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Speaking exclusively with Football FanCast, former England international Steve Howey has stated that he does not want to see Newcastle United turn into the next RB Leipzig.

This follows reports by The Athletic that claimed that Joseph DaGrosa could look into purchasing the Toon should a deal to buy Southampton fall through.

DaGrosa is thought to have told Saints majority shareholder Gao Jisheng to lower his asking price for the south coast side, or he’ll take his and Kapital Football Group’s business elsewhere in the Premier League with the Magpies and West Ham two possible options.

Gao wants £160m for his shares in the St. Mary’s natives after paying between £180-200m for an 80 per cent controlling stake in the club back in 2017, while Mike Ashley values Newcastle at £300m.

Kapital are looking to purchase a mid-table Premier League side as they see it to be the foundation of a potential football empire, akin to the City Football Group consisting of Manchester City, New York City FC and Melbourne City FC among others, or Red Bull’s consisting of RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.

When asked if he’d liked to see Newcastle become a franchise in the same mould, Howey told FFC:

“Me personally? Probably not. You want them to be the club that’s Newcastle and they’ll buy players as like, well they haven’t done over the last God knows how many years, just like any other club.

“You see these foreign owners with these clubs and foreign [partner] clubs, and they loan out to this club, but it’s part of that club [that] is actually partnered with this club and that club, like Udinese and Watford and all that kind of thing that went on.

“I have to be honest, it’s not my thing. But that kind of thing, it’s so much speculation, really, and it’s like: ‘Well, he’s off to Southampton but if that one falls through, then he’s got all this’ and I think you just think: ‘Well, if you’re not your first choice, well, then what’s the [point]?’

“You want somebody that’s like: ‘I want Newcastle. It’s as simple as that. And when I get them, I’m gonna do everything that I can to make them a superpower,’ i.e., a Chelsea-esque or a Man City-esque and spend a vast amount of money on players, not somebody that’s like: ‘Oh, well, if I can’t have Southampton and I suppose I could maybe go for Newcastle.’ That doesn’t sit right with me.”

Dominik Szoboszlai became the latest player to join RB Leipzig from RB Salzburg when the rumoured Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur target joined the Bundesliga side for an initial £18m in January.

RB Leipzig also signed Dayot Upamecano from Salzburg for €10m (£9m) in 2017 and have now agreed to sell the Chelsea and Liverpool target to Bayern Munich in the summer, after the Bavarian powerhouse triggered his €42 (£37m) release clause.

Watford previously used their relationship with Udinese to exploit a loophole in Football League rules to sign 10 players on loan from the Serie A club, who shared an owner with the Hornets in the Pozzo family, during a failed promotion push during the 2012/13 season.

AND in other news, a £47k-p/w colossus is weighing up his future at Newcastle United…

As France manager Didier Deschamps confirms his 26-man squad for their upcoming international matches, plenty of Manchester City supporters have erupted as Aymeric Laporte misses out on another call-up – with one Sky Blue blasting the decision as ‘disgraceful’ whilst others have their say.

Laporte, who has been utilised more often by Pep Guardiola in recent weeks, rotating consistently in place of strong City partnership Ruben Dias and John Stones, has still not done enough to earn the Deschamps nod.

Instead, the likes of Presnel Kimpembe, Clement Lenglet, Raphael Varane and Kurt Zouma are cherry picked by Les Bleus for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Bosnia.

The 26-year-old, who Guardiola has started to use slightly more regularly, has averaged the most aerial duels won per 90 (3.1) in the Premier League out of any City player with more than 10 appearances (WhoScored).

Flocking to this news that he won’t be joining up with his France teammates, it’s safe to say many supporters don’t agree with the decision to omit Laporte once again – branding it a ‘joke’ and ’embarrassing’ as well as ‘disgraceful’.

Find all of their verdicts down below.

Man City fans disgusted by Laporte omission

“This is personal, he will not get a chance until Didier leave.”

Credit: @jgedeon1717

“Laporte being so disrespected as usual.”

Credit: @carla_kmg

“As usual. Smh.”

Credit: @thelordkeepyou

“Agenda”

Credit: @MoNasereldin

“Absolutely disgraceful once again.”

Credit: @mxnciteh

“I feel so sad for Aymeric. First his injuries, then John and Ruben being on top form”

Credit: @Naimaajay

“This is a joke”

Credit: @mcfcmoee

“Imagine putting out laporte instead of lenglet. Its more embarrassing than Goldbridges tweet about city”

Credit: @adityasaivp12

In other news: Man City fans want this star signed as Txiki enters pole position, find out more here.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's efforts at Wrexham will be hard to replicate for other investors without "deep pockets", says a finance guru.

