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Richard Johnson will take on Scott’s role for the remainder of the Championship campaign with Daniel Vettori already in position to be coach for T20 Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2018Middlesex’s head coach, Richard Scott, has left his role with the county, who are mid-table in Division Two of the County Championship and failed to qualify for the knockouts in the Royal London Cup.Richard Johnson, the assistant coach, will take on Scott’s role for the remainder of the Championship campaign. Daniel Vettori is already in position to be coach for T20 Blast, which starts this week, although since winning the T20 title in 2008 they have underwhelmed in that format.Scott took the head coach position in 2009 and guided Middlesex to promotion in 2011 before they won the Championship on a thrilling final day of the 2016 season when Toby Roland-Jones (who has been ruled out for this season with a back injury) claimed a hat-trick.The following summer, however, they were relegated and their attempts for an immediate return to Division One have not been convincing this season with two wins in seven matches. In their most recent match against Kent they were bowled out for 56 and 124.”On behalf of Middlesex Cricket I would like to thank Richard for all that he has given the club as head coach during the past 10 years; he has been a loyal, hard-working, committed and high quality coach,” Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s managing director of cricket, said.”As with every coach in professional sport we have shared highs and lows but to play a leading role in a side winning the County Championship is a triumph very few coaches can claim. Under his guidance more than a dozen cricketers have gone on to gain international recognition.”A process to recruit a new head coach for 2019 will commence immediately.”

Rob McElhenney revealed his father’s prediction about Wrexham's match with Morecambe on Saturday – that was made at 5 AM – that turned out to be true.

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Wrexham facing Morecambe away from home McElhenney's dad predicted goalscorer for Wrexham His prediction incredibly came true during the game WHAT HAPPENED?

It is well-known that co-owners Ryan Reynolds & McElhenney are deeply invested in Wrexham's fortunes on the pitch and the day-to-day affairs of the club. And after McElhenney's latest revelation, it seems that the actor has managed to get his family members as well to rally behind the Red Dragons.

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Phil Parkinson's men had a disastrous start at Globe Arena after they fell behind in the fourth minute following Gerard Garner's opener. However, James McClean levelled things up just after the half-hour mark after being set up by Paul Mullin. Moments after the goal, McElhenney took to and revealed that his father, Robert McElhenney, texted him in the wee hours of the morning that McCelan would score against Morecambe!

WHAT ROB MCELHENNEY SAID

The American actor took to and wrote: "My Dad texted me at 5 am: MCCLEAN WILL SCORE TODAY Yes he was yelling at 5 am."

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Wrexham doubled their lead through Mullin in the second half after the talismanic striker converted from the spot in the 55th minute to score his 17th goal of the campaign and 96th in total for the Reds'. A win would take them to the second spot, just one point adrift of leaders Mansfield Town after 36 matches.

After a difficult start, Leeds United have finally found their feet under Daniel Farke, and now look on course to challenge for a place at the top of the Championship. Much of the credit for their turnaround deserves to go to the recruitment team, with Joel Piroe's arrival particularly strengthening the Yorkshire side in the final third this season.

That same team could be at the centre of things once more come January, too, when they'll look to find the players capable of making a difference for Leeds in the final stages of the campaign. And that could include the addition of one particular goalkeeper who is a man in demand.

What's the latest Leeds United transfer news?

In total, the Whites welcomed nine reinforcements during the summer transfer window, with Leeds' summer spending reaching around the £36m mark. Proving their ability to spend, the winter transfer window may open the door for further reinforcements for the 49ers Enterprises and Farke at Elland Road.

Player

Price

Joel Piroe

€14m

Ethan Ampadu

€8m

Ilia Gruev

€6.5m

Glen Kamara

€6m

Djed Spence

€1m loan fee

Karl Darlow

€400k

Sam Byram

Free

Jaidon Anthony

Loan

Joe Rodon

Loan

One position that Farke could strengthen is the goalkeeper role, with the latest Noel Tornqvist transfer news reporting that Leeds are interested in the shot-stopper. According to Fotbollskanalen, via Leeds Live, officials of the Yorkshire club actually sent scouts to watch the 21-year-old goalkeeper in action for Mjallby AIF prior to the international break. Mjallby AIF sporting director Hasse Larsson confirmed that scouts were there to watch Tornqvist, saying, via Leeds Live:

"That’s right. There were two more clubs, two Dutch clubs, who were also there to watch. There is an interest, absolutely. We’ll see what happens, we haven’t received anything concrete. We have only received requests.

