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Barry Fry insists West Ham United will not let Declan Rice go for any price this summer.

The midfielder is currently away on international duty with England at Euro 2020.

But he has been heavily linked with a potential exit from the club this summer, amid interest from Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City.

Fry believes that Rice would get a significant pay rise if he did decide to leave the London Stadium.

But the Peterborough United Director of Football, who knows the Hammers well, cannot see any scenario in which the Irons allow Rice to leave.

Indeed, he has been an integral member of the club’s squad this season and has repeatedly captained them in the absence of Mark Noble.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Fry said: “He’d get miles more money at Chelsea, we all know that, or Man United or Man City, whoever went in for him, but I can’t see West Ham letting him go at any money.

“The owners and Moyesie are very ambitious, they want to make West Ham the leading London club. They nearly did this year by the way.

“He’ll want to go one better and the worst thing you can do is get rid of Declan Rice, no matter how much money you get. It won’t appease the West Ham fans.”

Rice made a total of 32 appearances in the Premier League last term and will be a key member of England’s squad at the European Championships this summer.

A negative reaction to Celtic missing out on winning a treble this season would be ‘absolutely ridiculous’, according to former Hoops striker Frank McAvennie, after he witnessed their Scottish Cup semi-final loss to Rangers last weekend.

The Lowdown: Celtic miss out on treble

Ange Postecoglou’s side had the opportunity to seal a domestic treble this season, prior to last weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final clash with Rangers.

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Celtic were beaten 2-1 at Parkhead, however, meaning they can now only add the Scottish Premiership title to their Scottish League Cup crown that is already sealed.

The Latest: McAvennie positive

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie said winning the league would be an incredible success, bemoaning any negativity surrounding missing out on a treble:

“It was a disappointing loss last weekend. I thought we would win, I think a lot of people did. But it wasn’t to be.

“Look at it this way. This season I was happy for us to just compete. I had no thoughts about us winning anything. The fact we are gutted about missing out on a treble is absolutely ridiculous.

“Next season we should be even better and I want to see us do better in Europe but what a job he has done. It will be just remarkable if we do win this title.”

The Verdict: Title matters most

McAvennie is spot on in his opinion, with a treble something that seemed highly unlikely at the start of the season, and not something to gauge the team’s success by.

If Celtic can wrestle back the league title from Rangers it would be a superb effort by Postecoglou and his players, ensuring last season was nothing more than a blip during a strange time in the world.

A double would still be deemed a hugely successful campaign, suggesting the Hoops are only going from strength to strength going into next season, when Champions League football will hopefully return to Parkhead.

In other news, Celtic are reportedly in advanced talks to sign one player. Find out who it is here.

Tanguy Ndombele has endured a mixed second season at Tottenham Hotspur to say the least, but he must return to the starting XI when the north Londoners host Sheffield United on Sunday evening.

One of the Frenchman’s best performances of the year came against the Blades back in mid-January and it was capped off by a sublime finish from a tight angle to seal all three points.

He arguably ran the show that day and, in his surprising absence for last Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, Spurs looked completely devoid of any ideas in attack.

Ryan Mason was bolstered by the return of Harry Kane but, even with the England talisman, the Lilywhites fired just one shot on target and that was one of only two attempts at goal all afternoon as Man City clinched the trophy.

Heung-min Son and Lucas Moura were the only Spurs players to provide a key pass on the day – by comparison, Pep Guardiola’s men created 18 key chances between them and had a whopping 21 shots, as per SofaScore.

The midfield three of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Harry Winks and Giovani Lo Celso just did not work and, as a result, they could do with a real spark against the Premier League’s rock-bottom strugglers to ensure they do not slip up and ruin their season further.

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Ndombele has directly contributed towards ten goals in all competitions this term, four more than in his maiden season at the club, and he ranks amongst their best performers (6.93), as per WhoScored ratings.

The 24-year-old’s ability on the ball is clear, averaging 2.4 dribbles per game, some 0.9 more than any other Spurs player, which only goes to show that they miss his drive in midfield when he isn’t on the park.

Furthermore, Ndombele manages 6.4 progressive runs every 90 minutes, meaning he is the most productive in moving the ball towards the opposition’s goal or into the penalty box – no other Spurs regular is better, not even Son, via FBRef.

Earlier this year, back-up goalkeeper Joe Hart lauded his £45m-rated teammate to BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand in the middle of their FA Cup encounter with Wycombe Wanderers.

“I said to Joe, how good is he? And he said ‘this kid is a world-beater, he can do anything.’ He just turned around during the game and said ‘this kid is unplayable’,” Ferdinand revealed (via football.london).