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• Reynolds and McElhenney a hit at Wrexham
• Salford's Class of '92 owners seeking new investment
• Finance guru issues warning to prospective owners

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  While the Red Dragons have gone from strength to strength under their Hollywood owners, League Two rivals Salford City announced on Monday they were on the lookout for new investment "opportunities". The club co-owned by the famed Manchester United Class of '92 side, including David Beckham, Gary Neville and others, announced on Monday their desire to bring in "strategic partners" going forward. Financial expert Dr Rob Wilson claims this move may serve as a warning to future investors in the game, particularly regarding the difficulties in generating funds.

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• WHAT WILSON SAID

  The finance guru, who is also a professor of economics at Sheffield Business school, told : "I think it [Salford's move] really shows the challenges in the financial landscape of owning a professional sport enterprise and particularly one that operates in the UK football system. It demonstrates that some deep pockets are still required, notwithstanding the financial regulations that are in place by the EFL or indeed the EPL, that those external investments are important for infrastructure and really for building solid foundations for the teams to progress. It also demonstrates that you don’t do quick fixes very often in football.

  "And while the Wrexham story, the Salford City story, and one or two others showcase what can be achieved at times, in order to generate long-term sustainable sporting organisations it needs lots of careful and incremental progression to make sure that you don’t rise too high too quickly and then fall quite hard. I think this is perhaps eye-opening for any investor that looks to associate themselves with professional team sports generally, and football more specifically. And showcases the importance of having a decent amount of liquidity to put in with your investment so that you can have a significant impact on the sporting success of the organisations you choose to be involved in."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  At Salford, Neville stepped down from his role as CEO back in 2022, with ex-Red Devils midfielder Nicky Butt taking over the reigns. Under the Class of '92 ownership Salford have achieved four promotions in nine years, while also expanding their stadium by almost double its capacity.

  Wrexham's is arguably even more of a success story, though. Reynolds and McElhenney secured promotion to the Football League after two-and-a-half seasons and continue to make significant efforts in the community as well as for the club. They too recently expanded their stadium capacity by the introduction of a new Kop stand.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR SALFORD & WREXHAM?

  The League Two duo are both in action on Tuesday evening. Salford host Colchester as they look to lift themselves off 19th spot, while Wrexham travel to Forest Green in an attempt to shake off their terrible form of late and cement a promotion charge for the second time in as many seasons. Phil Parkinson's side have slipped to fourth after 34 games, four points behind leaders Mansfield.

Manuel Neuer believes Bayern Munich midfielders need to provide more service to Harry Kane in order to get the best out of the English striker.

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• Neuer wants more service for Kane
• Kane failed to score against Bayer Leverkusen
• Bayern face Lazio next in Champions League

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The veteran German goalkeeper claimed that the Bayern players are yet to come to terms with losing 3-0 against Bayer Leverkusen last weekend as he demanded more service for star striker Harry Kane up front.

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• WHAT MANUEL NEUER SAID

  Speaking to reporters, Neuer said, "We haven't quite gotten over it. When you lose like that, it does something with you. We've spoken about it, analysed it and been clear about it. The good thing is we've got a game straight after. We want to get to the next round. We want to make up for things that we didn't do well in Leverkusen.

  "It's important that we stick at it. It's a new competition, a new day. Even when Bayern Munich lose, the sun still rises. We're looking forward to the game.

  He added, "We didn't play in a clever way. Our positioning wasn't how we'd planned. Harry Kane needs to be fed by us. When we feed him, he's a phenomenon. We need to make sure he gets into dangerous areas with the ball so we can have success."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The former Tottenham Hotspur striker has enjoyed a rich vein of form ever since he moved to Munich from London in the summer. He has already scored 28 times in as many games across all competitions and has broken multiple records at the Bundesliga club. The England captain, though, had a rare off day against Xabi Alonso's side as he managed just 18 touches throughout the game.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR BAYERN MUNICH?

  Thomas Tuchel's side will now shift their focus to the Champions League as they take on Lazio in the first leg of their round of 16 clash on Wednesday.

Former Netherlands international Quincy Promes has been sentenced to six years in prison for his involvement in cocaine smuggling.

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• Promes sentenced to prison time
• Alleged to have been involved in cocaine smuggling
• On the books at Spartak Moscow

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Promes has been sentenced to six years in prison for allegedly smuggling over 1,350 kilograms of cocaine. The prosecution had been seeking a nine-year prison sentence but he has instead been sentenced to six years behind bars, according to .

