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Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Peterborough director of football Barry Fry believes Steve Bruce will avoid getting the sack at Newcastle.

Bruce is having a torrid season, with the Magpies currently sitting 17th in the Premier League and just two points above the relegation zone.

They were emphatically beaten last time out, losing 3-0 away to relegation rivals Brighton, a defeat that may have left Bruce fearing for his job, and certainly left some supporters raging.

The 60-year-old’s seat in the St. James’ Park dugout, however, is said to be safe, and Fry can see things remaining that way. Discussing his future in an exclusive interview with FFC, Fry said:

“I do think he’ll survive. I don’t think he’ll go until Mike Ashley sells the club, that is my honest opinion. And if he did go, it’s very, very difficult for Mike Ashley to get somebody in because his club’s up for sale and could be sold any minute, so very difficult decision.

“I think Steve Bruce will stay there, he’ll keep Newcastle up. Steve will be there, that’s my honest opinion.”

With just nine games left to play, it is hard to see Newcastle making a change now. It means the club will be relying on Bruce to get the team going again, something that the former Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday boss needs to do quickly.

18th-placed Fulham are closing in on the Magpies, managing to pick up a really good result against Liverpool at the start of the month, a 1-0 win at Anfield, showing that Scott Parker’s side perhaps do have the quality to stay up this season.

Marcelo Bielsa has tipped Rodrigo to “immediately” shine for the rest of this season, following a tough time at Elland Road so far.

The 30-year-old joined the Whites last August, costing a club-record £27million from Valencia and looking a hugely exciting capture.

Rodrigo has suffered a first season to forget in England, however, scoring just three goals and registering one assist in 22 appearances.

Reports in March (via Sport Witness) claimed he wants to leave Leeds at the end of the campaign, with a return to Spain potentially on the cards.

[freshpress-quiz id=“351040″]

Bielsa hints at Rodrigo stay

Marcelo Bielsa has seemingly downplayed those claims, though, telling reporters [via Leeds Live] that he expects the striker to find his form again:

“Immediately he will be able to show all the resources that he has.”

Transfer Tavern take

Given Rodrigo’s huge experience and pedigree, the ideal scenario would see him find his feet and be an option at Leeds for years to come, rather than leaving this summer.

It can certainly be argued that injuries have played a part in his struggles, but if he can stay fit for a sustained period and get his confidence back, there is no reason why he can’t thrive at Elland Road.

In other news, Leeds have been linked with a move for an exciting young attacker – find out who it is here.

Fans of West Bromwich Albion have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relayed a report regarding the potential sale of the Baggies goalkeeper, Sam Johnstone, this summer.

According to a report by The Athletic, Johnstone is determined to remain in the Premier League next season, be that with Sam Allardyce’s relegation-threatened side or another interested party, with West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United all thought to be keen on the 28-year-old.

It is also reported that, should they indeed drop down to the Championship this summer, West Brom would be open to selling the shot-stopper, with a fee of between £7.5 million and £10 million mentioned by The Athletic as a realistic figure the Baggies would be demanding for a player of Johnstone’s age, profile and contract situation.

However, after WBA Report relayed this news on Twitter, fans of West Brom flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing furious at the prospect of losing the £5.4 million-rated ‘keeper for the amount quoted in the report.

So, what exactly did these West Bromwich Albion fans have to say in reaction to the report regarding Sam Johnstone?

“Typical West Brom. Selling a £20m player for £7m.”

@Hayden_K_R

“He’s worth at least £12-15m, especially having just had an England call up! Doesn’t make the stupid mistakes that Pickford makes and has been far better than Pickford and Henderson this season, IMO.”

@Baggieboy75Mike

“Poor contract management. Regardless of what anyone thinks, you shouldn’t let this contract situation arise.”

@JohnPerks58

“Same old story.”

@Jameswalt101

“Didn’t we sign him for £10m? Develop him to the point of and England call up and make a loss of £2.5m. Only Albion could do that.”