This echoed the thoughts of former Spurs midfielder Jermaine Jenas, who said on BT Sport’s coverage (January 28th 2021, 19:35): “You don’t want to play against him because he can do everything. He is quicker than you, he is stronger than you, he is more skilful than you. It can be a nightmare kind of night for you.”

If Mason wants to get Spurs back on track this weekend and respond to their recent heartbreak, then Ndombele absolutely has to start at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

He’s a game-changer, and he can impact their fortunes tenfold this weekend.

AND in other news, Levy could seal Spurs their next Dembele in bargain swoop for “explosive” 22 y/o beast…

Joe Wainman from All Leeds TV has expressed his frustration at Leeds United missing out on the signing of Conor Gallagher to Crystal Palace.

The midfielder has moved on loan to Selhurst Park from Chelsea, with The Guardian reporting that he rejected potential moves to both Leeds and Newcastle United.

The 21-year-old has not actually made his debut for the Blues yet but has gone on a variety of different loan spells.

He has played for Charlton Athletic, Swansea City, and West Bromwich Albion, progressing through the leagues as he went, and has now made the move to south London.

Wainman believes that the fanbase were disappointed with Gallagher’s decision to link up with new Palace boss Patrick Vieira rather than Marcelo Bielsa.

Indeed, he has claimed that Leeds fans wanted to sign the player on a loan deal that included an option to buy, instead of just borrowing him.

He said: “The fanbase seems to be split on this one because a lot of people wanted a loan with a view to a permanent, and obviously Chelsea were only willing to loan him.

“I’m a little bit disappointed that he has chosen Palace and, for me personally, I would question him because I don’t understand why you would choose Palace, and Patrick Vieira.

“I get Patrick Vieira was a great midfielder but as a manager I’m not really sure, the jury’s still out for me on Patrick Vieira. Whereas Conor Gallagher could have come to Leeds United and worked under Bielsa.”

Tottenham Hotspur have submitted a bid of €20million (£16.9million) for Sheffield United midfielder Sander Berge, according to a recent report from French publication Homme Du Match.

What’s the story?

Berge has been with United since 2020, and has gone on to make 33 appearances in total for the Blades, which includes 16 from the 2020/21 season.

That was a frustrating campaign for the club though, as United were relegated from the Premier League, much to the frustration of the Bramall Lane faithful.

Despite the Blades’ struggles, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp labelled Berge as ‘interesting’ for his showing against Liverpool whilst with Belgian side Genk, whilst former Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder called him ‘outstanding’ for his performance against the Reds.

However, with the Blades playing their football in the Championship this term, that has seen Premier League clubs come calling for some of their key players.

Tottenham are the latest club to enter the race to sign Berge, with the likes of Everton, Aston Villa and Arsenal previously being keen on reaching an agreement to land the Norwegian international’s signature before the summer transfer window reaches a conclusion on August 31st.

‘Outstanding’

Berge has settled into life at Bramall Lane with Sheffield United well but the midfielder’s future remains ‘up in the air’ at this moment in time, with a number of clubs rumoured to be interested in signing the 23-year-old.

He has featured in both of United’s matches in the 2021/22 campaign, which will be pleasing to see for the Bramall Lane faithful this term.

Berge had an average Whoscored rating of 6.43 from the 2020/21 season with United, which put him 14th on the list in the Blades’ best performers from last year’s campaign.

It has been well-documented that Slavisa Jokanovic’s side are well-placed to sign Sampdoria midfielder Ronaldo Vieira, which could turn out to be a shrewd addition to the Blades’ squad.

That will leave the newly-appointed Sheffield United boss with a number of strong options to have in central midfield, with Berge being one of them, if they can keep hold of him.

It’s already been revealed that United hold him in high regard, with the club looking to stand firm in their valuation of the midfielder, and that’s exactly what they should be doing moving forwards into the later stages of the summer transfer window.

If they can keep hold of Berge and add Vieira to their squad, then a midfield trio of those two plus Oliver Norwood could be a frightening prospect for teams coming up against the Blades.

It would be a big call by United to keep Berge with the club, especially if they’re to turn down sizeable offers for his services between now and August 31st, but it would be a real statement of their intent and ambitions to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking if they do just that.

That’s exactly what they should do too.

Former Everton star Michael Ball has told The Transfer Tavern that the club will have to pay through the nose to sign Norwich City right-back Max Aarons this summer.

The Toffees have been heavily linked with a potential summer move for the England U21 international.

