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According to Sky Sports, Celtic are willing to entertain offers for five members of their first-team squad this summer…
Anthony Joseph from Sky Sports has indicated that Brendan Rodgers plans to move a number of players on once the dust settles on the 2024/25 season double-winning season.
Joseph’s report states that Luis Palma, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Stephen Welsh, Kwon Hyeok-kyu, and Marco Tilio are considered excess to the club’s needs, with Celtic reportedly ready to sell them permanently in the upcoming transfer window.
Brendan Rodgers inherited four of these signings on his return to Celtic in summer 2023
Of these five players, four were brought in during Rodgers’ initial transfer window after his 2023 return to Celtic, succeeding Ange Postecoglou following his departure to Tottenham Hotspur. However Rodgers was NOT involved in these transfers and has instead worked through the process of assessing the players at Lennoxtown and in matches and has now reached his decision on what happens next.,
Since transferring to Celtic from Melbourne City, Tilio has featured in just two matches and is currently on loan back at his former club. He is due back at Celtic in the summer after enjoying a return to form back in Australia.
Meanwhile, Kwon joined the club together with fellow South Korean Yang Hyun-jun but has yet to appear competitively, having spent the past two seasons on loan at St Mirren and Hibernian. Altogether, Kwon has played 31 games across his loan periods in Paisley and Edinburgh.
Gustaf Lagerbielke was brought in to replace Carl Starfelt
After Carl Starfelt moved to Celta Vigo in the summer of 2023, Elfsborg’s Gustaf Lagerbielke was brought in to fill the centre-back void, but the Swedish international has featured in just 10 matches since joining. Similar to Kwon and Tilio, he spent this season on loan, making an impression at Eredivisie club FC Twente, who are interested in securing a permanent deal, if the price is right.
Although Honduras international Luis Palma has been the most accomplished among the four signings, he too is currently not part of Celtic’s plans.
After returning to Greece on loan at Olympiakos for the second half of this campaign, he recorded one goal and one assist, but the Greek champions chose not to make the move permanent. Since joining from Aris FC in August 2023, the winger has tallied 20 goal involvements in 48 appearances.
Likewise, academy product Stephen Welsh seems poised to depart Celtic following a successful loan at Belgium’s KV Mechelen, where he made 17 appearances and netted a goal in his final match. Since breaking into the first team in 2020, the 25-year-old has played 68 matches for his parent club.
Steven Welsh has been a fine Celtic servant and a player who always gave everything he had for the jersey. Sadly however it looks like he is going to be playing his football elsewhere.
Hopefully all of these Bhoys get decent moves in the summer and go on to have good careers in the game.
Conor Spence
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New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel wasn't mad about how the backups performed in the team's 42-10 preseason loss to the New York Giants. He was angry that someone had leaked the news that wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk would need season-ending shoulder surgery. When asked if he had anything to add to the reports that Polk would miss the season, Vrabel didn't give the media anything aside from his unvarnished feelings. "I'd like to find out where some of these [reports] come from. Some of these rats around here. So, we'll figure that out," he added in a news conference on Thursday. Coaches and reporters are hardly the best of friends on a good day. Often, a coach will deflect if they don't want to add fuel to a report the team hasn't made official, but usually they won't deflect and promise to get the "rats" providing this information. NFL insider Jordan Schultz broke the news ahead of the Patriots' preseason finale against the Giants. According to Schultz, the decision for Polk to undergo surgery was made to ensure the 2024 second-round pick would be healthy for the 2026 season. Polk dealt with health issues throughout the offseason. It was during the second quarter of New England's preseason opener against the Washington Commanders that he took a nasty hit on a one-yard run, leading to the shoulder injury that will sideline him for 2025. Last season, Polk had a tough rookie debut, catching just 12 receptions for 87 yards and recording two touchdowns. The hope for 2025 was that he could redeem himself and become a reliable enough target for second-year quarterback Drake Maye. Expectations for Maye are much higher now with the return of Tom Brady's old offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels. Without Polk to run routes, though, the already-thin wide receiver room is nearly devoid of talent behind veteran receiver Stefon Diggs. The Patriots signed Diggs to a three-year, $69 million contract in the offseason. However, Diggs has brought some unwanted attention to the team through his offseason antics and is recovering from a torn ACL that ended his time with the Houston Texans. While Patriot fans should feel some hope in the direction of the team under Vrabel — a former defensive star for New England during the dynasty years — this roster is still in the midst of a rebuild. And with such a troubled roster, losses may pile up, and the team's relationship with the media could worsen if another season feels like a waste. So, Vrabel being upset by Polk's injury is fair, but what doesn't feel fair is to single out Patriots staff and players who are potentially talking to reporters as hostile to the organization. It's perhaps not surprising that Vrabel is willing to voice his frustrations, as he's shown no fear when breaking up practice scrums. Still, it's the job of any journalist to build relationships with staff and team members to gain reliable sources who can help them accurately report the news. While the "rats" moniker for those in the building talking to NFL insiders and the New England sports media will be swallowed up by all the other headlines as Week 1 nears, it's notable that Vrabel's time as head coach in New England is already off to a contentious start.