@jon_hughes82

“£7.5m for an England goalkeeper. Ha, hilarious.”

@AdKido44

“Albion business this. Pure nonsense. Buy high sell low.”

@HarryWbafc

“Only Albion would settle for £7.5m.”

@ORohomon

In other news: ‘Get him signed’ – Allardyce reveals £31k-p/w priority target outperforming every WBA player – find out more here!

Queens Park Rangers got back to winning ways with an emphatic 4-1 victory over lowly Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.

A Lyndon Dykes brace stole the headlines – quite understandably, too – as he became the first player in the second-flight to achieve that feat with two headed efforts.

The Scotsman also drew high praise from the EFL on Quest show, where his display was dubbed a “10/10 target man performance,” but there was another name that deserved just as much acclaim.

Playing in just behind the striker, former Arsenal academy graduate Chris Willock arguably stole the show, capping off his efforts with a 90th-minute strike that even his goal-laden teammate would’ve been proud of.

He had set up Dykes’ second on the hour mark with a deft header inside the area, just one of three key passes throughout the match as he proved to be a serious creative outlet for Mark Warburton.

No other Hoops player managed as many chances created, whilst his 90% passing accuracy was amongst the best performers on the pitch – across both teams. It was even better than the Owls’ playmaker Barry Bannan.

The 23-year-old dynamo proved to be a real thorn in the side as he also chipped in with two successful dribbles and a total of three shots.

Willock was even a hard man to shake off the ball – he won five of six (83%) of his battles, both on the ground and in the air and crucially, his one aerial duel won resulted in that assist.

West London Sport graded the attacking maestro as QPR’s best player, alongside Dykes, in their post-match ratings column.

‘Excellent display from the former Arsenal man, who was outstanding throughout playing in a more forward role alongside Dykes,’ wrote Ian McCullough. ‘Set up the move for the second goal and nodded the ball down for the Scot to score his second. Scored a richly deserved goal in the final minute with a clinical finish.’

This was only Willock’s 15th league start of the season, which as one of the Rs’ highest-earners on a reported £10k-per-week may come as a surprise. The £1.1m-rated gem may have even just fired a huge message to Warburton that he should be starting more often.

Glasgow Rangers cult hero Andy Halliday is shocked at the news Bayern Munich are interested in Ibrox flop Umar Sadiq.

Halliday shocked by Sadiq news

The striker, who currently plays for Almeria in La Liga 2, spent less than six months on loan at Rangers in 2018, failing to score in four appearances (Transfermarkt).

However, he is being targeted by European champions Bayern according to Spanish outlet AS. Halliday is shocked by this speculation, telling Clyde Superscoreboard (via HITC):

“If you told me he was going to go for €60m I’d have said, ‘Come on now, stop trash talking me’. He wasn’t a good player in training but I’ve played with hundreds of strikers specifically who are not good trainers and they just come alive when it comes to a game.”

Change in fortunes

When the Nigeria international departed Rangers to return to Italy, few would have expected to hear his name again, but his career has gone from strength to strength since leaving Scotland. He earned a move to Spain off the back of 23 goals and 19 assists in 52 games for Partizan Belgrade, and he has already hit the back of the net 17 times in just 32 matches for Almeria.

AS claimed that, although he has a release clause of €60m (£52m), Almeria would consider an offer of €30m (£26m). Whether Sadiq has the ability to compete with the likes of Robert Lewandowski or Thomas Muller at Bayern remains to be seen, but the link shows that the Gers were perhaps too quick to write off the 24-year-old.

In other news, some Rangers fans slam comments from this broadcaster.

Luke Edwards has dropped a big update on the future of Steve Bruce at Newcastle United.