Aarons has been in brilliant form for Norwich thus far this season, as the club have won the Championship title at a canter.

He has made 45 Championship appearances this season, scoring two goals and laying on five assists.

The Independent have reported that Everton are keen on a swoop, and that he would cost around £30m to sign this summer.

Ball believes that Carlo Ancelotti’s side have been tracking Aarons for some time, and will have to make a decision on whether they are willing to invest heavily to bring him in, as a long-term replacement for Seamus Coleman, or sign a budget option.

He told TT: “I think Everton have come quite strongly for Max Aarons. I feel they’ve probably been looking at Max Aarons for the last 18 months or so, wanted to bring him to the football club.

“Norwich, rightly so, want top dollar. Everton need to try to figure out how they’re going to prioritise that position and whether they’re going to look at a cheaper option for the next year or two years.”

The situation surrounding Declan Rice’s future at West Ham United is going to be something to watch this summer amid a new worrying claim…

What’s the word?

According to the Telegraph’s Matt Law, the 22-year-old midfielder is keen on making a return to his former club Chelsea, who are also thought to be interested in signing him.

And it’s something that Hammers fans have been warned to keep an eye on.

Speaking on the latest episode of the ‘London is Blue’ podcast, the reliable journalist said:

“I have to be careful with what I say on this, because I’ve got some information on this which will end up getting written at some stage which I can’t really talk about. Look, Chelsea are interested in Declan Rice and everyone knows that Declan Rice is interested in Chelsea.

“The problem’s West Ham, and the problem’s the asking price with West Ham. I mean, they’re telling everybody at the moment it’s £100m and Chelsea aren’t going to pay £100m for Declan Rice this summer.

“So it’s what happens from there, really, and I think there’s more to play on this. And it’s going to be an interesting summer, let’s say, around Declan Rice and Chelsea.”

Time to worry?

Rice, who is currently excelling for England at Euro 2020, has frequently been linked with an exit from the London Stadium, with both Manchester giants mooted with interest, on top of Chelsea, too.

Irons boss David Moyes has previously rejected the idea of selling the 6 foot 1 powerhouse, claiming: “Bank of England money would be required, and you might even need to add Bank of Scotland on to that as well because he has been so good.”

However, this latest claim is a fresh sign that Rice is keen to go back to Stamford Bridge and whilst their London rivals won’t pay the £100m asking price, Law suggests that this saga is only just getting underway.

“It’s going to be an interesting summer,” he hints.

That would perhaps suggest that after Euro 2020, a bidding war could ensue – or at the very least, Thomas Tuchel’s side will ramp up their pursuit.

The fact that both parties are said to want this deal leaves the Hammers in quite a powerless place right now, they don’t want to risk heading into the new campaign with an unsettled player, especially with a historic Europa League campaign on the horizon.

This claim will also leave much of the West Ham faithful absolutely terrified as no one will want to lose arguably their biggest star.

As per WhoScored figures, Rice ended the 2020/21 campaign as Moyes’ fourth-best player (7.01) but topped the charts for interceptions (1.8 per game) and wasn’t far behind for tackles (1.8 per game), too.

Evidently, he’s a hugely influential player on the pitch for the East London outfit but this update suggesting he wants to leave is a huge bombshell that’ll leave many, many supporters truly worried.

But at the end of the day, Chelsea are still a level above the Irons, having just won the Champions League. This is far from a finished story yet.

AND in other news, Forget Kral: Moyes must sanction West Ham swoop for “complete” £10m “special talent”…

Celtic have deen dealt a triple blow ahead of their upcoming Premiership fixture this afternoon.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by the Daily Record, Ange Postecoglou revealed that none of James Forrest, Christopher Jullien or Greg Taylor will be available for St Johnstone’s visit to Parkhead, as the stricken trio are yet to recover from their respective injuries.

Speaking about the current state of his Celtic squad, the 56-year-old said: “It’s just Forrest, Jullien and Taylor not available for selection.”

However, in more positive news, Postecoglou revealed that he will once again be able to call upon Josip Juranovic this weekend, while James McCarthy is also set to make a return to the Bhoys squad as both players look to be nearing full fitness.

On Juranovic and McCarthy in particular, the Hoops boss said: “Juranovic has trained, he’s fit and available. McCarthy has trained, he’s fit and available.”

Ange will be gutted

While the news that Juranovic and McCarthy look as if they will play some part on Saturday is undoubtedly good for Celtic, the ongoing absences of Forrest, Jullien and Taylor will nevertheless have left Postecoglou gutted.

