Sunderland have looked to operate quickly in the transfer market and the unveiling of Kyle Lafferty as their latest signing has been warmly greeted by fans.

The club confirmed the signing on Friday with the 32-year-old signing a deal until the end of the season, and such a small time frame should motivate the striker to play to his best in order to earn a renewal and perhaps the chance to play in the Championship. Initially, he will be with the Black Cats until the summer.

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Lafferty was a popular figure in Scotland during spells at Rangers and Hearts – as evidenced by the well wishes sent to him – and it could be a similar story at the Stadium of Light, with some supporters already growing fond of him and pleased that he has arrived, while others are looking forward to seeing him in action soon.

Some fans looked towards the future with a sense of optimism, hoping he either scores a hat-trick in their next outing or even finds the back of the net with a winning goal.

If he can provide what is expected of him and score goals to lift the Black Cats higher up the league then he may become the first-choice striker and maybe even a fan favourite.

League One will be a new experience for him but he has spoken of his happiness at signing for the club so it could be a good fit if the team plays to his strengths.

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Some fans are just satisfied that his arrival should see Will Grigg slip down the pecking order, and they feel that the Northern Ireland international can do no worse than his compatriot who has just one goal all term in the league.

Elsewhere, fans have also been discussing another Sunderland player after he achieved a big milestone recently.

West Ham United have signed Darren Randolph from Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee, as reported by the club’s official channels.

The 32-year-old signed on a three-and-a-half-year deal on his return to the Hammers, making the step up from the Championship.

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He is likely to come in as a backup option for Lukasz Fabianski when the Poland international is available.

There are plenty of West Ham fans who are underwhelmed by the acquisition of the Republic of Ireland international.

This stance was indicated by one fan sarcastically saying “next level stuff”, while another has referred to the move as “pathetic”.

Having somebody come in who made 28 league appearances across two seasons as a goalkeeper is not exactly the most exciting move.

There are also concerns around his injury record, as he has already missed 13 league matches this season, with one fan putting “#incompetentboard” at the end of their tweet showing disgruntlement.

This stance comes with Lukasz Fabianski and David Martin both having suffered from injuries of their own this campaign.

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When looking at the deal, one of the fans insisted that you “can’t get more West Ham than that”.

Meanwhile, West Ham would be wasting their time with a move for a Serie A midfielder.

Rangers return to action this evening following a winter break in Dubai.

It’s been nearly three weeks since the Gers were last in action against Celtic prior to the turn of the year, and fans will be excited to see their side back in action when they take on Stranraer at Ibrox this evening.

Ahead of the game, Steven Gerrard appeared in front of the media alongside summer recruit George Edmundson.

A reporter noted Edmundson’s presence and asked the manager if there was anything to read into that, which Gerrard candidly replied to by stating “he’s starting against Stranraer”.

The central defender has only played in 104 SPFL minutes since he moved to the club from Oldham in July, but it appears the fans have been impressed by the rare glimpses they’ve caught.

Indeed, Edmundson commanded plenty of effusive praise from fans on Twitter after hearing he will start this evening.

These fans, meanwhile, simply offered general encouragement to the man they call “the fridge”.

Let’s hope he moves with a little more mobility than a fridge this evening…

Finally some other fans expressed their high hopes for his future at the club.

The 22-year-old has been a bit-part player at best – turning out in just 464 minutes across all competitions so far this season – but he’s done enough during his time on the pitch to convince two supporters that he’s destined for a bright future.

In other news, these fans were furious with pundit’s valuation of a key Rangers player…

Hugo Lloris says Tottenham Hotspur will not give up on potentially qualifying for the Champions League, per The Independent.

What’s he said?

Lloris made a surprise return from injury on Wednesday night, starting between the sticks as Spurs won 2-1 against Daniel Farke’s men.

Goals from Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min proved decisive as Spurs cut the gap to Chelsea, in fourth place, to six points.

Spurs still have to play the Blues before the season is out and Lloris is confident that he and his team-mates have their destiny in their own hands.

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He said: “We know it’s not the best season of the last five years but we need to stick together, carry on and get the maximum points as possible.

“We can see it’s not easy for the other challengers for the top four and today the situation is we’re six points behind Chelsea.

“We need to keep believing in ourselves and keep going until the end.

“We know there will be a lot of chances to get back but it’s up to us. We always talk about consistency in the Premier League and it will be the key to get a few wins in a row.

“At the moment it’s not the case but we try to build something, especially in terms of confidence, to get back in the right way.

“We are positive in the changing room and that’s the only thing that matters today.”

Must improve

Spurs were poor against Norwich.

They may have won but this was an ill-disciplined display from Jose Mourinho’s side.

They allowed Norwich, the team currently bottom of the Premier League table, to have 12 shots on goal, per WhoScored, and almost allowed them to snatch a point, conceding a penalty that Teemu Pukki converted.

With a tough run of games coming up – they face Manchester City in the league after an FA Cup meeting with Southampton at St Mary’s – Spurs can ill-afford to play as badly as they did on Wednesday.