As per a tweet from the Daily Telegraph journalist, the uncertainty with the proposed takeover at St James’ Park by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group, the pending arbitration case between the club and the Premier League, and the talk of investment from the Saudis ‘will almost certainly’ keep the 60-year-old in the job as long as the Magpies avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Newcastle close to Premier League safety

The Magpies are now very close to securing their top-flight status having recorded back-to-back wins against Burnley and West Ham United, which could result in Bruce keeping his job unless there is significant progression in the takeover saga.

The prospective new owners may want a new face at the helm to take Newcastle into a new era if the bid were to eventually go through, and so Bruce could fall victim in that case.

However, until that actually comes into fruition, it is likely that the former Manchester United defender will stay on as manager at the Toon, especially if he manages to secure their safety in the Premier League for another season.

With Edwards adding that Bruce is unlikely to resign after turning the tide recently in the face of enormous pressure, and doing ‘all Ashley wants him to do’ in terms of keeping them in the top flight, the 60-year-old can probably feel safe in his role for now.

In other news, read more about an insight into Boris Johnson’s involvement in the potential takeover!

Former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie has exclusively told Football FanCast that Leigh Griffiths’ future at Parkhead could depend on who the manager is next season.

Griffiths slipped down the pecking order under Neil Lennon, starting just a handful of games in all competitions, and has been given just 39 minutes in John Kennedy’s five matches in the dugout.

The striker still has more than 12 months left on his current deal, but his lack of opportunities has led to speculation surrounding his future, with Aberdeen exploring the possibility of bringing Griffiths to Pittodrie this summer.

Griffiths’ last Premiership start came back in January, with the frontman restricted to mainly late substitute outings in recent weeks, one of which came in the Old Firm Scottish Cup exit at Rangers.

And McAvennie believes that not only have Celtic missed a trick in not playing Griffiths, but he should be involved for Scotland, too.

He told Football FanCast:

“That’s the link [to Aberdeen]. I think he’s the best finisher at the club. I don’t understand why nobody has got hold of Griff as he could have been leading us through this because he’s such a good finisher, but there might be stuff going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about.

“But it’s a shame that Griff isn’t the number one for Scotland because I think he’s that good.”

But does McAvennie believe that Griffiths will still be at Celtic next season?

“It depends who the manager is, it really depends who the manager is,” he added.

Are we finally reaching some sort of verdict in Celtic’s hunt to replace Neil Lennon? Rather amazingly, that could be the case.

It has now been two months to the day since the Northern Irishman departed the scene, but the Bhoys still only have a temporary manager in charge.

What’s the word?

Celtic have been after two very different men so far – Roy Keane and Eddie Howe.

However, after some dramatic words from Hoops pundit Frank McAvennie, they may have to focus on the former, with Howe apparently not so keen on the job as it first appeared.

The 43-year-old was in advanced discussions but a number of issues have since plagued negotiations. As a result, it would be a surprise if he did end up in the Parkhead dugout next term.

Speaking to Football Insider, a man with well-placed contacts shared a vital opinion on the matter.

McAvennie commented: “I’m hoping he’s not given up because he’d be great. I know he’s not won trophies but he has a chance to do that and raise his profile up here.

“He did so well at Bournemouth, taking them from the fourth division right through to the Premier League. I don’t know what’s going on but in my opinion, he doesn’t want it any more. If he did then he’d be here.”

Desmond should be fuming

It has now been 24 days since news emerged that Celtic were in advanced talks with Howe and, since that moment, he has only crept further and further away from them.

There have been a number of setbacks in that time, with the likes of Brighton and Crystal Palace both monitoring his situation, while the manager’s agent hasn’t played a particularly good role in this from a Hoops perspective either.

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Howe’s representative revealed that the 43-year-old didn’t want to return to management until the summer before a claim came to light from the same source that they were trying to convince him he could still get a job in the Premier League.

There have also been issues relating to his backroom staff, namely Richard Hughes. Celtic are trying to tie down the landmark appointment of a director of football but, despite having a deal 90% completed for Fergal Harkin, it was suggested that Howe wanted Hughes instead.

There have also been other backroom requests from the former Bournemouth boss which sources suggest the Bhoys have refused as well.