Indeed, versatile midfielder Forrest has been a huge source of creativity and goals for the Bhoys in recent years, with the 30-year-old having scored 18 goals and registered 20 assists over 56 appearances in all competitions back in 2018/19, as well as bagging 16 goals and providing 22 assists over 47 games the following season.

Meanwhile, centre-back Jullien has proven to be a magnificent signing for the Hoops following his £7.2m arrival from Toulouse back in 2019, with the 28-year-old helping his side to keep five clean sheets, scoring one goal and averaging a superb SofaScore match rating of 7.43 over his nine Premiership appearances prior to his injury last season.

Finally, while the surprising emergence of 19-year-old left-back Adam Montgomery has somewhat covered for the absence of Taylor on the left-hand side of the Celtic backline, the 23-year-old’s continued unavailability will undoubtedly come as a blow to Postecoglou. The Scotland international is a solid and reliable option in that role, recording more interceptions per game (1.5) than any of his Hoops team-mates.

As such, with the 56-year-old hoping that his side can continue their run of excellent recent form against St Johnstone on Saturday, being unable to call upon any of Forrest, Jullien and Taylor for the visit of the Saints will certainly make this task a bit more difficult for Postecoglou.

In other news: Kyogo 2.0: Celtic nearing exciting deal for 18-goal machine, Postecoglou will love him

Craig Hope has dropped a major Newcastle United claim, regarding tension behind the scenes following the defeat to Tottenham.

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Mail journalist, Jamaal Lascelles and Isaac Hayden had a bust-up after the loss and had to be separated by staff.

In the article, Hope revealed that a significant portion of the squad want Steve Bruce to be sacked before their clash with Crystal Palace, with the post-match bust-up leading to some players questioning the 60-year-old’s tactics in the dressing room.

He Tweeted: “Sources say players want new owners to intervene now & change manager as tensions rise.”

Delight

Newcastle fans will be delighted by this update from Hope in terms of the players wanting Bruce to be sacked this week. Whilst it is far from ideal to read that Hayden and Lascelles were scrapping with each other at full-time, it – at the very least – shows that the players are passionate and want to do well on the pitch for each other, although both players must find constructive ways to show it.

The playing squad are seemingly voicing their concerns to PIF about Bruce and their frustration could speed up the process, with Bruce hanging on by a thread as it stands. He was reportedly set to leave last week before the owners opted to keep him on for his 1000th game in management.

A 3-2 defeat to Tottenham at St. James’ Park on Sunday led to multiple chants calling for Bruce to be sacked, which may have been heard by Amanda Staveley and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who were sat in the stands for their first game. This coupled with the unrest amongst the playing squad could lead to Bruce’s departure, which would undoubtedly leave the Toon Army delighted.

A recent survey, prior to the takeover, by the Newcastle United Supporters Trust found that 94.3% of supporters are keen to see him leave, with 95.3% predicting relegation from the top-flight. However, that second statistic could change if the 94.3% of fans are granted their wish and PIF sack Bruce, depending on who is brought in to replace him in the dugout.

What the survey does show is that the majority of fans want to see the ex-Aston Villa coach leave the club and that is why they will be buzzing with the players taking matters into their own hands to make it happen. It is now down to PIF to make the call and ensure that they replace him with the best candidate to lead the side forward.

AND in other news, “I understand”: Pete Graves drops key NUFC transfer claim that’ll leave fans buzzing…

Former West Brom loanee Mbaye Diagne would “tear it up” in the Championship, claims Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield.

Diagne spent the second half of last season on loan at The Hawthorns after Sam Allardyce decided he wanted to bring in another striker to aid the Baggies in their quest to avoid the drop.

In the end, however, Diagne was unable to help them do that. During that short spell with the club, the 29-year-old was far from prolific.

In 16 Premier League appearances, he scored just three goals, though two of those came against Manchester United and Chelsea.

At Championship level, though, Hatfield is backing Diagne, believing he could do a job for West Brom if he returned to the Midlands outfit.

“I think in the Championship he’d be a great striker,” Hatfield told FFC. “I think he’d really do well at Championship level. He’d probably tear it up to be honest with you.

“Whether he fits in Valerien Ismael’s style of play, they want to play a very high press, would he suit that? I’m not too sure, but I think fans would love to see him back.”

Diagne did have some good moments last season, such as the goal he created in West Brom’s impressive 3-0 win against Southampton, with Don Goodman describing his assist as “magnificent”. Perhaps he could offer a big threat in the second tier of English football.