Failure to improve will only result in the top four slipping further and further away.

Mourinho will be hoping that Lloris’ return coincides with an upturn in the club’s form.

Meanwhile, one image from Spurs’ win over Norwich must result in action in the transfer market! 

Everton fans have taken to Twitter to heap praise on Mason Holgate, following the thrilling 3-2 win over Watford on Saturday.

The 23-year-old was making his 16th start of the Premier League campaign at Vicarage Road, and proceeded to deliver an excellent display as Carlo Ancelotti’s side battled back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, thanks to Theo Walcott’s 90th minute winner.

While he didn’t get on the scoresheet or grab an assist, Holgate was terrific.

The Everton No.2 – lining up alongside two-goal Yerry Mina – recorded one tackle, two interceptions and four clearances, while also completing 59 passes. No player on the pitch made more passes than Holgate.

Additionally, the former Barnsley man had one shot on target, embarked on one dribble and also drew three fouls from the opposition – WhoScored handed him a 7.04 rating for his performance.

The win over Nigel Pearson’s men put Everton into ninth place on 33 points, before Sunday’s Premier League action kicked off.

Let’s see how the Everton fans on Twitter reacted to Holgate’s display…

To kick off the reaction, these two fans couldn’t hide their adoration for the man who spent time on loan at West Brom last season.

@MoistKean9 said “can we just take time to appreciate how good Mason Holgate actually is?”

Jenny then replied to that tweet, saying “I love him” and that no matter where the Englishman plays, he “fits in perfectly” – she also added that Holgate is “one of the first names on my teamsheet”.

Elsewhere, another two supporters were left starry-eyed over Holgate’s display.

‘BirkenheadBlue’ said that the defender “always seems to be a Man of the Match contender” whereas Chris added that Holgate “looks class now he has his mojo back” – this fan also said that the Doncaster-born player was “a victim of Allardyce’s management”.

Lastly, these two fans continued the adoration over the 6 foot man.

Brian said Holgate is “getting better by the game” and that he was Man of the Match against Watford.

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Also, @DockMoore felt he should be given the captain’s armband by Ancelotti, calling Holgate Everton’s “best defender” and mentioning that he has “come on loads this season” – high praise indeed.

In other news, a journalist has talked up this “unlucky” Everton player following the win over Watford…

Paul Merson has rubbished Tottenham Hotspur’s win over Manchester City, insisting that they could have lost 7-0 on another day, per Sky Sports News.

What’s the word?

Spurs recorded a 2-0 win over Pep Guardiola’s side at the weekend, boosting their hopes of a top-four finish.

They subsequently climbed into fifth-place, just four points behind Chelsea, but Merson was less than convinced by the victory.

Per WhoScored, Spurs had just three shots on goal throughout the 90 minutes, while City had 19, with six of the latter on target.

And Merson believes that Jose Mourinho’s men escaped with all three points.

He said: “It was a big win, but it just papered over the cracks, they are a million miles behind – it could have been 6-0 or 7-0 on any other day.

“They rode their luck, but give them credit, they stuck to the game plan and hung in there and got their lucky breaks. And a great goal, as soon as the lad hits it, he is running away as he knows it is a goal.

“But you cannot sit there and say, ‘Mourinho is doing great.’ It was just an absolute run around in my opinion.

“He was brought in to get in the top four and that was a big result towards that though.”

In form

Spurs are actually playing really well under Mourinho.

Per Jonny Blain, who works for the BBC and Sky Sports, on Twitter, Spurs have picked up more points than any other side bar Liverpool, Manchester City and Leicester City since his appointment.

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Merson, though, clearly has some sort of axe to grind and, while he says that this is a “big result” towards the top four, he clearly believes Spurs are way behind City in terms of their development.

As it is, though, Mourinho set up his team to counter-punch their way to victory and it worked.

Merson can criticise them all he likes but, really, he’s missing the point.

Meanwhile, a superstar snubbed Spurs on deadline day!

Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana is interested in joining Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window, according to a report from the Daily Mail.

It is suggested that the shot-stopper is keen to leave the Dutch outfit at the end of the current campaign and wishes to move to the Premier League. He wouldn’t come cheap, however, with a figure between £40-£50 million probably required to secure his services.

Spurs could face competition for the 23-year-old if they did try to sign him, with the player also interested in joining Chelsea (according to the Daily Mail). Spanish giants Barcelona are thought to be keen on him, although a move to England is what Onana prefers. The Cameroonian international has been a regular for Ajax for the last four seasons and was a key member of the side which reached the Champions League semi-finals in the 2018/19 campaign, playing in all 12 games (Transfermarkt).

In the current season, he has managed to keep 13 clean sheets in 32 appearances in all competitions (Transfermarkt) and he averages 1.8 saves per game in the Eredivisie whilst also showing he is adept with his feet, averaging 20.7 accurate passes per match (SofaScore).

However, it seems that plenty of Spurs fans wouldn’t be too keen on signing the young goalkeeper. Some feel that he isn’t that good and that there are better options out there, whilst others are happy with current number one Hugo Lloris and feel that they do not need a new man between the sticks.