“I think we have a contract for four more years. It is difficult to answer [of retaining him beyond January], but we are happy to keep him for a while longer. Then we’ll see, it depends on what comes. It’s fairly broad. There were four clubs that looked at him and there have been clubs that looked at him before.”

Who is Noel Tornqvist?

A left-footed goalkeeper, Tornqvist played an important role for Mjallby AIF last season, starting 23 of his side's 25 Allsvenskan games. Tornqvist's clean sheets were also impressive, with the 21-year-old keeping an impressive total of 11 throughout the season in all competitions. With that said, he could provide current Leeds number one Illan Meslier with plenty of competition, perhaps even taking the starting role from the Frenchman, should he end up leaving in the future.

Mjallby coach Anders Torstensson has previously been full of praise for his goalkeeper, saying:

“It was a question mark we had before the season. We know that Noel is a good goalkeeper. Then it’s about defending the shirt as the first-choice goalkeeper. He made a mistake against Varberg and also had back problems in that game, but I think he responded in a fantastic way.”

When the January transfer window swings open, the Whites may well be a club to keep an eye on, with their interest in Tornqvist potentially taking centre stage.

The England captain said victory in a tight Test brings “masses of confidence” but is looking for further improvement from his side

Melinda Farrell at Lord's08-Aug-20181:35

England’s best catchers aren’t in the slips – Hussain

There was still a noticeable spring in Joe Root’s step on the eve of the second Test at Lord’s, undoubtedly due to the lingering warm glow of that thrilling victory at Edgbaston. Despite twice surrendering a strong position and allowing India to scrap their way back into the contest, England have the early advantage in this series and Root was quick to deflect credit from his own captaincy to the performance of his team.”We obviously did some stuff well, but ultimately, regardless of what you do as captain your players have to perform and I thought they were exceptional,” said Root. “It’s not for me to take the credit for their hard work. Under pressure we stayed calm, we knew what lengths to bowl and stuck to that, it would have been easy for us to chase the game on that last morning but we didn’t, we knew if we held to our plans and stayed calm we would create enough chances.”It’s nice to know our thinking is right and we’re able to follow through on that when it really matters. Obviously, for me to come as captain and win a close game fills me with confidence going into the rest of the series against the No.1 side in the world but it’s about backing it up now. Looking for consistency in back-to-back games and this is an opportunity to do that.”Root’s talk of consistency points to England’s pendulum-swinging results over the past few summers, when all too often a resounding victory has been followed by abject defeat, or vice versa. The Edgbaston Test was the closest opening match of a home series since the first match of the 2013 Ashes at Trent Bridge and Root hopes the intensity of the victory will herald a sustained improvement in form.”It fills you with masses of confidence,” said Root. “One of the most exciting things about last week is that we weren’t at our best, certainly there are areas we can improve, but we found a way to win under pressure, and wrestle momentum back in our favour. That’s a sign of some strong characters in our dressing room. And having had some indifferent results in the recent past, to pull off a win like that is a really good sign for us moving forward. If we can make small improvements in certain areas, and add that to where we were good last week, we will see some improvements last week.”Ollie Pope and Joe Root head to the nets•Getty ImagesOne area England will desperately hope to improve is their slip catching. In the first Test Virat Kohli was dropped twice by Dawid Malan at second slip, Hardik Pandya was put down by Alastair Cook at first and Malan was also unable to take the catch to dismiss Murali Vijay, although he did successfully complete three catches over the course of the match, including a particularly sharp take to dismiss Dinesh Karthik in the first over of the fourth morning.During the match, James Anderson suggested England’s problems in the slip cordon may be due to changing personnel and Malan’s dropping in favour of Ollie Pope means yet another reshuffle. In the lead up to the second Test, Cook, Jos Buttler and Keaton Jennings have filled the first, second and third places respectively, despite some speculation that Root might join the cordon.”It’s a crucial part of Test cricket, especially India being such a good side you have to take those chances,” said Root. “We are looking for continuity in that department, and we feel they are the best three guys to field in the cordon. Hopefully that can be settled and stay the same for a long period of time.”I did [think about fielding slip]. I felt that is a very solid cordon and gives me an opportunity to be at mid-off, speak to the bowlers, have real clarity about what we are trying to do as a team on the field. And have a real gauge of managing the game with the guys, not telling them what to do but having clarity with how we want to approach things.”Lord’s may be the Home of Cricket but it has proved to be an unhappy dwelling for England against Asian teams in recent years. England haven’t won against a team from the subcontinent in their past five attempts at Lord’s, losing twice to Pakistan, once to India and playing out two draws against Sri Lanka. Despite a deceptive green tinge, the pitch here has generally been flat in recent times and ahead of this match the ground staff have been working against the elements to keep the moisture levels up in the hottest, driest conditions in decades, a situation that may favour another Asian touring side.”Maybe… every time you turn up here the surfaces can be quite different,” said Root. “At the start of the summer we were very below par and it would be easy to look too far into that, but against South Africa there was quite a lot of spin and against India previously spin came into it a lot in the second innings. That might play a big factor. We’ll have to wait to see what the surface looks like tomorrow morning but ultimately on the last couple of occasions, whoever has played well in the first innings has managed to contain that threat through the rest of the game.”

