3) to help protect Thomas Kaminski’s goal, was never dribbled past, and offered two interceptions to thwart Stoke’s frontline consisting of six-goal striker Powell and Jacob Brown, who has offered 0.8 shots per game on average this season as a frequent attacking threat.

Ancelotti will also have been impressed to see the Blues’ prospect contest a game-high five defensive aerial duels with a 60% success rate, as he held down the left-side of defence beside full-back Barry Douglas, winning more aerial duels than Everton’s current centre-half options have averaged per game in the Premier League this season.

Branthwaite was also far safer in possession than 26-year-old Lenihan, with an 84% completion rate from 41 of 49 passes, compared to his teammate’s 74%, while losing possession 10 times compared to 19, and never shying from taking the ball to register 62 touches, per SofaScore.

Had Branthwaite’s performance been in an Ancelotti backline during a top-flight fixture, his efforts would likely have stood out, with only Ben Godfrey offering a greater haul of successful tackles per game (3.3) when fielded centrally for Everton, per WhoScored.

It was a good start to his team at Blackburn, hopefully for Everton, Branthwaite can continue to play in such a manner for the rest of the season and come back to Goodison Park as a player who is ready to battle for a regular place in Ancelotti’s starting line-up.

AND in other news, Everton are monitoring a £9m defensive titan ahead of a potential January transfer.

Tottenham Hotspur are heading into what feels like a defining transfer window in terms of how Jose Mourinho’s side could shape up for the long-term.

Recent defeats to Liverpool and Leicester City in the Premier League show that the north Londoners have it all to do before they mount a serious title charge, so the right additions may be imperative next month.

There are also futures to resolve for many of Spurs’ current stars who have hit a crossroad in their career – both Dele Alli and Harry Winks instantly spring to mind.

They both were regular starters early on in the Mourinho reign but now find themselves flirting with an exit from the north London outfit.

And the same could be said of Davinson Sanchez, who continues to be completely snubbed by the ‘Special One’ despite only having two other senior centre-backs on the payroll.

The £36m-rated Colombian has made just one Premier League matchday squad since their late capitulation against arch-rivals West Ham in October – that’s eight of nine games that he hasn’t even made the bench – even with the new increase from seven to nine players.

It seems the Irons’ late come back from 3-0 down was the final straw for Mourinho as Sanchez has only featured in the Europa League (five starts), often to give Toby Alderweireld a break.

Indeed, we know that the Spurs boss has never really been a fan of the 6 foot 1 colossus as he targeted the centre-back during Manchester United’s Europa League triumph back in 2017.

The Red Devils eased to a 2-0 victory with Sanchez failing to cope with the likes of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford.

Former rival striker Tony Cascarino dubbed the 24-year-old their main “weak link” during the summer, telling the Evening Standard that a defensive pairing involving Sanchez and Eric Dier was a “disaster zone.”

Whilst ex-England defender Danny Mills believes the outcast is everything Mourinho doesn’t want in his centre-backs, he told Football Insider:

“Davinson Sanchez can be a little up and down at times. His performances can be fabulous and then not so much. His form is sporadic. We know what Mourinho likes. He wants defenders to defend, to be consistent and just do the simple things.”

According to Calciomercatio.it earlier this month, Sanchez has been warming to the idea of a switch to the Serie A to revive his faltering career with AC Milan mooted as a potential destination.

If any offers do come in for the £75k-per-week calamity, then Daniel Levy absolutely has to sanction the exit before he continues to burn a massive hole in his pockets.

Having been signed by Mauricio Pochettino in whopping then-club-record £42m deal in 2017, the disastrous signing has cost the club a total of £55m – and counting.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Spurs tipped to secure “unbelievable” deal for £30m maestro…

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former West Brom goalkeeper Chris Kirkland says that Albion had no chance of signing Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser as soon as Newcastle were interested.

Kirkland discusses Wilson and Fraser

Bournemouth pair Fraser and Wilson were linked with the Baggies during the summer transfer window, however, both ended up making the move to the Magpies. Fraser joined on a free transfer, and Wilson cost £20m.

Kirkland was asked whether there was any chance of the duo moving to The Hawthorns. His answer may not be music to the ears of Baggies supporters:

“Well nobody knows but if you’re asking me if they both agreed the same fee, would they have gone to West Brom or Newcastle? They’d have gone to Newcastle. No disrespect but when Newcastle is a full house again and you know 52,000 fans then yeah, there’s always going to be one winner there and that’s Newcastle.”

Kind of talent Bilic needs

Whilst they did not spend a huge amount of money during the summer, they still parted with £36.41m. Karlan Grant, for example, cost Slaven Bilic no less than £15m.

However, so far, the Hawthorns outfit have struggled to adapt to the Premier League, failing to win any of their first eight games in the competition.

Both Fraser and Wilson are top talents. The former once recorded 14 assists in a single Premier League season with the Cherries, whilst Wilson is the Toon’s top goalscorer in the top flight with six strikes so far this season.

That kind of talent could have had a big impact on what West Brom could have achieved this season but Kirkland, despite being an ex-WBA player, obviously doubts that they were ever serious targets once Newcastle came in.

