Dundee have completed the cinch Premiership’s first signing of transfer deadline day by taking Norwich goalkeeper Jon McCracken back to Dens Park on loan.
McCracken made four appearances for Dundee at the start of the season but lost his place when Trevor Carson joined from St Mirren and both parties agreed to terminate the loan deal in August.
The 23-year-old went on to join Accrington on an emergency loan and played 13 times and now cannot play for anyone else this season other than Dundee.
With Carson missing some recent games through injury, manager Tony Docherty told his club’s website: “It is important for me to have strong competition in every position for the last part of the season and I want that with our goalkeepers and bringing Jon in gives us a real level of competition.”
Celtic are set to wrap up the loan signing of Norwich striker Adam Idah after the 22-year-old arrived in Glasgow on Wednesday.
The Republic of Ireland international has scored 17 goals since graduating from the Canaries academy, with seven of them coming this season.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is also keen to add a left-back as Greg Taylor is out injured, with 31-year-old Paris St Germain player Layvin Kurzawa mooted as a possibility.
Midfielder David Turnbull, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has been linked with a £2million move to Cardiff, while Gustaf Lagerbielke’s proposed loan move to Italian side Lecce could be scuppered amid reports of further injury concerns over his fellow centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers.
There could be big news at Rangers amid reports from Italy that Hellas Verona are set to launch a bid to sign striker Cyriel Dessers.
Rangers are expected to complete the signing of 20-year-old Colombian winger Oscar Cortes on loan from Lens with an option to buy after he arrived in Glasgow.
However, the Ibrox club look to have been thwarted in their bid to land Brazilian left-back Jefte from Fluminense. The Gers hoped to recruit the 20-year-old immediately, but he is currently on loan with APOEL Nicosia and the Cypriot club are reportedly intent on keeping him until the end of the campaign.
Motherwell are still looking for at least one further addition after signing 22-year-old Welsh forward Jack Vale on loan from Blackburn on Wednesday, and assistant manager Stephen Frail gave fans fresh hope there might be a loan return for Groningen striker Kevin van Veen.
“I’m not sure anything’s out the water,” Frail said on Thursday morning. “That could be one of those last-minute things.
“There will be one or two people that the manager and recruitment team are looking to bring in. Any developments will maybe be last minute or later in the day.”
Aberdeen are said to have had a bid rejected in an effort to re-sign Mattie Pollock on loan from Watford, a day after Barry Robson was sacked as manager.
Hearts forward Lawrence Shankland has been the subject of intense speculation in recent months, but the Jambos go into the final day of the window without any notable approaches having been made for their top scorer.
The Edinburgh club signed Scott Fraser on Wednesday, but it looks unlikely that they will secure Yan Dhanda before the deadline after the Ross County playmaker agreed a pre-contract to move to Tynecastle in the summer.
Staggies boss Derek Adams said on Tuesday he expects the 25-year-old to remain in Dingwall for the rest of the season, while he hopes to add at least one or possibly two new players.
St Johnstone are reportedly hoping to land 25-year-old striker Adama Sidibeh from English non-league side Warrington Rylands.
Livingston boss David Martindale hopes to sign a new centre-back as well as Inverness midfielder David Carson, while Hibernian are another club in the market for a central defender.
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes said on Wednesday “we may still look to add one if we can”, while his St Mirren counterpart Stephen Robinson is happy with the make-up of his squad and not planning for much deadline-day business.
Outside of the top flight, Lowland League side Albion Rovers have sold striker Joe Bevan to Premier League Burnley for an undisclosed fee. The 19-year-old scored 15 goals for Rovers, including nine in League Two, after joining from Camelon 12 months ago.
Eve, Shabazz welcome two-match friendly to gauge players readiness
Trinidad and Tobago's Head coach Angus Eve and his Guyanese counterpart Jamaal Shabazz welcomed the upcoming two-match friendly international series as a window to not only give new players an opportunity to strut their stuff, but also to gauge their overall readiness for the World Cup qualifiers.
The senior Soca Warriors and their Jaguars counterparts will lock horns on May 13 and 15 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, as they kick start preparations for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June, as well as the Concacaf Nations League campaign in September.
Eve pointed out that a handful of new players will be given the opportunity in the two matches owing to their good form in the ongoing 2023/24 T&T Premier Football League (TTPFL) season.
Defenders Sheldon Bateau, Josiah Trimmingham and Andre Raymond, who became a regular fixture at left back toward the backend of the Soca Warriors' 2023/24 Nations League campaign, have completed their respective club seasons and are expected to be involved in the friendlies. Daniel David, Ezekiel Kesar, Isaiah Lee, Matthew Woo-Ling and the Miscellaneous Police FC pair of Simeon Bailey and Josiah Wilson, will also be in the mix to stake a claim on a spot in the squad for the major tournaments.
"We see these games as a very important cog in the wheel of our preparations going into the World Cup campaign for 2026," Eve said, via a T&T Football Association release.
"It's an ongoing programme that we have started since I have come on board where we get some international games to get the locally based players up to speed to see how they perform against international opposition,” he added.
Guyana, guided by Shabazz, a former T&T coach, gained promotion for the upcoming Nations League A campaign after topping their Nations League B group, which included Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas and Puerto Rico. This represents their competitiveness and quality which Eve is expecting to see on show against his team.
"Guyana is also in the League A of the Nations League so it's not slouches we will be playing. It gives the local players a final opportunity to be seen outside of their league against international opposition so that we can pick the final squad. That is what these exercises are about,” Eve noted.
That said, the tactician explained that meetings with recently-elected TTFA president Kieron Edwards, have been fruitful.
