Celtic have reportedly made a £6m offer to sign a new centre-back despite him holding talks with Rangers.
Celtic and Rangers are likely to shop in a similar market in the summer transfer window due to having a similar stature in the game.
The Bhoys could be able to attract a higher-profile player after winning the Scottish Premiership title and qualifying for Champions League football.
Rangers are preparing for life under a new manager after they were forced to replace Danny Rohl, who joined RB Salzburg earlier this month.
The Glasgow giants quickly brought in Derek McInnes from Hearts, and the hierarchy will potentially be looking to back him in the summer transfer market.
Celtic are in the market for attacking reinforcements this summer
Celtic Submit £6m Offer
According to journalist Rudy Galletti, Celtic have submitted an offer in the region of £6m to sign Zinedin Smalkjovic in the summer transfer window.
Rangers have held talks to sign the centre-back, while Olympiacos, Hull City, Fenerbahce, Toulouse, Feyenoord and Lyon are also in the race.
The 6’3″ defender is clearly a wanted man heading into the summer transfer window. Currently plying his trade in the top tier of Norway for Sandefjord.
It’s unclear whether the bid from Celtic is likely to meet the Norwegian side’s asking price, but it would be their biggest ever sale.
Manchester United are in the market to sign a Bundesliga defender in the summer transfer window, according to reports in Germany.
A large percentage of the discourse surrounding United at the moment is around the pursuit of a number of different midfielders.
The Red Devils will likely strengthen in multiple different positions, but it appears that the midfield is a priority position at the moment.
It’s unclear what their next priority will be after bringing in midfielders, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them reinforce the whole squad.
United are back in the Champions League, which means they’ll need a deeper and more competitive squad to deal with the hectic and more difficult fixture schedule.
Signing a centre-back is likely to be low down on United’s shortlist heading into the summer transfer window. Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven and Matthijs de Ligt are Carrick’s current options at the back. It makes little sense to prioritise a move for a new defender unless somebody is set to leave.
Heaven and Yoro are young talents who are yet to reach their full potential, but they are still more than capable of being squad players and making an impact regularly.
If the opportunity arises to bring in a new defender, United might take it, but it feels unlikely that they will go all out to bring one in this summer.
A 2026 World Cup commentator has been banned by FIFA after completely losing his head during the match between Paraguay and Turkey.
Paraguay needed to pick up at least a point after facing defeat to the United States in their opening match of the competition.
They kept their hopes of qualifying for the knockout rounds alive after beating Turkey 1-0 in a hard-fought match. They managed to triumph despite Miguel Almiron being shown a straight red card in first-half stoppage time.
The former Newcastle United midfielder was given his marching orders after covering his mouth during a confrontation. The rule was introduced in this summer’s tournament to stop players concealing racist, discriminatory, or abusive language.
Paraguayan commentator Jorge Vera unleashed an incredible rant on ABC Cardinal after Almiron was shown his marching orders. He started by calling referee Ivan Barton a ‘thief’ before taking aim at FIFA president Gianni Infantino. He raged, per the Mirror:
“Thief, thief, Barton. They killed football. FIFA, you killed football. [Gianni] Infantino, you’re responsible for this. FIFA, take responsibility for turning football into this. A disgrace. You should be ashamed, Infantino.”
He then hit out at CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez. “Alejandro Domínguez, less photos with Infantino. Grow a pair. You f****** thieves!
“What kind of racism could Miguel Almiron possibly use against the Turkish player? Show me some common sense.”
FIFA have reacted to Vera’s outburst by taking away his accreditation for the remainder of the tournament. ABC Cardinal have condemned that decision. They said:
“We believe that the permanent cancellation of a credential for the entire duration of the tournament constitutes an extreme and manifestly disproportionate sanction for a primary infraction that was immediately acknowledged, for which formal apologies and concrete mechanisms for redress were offered.
“The apologies were presented, the error was admitted, and corrective measures were immediately implemented… Correcting errors is necessary. So is ensuring that sanctions are reasonable, proportionate, and compatible with basic principles of justice.
“No sanction should disregard a professional career based on an isolated incident that has been acknowledged and rectified. We trust that FIFA will review its decision and allow proportionality and dialogue to lead us to justice.”
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Vera has taken to social media to apologise for his comments. He said:
“To the public opinion. During the live transmission of the Paraguay-Turkey match, in the heat of the moment and the tension of the broadcast, I made comments that exceeded the limits.
“I used strong expressions and personal attacks against the referee and FIFA officials, which I deeply regret. I recognise that I went too far with my words. I have already sent a formal note of rectification and apologies directly to the FIFA accreditation team, acknowledging the verbal excess caused by the pressure of the live broadcast.
“I want to apologise publicly to FIFA, to the refereeing team, to my colleagues, and especially to the audience for any offense my words may have caused. It was never my intention to attack anyone personally. I got carried away in the emotion of the moment. I take full responsibility for my mistake. Thank you.”
Paraguay are next in action on Thursday, June 25, when they take on Australia at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. A point would likely be enough to see them progress to the knockout rounds.
In the build-up to the 2026 World Cup it almost felt like wherever FIFA president Gianni Infantino went, the President of the USA, Donald Trump, would be there too.
Trump was handed a special inaugural FIFA Peace Prize during the draw for the finals of the tournament in Washington DC at the end of 2025, having missed out on the Nobel Peace Prize.
Infantino said at the draw ceremony: “This is what we want from a leader; a leader that cares about the people. We want to live in a safe world, in a safe environment. We want to unite – that’s what we do here today, that’s what we’ll do at the World Cup.
“You definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action, for what you have obtained in your way, but you have obtained it in an incredible way. You can always count, Mr President, on my support, on the support of the entire football community – or “soccer” community – to help you make peace and make the world prosper all over the world.”
US President May Only Attend One World Cup Match
Credit: Aaron Schwartz / Pool/Sipa USA
But while Trump was almost everywhere in the build-up to the tournament, it has come as something of a surprise not to see him present of any of the matches now it has got under way. It has even been reported that he may not attend any matches involving four English-speaking nations.
The 2026 tournament is now almost two weeks old and we are getting towards the end of the group stages and edging closer to the business end of the tournament with the knockouts.
And a report in the Telegraph has revealed why the US President has not been spotted so far and why it is unlikely that he will be present for any match until the final on July 19.
Trump is expected to present the trophy at the showpiece final in New Jersey, but will not be seen before that, unless one thing happens – the US team reaches the semi-final, which would be held in Dallas on July 14.
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A well-placed source told the Telegraph: “The president is preoccupied with the US’s July 4 celebrations. The World Cup just isn’t on his radar at the moment. He will give the trophy at the final, but I don’t think we will see him before then. It’s possible he’ll go to a semi-final, but only if the US get that far.”
Trump has birthday celebrations and Independence Day to prepare for
Bonnie Cash / SIPA USA via Reuters Connect
Trump has a number of other things to deal with, as well as the conflict with Iran, with plans for his 80th birthday celebrations and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.
Head of the White House World Cup taskforce Andrew Giuliani said: “I know he’s got a couple of international trips that he has planned as well as Independence Day, so the only thing I’ll tell you about my boss, and I’ve known him for, heck, 30 years, and he’s kind of like an uncle figure to me, he likes a good cliffhanger, right?
“He likes to leave people watching, so all I can tell you is ‘keep tuned in’, and I’m excited to see what the next steps are.”