In other news, West Brom fans praised this man against Fulham.

Glasgow Rangers defender George Edmundson faces an uncertain future as Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard has been given a huge injury boost, if recent reports are to be believed.

What’s the word?

According to The Daily Record, Nikola Katic is expected to make a full recovery from his long-term injury in January. The Croatian sustained an injury in training before the start of the season which has ruled him out of action for several months.

Gerrard brought in Leon Balogun as emergency cover in the summer and the Nigeria international has turned out to be a real bargain so far. But Katic is targeting a return from rehab for some time in January.

His agent Ives Cakarun said, as quoted by The Daily Record: “All is going well.

“We hope Nikola will be ready for January. It was a big operation, cruciate ligaments and both meniscus.”

The timing couldn’t be any better for Gerrard, as Balogun somewhat survived unscathed during the international break after a minor injury scare, which would have left him with only two viable centre-back options in Connor Goldson and Filip Helander, as Edmundson has been handed a lengthy suspension after breaking coronavirus protocols to attend a party with people from outside his household.

The Daily Record revealed both Edmundson and Jordan Jones have been hit with seven-game bans by the SFA for breaching COVID rules, which means they will only be available for selection by the end of December. So Gerrard and Ross Wilson must rid themselves of the Oldham Athletic academy graduate when the transfer market reopens in the winter as this is surely the final straw.

Get him gone, Wilson!

When trust is broken in a relationship, that is in essence where the problem lies. Gerrard, ever the consummate professional during his heydays at Anfield, will have been appalled by the fact that they couldn’t adhere to COVID regulations like the rest of their teammates.

Anyone who has watched The Last Dance will remember the time when Dennis Rodman went partying in Las Vegas during the NBA season. The trouble is, Edmundson isn’t Gerrard’s Michael Jordan, let alone Dennis Rodman. If anything, he’s a bit-part fringe squad player at best, someone who is often on the outside looking in. He has only made one appearance in the Europa League qualifying rounds so far this season, playing the full 90′ minutes against Lincoln Red Imps, before being left out of the squad along with Jermain Defoe and Jones for the group stage matches.

In two games in the Europa League last season, the 23-year-old made 6 clearances per game, but only managed 0.5 tackles and 0.5 interceptions per game, via WhoScored. On the other hand, Katic, who is only one year older than his clubmate, managed 2 tackles per game in the European competition last term, as per WhoScored.

Former Celtic centre-back Gary Caldwell believes Edmundson, who reportedly earns wages worth £4,200-per-week, has made a “terrible” decision after the COVID breach. He told BBC Sportsound, as quoted by The Daily Record: “It’s terrible. Steven Gerrard will have something to say about it.

“If you can’t trust the players to adhere to Covid regulations, how can he trust them on the football park? To mark a man from a set-piece?

“It’s disappointing for Rangers but also disappointing for Scottish football.

“The situation clubs find themselves in financially, they’re going to need help at some point so we need to be showing Scottish football in the best light and unfortunately we didn’t do that.”

He burst onto the scene after a strong showing against Hamilton Academical at Ibrox last season, but will have hardly done himself any favours whatsoever with his latest blunder.

If everything plans out as is expected, it’s likely we will see Edmundson heading for the exit, either by way of a loan move or on a permanent basis, as Katic will probably battle Balogun, Goldson and Helander for a place in the starting line-up. You have to set an example, one way or another.

AND in other news, Steven Gerrard must put his faith in Ianis Hagi after “super” verdict from Romania U21 boss Adrian Mutu…

Glasgow Rangers sealed their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League with a thrilling 3-1 win over Standard Liege at Ibrox on Thursday night.

Standard Liege took the lead twice but Steven Gerrard’s side bounced back on both occasions before Scott Arfield fired home to secure the victory.

Connor Goldson and James Tavernier got themselves on the scoresheet with the club captain scoring his 15th goal of the season from the penalty spot.

Despite the result, several first-team regular starters were out of sorts, none more so than star striker Alfredo Morelos, who had been linked with an exit in the summer. Rangers value their talisman in the £20m region.

SofaScore graded the 24-year-old as one of the worst players on the pitch with a lowly 6.4 rating as only Kemar Roofe and Allan McGregor received lower ratings – the misfiring ace lost possession 14 times, only won three ground duels from nine attempts, took just one shot on target and made a pathetic 64% of his 22 passes.

Morelos only took 34 touches of the ball, which was even fewer than Ryan Kent managed, and wasn’t able to do an awful lot with it, as his end product was once again nowhere to be seen.

He received a similar rating from GlasgowLive, who claimed ‘he worked hard and tried his best but struggled in the first half in particular’, whilst The Daily Record were equally scathing in their assessment, saying he ‘got next to nothing out of the Liege defence and wasn’t bringing his mates into play either.”

Morelos, who earns wages worth £33,000-per-week, which makes him one of the club’s top earners, even failed to register a single key pass, so it’s no wonder he was replaced by Joe Aribo with Roofe moving into a more central role.

Not only was he erratic, but he was largely anonymous as well with Kent and Roofe completing at least one successful dribble attempt themselves.