Green Bay Packers: Matt LaFleur Makes ‘Bittersweet Admission After NFL Preseason Win Against Seahawks
Phillies get terrible injury news on ace starting pitcher
The Philadelphia Phillies received the update they did not want to hear on Saturday. Starting pitcher Zack Wheeler is going to miss the remainder of the 2025 season due to thoracic outlet syndrome, the team announced. He will have surgery to correct the issue with a recovery time of six to eight months. There is no way to sugarcoat this for the Phillies — this is brutal news and a potentially crushing blow to their World Series chances in the National League. While they still have a strong rotation and two excellent front-line starters in Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez, Wheeler is their unquestioned ace and has been one of the best overall pitchers in the National League since he joined the Phillies prior to the 2020 season. The Phillies are still pretty much a playoff lock at this point and entered the weekend with a six-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East standings. But taking a front-line starter away from them this late in the season is going to be impossible to replace. With Wheeler, Sanchez and Suarez, they would have had a fierce trio to throw at teams in a short series (or a best-of-seven series) that could have stacked up with anybody. Sanchez and Suarez are still going to give them a great chance, but it's definitely not what they wanted. Prior to Saturday's announcement, Wheeler had a 2.71 ERA and was leading the league in both strikeouts (195) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.7) pitched. He also has the lowest WHIP (walks/hits per innings pitched) in the league (.935).
Buccaneers' Shilo Sanders may have jeopardized chance to make 53-man roster
Saturday was not a good day for Shedeur Sanders and Shilo Sanders, two players competing for a spot on the 53-man roster of their respective teams, the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hours after Shedeur took more sacks (five) than completions (three) and had a heated moment with Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, Shilo was ejected from the Buccaneers' preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. "Bucs S Shilo Sanders has been ejected from tonight's game following an unnecessary roughness penalty," Scott Smith of the Buccaneers posted on X. Shilo appeared to take exception to Zach Davidson hitting and blocking him after a play had ended before the rookie took a swing at the Bills' tight end. The ejection came at a bad time for Shilo, who was competing with Kaevon Merriweather and Rashad Wisdom for the No. 4 safety spot on the depth chart. Before the game, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said that Shilo's output against the Bills would be big in his evaluation before the team has to trim the roster to 53 players by Tuesday. "Shilo's very aggressive, very young, very hungry," Bowles said. "He can make plays in the box and we know he can run down and give us 100% on special teams, so this last week is going to be very important for those guys to show up." Following the ejection, Shilo lost critical playing time to show his strengths on the field. He also showed the coaching staff a short temper and cost Tampa Bay with an unnecessary penalty. Shilo will end his preseason with four total tackles. He has shown he has the talent to be in the league, but Shilo's role will likely be as a practice squad player until his play and mental strength develop.
Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay providing drama atop Tour Championship leaderboard
ATLANTA -- Tommy Fleetwood is still in position to win his first PGA Tour tournament — one of the biggest — but he's sure making it interesting. Fleetwood lost his lead at the Tour Championship after hitting it in the water on the par-3 15th hole in the third round of the FedEx Cup playoff finale at East Lake Golf Club on Saturday. He ended up making double bogey to fall to 14-under par. At the same time, Patrick Cantlay made the second of two straight birdies on the 17th hole to move to 15-under and take the lead that Fleetwood had enjoyed all day, at times by as many as three strokes. At the end of the day, Fleetwood overcame the mishap and he and Cantlay stand tied for the lead at 16-under going into Sunday's final round. Fleetwood (67) bounced back from the water ball with a birdie on the 16th hole to move back into a tie with Cantlay at 15-under. Cantlay (64) answered back with birdie on the 18th to move to 16-under. Fleetwood then birdied the 17th and parred the 18th. Cantlay, the 2021 FedEx Cup champion, birdied the final three holes and four of the last five. Russell Henley (69), who shared the second-round lead with Fleetwood, is third at 14-under. Keegan Bradley (63) is fourth at 13-under. Scottie Scheffler is still lurking. The world's No. 1 golfer and leader in the FedEx Cup point standings started the third round five shots back of Fleetwood and Henley. He trended in the wrong direction with bogeys on the first two holes. However, birdies in five of the next eight holes righted his round. He stands in fifth at 12-under (66). Bradley added suspense with big drama inside the tournament. The U.S. Ryder Cup captain stands at 13-under to move into serious contention. His round included an eagle from the fairway on the par-5 sixth hole and ended with three straight birdies. Bradley has six captain's picks to make for the Ryder Cup team on Wednesday. The question is whether he should choose himself, becoming the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. That year's international competition was also played at East Lake. "I was so tired Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday," said Bradley, who admitted to being preoccupied with Ryder Cup decisions and strategy this week. "I was really just truthfully trying to get through this week. This is a bit surprising, but just I really played spectacularly today. I'm really proud of this round." Fleetwood is close enough to taste his first PGA Tour victory -- again. His near misses have been well documented. He entered the Tour Championship fifth in the points standings, the highest-ranked player in the 30-player field without a win. In the past two weeks, he has finished tied for fourth and tied for third in the playoff events, the St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship. Fleetwood also has seven top-10 finishes this year and a total of 30 top-fives without a victory. Rain fell throughout the day, necessitating the preferred lie rule for the third straight day, but play was never in jeopardy of being halted. Scoring was up significantly in the third round after two days of record scoring. In the first two rounds, a tournament record was set with 13 rounds of 64 or better, reached after just 36 holes. Only Bradley and Cantlay went that low on Saturday. In the first two rounds, only five players shot over par. On Sunday, nine players did so. --Chris Vivlamore, Field Level Media
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