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As reported by The National, Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths believes Rangers chief Dave King is talking nonsense with his recent comments about how far the Hoops should be ahead of the Ibrox club.

What’s the story?

The new season hasn’t even started yet and already Celtic and Rangers are dominating the headlines with a war of words that’s sure to get fans chatting feverishly.

The Hoops of course are in buoyant mood after an unbeaten domestic season that saw them pick up all three trophies available to them Scotland and finish a massive 39 points ahead of Rangers.

That gap is not big enough though, according to Dave King.

As quoted by The National, the senior Rangers man said:

Given that we were in the wilderness for four years I don’t think Celtic did as much in that four years as they could have done. We are clearly behind them squad-wise but I really would expect to give them a run.

However Leigh Griffiths is having none of it and hit back, slamming King’s comments as ludicrous and insisting that the gap between the two clubs could not be any wider than it is right now.

As quoted by The National, the Celtic striker said:

What was the gulf, 30-odd points? How big does he expect it to be? The first game they got hammered 5-1, they got hammered 5-1 in the last game of the season. The gulf couldn’t be any bigger. They will be trying this season to bridge the gap but for (King) to come out and say we should be further ahead is ludicrous really.

Strong words there from the Hoops striker but you can’t really argue with his logic. With Rangers out of the top-flight, Celtic have won every league available to them and recruited lots of young, exciting talent that are currently wowing fans on a consistent basis.

Until Rangers start to close the gap on the pitch, jibes at the Hoops off the pitch are going to feel very hollow indeed.

Tottenham Hotspur fans have been left disappointed after the club offloaded young goalkeeper Luke McGee on a permanent basis.

On Wednesday, the Premier League runners-up confirmed on Twitter that the 21-year-old has joined Portsmouth.

McGee spent five years of his career at Spurs, developing in their youth academy before turning professional in 2014.

The shot-stopper was sent on loan to Peterborough United last season, making 45 appearances and keeping 10 clean sheets in the process.

Despite his impressive performances in League One, gaining a first-team debut for Tottenham was unlikely and as a result, McGee has moved on.

It is disappointing given that Spurs have become known for giving their youngsters a chance, but for goalkeepers it is even more difficult as first-choice members can keep their number one spot for years without being dropped.

Tottenham are yet to bring in any new players in this transfer window, so seeing one go was not the best news for the fans, although many wished him luck.

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Leeds United completed the signing of Everton centre-back Matthew Pennington on a season-long loan deal on Wednesday.

The Whites have been looking to strengthen at the heart of the defence after Kyle Bartley’s return to Swansea City following a successful season-long loan spell, with Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper the only centre-backs that have travelled on their pre-season trip to Austria.

However, the former is banned for the opening two games of the upcoming Championship campaign which meant the swoop for Pennington was much needed.

The 22-year-old, who can also play at right-back, has made nine appearances in all competitions for the Toffees, and scored in the Merseyside derby at Anfield last season.

He may not be the last centre-half arrival at Elland Road this summer though and Thomas Christiansen will almost certainly be looking at other potential additions to add more depth to his squad.

Here are three more centre-backs Leeds should target after Pennington…

Tommy Elphick

The former Bournemouth captain would have expected to play a big part for Aston Villa in the Championship last season having joined from the Cherries in the summer.

However, the manager that brought him to Villa Park – Roberto Di Matteo – was sacked in October and when Steve Bruce took over, Elphick often found himself on the substitutes’ bench with James Chester and Nathan Baker preferred ahead of him.

The addition of John Terry has pushed the 29-year-old even further down the pecking order and he may well leave in the coming weeks.

A leader and with experience of winning promotion to the Premier League, he could be a smart addition to the Leeds backline.

Aden Flint

If Leeds are looking to bring in a commanding and talented centre-back to play alongside Pontus Jansson, they could be attempted to launch a big bid for Bristol City’s Flint.

The 6’5” defender has been an impressive figure in the Robins backline over the course of the last four seasons and as well as his abilities from a defensive point of view, he is also a huge threat at the other end of the pitch and has scored a remarkable 26 goals in all competitions during the previous three campaigns.

Holger Badstuber

While it may seem unlikely considering he has just been released by Bayern Munich, Badstuber is yet to find a new club and Leeds could be tempted to make an audacious swoop to try and sign the 28-year-old.

The centre-back has struggled with injuries over the course of the last few years and struggled to break into the Bundesliga giants’ team as a result, and he made 12 appearances in all competitions during a loan spell with Schalke during the second-half of the previous campaign.

With 31 Germany caps to his name there is no doubt that he would be a massive signing for the Yorkshire outfit, and he would be able to make the step up to the Premier League if Thomas Christiansen’s men find themselves in the Premier League in a year’s time.

Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.

According to reports in The Mirror, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has said that he would be powerless to stop the club selling Eden Hazard.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Mirror says that speculation is growing over the future of the Belgium international – who missed the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal on Sunday because of injury – who is on the radar of Real Madrid.