Tottenham Hotspur could move for one "playmaker" striker who's "like" former star Harry Kane if they decide to sign one in 2024, according to a very reliable media source when it comes to football transfers.

Spurs transfer targets for 2024

Ange Postecoglou has now officially overseen the best start made to a Premier League season by any new manager, with the Spurs head coach breaking that record while endearing himself to the Lilywhites fanbase in very quick fashion. Tottenham boast a brilliant seven wins from a possible nine thus far; remaining unbeaten in that time with results against high-flying potential title contenders Arsenal and Liverpool.

The north Londoners have discovered a new lease of under Antonio Conte's replacement, who arrived from Celtic in June after winning a plethora of honours north of the border. There had been doubts over Postecoglou's appointment given his lack of experience in an elite European division like the Premier League, but Tottenham's popular new boss is sharply putting them to bed.

However, there is a real elephant in the room where their current form is concerned – Spurs' lack of depth. Son Heung-min, James Maddison, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven – alongside full-backs Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie – are now pivotal for Postecoglou. There is an argument to be made that serious injuries to any of the aforementioned would be a huge, huge worry for Tottenham, not to mention the fact they're lacking a world-class natural centre-forward after Kane's departure.

As a result, reports in the media have linked them with a centre-back and striker most commonly. Galatasaray defender Victor Nelsson, Juventus star Gleison Bremer, Bournemouth's Lloyd Kelly and Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba and Chelsea centre-half Trevoh Chalobah have been named as Spurs transfer targets at various points as options to bolster the defensive area. Meanwhile, Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy and Brentford's Ivan Toney could be Tottenham transfer options to replace Kane.

Ivan Toney transfer update

Sharing some news on the latter's future at Brentford this week, reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano suggests that Toney could be a target for Spurs next year, if they do indeed opt to sign one. Romano, writing in a Daily Briefing this week, said (via TEAMtalk):

"We have to [also] see what Tottenham want to do. At the moment they are very happy with the squad but in case they go for a striker, Toney could be an opportunity.”

The 27-year-old marked himself out as one of England's most deadly front men before his ban for alleged gambling breaches this year. Toney scored a brilliant 20 league goals last season, making him one of the country's hottest transfer commodities right now amid widespread interest from up and down the country.

England teammate Declan Rice even likened Toney to Kane while speaking on talkSPORT, hailing the "playmaker" striker.

"I think from the moment he stepped in the Premier League he's taken it by storm," Rice said.

"If you look at what he does for Brentford, how consistent he is and what he does for his team, he's fully deserving of a call-up. He's kind of like Harry Kane in a way where he's not only an out-and-out striker, he's a playmaker as well – his left and right footed passing, the way he picks out his teammates is a special technique to have."