"The TTFA president has been in the media saying how positive the meetings were and we think they were also positive from our end. He and his new board are committed to helping us and the country to qualify for another World Cup,” Eve shared.
Meanwhile, Shabazz believes the Soca Warriors are formidable opponents, as he praised the TTFA and the Guyana Football Federation for their huge investments with the staging of the friendly matches.
"Of course, whether it is football, cricket, hockey or rugby, when Guyana plays T&T, we want to win so it's also going to be a title fight. Trinidad and Tobago are formidable opponents, and it will provide a stern test for the home-based players vying for a spot in the final squad for our FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June,” Shabazz said.
The last meeting between the two teams at the same venue ended in a 1-1 stalemate two years ago.
Kick-off will be 7 pm on both days, with tickets priced at $75 (covered section) and $50 (uncovered section).
Boehly says Chelsea masterplan is 'coming together'
Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly believes the Blues' plan is finally starting to come together, hailing the "beautiful football" played by Mauricio Pochettino's men in recent weeks.
Chelsea have spent over £1billion on players in less than two years under the Boehly regime, but they have had to wait to see any kind of return on that sizeable investment.
Following a dismal 12th-placed Premier League finish in 2022-23, Chelsea endured a difficult start to their first campaign under Pochettino, but a recent upturn has them eyeing European qualification.
Chelsea have only lost one of their last 12 Premier League games (six wins, five draws), beating Tottenham 2-0 and West Ham 5-0 in their last two to move into the top seven.
With games against Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Hove Albion and Bournemouth to come, the Blues have put themselves in with a chance of securing Europa League football for next season, and Boehly is delighted with their progress.
Speaking at a Sportico conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Boehly said: "We've seen the last two and a half games... in the second half at Aston Villa and against Tottenham and West Ham, we played beautiful football.
"It was so fluid, it was exactly the way we drew it up, when we came out of the back, built up and moved up the pitch, it was very organised, then the number of shots we had…
"In those two and a half games, you could really start to see what we were working on coming together."
Chelsea's 5-0 rout of West Ham last Sunday made it nine wins in their last 11 Premier League games at Stamford Bridge (one draw, one defeat).
Since the start of December, they have earned the joint-most home wins (nine, alongside Arsenal) and home points (28, level with Manchester City) in the Premier League.
Kompany says Burnley have nothing to lose in do-or-die Tottenham clash
Vincent Kompany says Burnley have no choice but to go "all out" in their final two games of the Premier League season, needing to win both to have any chance of avoiding relegation.
The Clarets approach Saturday's trip to Tottenham in 19th, five points adrift of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, who they face at the City Ground on the final day.
To tee up a winner-take-all clash with Nuno Espirito Santo's team, Burnley must win at Spurs and hope Forest lose to Chelsea later on Saturday, given the Clarets possess a vastly inferior goal difference.
With Burnley facing up to the prospect of a fourth relegation from the Premier League, Kompany says they have nothing to lose.
"Let's just go all out. Let's have a good go and do ourselves proud," he said.
"That's the goal we have. I would love the fans to come out of this place with a special experience.
"In the end, I wouldn't describe this as a high-pressure game. We don't have anything to lose. If we go into the game protecting a two-point lead, then it's a different mindset."
Tottenham, meanwhile, appear destined to miss out on Champions League qualification after losing four straight Premier League games, leaving them needing a perfect set of results to overhaul fourth-placed Aston Villa.
Spurs' defensive frailties were ruthlessly exploited in a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool last time out, leading to criticism of Ange Postecoglou from some sections of the fanbase.
However, the former Celtic boss says he needs time to complete Tottenham's turnaround, telling Optus Sport: "It was never going to happen in two transfer windows.
"What you've got to remember is, when I came in last year, the team had finished eighth last season, but it wasn't a team on the climb.
"It was eighth for a team going in the other direction. So you've got eighth, in decline, you lose your best player and we want you to totally change the way we play."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tottenham – Richarlison
Richarlison recorded a goal and an assist off the bench against Liverpool last week. He is the only player to achieve that feat as a substitute twice this season, also doing so in Spurs' 2-1 win over Sheffield United back in September.
The Brazilian could be reintroduced into Postecoglou's lineup on Saturday, and he will be desperate to make an impact amid rumours concerning his Tottenham future.
Burnley – Arijanet Muric
While Muric has been criticised for making some high-profile errors, he has the highest save percentage of any goalkeeper in the Premier League this season (81.3 per cent).
Despite playing just eight games, he has also prevented the second most goals (seven) in the league, according to Opta's expected goals on target (xGoT) model (18 xGoT faced, 11 goals conceded excluding own goals). He could be busy again on Saturday.
MATCH PREDICTION – TOTTENHAM WIN
Tottenham have won seven of their eight previous Premier League home games against Burnley (one draw), winning the last four without conceding. Only against Crystal Palace between 2015 and 2019 have they won five in a row at home while keeping a clean sheet each time in the competition.
Spurs have, however, gone 13 home league games without a clean sheet – their longest run since enduring a 15-match streak between December 2002 and September 2003.
Last week's loss at Anfield represented the fourth time they have conceded four or more goals in a Premier League game this season, their most in a single campaign since 2013-14 (five).
As Tottenham look to avoid losing five straight Premier League games for the first time since 2004 (a run of six under Jacques Santini and Martin Jol), they may just be thankful for this fixture against the Clarets, who have been found wanting at the top level this season.
Burnley have lost all seven of their league games against teams starting the day in the top five this term by an aggregate score of 24-7 – including a 5-2 defeat in the reverse fixture at Turf Moor.
While Kompany's team will give it a go, their campaign looks destined to end in relegation.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Tottenham – 64%
Burnley – 13.8%
Draw – 22.2%
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