Here is what some had to say on Twitter…

Spurs fans, do you want your club to sign Andre Onana in the summer? Let us know below…

Having averaged more than one goal conceded per game (1.35) in his tenure as Arsenal manager, Unai Emery certainly had trouble trying to ensure the Gunners looked defensively solid.

If there were thoughts the former PSG boss could come in and bring some organisation and resilience to the north London side after replacing Arsene Wenger, then it sadly did not prove to be the case.

In his first campaign in charge at the Emirates, the Gunners conceded 51 goals in the Premier League – the exact same amount they let in during Wenger’s final season.

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During the first 13 top-flight matches this season under Emery, Arsenal let in a total of 218 shots on goal, at an average of 16.7 per game. 73 of those attempts were on target, at an average of 5.6 per game.

So when Mikel Arteta replaced the Spaniard as the club’s permanent head coach, the defence understandably was always going to be a priority. When you’ve got someone like last season’s Golden Boot winner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up front, making sure the back-line is tight and secure is always a good place to start – and to the Gunners boss’ credit, he has done exactly that.

Arsenal have conceded just seven goals in seven league games under Arteta, with clean sheets against the likes of Burnley away and Manchester United at home. And when looking at the underlying numbers, it is easy to see why they have made some major strides forward defensively.

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Compared to Emery’s time this season, the Gunners have conceded just 87 total shots at an average of 12.42 per game, whilst only 29 of them have been on target – an average of 4.14 per game. The north Londoners are ensuring Bernd Leno has far less to do now, and that is making life a whole lot easier. It’s quite the damning statement that an Arsenal player is second on the list for most saves made by a Premier League goalkeeper this season, with 93.

Whilst wins have been hard to come by for Arteta – he still only has one win in the Premier League – he has at least ensured the Gunners are now no longer soft touches in defence. And that should be applauded big-time.

Meanwhile, this Arsenal man is enjoying an Oscar-worthy revival at the Emirates.

Alan Hutton has officially announced his retirement from professional football and will be hanging up his boots for good.

And it didn’t really take long for his friends and former teammates to start sending him various messages of support, but John McGinn couldn’t resist sending his with a rather cheeky swipe at one of Hutton’s former clubs, Rangers.

Did he really play for us?! No Villa fan has managed to name all of these obscure Villans….

He congratulated the defender on a “great career from 2008 onwards” on

/B8v-ChxHfeD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram, referencing that it only started after he left Ibrox and went on to play for the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and then Villa.

Of course, with the current Aston Villa player being a big Celtic fan himself, it’s no great surprise that he would take this opportunity to throw some harmless shade on Rangers in the process.

Hutton spent six years at Ibrox but, for McGinn, that part of his career is not really important enough to be acknowledged, so he congratulated him on everything he achieved following his departure from Scotland.

But even with the current Villa man being a Celtic fan, this was still just banter among friends and a tongue-in-cheek example of some old-fashioned football rivalry.

Meanwhile, one Villa loanee has been given a vote of confidence by Kevin Phillips…

The Athletic journalist George Caulkin has given his verdict on whether Newcastle United will remain in the Premier League this season.

What’s he said?

The Magpies have been on a remarkably poor run of form.

Since the turn of the year, they have won just once in the Premier League, beating Chelsea 1-0, and have lost to Leicester City, Arsenal, and, on Saturday, to Crystal Palace. They have also drawn with Norwich City, Everton, and Wolves.

In those seven games, they have scored just four goals, conceded 11, and taken six points from a possible 21. They have been left 14th in the league, seven points clear of the drop zone.

Nevertheless, Caulkin thinks that the club have the ability to remain in the top-flight.

He said in an Athletic Q&A: “My gut feeling is that Newcastle will be okay, but I’m basing that on the number of mediocre teams below them and the cushion they have rather than any real optimism.

“Performances have consistently been terrible all season (in terms of how difficult they are to watch) and now results are keeping pace with them. And they’re perfectly capable of losing 5-6 games in a row.

“Is any other Premier League squad as unbalanced as theirs? The lack of a fit, functioning centre-half is criminal, as is the failure to address their obvious weaknesses in January.

“I think the next couple of games will be pivotal. Steve Bruce will change things in terms of style / formation – I don’t have much doubt about that – but will it be enough? And even if they do survive, the big question has to be about what happens next.”

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Tough run-in

Newcastle face both Liverpool and Manchester City before the end of the season and also play a number of their supposed relegation rivals.

Before the end of the season, Steve Bruce’s side play West Ham United, Watford, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Brighton, who all finished the weekend in the bottom six.

It is key that Newcastle win at least two of those games, then, if they are to climb away from trouble.

But they have won just eight times this season and are yet to string together more than two wins in a row, which they’ve only done on two occasions.

They need to pick their form up if they are to have any hope, and a run of defeats could easily see them slip into the drop zone.

It is crunch time for Bruce’s men.

Meanwhile, Newcastle boss Steve Bruce has been told to start playing one man!