Christian Pulisic helped AC Milan to a 2-0 lead over Hellas Verona as he scored in a fourth consecutive game on Sunday.

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USMNT star scored AC Milan's second goalHas found the net in four straight matchesNow the joint-top scoring Ameican in Serie AWHAT HAPPENED?

The 25-year-old struck early in the second half as he latched onto the rebound after Noah Okafor's shot was saved by goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo, leaving the United States international with a simple finish to double his team's lead.

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Pulisic is on the best goalscoring form of his career, having now found the net in four straight matches for the San Siro outfit. He now has nine Serie A goals in his debut season for the Rossoneri, making him the joint-highest American scorer in the Italian top-flight's history alongside Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie.

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The winger will hope to carry his excellent form to the national team as the USMNT prepare to take on Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals. After the international fixtures, he will return to Italy with the aim of helping Milan to a sixth consecutive victory when they meet Fiorentina at the end of the month.

Alisha Lehmann met freestyle footballer Ilyas Nasri as the Aston Villa star displayed insane skills.

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Lehmann shows off insane skillsHung out with freestyle footballer NasriPerformed 'keepie uppies' while sitting on floorWHAT HAPPENED?

The Aston Villa and Switzerland star did several 'keepie uppies' while sitting on the floor as she displayed brilliant skills while hanging out with freestyle footballer Nasri during the latest round of Baller League fixtures.

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The 25-year-old has enjoyed success as manager of Baller League team Streets United, but has struggled to find form on the pitch in the current season, having scored just two goals in 13 matches across all competitions for Aston Villa. The WSL side, who picked up a narrow 2-1 win over Everton in their last game, are currently seventh in the table with 19 points from 16 games.

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Carla Ward's side will be next seen in action on Sunday as they take on giants Arsenal in an important WSL clash at Bescot Stadium.

Arsenal have now been told that one Gunners star loved by manager Mikel Arteta isn't even up to Premier League standard.

Arsenal form this season

Sitting joint-top with north London rivals Tottenham, Arteta's side have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the campaign with six wins from their opening eight matches. Star players like Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, to name a few, have stole the show for Arsenal as they look to once again compete for the domestic crown. They narrowly missed out to current champions and 2022/2023 treble-winners Man City last time around, but Arteta's men have shown they're capable of mounting another assault.

Arsenal are gearing up for their first league clash following the international break, where they will travel across London to Chelsea and hope to maintain their excellent start to the season. They managed to make a statement by beating City at the Emirates earlier this month, courtesy of a late deflected effort by Gabriel Martinelli, and Arteta will be hoping they can build upon that as we slowly enter the festive period.

Arteta, speaking to the Arsenal website after their 1-0 win over Pep Guardiola's side, replied when asked if a message was sent to the rest of England. He said:

"Certainly sends a message to the team, keep believing in what they are doing, they are a fantastic group of players, the way they try, the understanding, the chemistry that they have between them you sense it and you need it to beat that, today again really proud, I was proud on Wednesday when we lost the game, and I am really proud again today as well to be part of that team."

Mohamed Elneny news

One player who hasn't been able to contribute as much recently is midfielder Mohamed Elneny, who recently returned from a long-term injury. The Egyptian is a favourite of Arteta, who has expressed his admiration for Elneny on more than one occasion. Speaking after his return to action against Brentford in the EFL Cup last month, Arsenal's manager claimed he brings something "special" to the team.

“He fully deserves that, it’s been a long, long process for him,” Arteta said to the media.

“He’s put a lot of hours and work, and it’s credit as well to the physios and the medical department because we need him. He brings something special to the team and I’m really pleased that he played some minutes today.”

However, despite Arteta's praise, talkSPORT pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor has said that the club would be in trouble if they had to pick Elneny on a regular basis – as he is "not at the level" to play English top-flight football. Commenting on the exit links surrounding Jorginho, he said to Football Insider:

Likes to shoot from distance

Likes to play short passes

Does not dive into tackles

“I think if you look at that game against Man City, no one expected Jorginho to start. But he did, and he did well. When you’ve got Thomas Partey’s injury problems, if you let Jorginho go you could be left with Declan Rice and no one else.

