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With David Moyes’ West Ham United side securing a famous 3-2 victory at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon, it feels somewhat harsh to take aim at one of the club’s less experienced players for his display against an incredibly impressive Chelsea team.

However, it is, unfortunately, an unavoidable conclusion to draw from the fixture that 21-year-old Ben Johnson had something of a shocker against Thomas Tuchel’s side, a fact that, in being pointed out, is quite literally adding insult to injury – as the right-back was withdrawn shortly before half-time after pulling his hamstring.

Indeed, while it cannot be argued that Johnson is one of the most promising defensive talents to graduate from the Hammers academy in recent seasons, over his 45 minutes on the pitch against Chelsea, the versatile right-back far from enjoyed his finest game in claret and blue.

Being deployed on the opposite flank against the then-table-toppers, the £2.7m-rated man endured a rather torrid afternoon up against Hakim Ziyech and Reece James, managing a grand total of just 26 touches of the ball – 12 fewer than Lukasz Fabianski between the West Ham sticks – completed a mere six of his 12 attempted passes and lost possession of the ball on ten separate occasions.

The £19k-per-week defender also lost both of his two attempted duels – a failure rate of 100% – made no tackles, failed with all three of his attempted crosses and gave away one foul.

These returns saw the youngster receive a very disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.4, with no other player who started for the Hammers earning a lower score.

Indeed, Football.London journalist Tom Clarke also awarded the fan-favourite the joint-lowest score in his own West Ham match ratings, stating of Johnson: “Unfortunate to be injured and out of position for Mason Mount’s goal but had found himself beaten a couple of times by Ziyech on the left – 6.”

As such, while the 21-year-old who Moyes dubbed a “really important” player will undoubtedly bounce back following his recovery from injury, this was far from his finest display for the Hammers, and is a performance he will be hoping to put behind him as quickly as possible.

In other news: Forget Bowen: West Ham’s “fantastic” 5-tackle beast seized his “big chance” vs Chelsea

Glasgow Rangers are reportedly now in a ‘strong position’ to sign Danilho Doekhi in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Souttar in

It has now been confirmed that John Souttar has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Ibrox faithful from Hearts, and he may even be able to play from this month if a further agreement can be made.

A few central defenders for the Teddy Bears are facing uncertain futures, and so bringing in a new centre-back was vital.

In truth, they could do with another one as well, given that both Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun’s contracts are up in the summer, with no sign of them renewing as of yet.

The Latest: Doekhi next?

As per The Athletic journalist Jordan Campbell, the Light Blues are now in a ‘strong position’ to sign Doekhi, after confirming Souttar’s signing.

The Dutchman is also a player whose contract is up in the summer, and so he could also be very attainable this month.

The Verdict: No-brainer

Assuming both Goldson and Balogun leave, it would be a no-brainer to sign Doekhi up alongside Souttar.

He has been described as having ‘all the ingredients’ for a good centre-half by Dutch football agent Freddy van der Hoorn, as he is ‘aggressive’ being six-foot-three, but also ‘very comfortable’ on the ball as well (Rangers Review).

Doekhi has also hinted himself that he would like the move, claiming that he is ‘flattered’ by the Gers’ interest, and that they are a ‘very beautiful’ club (de Gelderlander).

Nonetheless, to play under Dutch legend Giovanni van Bronckhorst could well be a match made in heaven.

In other news, find out what transfer update has Gers buzzing here!

Former Hull City striker Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that Ryan Mason has got a difficult job on his hands dealing with some “big egos” in the Tottenham dressing room.

The former Spurs midfielder, who was forced to retire after fracturing his skull against Chelsea in 2017, has been placed in interim charge following the sacking of Jose Mourinho on Monday.

Tottenham confirmed 24 hours later than the 29-year-old will be in the dugout for their remaining six Premier League games and Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.

Mason has no managerial experience, but has been part of Spurs’ coaching staff for three years as an academy coach and head of player development.

But Mason played together at Tottenham with no less than 10 of the current first-team squad, including Gareth Bale, Heung Min Son, Dele Alli and Harry Kane.