With all that in mind, to hear that Howe now doesn’t want the job is news which should leave the club’s majority shareholder Dermot Desmond enraged.

AND in other news, Forget Harkin: Celtic could find their new Van Dijk by appointing title-winning 39 y/o…

Leeds have been told they face significant competition in the race to sign Arsenal star Ainsley Maitland-Niles this summer.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days and weeks have suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s side are keen on bringing the England international to Elland Road, although now, former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor has claimed that plenty of teams will be interested too.

He said: “100 per cent. I think he would be a good signing for a lot of teams. I wouldn’t mind him at Villa. He showed at the weekend, he can play in different positions. A very good player, he can attack.

“He can play in a similar amount of positions as Dallas. Both are Mr Reliable and he could be the next Dallas. I’m sure there will be more teams than Leeds after him. I don’t see him going back to Arsenal and playing so it’s probably the right decision for him to move on.”

Solving a major Bielsa problem

One of the main issues Bielsa has faced all season, and arguably throughout his tenure as Leeds manager, is the real lack of depth. Injuries can often really take their toll on the Whites, leaving them exposed in several key areas when one or two players go down – you only have to look at how Pascal Struijk has had to slot in at centre-back in recent weeks and months to see that.

But in the versatile Maitland-Niles, Andrea Radrizzani could go a long way to solving that issue for Bielsa. This season alone has seen the England international feature at left-back, right-back, left-midfield, right-midfield and in the middle of the park too.

That ability to play in numerous roles and positions is something that former Celtic star Chris Sutton has previously hailed, saying: “The young man’s versatility is a weapon. He is such a versatile talent – a diamond.”

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The £16.2m-rated Maitland-Niles would be the kind of shrewd buy that plugs a few different holes in the Leeds squad at once, while also allowing him the opportunity to potentially shine as a central midfielder.

Meanwhile, Leeds must unleash this star who’s “got it all”…

Aston Villa have been handed a major boost in their chase for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham this summer.

What’s the story?

The England international has had a difficult campaign in the Premier League for the Blues, seeing his game-time limited by the likes of Timo Werner and Olivier Giroud – he’s played just over a 1000 minutes in the competition.

Now, The Express and Star claim that Dean Smith’s side have been placed on alert after it has emerged that Chelsea are willing to sell Abraham this summer.

The report adds that the Blues will demand a fee of around £40m to let go of the striker, who, if signed, would enjoy a reunion with Smith at Villa Park after his previous loan stint there.

Imagine him and Watkins

Dubbed the “real deal” by former Villa manager Tim Sherwood, Abraham’s experience of playing under Smith before should stand him in really good stead were he to make the move back to the Midlands this summer.

Speaking after he netted against Swansea that season, the Villa boss said: “Tammy is a handful and he knows better than me that he should have been walking away with the match ball tonight. But he scored the winning goal, he’s a hell of a talent. Tammy put in a hell of a shift up front on his own and proved he is a fine player.”

And, while Abraham’s arrival may raise questions about how he would fit alongside Ollie Watkins, former Villa man Lee Hendrie was quick to dismiss those worries, insisting that having the two in the squad would be a “massive positive” for the club.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “I’m a big fan of Tammy, I really am. I just feel that he’s got great energy. When he was at Villa for that period of time, he was immense, he really was. He was a breath of fresh air, he gave it that belief, he gave fans a lot of pleasure and he scored a lot of goals. It might be that Tammy has to leave Chelsea, and I do feel that coming to Villa, I think it’d be a fabulous fit.

“He’s a player I’d have all day at the club because, at the moment you’re looking at the overload that Ollie Watkins has gone through this season, (he’s) played a hell of a lot of games. Imagine having those two in your squad. I just feel that’d be a massive positive push for Villa.”

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Villa must simply land the £50k-a-week earning star this summer.

Meanwhile, Villa must avoid disaster over this “scary talent”…