“Mohamed Elneny is not at the level to play in the Premier League."

Alex Hales, who is not on trial, was also accused of kicking a man during the head during the incident last September

George Dobell07-Aug-2018The fight outside a Bristol nightclub involving a group of men including Ben Stokes and Alex Hales, which led to Stokes’ arrest, was described as being like “football hooligans”, a court has been told.Stokes, who is standing trial for affray alongside Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale at Bristol Crown Court, was also described as “bullying” a young, gay couple while his England team-mate Hales – who has not been charged with any offence – was accused by a police officer of kicking a man in the head.Max Wilson, who was a student in the Clifton Triangle area of the city when the incident occurred, described a group of “clearly drunk” men acting aggressively towards one another in the early hours of September 25. Wilson, who filmed part of the incident from his bedroom on an upper floor of a building in the area – footage which was later acquired and published by – confirmed that he had described the men’s behaviour as “like football hooligans” in a police statement and is heard to gasp “F***!” in the footage after Stokes punches Hale.”It was just such a fierce punch,” Wilson said. “It just took me by surprise. I felt a bit sorry for the guy who got punched. It looked like he had his hands up.”Wilson’s footage – shown to the jury several times over the first couple of days of the trial – also showed, according to PC Daniel Adams, the officer in the case, Hales kicking Ali in the head as he lay on the pavement.Asked by Stephen Mooney QC, acting on behalf of Hale, whether it would be fair to describe CCTV footage as showing him “kicking a man in the head,” PC Adams replied: “That’s what it looks like, yes. He’s definitely used his feet on three occasions.”Hales was questioned under caution after the incident but not arrested. He is not on trial. Audio from the footage suggests he tried to pull Stokes away from the fray on several occasions – he is repeatedly heard shouting “Stop, Stokes! No! Enough!” – with both Wilson and other witnesses agreeing he was “trying to stop him [Stokes].””Mr Hales is pulling Mr Stokes back by his t-shirt,” PC Adams stated as he commented on footage for the benefit of the jury.Under cross-examination Wilson confirmed he did not think Hales or Stokes had initiated the violence by shoving “another person” but conceded he could not be certain.Much of the second day of the trial was occupied by evidence provided by Andrew Cunningham, a 37-year-old door supervisor at the Mbargo nightclub in the city. Having first accused Stokes of abusing him and mocking two gay men, William O’Connor and Kai Barry, he went on to suggest the England cricketer had been bullying the pair.In particular, he disagreed with Stokes’ defence barrister, Gordon Cole QC, who suggested CCTV footage from outside the Mbargo nightclub showed Stokes engaged in “joking banter” with Barry and O’Connor. And, under cross-examination, it was suggested that Stokes was so enraged by his interaction with Cunningham that he left the area around the nightclub and headed up the road – where the violent incidents occurred – in an angry and frustrated mood.”He was trying to provoke them,” Cunningham said. “They [Stokes and Hales] were laughing at them, not with them.”I didn’t like the fact he [Stokes] flicked a cigarette butt [at O’Connor]. These two guys [Barry and O’Connor] are harmless guys. Not aggressive.”That’s when I stepped in, because they hadn’t done anything wrong. They’re only little guys. I said ‘If you want to start on anyone, start on me.'”He wouldn’t look at me or acknowledge I was there then.”With Cunningham suggesting that Stokes “didn’t seem drunk,” Hale’s representative in the trial, Mr Mooney, said Stokes’ behaviour “can’t be put down to that.” Instead, Mooney alleged, Stokes finally left the area around the nightclub, feeling angry and frustrated.”Was it bullying?” Mooney asked.”Yes,” Cunningham replied.”It wasn’t drunkenness,” Mooney continued. “Just unpleasantness and aggressiveness.”He was aggressive, threatening, unpleasant, bullying. That was his state of mind he was in when he walked up towards The Triangle.”The final witness of the day, Lauren Sweeney, outlined why she called the police on the night of the incident. Looking out of the window of her flat, she alleges she saw Hale – who had just recovered from a blow from Stokes that had briefly rendered him unconscious – break up a road-sign and take a length of metal from it in the direction of the other defendants.”I thought he was going to use the road-sign in an aggressive act,” Sweeney said. “I didn’t think it was self-defence. It was more than just self-defence. It was an aggressive run towards them.”Under cross-examination, PC Adams agreed that both Ali and Hale had bottles at the time of the original fracas and accepted it appeared that Ali had used his “to aim a blow at Mr Barry.”Commenting as CCTV footage was played to the jury, PC Adams said: “Mr Stokes intervenes by throwing a punch. He appears to throw a punch while Hale is in defensive mode. Hale and Ali are backing away. Hales is following Mr Stokes and trying to pull him back. Mr Stokes brushes him off. Ali and Hale are moving backwards. Their arms are up in a defensive gesture. Stokes strikes out at him. The final punch clear for all to see. It floors him [Hale].”Meanwhile the day began and ended with Judge Blair, Recorder of Bristol, reminding the jury to ignore and avoid “biased and inaccurate comments” on social media.The trial continues.