There’s no doubt he should be nervously looking over his shoulder with Roofe and wily veteran Jermain Defoe both being in red-hot form in recent weeks and he could find himself on the chopping block before the trip to Ross County at the weekend.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must get James Tavernier to sign new deal amid links abroad…

Victor Orta has had an incredible redemption arc at Leeds over the past 12 months or so.

The Spaniard has gone from being the subject of much criticism to being the man of the hour amongst the Leeds fanbase, and while it’s great to see the tables turning like this, it has to be said that the original complaints were warranted.

Orta had a dangerous knack of leaving things too late in the transfer window, and with Marcelo Bielsa often giving his new signings a lot of time to bed in and learn his training regimes and tactics, this was a strategy that often backfired.

Eddie Nketiah wasn’t given a start until December after joining on deadline day last summer, Jean-Kevin Augustin never got up to speed after joining late in January, while the infamous Daniel James deal never got over the line due to the fact Leeds left it too late.

Fortunately, the Spaniard seems to have learnt from these mistakes, getting most of Leeds’ business done early this time around, and while a couple of late signings are still expected, the squad is largely built, and that was more important than ever this season.

Leeds had two very winnable games in the opening weeks of the season against both Fulham and Sheffield United, and they managed to get the job done on both of those occasions, with their new signings proving to be the heroes on both occasions.

Illan Meslier, who signed on a permanent deal this summer, was lauded as the hero on Sunday, while Helder Costa’s brace secured the points for United against Fulham.

These two had already been at the club for a year on loan deals before making permanent switches, and they may not have been able to have such an impact if United instead opted for a whole host of fresh faces this summer.

Bielsa’s way of operating means that new signings need to learn the system before earning a starting berth, and in positions that were in desperate need for reinforcement, Orta made sure business was done early, with Rodrigo and Robin Koch signed in late August, weeks before the campaign kicked off.

It’s taken a number of attempts to kick the habit of leaving it late, but Orta has finally got it right this time around.

In other news, one Leeds loanee showed exactly what he can do last weekend.

Former Premier League defender Kenny Cunningham questioned Jurgen Klopp’s tactics which saw Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi withdrawn early from the action against FC Midtjylland on Tuesday night.

The Reds made hard work of their 2-0 victory against the Danish side as they maintained their 100% record in the Champions League. Diogo Jota scored the opening goal of the game, which was the club’s 10,000th goal in competitive action, before substitute Mohamed Salah sealed the deal with a late second half penalty.

Klopp opted to make several changes to his starting line-up, which featured both Minamino and Origi in attack. Both players received match ratings of 6.5 (Sofascore) and were brought off just after the hour mark.

Speaking to RTE Soccer, Cunningham was baffled by this decision and expressed his disappointment that they were both substituted at the time that they were and even made references about private planes, even though the game was taking place at Anfield.

With this in mind, some supporters were astonished by what they heard from Cunningham and were quick to make their feelings clear on social media after the match had ended.

Fans blast Kenny Cunningham’s views

In other news, Liverpool fans howl at Jurgen Klopp’s FC Midtjylland verdict on “awful” asset.

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly interested in signing Bournemouth ace Aaron Ramsdale if the Cherries are relegated from the Premier League, according to the Daily Mail. 

Tottenham are keen to sign Ramsdale as a replacement for Hugo Lloris and, despite the Frenchman still being Jose Mourinho’s first-choice goalkeeper, recent reports have suggested that Spurs are searching for his eventual successor this summer.

It is understood that the Lilywhites are looking at the Cherries’ shot-stopper as a possible alternative.

Ramsdale has been one of the few success stories in a difficult season for Eddie Howe’s side, who find themselves embroiled in a relegation battle at the bottom of the Premier League which is set to be decided on the final day of the season.

The England under-21 international, who has won seven caps at that level, has played 36 games in the Premier League this season, keeping just five clean sheets and conceding 61 goals up until now.

Meanwhile, Lloris has arguably struggled for consistency so far, as he has managed only six clean sheets in the league this term. Surprisingly, he has received a higher SofaScore rating than the Bournemouth ‘keeper, although there isn’t much between them.

Even though these statistics don’t seem to make for pleasant reading, Ramsdale enjoyed one of his best performances against Southampton in the south coast derby last weekend.

While the Cherries came up short, as the Saints scored twice to claim the victory, the Englishman earned a high SofaScore rating for his displays between the sticks, saving four shots from inside the box, making six saves overall, saving one penalty and taking 40 touches of the ball.

The 22-year-old Cherries ‘keeper has shown glimpses of what he has to offer, although he is still a work in progress, as he needs to improve his long passing. However, he arguably has a long career ahead of him and it may be a risk worth taking, as he is currently valued at £11m by Transfermarkt.

As it stands, it is likely that 33-year-old Lloris will be phased out within the next couple of years and Ramsdale could turn out to be a shrewd signing, given his significant younger age and his fine showings for relegation-threatened Bournemouth.

Tottenham fans, do you think Daniel Levy should sign Ramsdale this summer? Let us know in the comments below!