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The player currently plays for Spartak in Russia and, as such, was not present at the hearing in the Netherlands. Promes has continually maintained his innocence, with the main evidence against him consisting of intercepted "crypto messages". He is likely to appeal the sentence, with the smuggling allegedly taking place in January of 2020, when Promes played for Ajax.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Russia has no extradition treaty with the Netherlands, meaning that Promes can likely continue his career with Spartak if he simply refuses to return to his homeland. This is not the first time the winger has been in trouble with the law, as he was given an 18-month jail term for assault last year after stabbing his cousin at a party.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR PROMES?

  As mentioned, he is likely to appeal his conviction. Spartak are next in action on Wednesday against Kairat; it remains to be seen if Promes will be involved.

The Southampton revival under Ralph Hasenhuttl continues with the south coast club managing to gain a point from their 1-1 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor last Saturday in a game where they came extremely close to winning. 

A stoppage-time penalty converted by Ashley Barnes ensured the points were shared after Nathan Redmond, who is at the top of his game right now, had given the visitors the lead.

And the 24-year-old has since come in for praise from one of his team-mates as he continues to impress under his new boss.

The Breakdown

Speaking about the form of Redmond, midfielder Stuart Armstrong told the Daily Echo: “I think everyone can see how talented a player he is in training and in games of late. His goal [against Burnley] was fantastic.

“The way he moved the ball and then a quick shot into the corner of the net with so much power, with so little back-lift. He is a very good player to have in our team.”

As mentioned by Armstrong, Redmond is undoubtedly a talented individual, something which has been clear since his days in the Championship with Birmingham City.

However, for whatever reason, it has not quite worked out for the England international at St. Mary’s despite a strong start to life in a Southampton shirt.

At 24, though, there is still plenty of time for Redmond to get things right, which he has been doing in recent weeks, and evolve that talent into something further.

Watching the way Redmond can take the ball past a defender with his pace and dribbling skill, he really should be on course to becoming a serious winger in the Premier League, yet without the numbers to go with it, that did not look like the path the former Norwich City man was heading down.

Rejuvenated under Hasenhuttl, though, Redmond now appears to be going in the right direction again.

It has been three arduous months since Neil Lennon left Celtic behind but they may finally have a resolution to their woes.

That’s because the Hoops are on the verge of appointing Eddie Howe as their new manager at Parkhead.

What’s the word?

Celtic have had to wait patiently for Howe with advanced discussions thought to be occurring towards the beginning of April.

Though, despite a move now being on the verge of completion, the hierarchy would be foolish if they didn’t still have a few other options up their sleeve.

The Bhoys have already interviewed Lucien Favre and Roy Keane for the role but they also have an interest in former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard.

That news was revealed by Ian McGarry on the Transfer Window podcast this week.

He said: “I don’t believe that Lampard is necessarily rushing to get into another manager’s job. He is enjoying his time with his young family. That’s not to say that he’s not open to an interesting offer.”

McGarry added: “There is certainly interest from Celtic, but I don’t think that he is in a position where he will necessarily go into a project that he doesn’t think he has a good chance of progress or succeeding in.”

Better suited than Howe?

Lampard and Howe have two very different managerial backgrounds.

The latter led Bournemouth from the brink of relegation in League Two to a place in the Premier League but Lampard’s had things a little easier.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-howe-favre-mcgregor-mccann-tierney” title=”Read the latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

He impressed during his stint with Derby in the Championship, developing the likes of Fikayo Tomori and Mason Mount, two players he then coached when in charge of Chelsea.

The 42-year-old also led the Blues to Champions League football despite the club working under a transfer embargo throughout the 2019/20 campaign.

The former midfielder was eventually sacked from his position but the qualities he demonstrated when at Stamford Bridge means he could be more suited to the position in Glasgow.

Speaking about Lampard last season, ex-Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers claimed he was “really impressed” with what he’d achieved.

“Frank understands the policy at the club, how it works and will be looking to bring in some of the young players which he has done. He has given them an opportunity. You have to admire that,” he said.

It’s the effort he made with the younger players in west London that demonstrates why he could be a perfect fit at Celtic.

The former England international took players like Mount and Tammy Abraham under his wing, not only making them key players for Chelsea, but also helping them to earn recognition in Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions.

Celtic are at a point now where they need to look towards the future. They require a manager who can blood young talent, something Lampard is particularly adept at doing.