And Windass, who knows Mason personally through his time with Hull City, believes that he faces some tough challenges in the weeks ahead.

He told Football FanCast:

“I know Ryan, an ex-Hull City player. It’s a tough one for Ryan, he’s a quiet lad, and Ledley King is there as an ambassador.

“But there’s some big egos, big earners, but Ryan Mason will be pals with all of them because he’s been at the club.

“But it’s going to be a tough job for them, but they will be looking forward to it, but it will be interesting to see what team he plays on Wednesday.”

Manchester United have appointed Erik ten Hag as their new manager to join the club this summer, and with a new manager, there will likely be new signings with speculation already mounting on who the Dutch coach will bring in to start his revolution at the Premier League club.

The Red Devils have struggled this season and become the centre of a media frenzy with the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and reported dressing room leaks constantly hitting the headlines amongst poor form in all competitions on the pitch with the side entering their longest trophy drought in 40 years and looking unlikely to secure a top-four finish in the few remaining games.

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With that being said, Ten Hag has clearly been brought into the club to reinstate the identity and to improve the mentality amongst the players, something he can achieve by bringing in new players to begin a new era and a fresh start at Man United.

The midfield is one of the key areas that has been targeted for desperate improvement, and one player who has been linked to the club this week that would drastically improve the centre of the pitch is Frenkie de Jong.

The £164k-per-week ace who was hailed “amazing” and a “genius” by his manager Xavi, would be a huge upgrade in Man United’s midfield next season to replace Scott McTominay when you compare the pair on effectiveness for their respective teams.

For Barcelona, De Jong has scored two more goals and assists, completed over 300 more passes, has a better pass accuracy, completes more take-ons and has a higher ground duel success rate (64.2%) compared to Scott McTominay at United in the Premier League this season, per Squawka.

Manchester United will reportedly (via Sport) give ten Hag £210m to spend this summer, and the 24-year-old has become a prime target for the Ajax boss who will have full involvement in the transfer dealings at Old Trafford during his three-year contract.

Ultimately, the Dutch tactician will have a large workload when it comes to reviving the club from its current state, and along with identifying new signings will also need to make the right decisions when it comes to replacing and moving on players this summer to give Manchester United the best chance next season.

AND in other news: Man Utd plot bid for “special” 52-goal “wizard”, it’s an instant ten Hag masterclass

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League striker Marlon Harewood is refusing to consider Sam Allardyce’s complaints about West Brom’s recent schedule.

The West Brom boss has not been happy with the scheduling of some of the Baggies’ recent fixtures, going as far as to say those working for the Premier League are “helping” the club to get relegated.

Allardyce’s side were made to play Newcastle United last Sunday, 60 hours after taking on Everton, a tight turnaround. Harewood, though, has little sympathy for the ex-England manager, feeling the hectic Premier League schedule is something people should be used to by now.

Reacting to Allardyce’s comments in an Exclusive interview with FFC, Harewood said:

“It’s just crazy. I do find that [crazy], when managers and people moan, obviously you knew the schedule from the beginning of the season, so you have to plan. Everyone has to plan, especially with injuries and stuff, you can’t put it down to injuries. You have a squad, you have a 24-man squad and you play them how you see fit to play them.”

The former West Ham and Aston Villa forward later added: “So like when Sam Allardyce’s talking about stuff like that, because I respect him, because he’s a great manager, but at the same time, you just got to get on with it.”

Next up for West Brom is a trip to Selhurst Park to take on Allardyce’s former side Crystal Palace.

The Eagles’ form in front of goal has not been great of late, blanking in consecutive home games against Fulham and Manchester United before Christian Benteke’s header in their 4-1 defeat to Tottenham last time out.

It is one area the Baggies could try and exploit as they desperately try to pick up some points with time running out for them.

Writing on Twitter, relaying information from colleague David Ornstein, The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke has shared ‘another dramatic twist’ in the Tottenham Hotspur managerial saga.