Celtic are seemingly looking to broaden their relations with another club off the field after the pair held talks over deepening their relationship, according to a fresh report.

Celtic updates…

Despite holding pride of place at the top of the Scottish game, Celtic have struggled over recent years to bring through youngsters from their academy base in Lennoxtown and subsequently develop them into first-team regulars at Parkhead. In Brendan Rodgers' current squad, club captain Callum McGregor, James Forrest, Anthony Ralston, Stephen Welsh and peripheral figure Mikey Johnston all fall under the umbrella of Lennoxtown graduates; meanwhile, young stars such as Rocco Vata and Ben Summers have also had brief involvement at senior level over the past year.

Nevertheless, there is a feeling among some supporters that more could be done to facilitate a pathway for youngsters at Parkhead, which is a sentiment Rodgers seems to share, at least if his pre-season interview in early July is anything to go by. Speaking about some of Celtic's young players training with the senior squad during pre-season, the Northern Irishman said: "They’ve been pleasantly surprising. They’ve been really, really good. Sometimes a young player can come in and suffer with the intensity of the training with the first team, but they’ve all coped really well. So that’s been pleasing."

Other avenues of helping Celtic prospects gain experience have also begun to come to fruition for the Scottish Premiership holders, such as their decision to send Adam Montgomery and Bosun Lawal to Fleetwood Town on loan amid tentative suggestions of an off-field link between the two sides.

Celtic also announced a tie-in with Austrian second-tier side Admira Wacker this year and farmed out talented duo Matthew Anderson and Tobi Oluwayemi on loan to the Modling-based outfit to gain first-team exposure. Now, it seems that Celtic and Admira Wacker have moved to deepen their relationship with each other following new reports relating to their connection.

Celtic and Celtic B players currently out on loan (Transfermarkt)

Player

Loan club

Sead Haksabanovic

Stoke City

Yosuke Ideguchi

Avispa Fukuoka

Adam Montgomery

Fleetwood Town

Liam Shaw

Wigan Athletic

Johnny Kenny

Shamrock Rovers

Tobi Oluwayemi

Admira Wacker

Bosun Lawal

Fleetwood Town

Matthew Anderson

Admira Wacker

Ben Summers

Dunfermline Athletic

Ben McPherson

Queens Park

Celtic and Admira Wacker partnership

Cited by The National, Admira Wacker sporting director Peter Stoger and his staff members formed part of a delegation that travelled to Parkhead last week to take in the Hoops' Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid and also discussed formalising their link status, even holding a meeting with Celtic boss Rodgers during their time in Scotland. Stoger spoke about the visit, stating:

"It was about discussing how we can continue to develop cooperation between the clubs. You look for win-win situations where everyone benefits. And Celtic are really very interested in the partnership.

"There’s a good chance we can expand the partnership, but it won’t happen overnight. We also had a meeting with Brendan Rodgers. The Atletico game was fantastic and Celtic Park is definitely one of the best stadiums in Europe with an incredible atmosphere."

In a footballing climate where the threat of young stars being poached by English clubs continues to threaten Celtic's ability to keep hold of prodigious talent, outlets such as partnerships with other sides are becoming an increasingly valuable resource nationwide, making this one to watch.