The Hoops have a number of promising players coming through with Adam Montgomery making his first-team debut a fortnight ago and Karamoko Dembele bagging his first senior goal.

What those young individuals need is someone like Lampard who can use all of his experience in the game to not only make them better players, but to help them become key at Paradise.

AND in other news, Report claims £7.2m “horror show” will never play for Celtic again, fans surely elated…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Howey, who made 157 appearances for Newcastle United, has urged the Magpies to appoint an English manager if Steve Bruce leaves this summer.

Bruce was on talkSPORT earlier this week and he claimed that his future is for other people to decide and not himself, as speculation grows whether or not he will remain in the dugout at St James’ Park next season.

This comes after reports earlier in the year that Mike Ashley would be offering Bruce a new contract at the end of the season if he managed to keep Newcastle in the Premier League, which he has managed to do.

Speaking on why he would like Newcastle to appoint another English manager after Bruce and how there are a lot of good managers in this country, Howey exclusively told FFC:

“I think we’ve got some very good managers in this country but for some reason we always want to go foreign, and there are some very good foreign managers don’t get me wrong, but it puzzles me.

“For some reason clubs always want to go foreign first, and that’s their prerogative, but I would always look at home first.”

Bruce appeared to be in danger of losing his job after Newcastle’s 3-0 defeat away to Brighton earlier this season with even some players thinking he was about to be sacked, but he stayed in the hot-seat and has turned the club away from relegation.

A name that has been linked with taking over from Bruce if he was to depart this summer is Gennaro Gattuso, who has recently managed AC Milan and is currently in charge at Napoli.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Daniel Pinder, who is editor-in-chief at Get German Football News, has claimed that Emmanuel Dennis would offer a different way to attack if Leeds United signed the striker.

Dennis had previously been linked with a move to Leeds when he was at Club Brugge but since his loan move to FC Koln in January, the striker has played 10 games scoring just one goal in the DFB Pokal.

Leeds have relied on Patrick Bamford this season for goals and thankfully for Marcelo Bielsa, the striker has not missed a game this season through injury or suspension and his 14 goals have helped the Lilywhites to a solid debut Premier League campaign.

Speaking on what Dennis would bring to Leeds that Bamford doesn’t do and how he would fit into a Bielsa side, Pinder exclusively told FFC:

“He definitely offers something different to Bamford as he plays on the shoulder of defenders, and if the defence is playing a high line then he’ll happily make runs in behind them.

“Bielsa likes his strikers to press from the front and Dennis does this well and he’s shown some good finishes during his time with Club Brugge, so I think Leeds could be a decent fit for him.”

Bielsa has established a front three of Bamford, Raphinha and Jack Harrison at Leeds this season, a trio set to play Premier League football again next term.

It appears unlikely that FC Koln will make the 23-year old’s loan deal a permanent one considering he is yet to get off the mark in the Bundesliga.

Crystal Palace’s managerial hunt has taken another fresh twist this week, if emerging reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, the Eagles have made Burnley manager Sean Dyche their top choice to replace Roy Hodgson at the end of the season.

The 73-year-old is out of contract in the summer and has remained coy over his future at Selhurst Park in recent weeks. It is thought that the long-serving Clarets stalwart is now the favourite to take over from him.

Palace have also been linked to the likes of ex-Chelsea boss Frank Lampard, former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira and likely Celtic-bound Eddie Howe.

One step closer

This latest development should come as a huge boost towards the south Londoners as it means Steve Parish is edging closer to resolving their immediate future.

Palace’s campaign is all but over – they sit in mid-table with nothing left to play for, so it seems right that they focus on next season. All of the four names mentioned are worthy targets but it makes a lot of sense to opt for the 49-year-old Burnley boss given his longevity at this level.

It appears that many supporters have grown tired of Hodgson and his lack of ambition, especially following signings like Eberechi Eze and the emergence of Tyrick Mitchell, who both should play a major part in their long-term plans.

Burnley’s style of football isn’t the most attractive but it breeds results, with the Lancashire outfit qualifying for the Europa League in 2018. That is something Palace have never achieved.

The Eagles are in need of a rebuild and that does seem like something Dyche is best equipped to deal with. For instance, Lampard may be the best candidate on paper in terms of youth development, but he was handed several big-money signings in the summer and all of them have improved since his departure.

Dyche has a proven record on a shoestring budget and working with what he’s got.

With this latest update heading in the right direction, it’s time for the supporters at Selhurst Park to start getting a little more excited as they close in on a new era.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace handed managerial boost amid Roy Hodgson claim