The Lowdown: Spurs manager hunt continues, still…

It’s been two months since Tottenham sacked Jose Mourinho as head coach in late April, and many can be forgiven for thinking the Lilywhites would have their new man by now.

Julian Nagelsmann and Brendan Rodgers were thought to be top contenders for the role early on, but after those moves became unlikely, Spurs turned their attention to other names.

Thereafter, the club very publicly entered talks with both Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte, but those negotiations also eventually failed.

More recently, Spurs have turned to Italy in chases for experienced Serie A bosses and at one point looked very likely to appoint former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca as Mourinho’s heir.

Alas, that also didn’t materialise, with Pitt-Brooke now relaying another twist in the Spurs manager chase.

The Latest: Pitt-Brooke relays Spurs manager twist…

Tottenham turned their attention to ex-AC Milan manager Gennaro Gattuso as another candidate out of Italy.

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However, as backed by Pitt-Brooke and Ornstein, Spurs have pulled out of those discussions as well.

Sharing a piece in The Athletic by his colleague, which detailed Spurs’ decision to halt talks with the Italian, Pitt-Brooke explained on social media: “Here we go again! Tottenham pulled out of Gattuso move last night. Another dramatic twist in the head coach search saga.”

As written by Ornstein in the piece, conversations took place between Spurs and the 43-year-old, but he will not be getting the job.

There was huge backlash from Spurs supporters with ‘#NoToGattuso’ even trending on Twitter in the United Kingdom at one point.

Those fans also shared alleged comments once made by Gattuso in regards to women in football, same-sex marriage and racism.

The Verdict: Dodged a bullet…

We believe that Spurs pulling out of talks with Gattuso should come as a sigh of relief to many supporters.

As a player, the once tenacious midfielder was revered in Italy and a member of their 2006 World Cup-winning squad, but it’s safe to say he hasn’t replicated those heroics as a coach.

Despite winning the Coppa Italia with Napoli in 2019/2020, his only trophy to date, Gattuso’s managerial experience is limited to that and two brief seasons at Milan – where he couldn’t win anything.

His fiery nature and the fact he left the post at Fiorentina after just 23 days over a disagreement on transfer strategy point towards a match made in hell for Daniel Levy.

In other news: ‘Now all parties confident’…Fabrizio Romano makes exciting Tottenham claim, find out more here.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been reacting after it emerged that a couple of billboards celebrating the club’s 55th Premiership title have been damaged.

The Gers are still basking in the glory of their latest trophy. It has been a dominant campaign for the Ibrox outfit – they have already won the league with five games remaining and are currently 20 points clear of their closest rivals in the table, Celtic (BBC). It has been a season that Rangers fans will never forget.

To celebrate the success, billboards were erected in Glasgow displaying messaging in support of the Rangers squad. However, photos have now emerged showing those billboards to have been damaged (via Vital Rangers). Clearly, there are some in the city who are far from happy that the Gers have won the title.

The photos of the damaged billboards attracted plenty of attention on Twitter, and these fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the matter. Indeed, they managed to see a positive side to the vandalism.

Let’s see what these Rangers fans had to say below

“It’s only a game….”

Credit: @fumefox

“superb”

Credit: @ThomasHannigan9

“55 has destroyed them”

Credit: @TheBluezulu2

“That makes them even better”

Credit: @geomac24

“Lovely to see, it means they’re hurting!”

Credit: @BFPO107

“Makes it all the better ,shows how much its hurting them”

Credit: @1873Rickster

In other news, some Rangers fans rage at this official club release.

Manchester City edged an exciting contest as they beat Newcastle United 4-3 at St James’ Park on Friday evening, with a goal from Joao Cancelo and a hattrick from Ferran Torres sealing the win for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Despite a dominant start, Emil Krafth headed Steve Bruce’s side in front from a corner, before Cancelo’s deflected strike brought City level.

Torres put the Citizens in front with a superb flick from Ilkay Gundogan’s free-kick but it would be 2-2 just before half-time, as Joelinton smashed a penalty past City debutant Scott Carson.