The Mirror adds that Barcelona could show an interest in the 26-year-old after selling Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for £199m and Blues boss Conte says it would out of his hands if the Premier League holders decide to cash in on the impressive forward.

What did he say?

Prior to the Community Shield defeat, Conte was asked how much the Belgian would be worth and he replied: “I expect Eden to play with Chelsea. But I wouldn’t know a value.

“I have great consideration for this player. He is a top player. But I’m the coach. I can give my opinion but the final decision is with the club.”

How good was Hazard last season?

Having won the PFA Player of the Year award in 2015, the Belgian suffered a disappointing 2015/16 campaign but he was back to his best last season as Chelsea regained the Premier League title they lost to Leicester City in 2016.

The 26-year-old scored 16 goals and provided a further five assists in 36 top flight appearances as the Blues cruised to the trophy.

Will Real Madrid or Barcelona bid before the window closes?

While the former look unlikely to submit a huge bid for Hazard this summer, Barcelona could certainly be a dark horse as they look to replace Neymar with a big-money signing that can perform on a consistent basis alongside Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi.

Would the club really consider letting him go?

It seems unlikely.

Chelsea already look set to be out with Diego Costa this season and taking Hazard out of that team too would dent their chances of retaining their Premier League title and make a significant impact on their return to the group stages of the Champions League.

In addition, they would need to replace the Belgian with a top-class addition and they are running out of time to do that with the summer transfer window closing at the end of this month.

Former West Ham United striker Dean Ashton believes that the board should go easy on manager Slaven Bilic.

The Croatian, who was under pressure at times last season, has not overseen the best start to the current campaign.

The Hammers have lost all three of their Premier League matches, conceding 10 goals in the process.

In two of the outings, Bilic’s men failed to get on the scoresheet, and so far the team have only netted twice, both were scored by Javier Hernandez.

The former Manchester United striker moved to the London Stadium during an exciting summer for the club as they also recruited Pablo Zabaleta, Joe Hart and Marko Arnautovic.

However, the positive results are yet to come, which has led to suggestions that Bilic’s time could be up.

According to The Telegraph, the 48-year-old has four games to turn the club’s fortunes around or risked getting sacked.

After the international break, West Ham will return to their home of the London Stadium, which was used earlier this month to stage the World Athletics Championships.

Ashton, who played for the Hammers between 2006 and 2009, believes that Bilic, who comes to the end of his contract next summer, has been unlucky with injuries to the team.

The former striker told talkSPORT:

“I don’t think that’s fair. When you bring in new signings you’ve got to be given time to bed them in, and that means more than six or seven games.

“They do look very poor defensively, and their organisation has also been very poor – [Bilic] switches from a four to a three quite regularly as if he’s not quite sure about his starting line-up at the back.

“But once he gets his injured players back – Manuel Lanzini, Michail Antonio and Andy Carroll will make a huge difference to the starting XI. He should be given a little bit more time.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp delivered some bad news on Tuesday with regards to Nathaniel Clyne’s fitness.

The 26-year-old has not played since mid-July when he came on as a substitute in a pre-season friendly against Tranmere Rovers.

A back injury has been the reason for his absence, but a timeline for recovery remains uncertain.

Questions were raised when Clyne was not included in Liverpool’s Champions League squad, which suggests that the right-back will be on the sidelines until the New Year.

Klopp attempted to clarify the confusion surrounding the England international’s absence, and it looks like a frustrating road to recovery for the former Southampton man.

The German coach told the club’s official website:

“Nathaniel is working hard on his rehab and we have kept a close eye on his progress, but the reality is we are looking at some time still before he is back and available for selection. I am told it will be longer than just a couple of weeks, so we will continue to monitor and assess.

“It is pretty certain he’ll not be available for the majority of the Champions League group matches. If we are fortunate enough to still be in UEFA competition in the New Year he could be added to the squad then.

“The medical guys are pleased with how he is responding and Nathaniel has shown a really strong attitude, given he is not someone who is used to being out injured.

The right-back duty has been juggled between Joe Gomez and academy product Trent Alexander-Arnold, both of whom have looked steady in the role.

It seems that the vacancy will continue to be up for grabs for some time while Clyne works on his rehabilitation.

After Klopp gave some insight into the situation, Liverpool fans delivered their thoughts on Twitter.

When Stoke snapped up Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting this summer, the rest of the Premier League hardly batted an eye. Rather tellingly, the Potters signed the 45-cap Cameroon international on a free transfer in August, meaning no pre-contract agreement was in place, suggesting he wasn’t Mark Hughes’ first choice of centre-forward during the summer.

But the African attacker may have already etched his name into Stoke folklore after producing one of the performances of his career against Manchester United on Saturday. After three solid if unspectacular early outings in the Premier League, Choupo-Moting truly came to life against the Red Devils, scoring twice to seal an impressive point for the Potters.

That was by no means the 6 foot 3 forward’s only significant contribution, however, in what was a phenomenal all-round display from the former Schalke man. Tellingly of how many problems he caused United’s backline, he produced the most efforts at goal, completed the most dribbles and won the most aerial duels of any Stoke player.