Another penalty in the second half put the hosts back ahead, as Joe Willock scored the rebound after Carson had saved his initial shot but a quickfire double from Torres sealed his hattrick and was enough to seal the win for Guardiola’s side.

Although City produced some superb attacking play at St James’ Park, one man who was barely involved and struggled throughout the game was Raheem Sterling.

As per SofaScore, the England international would earn a disappointing 6.3/10 rating for his performance, which was the worst of any City player to feature in the game.

Despite Guardiola’s side having nearly all of the possession on Friday evening, Sterling was seemingly doing his best to lose it, as he would concede possession on 20 occasions during the game, which was the most of any City player.

The former Liverpool man had no shots, would complete just two out of six of his dribbles and managed just one key pass during the game, which is below his Premier League average of 2.3 shots, 2.2 dribbles and 1.2 key passes per game this season.

The “special” 26-year-old was regularly pushed off the ball and didn’t look up for the game, as he won just 4/14 of his duels at St James’ Park, which is a disappointment for someone who should be pushing for a starting spot ahead of the Champions League final later this month.

Certainly, when you consider the excellent performance from Torres, as well as the impressive recent displays of Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez, it now seems extremely unlikely that Sterling will start the game against Chelsea, and he has likely blown his last chance to impress Guardiola before the final.

And, in other news… Man City set for huge boost with “fantastic” beast, Pep surely buzzing

According to La Republicca (via Sport Witness), Southampton are interested in signing Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha.

The Lowdown: Saints have goalkeeper dilemma

Ralph Hasenhuttl has flitted between goalkeepers so far this term, with Alex McCarthy and Fraser Forster both earning considerable time between the sticks.

There have even been suggestions the boss is not sure who his number one goalkeeper is (Hampshire Live).

The Latest: Southampton eye Strakosha

Now, it has been reported Southampton are interested in signing 26-year-old Strakosha.

He has previously been linked with a €50m (£43m) move to Liverpool, but this latest rumour says Lazio would be willing to let the Albania international depart for a far lower fee.

The Verdict: Top quality

This term has not been the best for Strakosha – he has made just eight appearances in Serie A (FBRef) – which may be a reason for his reduced transfer price. However, in the previous four campaigns, he averaged a save percentage ratio of over 73% – very solid for any goalkeeper in one of Europe’s top five leagues.

By goalkeeper’s standards, he is young, and has plenty of time ahead of him to improve. While Hasenhuttl previously said the Saints can only spend up to £10m per player this summer (Sky Sports), the south-coast outfit may be willing to be flexible on Strakosha, who is currently valued at £16.2m (Transfermarkt).

In other news, Southampton are interested in this Chelsea midfielder.

Celtic-linked free agent Robbie Brady is set for a surprise move to Turkish side Gaziantep, Lancashire Live report.

The Lowdown: Celtic rumours

Brady was linked with a move to Parkhead back in February when Neil Lennon was still in charge of Celtic.

Rumours of the Republic of Ireland international moving to Scotland re-emerged at the end of May after he left Burnley.

Ange Postecoglou was quizzed specifically on bringing Brady to the club, but as we know, the left-midfielder wasn’t one of 12 Celtic signings.

The Latest: Turkey move

Lancashire Live shared a story on Brady on Wednesday, claiming the winger is close to a move to Gaziantep.

The Super Lig side boasts a number of international footballers in their squad, and it is believed Brady would be viewed as a marquee signing, should a move go through.

The Verdict: Not a major blow for Celtic

Celtic brought in plenty of attacking talent in Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada, Filipe Jota and Georgios Giakoumakis, so missing out on Brady shouldn’t be an issue.

He could’ve brought plenty of experience to the Hoops, however, Postecoglou did just that with Joe Hart and James McCarthy joining.

The 35-goal free agent now looks as if he is heading to Turkey, though, and it’s not as if Celtic haven’t had the chance to act, so we suspect Dominic McKay and Postecoglou decided the aforementioned names are better options.

In other news: Another Celtic summer signing, as well as Urhoghide, isn’t impressing under Ange, says Devlin.