But more than simply wreaking havoc in the final third, Choupo-Moting also ranked first throughout both teams for successful tackles, highlighting how he made a huge impact out of possession as well.

It’s still incredibly early days in Choupo-Moting’s Premier League career but considering how far he slipped under the radar and that didn’t cost Stoke a penny in transfer fees, he’s already making a decent case for himself as one of the top flight’s signing of the summer.

Arsenal picked up a vital three points on Sunday, keeping pace with the teams above them in the English Premier League with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium.

On the 21st anniversary of Arsene Wenger’s arrival at the club, the Gunners delivered the kind of routine win that Arsenal fans have grown accustomed to in those years.

Nacho Monreal and Alex Iwobi were the unlikely goalscorers that provided victory, neither had netted prior this season prior to today’s fixture.

Getting a goal was especially important for Iwobi, who Arsenal fans are desperate to see emerge into an attacking talent that can be relied upon when players like Mesut Ozil are missing.

The Nigerian international hasn’t had the best of starts to the 2017/18 season but this goal should do him the world of good and give him the confidence to shine in the weeks to come.

Gunners supporters were certainly delighted with his showing and took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

As reported by The Daily Mirror, Arsenal are interested in signing Manchester United star Anthony Martial.

What’s the story?

With Alexis Sanchez’s contract at the club running out at the end of the season and no sign of his situation at the Emirates being resolved, Arsenal fans are growing anxious they will be left without a prolific goalscoring threat should he leave.

It seems the club are already planning ahead though. The Daily Mirror reckon the Gunners are plotting a stunning move for Manchester United man Martial as that direct Sanchez replacement.

The United forward, who the paper say joined the club for £58m, isn’t exactly first choice under Jose Mourinho and that’s left Arsene Wenger hopefully he might be eager to make the switch south, according to the report.

Massive threat

Despite often limited to substitute appearances and starts in cup competitions, Anthony Martial has still managed to forge a prolific path at Manchester United, scoring goals and setting up assists with the regularity that could make him a success at Arsenal.

In 100 appearances for the Red Devils, he’s scored 30 goals and assists 23 more, which isn’t a bad return at all for a player still just 21 years of age.

He may not be quite at the level of Alexis Sanchez, but his ability to play wide or through the middle mirrors the Chilean and his goal contribution isn’t too dissimilar either.

His potential is limitless and with the guidance of Arsene Wenger and the responsibility of being Arsenal’s main man should Sanchez leave, that potential could be realised at the Emirates.

Newcastle United were beaten 1-0 on the road for the third time in the Premier League this season when they lost against Burnley at Turf Moor on Monday night, with Ayoze Perez partly at fault for Jeff Hendrick’s goal after he lost possession.

The Spaniard has started all 10 of the Magpies’ top flight fixtures in the No 10 position this season, but he has picked up just one goal and one assist in that time, and his disappointing showing against the Clarets may have proven to be the final straw for some of the Toon faithful, who want to see more from a player featuring in that role behind the lone striker.

Rafa Benitez has substituted the 24-year-old off in the last three matches to suggest that he isn’t completely satisfied, but the former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss doesn’t exactly have a wealth of options to choose from if he wants to drop him from the starting XI.

However, midfielder Jonjo Shelvey could prove to be an inspired choice in that role given the attributes that he has and the form he has shown at times already this term.

Here are three reasons he should replace Perez in the No 10 position…

Creative ability

With 15 assists in 69 appearances in all competitions for Newcastle and 18 in 96 for Swansea City previously – most from a deep midfield position – it is clear to see that Shelvey has the ability to create good chances for his teammates.

The 25-year-old has a brilliant range of passing – as he showed with the defence-splitting ball he played for Joselu’s goal against Newcastle earlier in the season –and his quality in possession and the fact that he can play perfectly-weighted passes should mean that he is more effective in the No 10 role than someone like Perez.

Physical attributes

You can come up against some big defensive midfielders when you play in the No 10 role in the Premier League – think Victor Wanyama or Nemanja Matic for example – and while someone like Perez can easily get bullied, you wouldn’t see it fazing someone like Shelvey.

The 25-year-old isn’t afraid of a battle and is relatively tall and strong, while he also has the ability and confidence to beat his opponents having successfully completed all three of the take-ons he has attempted in seven top flight appearances this season.

Central midfield competition

While Perez doesn’t have too much competition in the No 10 role, it is a different story for Rafa Benitez when it comes to his central midfield options.

At the current time Shelvey, Isaac Hayden, Mikel Merino and even Mo Diame are competing for a spot in the middle of the park, with two missing out in the preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.

Howver, playing the likes of Hayden and Merino – who have both proven they are worthy starts and impressive performers already this term – together would allow Benitez to play Shelvey in a more advanced role in place of an out of form Perez without having to worry about the impact it could have on the team defensively.

Do you agree, Magpies fans? Let us know below.